OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

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USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (33,000) for the second half of FY 2020. February 18, 2020 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before October 1, 2019. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determined that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the second half of FY2019, for a total of 66,000 for the year.

USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after February 18, 2020 and that request an employment start date before October 1, 2020, but there are some exceptions!

The exceptions are listed below:

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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 “Computer Programmer.”

Upon evaluating an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO denied the Labor Application because the Employer ran its recruitment advertising in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, as he believed it was not the newspaper of general circulation for Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was located in Bentonville, AR and the newspaper was headquartered in Little Rock, AR. He believed that the Arkansas Democrat Gazette would not bring replies from available US workers in the area of intended employment.

The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In the argument, the Employer declared that “The Arkansas Democrat Gazette is most likely to bring responses from available US workers because it is the most widely circulated newspaper in Bentonville and the most widely circulated Sunday newspaper in all of Arkansas.” They submitted several pieces of evidence to back up their claims including circulation numbers from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Mondo Times website. One of these documents stated there is no other newspaper in Bentonville, AR.

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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 (AP)

If my Advance Parole is about to expire and I don’t plan to travel outside of the US within the next year, do I have to renew it?

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Reminder:

USCIS has announced that they will open their initial registration time period for H-1B cap-subject petitioners for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) from Sunday, March 1, 2020 to Friday, March 20, 2020.

  • During this timeframe, H-1B cap-subject petitioners, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, seeking to file a FY 2021 H-1B cap petition will be required to first register electronically with USCIS and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each submission.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that they will not use pre-paid mailers to send out any communication or final notices for fiscal year 2021 (FY 2021) cap-subject H-1B petitions. This will also include petitioners being considered for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS has fully automated approval notices using USPS first-class mail for this selection process.

For additional important information please review the USCIS News Alert, “Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B Cap Pre-Paid Mailer Suspension”.

Source of Information:

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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, February 28, 2020. Act now and submit your questions!

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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 2020 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (2/10/20). (Cap Reached for 1st half of FY 2020)

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2020 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (2/10/20); 7,770 beneficiaries have been approved and 13,456 are pending for a total of 21,226.

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The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the March 2020 Visa Bulletin

The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).

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Reminder:

USCIS has announced that they will open their initial registration time period for H-1B cap-subject petitioners for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) from Sunday, March 1, 2020 to Friday, March 20, 2020.

  • During this timeframe, H-1B cap-subject petitioners, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, seeking to file a FY 2021 H-1B cap petition will be required to first register electronically with USCIS and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each submission.
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