• Visa Bulletin:  The State Department’s recently issued visa bulletin for September 2009 shows significant forward movement for the second month in a row in the Employment-Based second preference category for Chinese and Indian nationals.  The EB-2 classification for these individuals advanced to January 8, 2005, a jump of one year and three months over last month’s bulletin.  The Employment-Based first preference category remains “Current” for all nationalities while, unfortunately, the Employment-Based third preference category continues to be “Unavailable.”   As October marks the beginning of the government’s fiscal year, we may have additional changes to report next month. 

USCIS Announces H-1B Numbers Still Available

• About 20,000 Fiscal Year H-1B visas remain available. The government recently related that as of July 10, 2009, it has received approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions counted towards the H-1B quota of 65,000. Approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption have been filed. USCIS relates it will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions.

• The Majority of I-140 Petitions May Now Be Filed by Premium Processing

Starting today, June 29, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has restored Premium Processing for most I-140 Employment Based Immigrant Visa Petitions. The USCIS will also provide petitioners who file Premium Processing cases specific contact information including a dedicated phone number and e-mail address to enable efficient communication on the case matter. Employees may pay for the $1000 Premium Processing filing fee. The USCIS currently processes I-140 visa petitions in about 4-10 months.

We applaud Partner Kirsten Schlenger's leadership role with the Legal Action Center (LAC) of the American Immigration Law Foundation. Most recently, LAC's advocacy efforts resulted in Attorney General Holder’s decision to restore and protect the right to counsel in immigration proceedings by withdrawing the former Attorney General’s decision in Matter of Compean. This case held that there was no right to effective legal representation in Immigration Court proceedings. The LAC played a significant role in bringing about this reversal through its detailed brief submitted to the Attorney General.