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 “Computer Software Engineer.”

The CO denied the application stating that the Labor application is incomplete and inconsistent with the submitted information from the employer and the applicant. On the Labor application, the Employer’s physical address is listed as Martinsburg, West Virginia but their phone number’s area code is Arlington, Virginia. The applicant’s home address is listed in Martinsburg, West Virginia but his phone number’s area code -571 is representative of Leesburg, Virginia. As additional proof, the CO declared the Employer had signed in Section N, of the LCA, that the information submitted was “true and accurate to the best of its knowledge.”

Perm regulations require an employer seeking to apply for permanent labor to file an ETA Form 9089.20 C.F.R. & 656.17(a). These regulations state that any incomplete applications will be denied.

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Question #1 – H-1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa

My employer somehow lost my original I-797 H1 approval notice and I need it to renew my driver’s license and get visa stamping in the future when I travel. Can I get a new approval notice?

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2017 statistics (third quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2017 statistics (third quarter) cover April 2017 through June 2017.

The link to each program factsheet is listed below:

• Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics, FY 2017 (third quarter)

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Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/10/17 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; North Dakota, Ohio & Oklahoma.

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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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, August 18, 2017. Act now and submit your questions!

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The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Deirdre M. Daly announced that a 52 year old resident of Stamford, Connecticut and a citizen of the Republic of Georgia pleaded guilty in Hartford, Connecticut federal court to engaging in an immigration fraud scheme involving fraudulent marriages.

The Defendant pleaded guilty to running an immigration fraud scheme where he set up fraudulent marriages for 50 to 60 European citizens. As part of the scheme, the Europeans paid the Defendant between $12,000 and $16,000, and he then would arrange for fraudulent marriages between the foreigners and U.S. citizens in order to obtain immigration benefits for the foreigners. The U.S. citizens were paid to enter into the sham marriages, according to U.S. Attorney Daly.

The Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of making a false swearing in an immigration matter, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced on October 27, 2017 and has released on a $75,000 bond pending sentencing.

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The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the September 2017 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).

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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 “R & D Manager/Chemist.”

After receiving and reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification. The Employer responded with details of its recruitment efforts as well as summary chart. After reviewing the Audit materials, the CO denied certification of the application. The Employer provided recruitment efforts that did not match the one as listed on the Employer’s ETA Form 9089. In its ETA Form, the Employer indicated it advertised the job opening through its “employee referral program, a job search website and its own website.” In the Audit materials, the Employer failed to provide any documentation of the referral program. It included an advertisement with ecampusrecruiter.com sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh, which was not listed on ETA Form 9089. Since the Employer failed to provide any evidence of the employer referral program, the CO had no choice but to deny certification of the labor application.

The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. The Employer argued that it had made a clerical mistake by listing the referral program on its ETA Form. In its request for reconsideration, it also submitted a corrected ETA Form 9089. The CO re-affirmed its denial and forwarded the case to the BALCA for review.

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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; New Mexico, New York & North Carolina.

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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