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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. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – H1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa

My H1B was approved through Consular Processing. I am planning to go in August to get my Visa stamp but I want to do it from a different city in India then I used for my approval. Can I change the city without complicating matters?

USCIS announced on Friday, May 24th that L. Francis Cissna had resigned as Director effective June 1st. L. Francis Cissna wrote, “At the request of the President, I submitted my resignation today effective June 1, 2019,”! He has been the Director of USCIS since October 8, 2017 and was appointed by President Trump. This seems to be part of last month’s leadership removals at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in which former Sec. of DHS, Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to resign along with others.

For more detailed information about this subject please review the CNN News Article, “Trump’s Citizenship and Immigration Services director out“.

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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, DREAMers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, priority dates, the monthly visa bulletin, adjustment applications, etc., please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, May 31, 2019. Act now and submit your questions!

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the decision of a Certifying Officer (CO) to deny labor certification for the position of “Hardwood Floor Installer.”

Upon evaluating the Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, an Audit was issued. In this Audit Notification, the CO asked the Employer to explain why US workers were rejected. After reviewing the Audit response, the CO denied the labor certification stating the Employer rejected three US applicants for reasons that were not job related. The CO “found the rejections were based on the failure to meet the Employer’s job requirement of having two years of hardwood floor installation experience.” He discovered three of the candidates have other experience in the construction industry that he believed would meet the requirements for the job.

The Employer requested reconsideration and BALCA review. They argued the CO was wrong in judging these three candidates were qualified for the position. Even though the applicants did have experience in “general carpentry/and or construction,” they did not believe this experience was enough to meet the requirements of the Hardwood Floor Installer job. The Employer included a Business Necessity Letter in its Audit response materials. The Employer pointed out that one of the candidates did have skills in hard wood flooring installation but he did not list how he obtained that experience. The employer also provided proof to the CO of letters that they had sent to the US worker applicants asking for them to contact the company with further information on their qualifications. The Employer claimed none of them responded to the letters.

USCIS announced (by news alert) on Friday, May 17, 2019 that they have completed the data entry of all Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap – subjected petitions that have been selected randomly through a computer generated process. USCIS will begin returning all H-1B petitions that were not selected but because of the large amount received; the return time frame is unknown. They also ask that petitioners not contact them until they have received a receipt notice or had their unselected petition returned.

For more detailed information about this subject please review the USCIS News Alert, “USCIS Completes Data Entry of Fiscal Year 2020 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions“.

Source of Information:

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. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Employment Based Immigration

Can I change my I-140 from one category to the other without being penalized? I am on EB-3 but want to change to E-B2.

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the June 2019 Visa Bulletin

The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that Mark Koumans will be the next Deputy Director of USCIS, as of Monday, May 13, 2019. He will replace Acting Deputy Director Tracy Renaud who has been in that position since March 2018. Deputy Director Koumans is described as a career federal employee and that he has held a number of executive positions within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and many other positions within the federal government over the last 29 years.

Please review USCIS News Release, “USCIS Names New Deputy Director” for more details.

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