H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

August 18, 2014

BALCA on Single Advertisements for Multiple Jobs Opportunities

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 “Marketing Manager.”

Upon evaluating an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO ordered the Employer to present copies of its recruitment efforts. The Employer provided a copy of its notice of filing, job order with the Washington State Workforce Agency (SWA), as well as newspaper ads placed in the Seattle Times. In addition, they submitted a copy of the company’s recruitment report.

After reviewing the recruitment data, the CO denied Certification because he believed it violated PERM regulation 20 CFR 656.17(f)(6), which provides that additional language not found on the ETA Form 9089 exceeds the job requirements for the position. The CO stated the Employer’s Notice of Filing (NOF), SWA job order, newspaper advertisements and web advertisements all listed “may require employer-reimbursed travel.” The phrase was not listed on the Employer’s 9089 form.

August 15, 2014

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, August 15, 2014

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 – Advance Parole

What are the documents required to file for Advance Parole?

August 14, 2014

USCIS Stakeholder Teleconference with Director León Rodríguez – 8/14/14

by Kellie N. Lego

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a stakeholder teleconference on Thursday, August 14, 2014 between 1:30 to 2:30pm (EST). The subject of the event will be a “Dialogue with USCIS Director León Rodríguez” and will include his introduction and a Q&A session. León Rodríguez was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June and sworn in on July 9, 2014, as the new director of USCIS. For more information on this teleconference please review the Meeting Invitation.

Event Information:

DATE: Thursday, August 14, 2014 TIME: 1:30 – 2:30 pm (EST)

August 13, 2014

Visa Bulletin – September 2014

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the September 2014 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the September 2014 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India moving from 1/22/09 to 5/1/09; the EB3 date for nationals from India remains at 11/8/03; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals remains at 10/8/09; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals remains at 11/1/08; and EB3 for WW remains at 4/1/11; and the F2A category moved from 5/1/12 to 1/1/13, except Mexico which moved from 3/15/11 to 4/22/12. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

August 12, 2014

Updated Service Center Processing Times

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/7/14 with processing dates as of 6/30/14.

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)

August 11, 2014

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, August 15, 2014

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, August 15, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

August 8, 2014

A Korean Language Conversation with USCIS on DACA

by Kellie N. Lego

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be a holding a free Korean language community event in Queens, NY and via Teleconference on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 between 7:30 to 9:00pm (EST). The subject of the event will be on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and will include updates and a Q&A. You may submit questions on DACA in advance using Twitter @USCIS or during the event using the email address OPE-Live@uscis.dhs.gov. For more information on this subject please review the links below to the meeting invitations, in both English and Korean.

Event Information:

DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 TIME: 7:30 – 9:00 pm (EST)

August 7, 2014

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times – 8/1/14

by Kellie N. Lego

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 8/1/14.

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

Administrative Appeals Office

August 6, 2014

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 7/25/14

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.

The H-2B cap limit for the second half of FY 2014 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (7/25/14); 25,093 beneficiaries have been approved and 907 are pending for a total of 26,000.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2015 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (7/25/14); 1,004 beneficiaries have been approved and 301 are pending for a total of 1,305.

August 5, 2014

Excerpt from MVP Law Group’s July 2014 Immigration Newsletter

by Kellie N. Lego

This is an excerpt from MVP Law Group’s July 2014 Immigration Newsletter, our Managing Attorney, Kellie Lego‘s monthly greeting/commentary.

I recently attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) annual conference in Boston, MA from June 18 – June 21 attended by over 3,000 Immigration Attorneys across the U.S. In our July 2013 newsletter (my report following last year’s annual conference), I was delighted to be able to report on the status of DACA filings and the Supreme Court of the United States ruling where they declared Section 3 of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. At that time, huge strides were being made in the Immigration realm. As I write this newsletter greeting a year later, I am appalled by our Congressional Representatives failure to act.

On June 27, 2013, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) was passed by the U.S. Senate. Although the legislation is not perfect, it is a compromise, a compromise that is long overdue and very much needed. To date, the House has not acted on CIR nor do they intend to do so. If anything, they have stated that they will create their own immigration reform through piecemeal legislation, focusing on border enforcement first…yet, with the recent unaccompanied minor crisis at our Southern Border, they still have failed to act.