Articles Posted in H-1B Visa

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on April 18, 2011 with processing dates as of February 28, 2011.

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

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 April 15th, 2011, 7,100 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

As of April15th, 2011, 5,100 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.

MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. And, therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Employment Based Immigration – Green Card

I always check the visa bulletin and the movement varies. One time, there was a 3 month movement and the next time it was just 22 days, then a month. Why is that so?

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 April 7th, 2011, 5,900 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

As of April 7th, 2011, 4,500 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.

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.

As Congress continues its budgetary deadlock, the possibility of a government shutdown looms larger by the minute. If Congress is unable to reach accord on Friday, the government will close at midnight, Saturday April 9.

In general, if the government shuts down for budgetary reasons, all but “essential” government are furloughed and not allowed to work. So what does this mean for immigration agencies?

USCIS Update: USCIS has confirmed to AILA Liaison that it will be operating, except for E-Verify, if the government does shut down.

The following information has been provided by AILA, the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

As Congress continues its budgetary deadlock, the possibility of a government shutdown looms larger by the minute. If Congress is unable to reach accord on Friday, the government will close at midnight, Saturday April 9.

In general, if the government shuts down for budgetary reasons, all but “essential” government are furloughed and not allowed to work. So what does this mean for immigration agencies?

Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public School System (PGCPS) was found to be in violation of the regulations governing the H-1B temporary foreign workers visa program after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

The investigation in PGCPS’s practice of the H-1B program revealed 1,044 teachers hired under the program had their wages illegally reduced. Under the H-1B program foreign professionals are hired to work in the U.S. temporarily; however, they must be paid at the same wage level or higher and be given the same benefits as U.S. workers doing a similar job in the same area. The violations amount to $1,740,000.00 in civil damages and PGCPS may be prohibited from filing new H-1B petitions, extensions or requests for permanent residency. The fees employers are suppose to pay for hiring workers under the H-1B program were not paid by PGCPS and instead the school system mandated the fees to be paid by teachers themselves. These fees are the reason why the teachers earnings fell below the level required by the regulations under the H-1B visa program.

The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of April 1, 2011.

If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Administrative Appeals Office

MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. And, therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Employment Based Immigration – Green Card

If my priority date is June 2008 under the EB-3 category and my H-1B visa will expire in October 2012 (using up my 6 years), should I move to a different company so I can re-file my green card application under EB-2? Or should I wait until I renew my H-1B until 2012 before moving?

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