Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 2/1/18 with processing dates as of 11/30/17.
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 Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently overturned the decision of a Certifying Officer (CO) to deny labor certification for the position of “AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher.”
After reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO denied certification of the application. He believed the Alien Worker did not meet either the “primary or alternative educational requirements” that were listed on the labor application. In Section J.11, the Employer checked ‘OTHER’ on the application under Highest Level of Education and later clarified in Section J.11.A that ‘OTHER’ classification was AMI Certification.
The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In its argument, the Employer stated the AMI Certification is “higher than a Bachelor’s but lower than a Master’s or Doctorate.” In addition, they submitted a letter from the Montessori Training Center that one of its admission requirements for their program is a Bachelor’s Degree. The Employer also sent an Educational Assessment document which determined the Alien Worker had “the equivalent of a US Bachelor’s Degree based on work experience and postsecondary education.”
On Monday, February 12, 2018, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA), sent a letter to President Trump condemning his immigration proposal. In the letter he characterizes the President’s immigration proposal as “Unreasonable” and “Un-American”!
To read the letter for yourself, please click the link below:
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 – General
What is the Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) system?
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).
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.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2018 statistics (first quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2018 statistics (first quarter) cover October 2017 through December 2017.
The link to each program factsheet is listed below:
• Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics, FY 2018 (first quarter)
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, February 16, 2018. 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 “Director of Sales.”
After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO denied certification of the application for multiple reasons. Most importantly, the Employer did not include their name on their Notice of Filing (NOF) in violation of PERM regulation 656.10(d). PERM regulation 656.17 (f)(1) mandates that the advertisements “name the employer.”
The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In its argument, the Employer stated the NOF was acceptable regardless of the omission of their name. The Employer argued that public access to its building is limited and it is very plausible that only the company’s three employees would have access to the filing. With its request, the Employer submitted multiple documents including their articles of incorporation; federal tax return; photographs of the facility & bulletin posting area; certifications of accreditation; Florida Resale Certificate for Sales Tax; lease agreements; Google Map print-outs; and Miami.Dade.gov Property Information. With its Reconsideration Request, the Employer relied upon the Stone Tech decision.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a Webinar on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 between 1:00 to 2:00 pm (Eastern). The subject of the event will be an overview of myUSCIS and its newest features. Representatives from USCIS will be discussing myUSCIS and will hold a question and answer session at the end of the discussion.
*MyUSCIS is an online service that helps users and account holders navigate the immigration process. Users and account holders can use myUSCIS to find up-to-date status information about pending immigration benefit requests, tools to help prepare for naturalization, and resources to find citizenship preparation classes and doctors. Through myUSCIS, users can also establish an online account and file to renew or replace their Green Card and apply for naturalization.
*quoted from USCIS
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog