H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

March 24, 2015

Reminder – FY2016 H1B CAP – Another Very Short Season Expected

The Fiscal Year 2016 H-1B season is quickly approaching and has been projected to be another short season. The H1B CAP for FY2015 was reached on April 7, 2014.

Each Fiscal Year (FY), which starts on October 1, 65,000 H-1B visas become available for what is referred to as the “General Cap,” and 20,000 H-1B visas become available for what is referred to as the “Master’s Cap.” Those individuals holding a U.S. Master’s degree or higher may fall within the Master’s Cap; all others fall within the General Cap. The FY H-1B filing season opens six months before each FY, i.e., during the first week in April.

The FY 2016 H-1B Cap season will open on April 1, 2015 with employment beginning October 1, 2015.

March 23, 2015

Round-Up of Immigration Related Legislation (Jan-Feb2015)

by Kellie N. Lego

The following immigration related bills were introduced into the House of Representatives and the Senate January 2015 through February 2015.

Pending Legislation:

Senate Bills

March 20, 2015

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, March 20, 2015

by Kellie N. Lego

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 Visa Waiver Program? Is Portugal included in the VWP?

March 19, 2015

USCIS Resumes H-2B Adjudications – Premium Processing Remains Suspended!

by Kellie N. Lego

On Tuesday, March 17th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resumed adjudication of H-2B Visa petitions! They announced that they would continue the suspension on H-2B premium processing until further notice. Premium Processing is a service which for an added cost can be used to expedite processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications, such as an H-2B Visa petition.

On March 16, 2015 the Department of Labor (DOL) requested and was granted a stay of the March 4th order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Perez v. Perez until April 15. That order vacated DOL’s H-2B regulations on the grounds that DOL had no authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to issue them.

Please review the link to USCIS News Alert, “USCIS Resumes H-2B Adjudications; Premium Processing Remains Suspended” for more information and for more background information, view our blog post, “USCIS Temporarily Suspends Adjudication of H-2B Petitions As of 3/5/2015“.

March 18, 2015

Impact of New Americans (2015) – Alabama, Arizona & California

by Kellie N. Lego

Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2015)

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).

As Washington D.C. continues the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, 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; Alabama, Arizona & California.

March 17, 2015

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times – 3/1/15

by Kellie N. Lego

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 3/1/15.

If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Administrative Appeals Office

March 16, 2015

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, March 20, 2015

by Kellie N. Lego

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, March 20, 2015. Act now and submit your questions!

March 13, 2015

On April 1, 2015, USCIS will start accepting H-1B Petitions for FY2016

by Kellie N. Lego

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Thursday, March 12th that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 cap on Wednesday, April 1, 2015. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2016 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000.

USCIS stated that it is possible that the H-1B cap will be met in the first 5 business days! Also be advised that premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions will begin no later than May 11, 2015. See the USCIS’s Premium Processing section for more details.

March 12, 2015

Visa Bulletin – April 2015

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the April 2015 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the April 2015 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India moved from 1/1/07 to 9/1/07; the EB3 date for nationals from India made a small movement from 1/1/04 to 1/8/04; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals moved from 9/1/10 to 4/1/11; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals retrogressed from 10/22/11 to 1/1/11; and EB3 for WW moved from 6/1/14 to 10/1/14; and the F2A category moved from 6/22/13 to 8/1/13, except Mexico which moved from 5/22/13 to 7/8/13. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

March 11, 2015

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 2/27/15

by Kellie N. Lego

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2015 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (1/26/15) this first half cap count has been reached. Please read USCIS update below!

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2015 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (2/27/15); 14,740 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,779 are pending for a total of 16,519.