OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

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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 “Battery Engineer.”

The CO denied the application stating that the Employer’s web posting did not identify the job location. He cited it was in violation of PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. 656.17(f). PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. 656.17 (f) requires that an advertisement must indicate the geographic area of employment with enough specificity to apprise applicants of any travel requirements and where applicants will likely have to reside to perform the job opportunity.

The Employer requested a review of the CO’s denial stating that the company conducted four additional recruitment steps rather than just the three that are required. In the recruitment process, they posted the position on a job search website, advertised in a local newspaper, advertised through their employee referral program, and posted the job position on their company website.

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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 – Naturalization/Citizenship

Is there a set period of time that I must live and work in the United States before I can apply for Naturalization?

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Officials from the City of Houston, Texas announced that they would not be asking for immigration status or documents at shelters or relief centers opened for the victims of the massive flooding caused by the constant rain from Tropical Storm Harvey. The exact statement released on the City’s Official Tweeter Site was, “WE WILL NOT ASK FOR IMMIGRATION STATUS OR PAPERS AT ANY SHELTER”. A few minutes later, they tweeted the exact same message but in Spanish.

Houston Mayor Turner announced at a News Conference on Monday that he would represent any immigrant that faces deportation after seeking assistance during and after the flooding. Mayor Turner stated, “I and others will be the first ones to stand up with you,” He continued, “If you need help and someone comes and they require help, and then for some reason, then somebody tries to deport them, I will represent them myself, okay?”

For more detailed information about this subject please review the news article, “Houston: We won’t check immigration status at shelters”.

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The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the United States (Overall), for a total of fifty-two updated fact sheets with accompanying info graphics and other details. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants, Asians and Latinos in each state. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy division of the American Immigration Council (AIC).

With national immigration policy being discussed as part of Presidential Elections, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this IPC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; South Carolina, South Dakota & Tennessee.

The IPC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants, Latinos and Asians are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. With the nation working towards economic recovery, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.

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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 “Senior Commissioning Engineer.”

After obtaining & examining an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification ordering the Employer to submit “a copy of the Prevailing Wage Determination received from the State Workforce Agency (SWA), along with a copy of the request for the determination submitted to the SWA.” The Employer responded to the Audit but did not include the SWA prevailing wage determination or a copy of the request.

The CO denied labor certification citing the Employer’s failure to provide the prevailing wage determination as issued by the SWA. He cited PERM regulation 20 CFR 656.20(b) as the source of his denial. PERM regulation 20 CFR 656.20(b) provides “a substantial failure by the employer to provide required documentation will result in that application being denied…”

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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, September 1, 2017. Act now and submit your questions!

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Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/16/17 with processing dates as of 6/30/17.

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.

California Service Center (CSC)

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The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the United States (Overall), for a total of fifty-two updated fact sheets with accompanying info graphics and other details. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants, Asians and Latinos in each state. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy division of the American Immigration Council (AIC).

With national immigration policy being discussed as part of Presidential Elections, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this IPC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Oregon, Pennsylvania & Rhode Island.

The IPC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants, Latinos and Asians are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. With the nation working towards economic recovery, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.

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USCIS has released their second quarter, Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017) citizenship and naturalization data for Naturalization (Form N-400 Application) as a statistical table. This table contains data on citizenship and naturalization benefits and application processing times. They have divided the form by category: Category of Naturalization, Case Status, and USCIS Field Office. The columns are divided by case status: Applications Received, Approved, Denied and Pending. These updated FY2017 statistics (second quarter) cover January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017. Here is the link to the Q2 table, “USCIS Military and Non-Military Naturalization Form N-400 Performance Data (Fiscal Year 2017, 2nd Qtr)“.

Source of Information:

– USCIS.gov, 6/8/17, Table (PDF):

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