Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on December 15, 2010 with processing dates as of October 31, 2010.
If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
With the hard economic times today and the reality that many traditional sources of financing are unavailable, many U.S. companies are turning towards U.S. immigration laws to obtain money.
The EB-5 investor visa program can provide U.S. companies an unusual source of financing-a foreign investor can receive a visa for permanent residence after making qualified investments. A qualified investment has two requirements: (1) amount of the investment, and (2) number of jobs the investment creates. The investment must be $1 million or can be $500,000 if it’s made in a “targeted employment area” meaning the area has either experienced an unemployment rate that is at least 150% of the U.S. national average or is a rural area as designated by the U.S. Office of Management & Budget. At least 10 full-time jobs must also be generated by the investment; this includes both indirect and direct jobs. A benefit to the EB-5 program is that the companies are usually able to offer lower annual returns to the investors.
On November 23, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) sentenced Bao Ping Wang and Trang Lu to 18 months in prison with two months probation for hiring and harboring illegal aliens. Along with their sentencing, the two defendants were required to pay $1.2 million, a combination of fines and payback of illegal proceeds gained. In addition, Wang agreed to deport from the US after serving out his sentence.
Wang and Lu managed companies called Hi-Tech Trucking, Inc. and SeaLands Food where they employed both legal and illegal workers. Wang and Lu knowingly hired the illegal workers, as they did not have proper documentation and credentials. The two also provided residence and food for their illegal employees. Their bank records showed that they made payments for the properties the illegal employees were staying at.
On December 14, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the implementation of the pilot program “Ready Lane” which will go into effect Sunday December 19 and run for 90 days.
The “Ready Lane” pilot program will be located at the El Paso port of entry/Ysleta international crossing. It is a primary vehicle lane (lanes 9 and 10) open from 6am to 10pm that only accepts crossing travelers with a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) travel document. Being processed at the “Ready Lane” allows travelers to move through much faster because CBP officers do not have to manually enter the traveler’s information. The US passport, the new Legal Permanent Resident “green card” and the new Border Crossing Card are all RFID-equipped. CBP asks travelers planning to use the “Ready Lane” to remember three simple steps: (1) wait for a signal to move forward into the inspection lane, (2) remove your travel card from the protective sleeve and hold it up toward a window on the driver’s side so it can be read, and (3) stop at the inspection booth ready to present documents for any other passengers in the car.
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Question #1 – Temporary Work Visas – H-1B & L1A/L1B Nonimmigrant Visas
Does the new public law apply to transfer and extension petitions for nonimmigrant workers?
The town of Brookline, Massachusetts has approved a measure that will someday allow immigrants with a green card to vote once voted on by the Legislature. Similar measures in San Francisco and Portland were turned down but because Brookline is such a highly diverse area where 53 languages are spoken and immigrants with green cards pay taxes and have a say in town affairs, many believed they should also be allowed to vote.
One Brookline resident said, “They live here, they should vote here. They’re going to be citizens, ultimately, if they have a green card.”
On November 23, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched their first-ever standardized form for requesting fee waivers on the fees charged for immigration-benefit processing (Form-912, Request for Fee Waiver).
The fee waiver is a reflection of contributions made by stakeholders, community organizations and the public after USCIS heard concerns that lack of standardization created confusion over the principles used to approve a waiver. The new Form-912 clearly states the criteria USCIS uses to evaluate a waiver.
USCIS is currently asking for feedback from the public and stakeholders on a new guidance memorandum reviewing the new policy for reviewing fee waiver requests at www.uscis.gov/outreach.
Representative Steve King (R-IA) plans to take on birthright citizenship as likely chairman of a House subcommittee on Immigration.
King says that the Framers of the Constitution weren’t thinking about babies of illegal immigrants when they passed the 14th amendment in the Dred Scott case because there was no immigration law at that time. He plans to pass legislation banning “anchor babies,” with the plan that if there is any opposition, he can challenge it in courts or on the chance he loses, he will move for a constitutional amendment to change the practice. Other Senators have also spoken out against the 14th amendment and birthright citizenship. At least 13 state legislators have already started drafting bills that if passed would end birthright citizenship benefits.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of December 10th, 2010, 52,400 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of December 10th, 2010, 19,100 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) charged Genova Navarro and Dianne Racity on November 17 for impersonating federal officers, aiding and abetting as well as harboring illegal immigrants. In addition to Navarro and Racity, Alicia Domench- Van Rhyn was charged with conspiracy charges.
The three women posed as federal immigration officers and employees offering special immigration benefits and faster application processing in return for substantial fees that their clients paid ranging from $5,000 to $18,000. The women fully knew while taking their clients money that they did not have the authority to carry out any of the promises they had made. If found guilty, the defendants could face up to 20 years in prison.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog