“This weekend, folks across the country are opening up the pool, firing up the grill, and taking a well-earned moment to relax. But Memorial Day is more than a three-day weekend. In town squares and national cemeteries, in public services and moments of quiet reflection, we will honor those who loved their country enough to sacrifice their own lives for it.”
– President Obama, Memorial Day 2012 at Arlington National Cemetery
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 have applied for H1B Visa for the year 2015 H1B CAP. After applying, I was notified by university people that there is a small clerical mistake in my MCA main certificate and the correction has been done. But the certificate I have send for H1B application is my old certificate which will be differing from my corrected certificate which is in my hand. Do you think it will create any issues?
The USCIS statistics on DACA cases for the second quarter of FY2014, from 1/1/14 to 3/31/14 show a total of 31,563 DACA requests accepted for processing, 28,876 biometric services appointments scheduled, 31,490 requests approved, and 4,452 requests have been denied.
This DACA Report includes data for FY2012, FY2013 and FY2014 (YTD). The USCIS statistics on DACA cases from 8/12/12 to 3/31/14 show a cumulative total of 642,685 DACA requests accepted for processing, 627,961 biometric services appointments scheduled, 553,197 requests approved, and 20,311 requests have been denied.
The cumulative data also shows the number of accepted and approved requests from the top countries of origin and the top states of residence. Mexico was the top county of origin with 493,669 received to date and 427,653 approved. California was the top state of residence with 183,497 received to date and 162,007 approved.
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.
Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 5/1/14.
If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
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, May 23, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!
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 “Indian Vegetarian Cook.”
After receiving and reviewing the Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit. He directed the Employer to present a signed notarized statement attesting to the sponsorship of the Alien. In addition, the CO requested answers to several questions concerning the position and the Foreign Worker. The Employer responded to the Audit request in a timely manner.
Once the CO received the audit materials, he denied certification of the application. The Employer did not provide the notarized statement that was requested in the Audit Notification Letter. The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. The Employer stated that “by signing and submitting the ETA Form 9089, it had attested it had a job opportunity available.” The CO re-affirmed his decision and stated that the Employer’s failure to send back a notarized letter with the Audit was a valid reason for denying certification. The CO forwarded the case to BALCA for review.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an announcement proposing two new rules aimed at attracting and retaining highly skilled workers. Comments on the proposed rules are due by July 11, 2014.
Rule #1 (Extend employment authorization to spouses of certain H-1B workers)
The first rule would grant employment authorization to the spouses of certain H-1B holders.
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 first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of March 14, 2014, the cap for the 1st half of FY 2014 was reached.
The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2014 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (5/2/14); 20,042 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,789 are pending for a total of 22,831.
One of the best ways of keeping current with the latest news and announcements from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is to follow them using a tablet or a smartphone. You can now follow USCIS on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook follow them at http://www.facebook.com/uscis and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@uscis. Their social media sites include official USCIS information and articles that they feel are relevant to U.S. immigration.
They often include more photos then on their official web site. I especially like their monthly posts showing photos of immigrants becoming naturalized U.S. citizens, called #newUScitizen.
Source of Information & related links:
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog