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Question #1 – Marriage Based Immigration (Family)

When I filed the Form I-130 for my wife and children, I was a U.S. permanent resident. Now I am an U.S. citizen, how do I upgrade my Form I-130 petition for my wife and children after becoming U.S. citizen?

Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2014)

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 four states at a time. This week we will highlight; South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas & Utah.

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 “Electrical Helper.”

Procedural Case History – Case was originally accepted by DOL on December 3, 2007. June 11, 2008 CO denied certification. Appeal File was sent to BALCA on April 30, 2010. On April 21, 2011, BALCA vacated the denial and remanded for further processing. This labor application was for a nonprofessional position.

The Atlanta National Processing Center issued a letter directing the employer to provide evidence that it was a bona fide business entity. Additionally, the CO issued an Audit notification in June 2011. The CO asked the employer for copies of the newspaper tear sheets from its Sunday newspaper advertisements. The CO gave the Employer a one month deadline to submit its response. The Employer provided its response as well as a note asking for a 30 day extension on the tear sheets. The employer’s lawyer stated they had requested it but had not received it at the time of mailing the response.

Attorney Kellie Lego has been selected to the 2015, Maryland Rising Stars list in the field of Immigration Law. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.

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, December 19, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

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.

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the January 2015 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the January 2015 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India remains at 2/15/05; the EB3 date for nationals from India made a small movement from 12/1/03 to 12/15/03; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals moved from 1/1/10 to 2/1/10; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals moved from 6/1/10 to 3/1/11; and EB3 for WW moved from 11/1/12 to 6/1/13; and the F2A category moved from 3/22/13 to 4/15/13, except Mexico which moved from 1/1/13 to 2/22/13. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 12/5/14 with processing dates as of 10/31/14.

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)

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.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2015 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (11/28/14); 12,786 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,344 are pending for a total of 15,130.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2015 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (11/28/14); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 0 are pending for a total of 0.

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