Immigration News

April 16, 2013

Hearing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation – April 17

**The hearing date has been re-scheduled for April 19th at 10:00am (EST).

Senator Leahy, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman has announced that a full committee hearing on comprehensive immigration reform has been scheduled for April 17th. The Senate hearing will be held at Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. This hearing is a result of the proposed legislation being worked on by the bipartisan “Gang of Eight”. The only witness listed to testify at this initial hearing is Secretary Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security.

MVP Law Group would like our blog readers to email us with your own questions or comments about Comprehensive Immigration Reform. We may include them in future blog posts on the subject! Remember, MVP Law Group always invites Immigration related questions for our bimonthly Immigration Q&A Forum!

April 10, 2013

Alternatives to the H-1B Visa for Individuals who did not make the FY2014 H-1B Quota

by Kellie N. Lego

Now that all of the new H-1B visas for the 2014 Fiscal Year have been allocated, What options do Employers who are looking to hire Foreign National Professionals have?

Here are some creative solutions to this problem:

OPT – STEM Extension

April 9, 2013

DHS Annual Report – FY2012 Statistics on Naturalizations

by Kellie N. Lego

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to foreign citizens or nationals after fulfilling the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). After naturalization, foreign-born citizens enjoy nearly all the same benefits, rights and responsibilities that the Constitution gives to native-born U.S. citizens, including the right to vote.

The Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Flow Report presents information on the number and characteristics of foreign nationals aged 18 years and over who were naturalized during FY 2012.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report states that in FY2012 a total of 757,434 persons were naturalized. The leading countries of birth of new naturalized citizens were Mexico (102,181), the Philippines (44,958), India (42,928), the Dominican Republic (33,351), and China (31,868). The largest number of persons naturalized lived in the states of California (158,850), Florida (100,890), and New York (93,584). Read the report linked here for more details, “U.S. Naturalizations: 2012“.

April 8, 2013

FY 2014 H-1B Cap – Lottery Conducted 4/7/2013

by Kellie N. Lego

For the first time since 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2014 within the first week of the filing period. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.

USCIS received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption.

On April 7, 2013, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process (commonly known as a “lottery”) to select a sufficient number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption limit. For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing.

April 5, 2013

FY2014 – H1B CAP HAS BEEN REACHED

by Kellie N. Lego

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2014. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.

After today, USCIS will not accept H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2014 cap or the advanced degree exemption.

April 5, 2013

The White House is asking for your Immigration Story

by Kellie N. Lego

“Unless you are one of the first Americans, unless you are a Native American, you came from someplace else. That’s why we’ve always defined ourselves as a nation of immigrants. And we’ve always been better off for it.”

– President Obama

President Obama and his staff are looking for stories of why individual Americans are supporting Immigration Reform. The White House web site has added a new web page to collect these stories. They plan to use them in their push for immigration reform, which the President stated is a top priority! Your story could help reform immigration in this country! Use the link below to post your story; you can even include a photo.

April 4, 2013

DHS Annual Report – FY2012 Statistics on Legal Permanent Residents

by Kellie N. Lego

A legal permanent resident (LPR) or “green card” recipient is defined by immigration law as a person who has been granted lawful permanent residence in the United States. Permanent resident status confers certain rights and responsibilities. For example, LPRs may live and work permanently anywhere in the United States, own property, and attend public schools, colleges, and universities. They may also join certain branches of the Armed Forces and may apply to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain eligibility requirements.

The Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Flow Report presents information obtained from applications for LPR status on the number and characteristics of persons who became LPRs in the United States during 2012.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report states that in FY2012 a total of 1,031,631 persons became LPRs. The report points out that nearly (66%) of the LPRs granted permanent resident status were based on a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. The three leading countries of birth for new LPRs were Mexico (14%), China (7.9%) and India (6.4%). Read the report linked here for more details, “U.S. Legal Permanent Residents: 2012“.

April 3, 2013

Revised – Updated Service Center Processing Times

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 4/1/13 with processing dates as of 1/31/13.

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.

California Service Center

April 2, 2013

USCIS Revises Public Hours of National Customer Service Center

by Kellie N. Lego

The USCIS National Customer Service Center (NCSC) is introducing new public hours of operation for their toll-free number at 800-375-5283. Effective immediately, USCIS will eliminate Saturday hours of operation. Beginning April 1, the NCSC will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, in all four time zones in the contiguous United States. This adjustment will allow USCIS to better serve customers during peak contact hours and respond more quickly to customer needs.

As always, customers can check the status of their case, change their address, or submit an e-request 24 hours a day by visiting www.uscis.gov. In the coming months, USCIS plans to launch a number of additional customer service enhancements to further improve the quality of their customer service.

To summarize, the USCIS NCSC will be reducing their call in hours on their live customer service line, Monday through Friday by two hours and eliminating Saturday hours.

April 1, 2013

Updated Service Center Processing Times

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 3/22/13 with processing dates as of 1/31/13.

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.

California Service Center