Month: April 2013

Our office will be closed on Friday April 19, 2013 due to security concerns in the area.  We will reopen on Monday April 22, 2013.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

According to an article on news.yahoo.com:  “A bipartisan group of eight senators on Tuesday unveiled an outline of legislation to revamp immigration policy for the first time since 1986.”

As many “in the know” have described it, this is a bill that leaves all stakeholders with something to be unhappy about.  There are no easy solutions to fixing the nation’s broken immigration system so it is probably best to not complain without offering a constructive alternative to all of the components addressed in this sweeping bill.  Although nobody will be 100% satisfied, as the late Senator Ted Kennedy, a great proponent of immigration reform once said:  “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

According to a USCIS News Release:  “The Boston Field Office, located in the John F. Kennedy Federal Building, will be OPEN on Tuesday, 4/16.  All visitors will be screened by security.  Please allow extra time for these security measures and arrive early for your appointment.”

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

According to a USCIS News Release:  “For the first time since 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2014 within the first week of the filing period. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.”

Please visit our firm’s websites www.immigrantconnect.com and at www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

According to a USCIS News Release :  “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2014. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. After today, USCIS will not accept H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2014 cap or the advanced degree exemption.”

Please visit our firm’s websites www.immigrantconnect.com and at www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

According to an article on indiatimes.com:  “The US received nearly 50,000 packages of H-1B visa applications on the very first day, which is reflective of the sudden surge in demand of the country’s most sought after work visas.”

If true, this would indicate that the cap is likely to be exhausted this week or in the very near future.  Remember, cap-subject visas that were received on April 1st have the same chance of being accepted for processing as those that are received on April 5th, if the lottery is triggered.  Official numbers from the USCIS will likely be released next week but until then, stakeholders will use various alternative sources to determine whether the cap will be triggered such as FedEx and UPS packages received as well as reports from high- volume petitioners and immigration law firms.

Please visit our firm’s websites www.immigrantconnect.com and at www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

 

According to a USCIS News Release:  “Effective March 22, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily suspending adjudication of most Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural workers while the government considers appropriate action in response to the Court order entered March 21, 2013 in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al v. Solis, 2:09-cv-00240-LDD (E.D. Pa).  That order granted a permanent injunction against the operation of the portion of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2008 wage rule related to certain prevailing wage determinations and gave DOL 30 days to come into compliance with the Court order.”

Please visit our firm’s websites www.immigrantconnect.com and at www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

For the past few weeks, our office as well as other immigration firms have been working at a frantic pace to get cap-subject H-1B petitions filed this week.  For FY-2014, as in past years, there will be 65,000 Cap cases and 20,000 US Master Cap cases that will be accepted for adjudication by the USCIS.

In March, the USCIS announced that it expected H-1B demand to be high this year.  Whether the USCIS announcement caused an artificially high demand or the government was correct in its prediction is hard to say.  However, from what we and other immigration practitioners have been experiencing, the cap will likely be exhausted either this week or within the next couple of weeks.

If the cap is reached this week, the USCIS will hold a lottery to determine which cases it will accept.  All cases submitted between April 1 and April 5, 2013 will have the same chance of being selected for adjudication.

If an H-1B was filed on your behalf and it is accepted, the filing fee checks will be processed and adjudication will begin.  If your case is not selected, it will be rejected and the entire package, including filing fee checks will be returned to the petitioner or the attorney of record.

It is unfortunate that a lottery may be necessary for US employers to hire the workers they need and one would hope that pending immigration reform proposals would address this issue.  But for now, as Jay, the clerk at my local gas station says when I buy a Powerball ticket, “good luck!”

Please visit our firm’s websites www.immigrantconnect.com and at www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!