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Immigration Law Updates
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Written by WSM
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October 07, 2011 |
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The November Visa Bulletin shows significant movement in the EB 2 preference category, with both India and China making great strides, while EB3 preference makes little progress. EB1 - all still current EB2 All others - still current
China –advances 3 ½ months to November 1, 2007
India – advances 3 ½ months to November 1, 2007
Mexico – still current
Philippines – still current EB3
All others –advances 3 weeks to December 22, 2005
China –advances 2 weeks to August 22, 2004
India – advances 7 days to July 22, 2002
Mexico – advances 2 weeks to December 22, 2005
Philippines –advances 2 weeks to December 22, 2005 |
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USCIS to Mail Form I-797 Approvals Directly to Petitioners, Not Attorneys |
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Immigration Law Updates
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Written by WSM
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October 04, 2011 |
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The USCIS has changed its previous policy of mailing original Form I-797 receipt and approval notices to attorneys. Without advance notice, the USCIS on September 12, 2011 began mailing the Form I-797 for all types of applications and petitions including H-1Bs, I-140s, and I-485s directly to the applicant’s or petitioning company’s address, even when a Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, is included. Later that month the USCIS issued a memorandum to stakeholders advising of the change and indicating that it had considered a temporary suspension of the new policy, most likely in response to criticism that stakeholders were given no advance notice. The memo stated, however, that a temporary suspension would be impractical “due to the estimated four-to-six-week delay associated with the required systems adjustments.” The USCIS instituted this change in policy to ensure that employers and applicants would receive original notices.
Petitioners may choose to provide the attorney’s address in lieu of their business location on the USCIS forms, though the USCIS memo advises that this could cause a delay in processing. The memo also suggests that if an attorney address is used, the petitioner should include a cover letter that clearly indicates the address of the business so that a manual check in the Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) system can be conducted to confirm a company’s location. Petitions filed through Premium Processing may provide an alternate address for mailing original approval notices if a pre-paid, self-addressed mailer is included. If you have questions about this new USCIS policy, please contact WSM. |
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DV Lottery starts October 4 |
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Immigration Law Updates
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Written by WSM
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September 20, 2011 |
The U.S. Department of State is launching its annual Diversity Immigrant (DV-2013) Visa Lottery in two weeks. Nationals of certain countries with historically low numbers of immigrants to the U.S. are eligible to enter. DV lottery winners may be eligible to process for lawful permanent residence. If your employees are interested in obtaining more information regarding this program, they can visit the Department of State's website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/. Applications for the program will be accepted beginning October 4, 2011 and ending November 5, 2011 but the DOS encourages applicants to apply early.
Foreign nationals born in the following countries are not generally eligible for the DV Lottery, with very limited exceptions:
BANGLADESH, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM.
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. |
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USCIS to Halt Approving EB I-485s Until October 1 |
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Immigration Law Updates
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Written by WSM
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September 15, 2011 |
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The Department of State issued a cable on September 15, 2011 instructing USCIS offices to temporarily halt approvals for all I-485 Adjustment of Status employment-based preference categories for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 (ending September 30, 2011) because the visa quota has been met. Beginning October 1, 2001 new visa numbers will become available and processing can resume for adjustment of status cases with priority dates that are current according to the October Visa Bulletin. Although the September Visa Bulletin projected availability of visa numbers throughout the month, numbers ran out sooner because USCIS approved an extremely large amount of adjustment applications in early August.
Note, however, that the USCIS will continue to accept I-485s from applicants with a current priority date, although none will be approved until after October 1.
Family based I-485s are not affected.
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