Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 1/5/18 with processing dates as of 10/31/17.
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.
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Question #1 – Conditional Permanent Residency
I would like to know when I can file for “removing conditions” on my Green Card? I’m married to a U.S. Citizen and my card is set to expire in end of May.
Hundreds of Haitian Americans and their supporters chose to spend their Martin Luther King Day protesting near Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s Private Club in Palm Beach, FL., which he was staying at for the holiday weekend. They are protesting his alleged derogatory comments about Haiti and El Salvador. The President supposedly made the remarks during a White House meeting called by the President to discuss Immigration Reform legislation; he also is alleged to have used offensive language to describe African countries adding that he wished more immigrants would come from countries such as Norway.
The protesters were chanting, “What do we want? Apology!” or “What do we want? Respect! Protest organizer James Leger said, “We’re going to pray for America and pray for President Trump. People make mistakes. We’re not asking for impeachment. We just want an apology.”
For more detailed information about this subject, please read the Sun-Sentinel News Article, “‘What do we want? Apology!’ Hundreds of Haiti supporters protest near Mar-a-Lago“
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 “Software Engineer.”
After obtaining & examining an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification ordering the Employer to submit its Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) and other requested documentation. The Employer replied to the Audit by providing the PWD as well as the other documents.
The CO denied the labor certification stating the prevailing wage on the ETA form 9089 did not match the one listed on the PWD. He cited a violation of PERM Regulations 656.10(c) (1), 656.40 AND 656.41. In addition, the Employer’s Notice of Filing did not contain the job requirements or duties as listed on the ETA Form 9089. The Employer requested a reconsideration of the denial stating the prevailing wage inconsistency was an unintentional harmless error. The Employer also believed all of its audit response materials were compliant with PERM regulations.
Once a month, MVP Law Groups’ Managing Attorney, Kellie N. Lego publishes an electronic Immigration Newsletter. This emailed newsletter features current articles, relevant data and up-to-date information about U.S. Immigration. We invite you to join our mailing list.
Current Newsletter: MVP Immigration Newsletter – January 2018
Follow link to join: Join our mailing list!
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, January 19, 2018. Act now and submit your questions!
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 12/26/17 with processing dates as of 10/31/17.
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.
On Tuesday, December 21, 2017, USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (33,000) for the first half of FY 2018. December 15, 2017 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2018. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determined that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY2018.
USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after December 15, 2017 and that request an employment start date before April 1, 2018, but there are some exceptions!
The exceptions are listed below:
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 “Multi-Media Artists & Animators.”
After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification. After the Employer responded, the CO denied certification of the application for multiple reasons. First and foremost, the position advertised did not match the one listed on the Employer’s ETA Form 9089 in violation of PERM Regulations 20 C.F.R. § 656.10 and § 656.17 (f)(3). These regulations require that an advertisement “provide a description of the vacancy specific enough to apprise a US worker of the job opportunity for which certification is sought.” The CO revealed that the employer’s web advertising specified the position required a minimum of a high school diploma. On the Employer’s ETA Form 9089, it listed a Bachelor’s degree plus 24 months, or 4 years of work experience as an alternative to the degree.
The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In its argument, the Employer stated the government made a clear error in denying the labor application. The CO delivered a second denial and forwarded the case to BALCA for review.
USCIS advertises that is has an online Electronic Reading Room. It’s really a Web-based searchable document database of public requested Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents; mixed with USCIS documents that the government decided may have a larger public demand. You can use pull-downs to choose different listed subjects and include any month/year date from January 2011 to the present. You can also type in your own keywords to search.
For more detailed information about this subject please review the USCIS, “Electronic Reading Room“ and try it for yourself.
Source of Information:
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog