Archive for the ‘USCIS’ Category
H-1B’s a Little Over Half-Way Gone
As of August 24, 2010, the USCIS has received 33,900 regular H-1B cap petitions of the 65,000 slots available. There are 31,000 numbers left for this fiscal year. For the U.S. Master’s cap, the USCIS has received 12,600 of the 20,000 allotted, leaving 7,400 slots available.
The H-1B category is used by foreign nationals with a Bachelor’s or higher degree (or equivalent experience) in a specific specialty who will be working in a complex position requiring that degree. Each year, there is an annual quota for this category as discussed above. This quota (also known as, the “cap”) remains open and available for fiscal year 2011 (starting October 1, 2010).
Please contact our San Francisco immigration law office if you’d like assistance preparing and filing an H-1B petition.
Posted in Alerts, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
H-1B and L-1 Petition Fees Increase for Certain Employers
Effective immediately, petitioning employers with 50 or more employees in the U.S. and 50% or more of its workforce holding H-1B or L status (L-1A, L-1B and L-2) must submit additional fees for initial and change of employer petitions.
For H-1B petitions of either type, the petitioner must submit an additional $2000. For L-1A and L-1B petitions of either type, the petitioner must submit an additional $2250. These fee increases will remain in effect through September 30, 2014.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our immigration law office in San Francisco if you have questions about these fees.
Tags: H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, petition fee, Public Law 111-230, visa fee
Posted in Alerts, H-1B, Nonimmigrant Visas, Politics/Current Events, USCIS | Read More »
Do I need a re-entry permit to enter the U.S.?
Re-entry permits are required for lawful permanent residents (“green card holders”) who intend to be outside the U.S. for 1 year or more but who want to preserve their immigrant status. This includes those traveling, working, and/or residing abroad. If a green card holder is going to be outside the U.S. for less than 1 year, a re-entry permit may not be required to maintain status.
Re-entry permits are generally granted for 2 years and cannot be extended. However, a person with a re-entry permit may enter the U.S. before the expiration of the 2 years and apply for a new 2-year period. Applicants must apply for a re-entry permit while physically present in the U.S. Please note that the USCIS requires that biometrics be taken for these applications and it is best to complete the required biometrics before departing the U.S. If not, the USCIS may deny the application if the applicant does not complete the required biometrics in a timely fashion.
Even though a person holds a valid re-entry permit, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may still inquire about the person’s absence from the U.S. This is more common if the individual has been living abroad for several years. Please note that if a person stays outside the U.S. for 1 year or more without a re-entry permit, the DHS considers this an abandonment of the green card.
Please contact our San Francisco immigration law firm if you’d like assistance with a re-entry permit or have questions about the requirements or process.
Tags: abandonment, Form I-131, green card, lawful permanent residence, re-entry permit
Posted in FAQ Employment-Based Green Card, FAQ Marriage-Based Green Card, Immigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
USCIS Proposes Form for EB-5 Regional Center Applications
There is a new proposed form for submitting EB-5 regional center (RC) proposals. A regional center is defined as an economic unit, public or private, involved in the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment. Regional centers aggregate investments from foreign nationals seeking a green card in exchange for investing in the U.S. economy.
Currently, there is no specific form used for RC applications. The USCIS has proposed the new form, Form I-924, Application for Regional Center Under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, in hopes to clarify the filing requirements for RC designation and alleviate inconsistencies in RC applications. The new proposals will be sent to the California Service Center in Laguna Niguel, California.
The proposed filing fee for the Form I-924 is $6245 and a supplement (Supplement A) will be required to be submitted each year. This supplement provides the USCIS updates about the RC and addresses reporting requirements. RC re-designation will be required every five (5) years. Please note that any amendments that need to be made (for example, if there are changes to the investments being made) will also be submitted via Form I-924.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this new form. We will be posting again when there are updates to provide.
Tags: EB-5, Form I-924, investor, Regional Center, Supplement A
Posted in Immigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
USCIS Proposes Fee Waiver Form
For the first time ever, the USCIS has proposed a standardized fee waiver form, Form I-912 (Request for Individual Fee Waiver), that will provide relief to financially disadvantaged visa and green card applicants.
Highlights of the form include: standardizing the fee waiver request process and setting forth clear criteria for eligibility; providing clear evidentiary requirements and guidance on the application types for which a fee waiver can be requested; and allowing applicants to request a fee waiver for both the underlying visa/green card application and the fingerprint fee with just one form.
The USCIS is currently accepting comments on the form, so the form is not available yet. We will keep you posted on the availability of the form at a later date.
Tags: fee waiver, Form I-912, USCIS
Posted in Immigrant Visas, Nonimmigrant Visas, USCIS | Read More »
USCIS to Consider Accepting Pending Labor Condition Application for H-1B Filings
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman recently recommended that USCIS begin accepting H-1B applications with pending Labor Condition Applications, or LCA’s. Normally, the LCA, the document initially filed with Dept. of Labor (DOL) prior to submission of the H-1B petition , must be certified first. The certification process used to be instantaneous- as easy as a click of a mouse. But DOL, in its infinite wisdom, decided to scrap this system that worked so efficiently. In July of this year, DOL rolled out a new LCA process, and now each LCA is reviewed manually. Getting an LCA certified has now become a mini-nightmare in most cases, resulting sometimes in delays of several weeks and erroneous denials from DOL. The fact that we’ll now be able to file the H-1B petition without first needing to certify the LCA is somewhat of a positive development, although it does guarantee that USCIS will issue a request for the certified LCA before approving the petition, and they will likely use that as an opportunity to request other additional evidence.
Tags: DOL, H-1B, iCert, Labor Condition Application, LCA, LCA certification, USCIS, USCIS ombudsman
Posted in H-1B, USCIS | Read More »
Beware of Unannounced USCIS Site Visits
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is currently auditing the H-1B nonimmigrant program for fraud and is sending its Fraud Unit investigators into the “field” to collect data. As part of the audit procedures, these investigators are visiting H-1B employers (small and large) and interviewing authorized officials and human resources personnel. They are also speaking directly with H-1B employees. These site visits typically last 1 hour or less. H-1B employers may request that their immigration attorney be present, although it is in the USCIS’ discretion whether they agree to re-schedule the visit to accommodate this request. As an alternative, employers are permitted to have their immigration attorney present on the phone listening to the questions being asked. We strongly recommend that our clients contact our office immediately upon being visited so that we can ensure the USCIS is not overstepping its bounds in the investigation. Please see below for more tips and recommendations.
The USCIS’ questions for the employers relate to the number of employees overall, the number of H-1B employees, gross income, net income, and type of business, among others. Investigators are also requesting tours of the business premises, during which photographs are taken. Please note that it is the current position of the USCIS that investigators do not need a warrant to enter confidential/private areas in the office or facility. To date, this has not been challenged and thus remains the current practice. Please see below for tips about how to best handle site visits and these types of requests.
H-1B employees are asked different questions pertaining to their job title, job duties, salary, and work location. In some instances, investigators speak to the H-1B employee’s co-workers as well to identify any inconsistencies with the information provided by the employee. Please note that investigators have visited client sites as well as the principal place of business to speak to H-1B employees. We recommend that the H-1B employer inform any end-clients that these types of USCIS visits could occur and instruct them to contact the H-1B employer immediately if visited. The end-client should request that the H-1B employer either be present or be on the phone listening to the questions asked.
Although these site visits sound daunting, there are several things an H-1B employer can do to ensure they go as smoothly as possible:
Inform first-line personnel and staff that a site visit may occur and instruct them to welcome the investigator properly, showing cooperation
Meet with the investigator and ask for his/her name and contact information or his/her business card
Request that the employer’s immigration attorney be present
Consult with immigration counsel before answering any questions that you are unsure about
Take notes on what is being asked
Answer all questions honestly, reserving the right if necessary to answer later any questions that cannot be answered on the spot. Do not feel you have to respond to the questions when you are unsure of the answer. Simply tell the investigator that you need to look into it further before providing information.
On a tour of the facility, feel free to re-direct investigators away from confidential/private areas or, at a minimum, explain that as a standard practice photographs are not permitted in confidential/private areas of the company
Keep company records organized, especially records pertaining to any H-1B employees, so as to be able to show the investigator if asked
Accompany the investigator when he/she speaks to the H-1B employees and co-workers and take notes
In general, maintain a cooperative attitude throughout the process while at the same time asserting your rights
If you have any questions, concerns or comments about these site visits, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.
Tags: fraud unit, H-1B, H-1B employer, ICE, site visit, USCIS
Posted in USCIS | Read More »
USCIS Fee Hike?
The Associated Press just reported today that USCIS is considering raising its fees for immigration-related benefits due to a shortfall in revenue. Head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Alejandro Mayorkas was quoted in Los Angeles today saying that a fee hike could happen in the next two years. Is Mr. Mayorkas kidding? Instituting another fee hike would be incredible chutzpah on the agency’s part. It was only in 2007 when the last fee hike went into effect, raising the filing fees on some petitions nearly three-fold. We were told then that the increased revenue would improve “customer service” and speed up processing times. Not only did USCIS not deliver on those promises, but in the last two years, service has become even more abysmal, and the adjudicators appear to be as poorly trained as ever. I have an idea for Mr. Mayorkas: if you’re looking to cut operating costs, consider banning your adjudicators from issuing burdensome and nonsensical Requests for Evidence (RFE’s). More often than not, these RFE’s ask for evidence already submitted in the initial petition; or worse, they invent criteria for adjudication that have absolutely nothing to do with the regulations. These RFE’s are issued with alarming regularity. I’m willing to bet that putting an end to this practice would save the agency millions of dollars.
Tags: Alejandro Mayorkas, fee hike, immigration, request for evidence, RFE, USCIS
Posted in USCIS | Read More »
Updating of USCIS On-Line Case Status System
In conjunction with the launch of its new website on September 22, 2009, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has revamped its on-line case status system. To date, the on-line case status system has been, in our experience, less than 100% reliable. Despite registering all cases filed in our office for email updates, there are always cases that receive no case updates by email. We certainly hope that the revamped case status update system will be more reliable, but readers are cautioned not to rely on this system exclusively.
Tags: case status, immigration, USCIS, website
Posted in USCIS | Read More »
