H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

July 21, 2014

Leon Rodriguez Sworn in as USCIS Director

On Wednesday, July 9, 2014, Leon Rodriguez was sworn in as the next Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS is a federal government agency with nearly 18,000 employees. They are responsible for administering the country’s immigration and naturalization system. USCIS is under the control of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Director Rodriguez stated, “Our role in administering our nation’s immigration and naturalization laws has never been more important. I look forward to working with the entire USCIS family, including our partners and constituents, to ensure that our mission is carried out with fairness and integrity.”

Director Rodriguez previously served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2011 to 2014. For more detailed information on his background please review the link, “Background Experience/Significant Achievements”.

MVP Law Group would like to congratulate Director Rodriguez and wish him great success! USCIS has shown great innovation in improvement of customer service and the use of technology for data collection! We here at MVP Law Group hope that this culture of innovation continues and grows under the new Director’s leadership!

July 18, 2014

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, July 18, 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 – H1B Nonimmigrant Visa

I’ve been out of the US for over 6 months in Ghana working on an assignment for the company that sponsored my H1. The assignment ends this Friday and I’m scheduled to be back in the US this Sunday. Is there anything I need to do with my H1 before I leave Ghana?

July 17, 2014

BALCA Rejects CO’s Strict Specifications for Ad Copies

by Kellie N. Lego

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 “Home Health Care Aide”

After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification. He asked the employer to provide more information about their print advertising for the job.

The CO denied the application declaring that the Employer failed to deliver sufficient documentation for the mandatory print advertisements. The Employer did not provide copies of the advertisement that contained both the name of the newspaper as well as the date of publication, He cited the Employer was in violation of PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. 656.17(e)(1)(i)(B)(3) and 656.17(e)(2)(ii)(C).

July 16, 2014

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times – 7/1/14

by Kellie N. Lego

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 7/1/14.

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

Administrative Appeals Office

July 15, 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 7/8/14 with processing dates as of 5/31/14.

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)

July 14, 2014

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, July 18, 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, July 18, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

July 11, 2014

Visa Bulletin – August 2014

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the August 2014 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the August 2014 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India moving from 9/1/08 to 1/22/09; movement in EB3 date for nationals from India at 11/8/03; movement in EB2 for Chinese Nationals at 10/8/09; movement in EB3 for Chinese Nationals at 11/1/08; and EB3 for WW remains at 4/1/11; and the F2A category remains at 5/1/12, except Mexico at 3/15/11. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

July 10, 2014

President Obama Asks Congress for $3.7 Billion for Border Crisis

by Kellie N. Lego

President Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funds to deal with the current crisis of unaccompanied minors crossing the southwest border of the United States. These children are fleeing from Mexico (25%) and the Central American (75%) countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The list below is a breakdown of how the $3.7 billion in emergency funds would be spent by the federal government:

– $1.1 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement,

July 9, 2014

USCIS held over 100 Naturalization Ceremonies across the country from June 30 to July 4!

by Kellie N. Lego

From June 30th to July 4th, the USCIS held over 100 naturalization ceremonies across the U.S. to help celebrate the 4th of July holiday! Nearly 9000 new citizens were administered the Oath of Allegiance during these ceremonies. USCIS Acting Director Lori Scialabba stated, “We’re honored to celebrate Independence Day by welcoming new U.S. citizens at ceremonies across the United States.”

There are photos and remarks about the different ceremonies and the experiences of some of these new citizens on Twitter and other social media, just search hashtag #newUScitizen to find them.

Source of Information:

July 8, 2014

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 6/30/14

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 (6/30/14); 24,264 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,083 are pending for a total of 25,347.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2015 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (6/30/14); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 177 are pending for a total of 177.