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Welcome to the ImmInfo Blog
The latest immigration news and updates. Subscribe for immediate notification of updates.
Visit our main site at www.imminfo.com to read comprehensive information concerning all immigration subjects. |
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Featured Articles !
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The articles have moved
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| We have moved the new articles to the new consolidiated, Immigration Information forum site. To read new articles, please go to http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/content/ |
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Upgrading to EB2 – what happens to the old petition?
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| As green card applicants evaluate the EB3 wait times and consider whether they should upgrade to EB2, many ask “what will happen to my old (EB3) petition?” The answer is, in most cases, nothing. A pending adjustment of status application, based on an EB3 petition, will continue to be processed by the USCIS if the applicant subsequently files a new application based on an EB2 petition. |
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Active Monitoring Pending AOS Applications – Why it is Essential
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| As a result of the 2007 “filing rush” and subsequent retrogression of visa cutoff dates, a large number of individuals find themselves sitting and waiting for action on their adjustment of status applications. Depending upon the USCIS to “do the right thing” is worse that futile, it can be outright dangerous. For this reason, it is imperative that applicants closely monitor the pending AOS cases. |
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Required supporting documents: Experience letters
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| For more than the past year, the USCIS has been requiring strict adherence to their regulatory requirements concerning certain types of supporting documents. We expect this practice to continue and expand to encompass all types of required supporting evidence. This article is the first in a series dealing with the technical requirements for supporting documents filed in connection with immigration petitions and application. This initial article deals with experience letters. |
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The new DOL prevailing wage request/determination system
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| Effective January 1, 2010 the Department of Labor is going over to a new system for determining prevailing wages for PERM and H1B purposes. No longer will individual state workforce agencies provide this information. As of the first of the year, everything will be consolidated into the DOL’s national office in Washington, D.C. |
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Adding the USCIS and NVC backlog numbers
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| In September, the USCIS released a partial accounting of their pending adjustment of status inventory. The numbers released represented between two-thirds and three-fourths of their overall backlog and showed the following: |
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EB2 Requirements
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| With more and more prospective immigrants considering upgrading from EB3 to EB2, it is worth taking a moment to review the legal requirements for EB2 classification. Initially, we must keep in mind that there are alternative qualifications. That is, a petition can qualify under the “advance degree” or “exceptional ability” standards. I mention this because there are a small number of people without advanced degrees who can, in fact, qualify under the exceptional ability standard. I do not plan to discuss the exceptional ability standard in this article, but will do so in a subsequent article. For anyone interested in finding more information, go to 8 CFR 204.5(k) for the specific criteria required. |
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AOS Processing – The Reality
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| he widely held myth of adjustment of status processing is that the USCIS will promptly and efficiently process your case to completion, provided an immigrant visa is available for your preference category and country of chargeability. Unfortunately, this is a myth. The reality is quite different. |
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The FY2010 H1B quota – how long will it last?
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| After many months of little or no movement, we are at last seeing an increasing number of new H1B petitions accepted by the USCIS under the fiscal year 2010 quota. As of November 17th, the USCIS reported that they had received approximately 55,600 petitions. |
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Just how bad is the backlog?
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| Following the release by the USCIS of their backlog statistics in September, many prospective immigrants began to reevaluate the idea of upgrading to higher preference classifications. Central to any such decision is the answer to the question “How long do I have to wait if I remain in my present classification?” The purpose of this article is to help applicants try and determine just how long that wait will be. |
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Consular processing: How does it work?
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| Foreign nationals have two paths to lawful permanent residency, or ”green card” status: adjustment of status and overseas consular processing. Approximately 85% of all employment based immigrants elect the adjustment of status path. This involves filing an application for immigrant status while remaining entirely within the United States. These applications are processed entirely by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau. The remaining 15% of employment based applicants elect the overseas consular processing path. |
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Issues dealing with "company lawyers"
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| Many employment based applicants find themselves in a very difficult position as a result of being represented by an attorney hired and paid by their employer. In theory, the employer is the attorney’s client and the employee is what is known as a “third party beneficiary” of the attorney’s services. In such cases, the attorney’s duty to the employee is minimal at best. |
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Substituting a new I-140 into an existing I-485 file
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| In a memorandum issued May 9, 2000 the former INS asked “Can the adjustment application, balled on an approved immigrant petition (either 1130 or 1-140) with a current priority date, be transferred to a subsequent immigrant petition that is approved with a current priority date?” The answer provided was “In many instances, the answer is yes.” |
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Foreign degree equivalency evaluations
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| In a previous article, we explained why the USCIS does not consider a three year bachelor’s degree to be the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. In this article, we will examine how relevant experience can be evaluated as the equivalent of a degree. |
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Three year bachelor’s degrees
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| Many colleges and universities outside the United States have three year bachelor’s degree programs, particularly those in the U.K. and the British Commonwealth. The principal difference between a three year and four year bachelor’s program is one year of general education, or “breadth” courses. |
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EB3 to EB2 upgrade issues
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| In recent issues of the ImmInfo Newsletter, we have discussed upgrades from employment based third preference (EB3) to employment based second preference (EB2). The text of a recent article can be found by clicking here. To read more about how the USCIS defines the term “advanced degree” please read this article. This issue is important because many people misunderstand the EB2 requirements. |
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Trends for H-1b Consulting Companies and their employees - Oct. 15, 2009
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| Over the past year, we have seen a small evolution take place in regards to how the USCIS views consulting companies. This time last year and through the beginning of this year, we saw the USCIS take a very hard stance to towards consulting companies, specifically, the duration of H time for which they would approve an H. |
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Employment based visa availability for fiscal year 2010
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| Following the release of the CIS backlog statistics last month, many people have attempted to project Visa Bulletin cutoff date movement for the next year. Unfortunately, most who do this are working from incorrect assumptions and invalid or incomplete data. The problem that we all face is that the necessary data to make even semi-accurate projections simply isn’t available. |
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What duties do attorneys hired by employers owe employees?
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| Attorneys owe absolute duties of loyalty and confidentiality to their clients. Problems arise, however, when there is a conflict of interest. Such conflicts arise when attorneys have separate clients with conflicting interests. This situation very commonly arises when an attorney represents both an employer and employee. |
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Recent Articles !
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The October 1st myth
Published : October 22, 2009 | Author : Jim Gotcher | Rating : 
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| The USCIS is reporting that as of September 25th, 46,700 of the available 65,000 visas have been used, leaving 18,300 H-1b’s still available for FY 2010. We would like to note that this number has been steady and has only increased by about 2,000 since the May update. This movement, or lack thereof, can be attributed to both the slow economy and to the USCIS’ stricter interpretation of the regulations. |
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Inquires: When and How?
Published : October 21, 2009 | Author : Jim Gotcher | Rating : 
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| When a case has been pending for some time, everyone naturally wants to find out what's going on. There are a number of methods for learning about the current status of a pending matter. Some are useful, some are not. Some are counterproductive. |
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| Random Pick |
After many months of little or no movement, we are at last seeing an increasing number of new H1B petitions accepted by the USCIS under the fiscal year 2010 quota. As of November 17th, the USCIS reported that they had received approximately 55,600 petitions. |
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22
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63
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29121
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7
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