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 October 8, 2010, 41,900 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of October 8, 2010, 15,400 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
Justin Michael Martin of Kentucky pleaded guilty to commit marriage fraud and is facing a possible sentence of 10 years with $500,000 in fines. Martin was set up by Michael Chanthou Chin to travel to Cambodia and marry Yota Em, a Cambodian national. He agreed to marry Yota so she could avoid U.S. immigration laws for a compensation of about $7,000. When he visited Yota in Cambodia all of Martins expenses were paid and when they returned to the US, Yota was his fiancé and she had a K-1 visa. They then lied to immigration officers reporting their marriage was legitimate and Yota gained her full U.S. residency. By June of 2009 the couple was divorced.
Due to their separation and marriage fraud, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is presently looking for Yota Em, currently a fugitive in the US.
Each year the USCIS naturalizes approximately 680,000 citizens and so far over 6.8 million citizens have been naturalized into the United States. This fiscal year alone the US has already naturalized 495,232 people.
To apply for naturalization an individual must fill out Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization) and fulfill the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA sates an applicant must be at least 18, a green card holder, have resided in the US for at least five years, physically present in the US for at least 30 months, have good character, understand U.S. government & history, comprehend the English language and take the Oath of Allegiance.
Some exceptions exist for the naturalization requirements for individuals who are members of the military and whose spouses are U.S. citizens. Some of these exceptions include spouses, who may be eligible to receive naturalization in three years after being permanent residents rather than five, spouses stationed abroad may not have to meet residency requirements, children under 18 who are permanent residents can automatically gain citizenship if living with a U.S. citizen parent, and children living abroad with at least one U.S. citizen parent physically in the U.S. can be eligible for naturalization.
Gilberto Jordan was found guilty by Florida’s U.S. District Court for illegally obtaining his U.S. citizenship and human rights violations for his participation in the massacre at Dos Erres, Guatemala. Jordan was a part of the Guatemalan special forces patrol who raided Dos Erres in 1982 looking for stolen rifles and guerrillas. The patrol searched all the houses for the weapons and systematically killed the men, women and children. When applying for his U.S. citizenship in 1996 Jordan denied he had ever been a part of the military or committed any crimes and later in 1999 continued to deny any dishonesty on his application during his application review. At the court sentencing, Jordan’s citizenship was revoked.
MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, October 15th, 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.
On September 23, 2010 The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule to adjust fees for immigration applications and petitions effective November 23. Due to USCIS’s large differential between costs and expected revenue, the final rule is necessary to bridge this gap. It will increase overall cost by an average of approximately 10 percent but doesn’t increase the cost for the naturalization application. With the USCIS being a primarily fee based organization it is required to conduct fee reviews every two years and the final rule wraps up the review that began in 2009.
Other new fees included in the final rule include: regional center designations under the Immigration Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program, civil surgeon designation, recovery of USCIS costs to process visas granted. Certain applications are also now applicable for fee reduction and new availability due to the final rule. Furthermore the final plan eliminates fees completely for armed forces members and veterans who wish to file an application for naturalization, application for certificates of citizenship, and requests for hearing on a decision in naturalization proceedings. Due the large amount of public remark over the final rule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allowed for a 45 day comment period after its release and received 225 comments. For further information about the public comments or the details of the final rule visit USCIS and the Federal Registrar.
After declining to hand over documents to investigators detailing recent forceful tactics against illegal immigrants to examine whether they are a violation of civil rights, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona’s Maricopa County was sued by the Justice Department. This lawsuit is the third filed by the Justice Department in relation to how Arizona authorities deal with illegal immigrants.
A federal grand jury is currently investigating Arpaio for misappropriation of federal money and intimidation of opponents. Governor Jan Brewer was questioned about the state’s new immigration law as well as the recent suit against Maricopa County community colleges for putting unlawful requirements on immigrants seeking work.
President Obama signed Public Law 111-230 on August 13, which requires an additional $2,000 in filing fees for some H-1B petitions and an additional $2,250 for some L-1A/L-1B petitions. The fees apply to any company that employs over 50 people within the United States, with more than fifty percent of them having either an H-1B or L1 nonimmigrant status.
These petitions must be postmarked after August 14, 2010 and the provision will be effective until September 30, 2014.
USCIS is asking all petitioners to send in the new fee or an explanation as to why the fee does not apply to their company with the petition. If this is not done, USCIS could require a Request for Evidence (RFE).
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of October 1, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
Annually, the United States government issues a maximum of 55,000 green cards through a computer-generated random lottery drawing. Applications for the DV 2012 random lottery will begin to be accepted today Tuesday, October 5, 2010 through Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Paper entries will not be accepted, eligible participants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) to apply during this period.
These green cards are only available to those eligible participants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. For DV-2012, persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. No countries have been added or removed from the previous year’s list of eligible countries..
Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Peru, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog