Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on March 17, 2009 with processing dates as of January 31, 2009.
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.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) recently released some guidance regarding the Stimulus Bill, which contains the “Employ American Worker Act” (EAWA) and its effect upon the H-1B visa petition.
If the company was a recipient of the funds distributed through the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP), EAWA prevents an employer from displacing qualified U.S. workers when participating in the H-1B visa program. Under EAWA a company is considered an “H-1B dependent employer” and must make additional attestations to the Department of Labor (DOL) when filing the Labor Condition Application (LCA).
According to the guidance distributed by the USCIS, employers must attest to the following additional requirements on the LCA:
When a citizen of another country wishes to travel to the United States for
business or pleasure, there are specific visas that are available for those individuals. The B-1, Business visa is for those interested in traveling to the U.S. to consult with business associates, to attend conventions/conferences, and to negotiate a contract, etc. In other words, the B-1 visa is intended for those applicants traveling to the U.S. temporarily for business related purposes. The B-2, Pleasure/Visitor/Tourist visa is for those who plan to travel to the U.S. for recreational purposes including tourism, to visit with friends and family, and to obtain medical treatment, etc.
When changing status to B-1 Business visitor, it is important that the applicant document the business activity to be performed, the exact length of time needed to complete the business activity, and the applicant’s intent to depart the United States at that time. This documentation may be established by submitting an itinerary, a brochure of scheduled business events, or evidence of a roundtrip airline ticket, etc. This change of status can only be granted for up to 364 days, so it is extremely important to carefully document the exact length of time needed to complete the activity.
Tighter government oversight over the H-1B visa program and permanent employment-based immigration expected.
On October 8, 2008, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) released a report that 13% of all H-1B petitions filed on behalf of U.S. employers are fraudulent. The same report also stated that another 7% of those petitions contain some sort of technical violation. The report’s conclusion states: “Given the significant vulnerability, USCIS is making procedural changes, which will be described in a forthcoming document.”
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On Thursday, March 12, 2009, United States Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the “Immigration Fraud Prevention Act of 2009.” This Act would make it a Federal crime to defraud individuals – citizens and non-citizens alike…in connection with any matter arising under the Immigration Laws. Accordingly, it would make it a felony to falsely misrepresent that one is an attorney or accredited representative in any immigration matter.
As a result of complaints from law enforcement officials regarding the growing amount of fraudulent immigration specialists operating throughout the country, this bill was introduced. Charles H. Kick, President of AILA, stated that the bill is a wonderful first step towards addressing this pervasive problem. Additionally, Larry Drumm, Chair of AILA’s Consumer Protection and Authorized Practice of Law Action Committee chimed in by stating that “immigration law is stunning complex and filing the wrong documents, missing a deadline, or failing to fully disclose all of the facts in a case can mean the difference between legal status, deportation, and in the case of some asylum seekers, even death.”
This is a very serious issue and the need for a strong federal law and a commitment to root out this problem are what is needed.
In an article published by Pamela Manson of The Salt Lake Tribune, federal prosecutions confirmed the identity of a Salt Lake City man who allegedly impersonated an immigration official ultimately stealing thousands of dollars from undocumented immigrants hoping to become legal residents.
The complaint alleges that the Salt Lake City man took money from undocumented workers, did nothing to help those clients, and would then threaten his clients with deportation when they questioned his progress in their cases. One woman also alleged that the Salt Lake City imposter demanded sex from her and threatened to have one of her children deported when he she refused to pay him more money. She also alleged that he made many hostile and overly aggressive phone calls to her demanding either sex or more money to finish the process.
According to an affidavit by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, the alleged imposter charged between $1,500 to $5,000 per person to handle the legalization process. Additionally, the imposter claimed to work for ICE. It is also alleged that the imposter met many of his clients through mutual friends in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints and would meet with his clients in his home to complete paperwork and take payment. It is also alleged that the imposter did not give receipts to his clients because he said that it would cause delays in the process. He also allegedly claimed that by receiving cash only he could back date his client’s cases for faster processing.
The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) has issued a correction to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) processing times published on February 20, 2009.
The current processing time for Form I-485, Employment Based petitions is 8/15/07.
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on February 20, 2009 with processing dates as of December 31, 2008.
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.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Business Committee prepared a list of frequently asked questions about the H-1B provisions included in the new economic stimulus bill – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The list discusses the impact of the H-1B provisions on H-1B employers, provides an explanation as to the restrictions that are placed on TARP fund recipients, and offers advice to affected employers on how to complete Labor Condition Applications (LCA) for H-1B foreign workers.
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a multi-million dollar stimulus bill designed to jumpstart the United States’ economy. For the business immigration world, the bill includes the Sanders H-1B amendment . This amendment heavily burdens recipients of Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds with strict regulations for hiring foreign workers under the H-1B program. The President of AILA, Charles H. Kuck, said, “The misguided signal it sends is that immigrants are part of the problem rather than an integral part of the solution.” In other words, the H-1B program works to bring foreign-born talented individuals to the United States to help create new jobs and bolster the United States’ economy. Passage of the amendment means that it is going to be harder for TARP recipients to successfully petition for top level talent under the H-1B program and thus it works counter to the ultimate goal of economic growth for the United States.
The economic stimulus bill has been approved by the Senate and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama early this week.
NOTE – THE SANDERS H-1B AMENDMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THOSE RECIPIENTS OF TARP FUNDS.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog