nonimmigrant visas

September 3, 2013

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 8/23/13

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.

The H-2B cap limit for the second half of FY 2013 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/23/13); 27,508 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,155 are pending for a total of 28,663.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/23/13); 2,350 beneficiaries have been approved and 795 are pending for a total of 3,145.

August 27, 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 8/20/13 with processing dates as of 6/30/13.

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

August 20, 2013

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 8/9/13

by Kellie N. Lego

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.

The H-2B cap limit for the second half of FY 2013 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/9/13); 27,168 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,170 are pending for a total of 28,338.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/9/13); 678 beneficiaries have been approved and 652 are pending for a total of 1,330.

August 15, 2013

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times – 8/12/13

by Kellie N. Lego

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of August 12, 2013.

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

Administrative Appeals Office

August 9, 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 8/2/13 with processing dates as of 5/31/13.

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

August 8, 2013

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 8/5/13

by Kellie N. Lego

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.

The H-2B cap limit for the second half of FY 2013 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/2/13); 26,860 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,191 are pending for a total of 28,051.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/2/13); 397 beneficiaries have been approved and 513 are pending for a total of 910.

July 26, 2013

USCIS Annual Reports to Congress on H-1B Petitions & Characteristics

by Kellie N. Lego

The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) requires the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to report annually on the characteristics of H-1B petitioners. They have released two reports which are listed below.

The first report released by USCIS is “Report on H-1B Petitions for Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report to Congress\October 1, 2011–September 30, 2012″. This report details H-1B filing fees for FY2012, including the number of petitions filed and the number of ACWIA and Fraud Prevention and Detection Fees paid.

The second report released by USCIS is “Characteristics of H1B Specialty Occupation Workers for Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report to Congress\October 1, 2011–September 30, 2012″. This report details the characteristics of H-1B filings for FY2012, with biographical information on the beneficiaries and statistics on the occupations and industries of approved petitions.

July 25, 2013

OFLC’s Updated Factsheets, Third Quarter FY2013

by Kellie N. Lego

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has released updated factsheets containing Third Quarter FY2013 selected program statistics. These factsheets contain vision representations of the data by using graphs and tables, which makes them much easier to read and understand. I have provided the links to the five updated factsheets below for your review.

Permanent Labor Certification Program

Prevailing Wage Determination Program

July 24, 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 7/19/13 with processing dates as of 5/31/13.

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