United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a reminder that its new application and petition fees go into effect November 23, 2010.
The new fees increase application and petition fees by approximately 10 percent but naturalization fees will remain the same.
To review the increased USCIS filing fees, please click here.
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released version 1.2 of its Enforcement Data Site. Features of the updated site include an interactive map and dashboard, integrated data system with collaboration from other agencies, more advanced search criteria, and datasets being available to the public in a readable format. Users can also stay connected and receive immediate updates through the website with the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.
After pleading guilty to a charge of counterfeiting a passport application, Ramon Francisco of the Dominican Republic who resided in Connecticut was sentenced to 14 months in prison October 28. During the investigation by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), it was discovered that Francisco used another individual’s identity to apply for his passport. Francisco has been going through removal procedures carried out by ICE’s Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) since his arrest in August of 2009.
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click here to view the December 2010 Visa Bulletin.
The December 2010 Visa Bulletin still shows employment based third preference (EB-3) visas as oversubscribed while the employment based second preference (EB-2) is current for all areas of chargeability except for China and India.
MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, November 19th, 2010
We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently released information on their new relaxed deportation policy. This new policy mainly affects immigrants who are married or related to US citizens and legal residents. Before this policy was instated, if an immigrant was going through deportation proceedings they would automatically be deported even if they had pending petitions. Now with this new rule, the proceedings are stopped if the person is qualified for a green card. There is one stipulation that ICE created to the policy, in order to benefit the immigrant can not be a convicted criminal. This helps ensure and carry out ICE’s number one focus of “removal of criminal aliens and those who pose a danger to national security.”
To celebrate Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Pride in the month of June, the US Department of State announced its policy regarding gender change on passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad. Beginning on June 10, 2010 an applicant may change the gender on their passport or Consular Report of Birth Abroad if certification is presented from a medical physician stating the applicant has undergone treatment for gender transition. A limited-validity passport can also be obtained with a physician’s statement that the applicant is currently going through the process of gender transition. Note: sexual reassignment surgery is no longer the qualification for gender change on a passport.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of November 1, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
On October 20, The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) launched its new website www.justice.gov/eoir, which was created due to efforts to give the site a fresher look with more organization and easy to use applications.
All types of individuals like respondents, representatives, non-governmental organizations, the press, and public use the website to receive timely updates about the agency. Highlights of the new site include an Action Center, the ability to submit a complaint about an immigration judge and review statistics about previous criticism, as well as links to immigration documents/forms/handbooks. In addition, the site links back to the Department of Justice’s website which is very similar in design to the EOIR’s resigned website.
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 November 5, 2010, 46,800 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of November 5, 2010, 17,200 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog