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Revalidation
of Visas through the Department of State (12-17-2001) [Top]
A problem seems to have been identified in the the revalidation process
of the Visa Office. After the anthrax scare and when the Visa
Office re-opened its mailrooms, the Visa Office believed that all
deliveries had been made. However, last Friday, it soon became
apparent that approximately 300 applications in five (5) boxes were not
located. Since it takes about three days for the St. Louis
facility to intake the applications, it appears that the cases involved
were probably sent to St. Louis on October 17, 18, or 19, 2001.
The applications were then processed in St. Louis around October 22 and
23, 2001.
On October 25, 2001, everything in the Visa Office's mail rooms was
sequestered for decontamination. There is no evidence that such
decontamination is necessary, but the procedure is required.
Although the importance of the applications has been special emphasized,
the boxes are not accessible until they are decontaminated.
Applicants can consult the state website for announcements about this
issue (www.state.gov) and can call
the Public Inquiries line at (202) 663-1225 to check if their case is
among those cases impacted by this situation.
Mr. Bill Bent, the Chief of the Diplomatic Liaison Division of the
Department of State, will write and has already written letters for
applicants to take to their consulates in order to apply for new
passports in case they have immediate travel needs. Mr. Bent will
not consider issuing an applicant a visa unless the applicant can
demonstrate a genuine emergency (sickness or death of a family member,
for example). Otherwise, applicants will have to get their visas
overseas, if they cannot wait for the boxes to be decontaminated.
The requests for passport letters should be made through the Public
Inquiries Line.
Mr. Bent and his staff are presently working overtime on revalidation
cases and will continue to do so in order to deal with the
backlog. In addition, extra resources are expected to arrive
to assist with this situation. Notification will be issued by Mr.
Bent when the quarantined boxes have been decontaminated and released.
The U.S. Consulate in Cuaded Juarez, Mexico is willing, on a limited
basis, to help before December 25, 2001. If the travel need is
urgent and the person has a new passport with a copy of the entire
application submitted in the required format to the Visa Office for
revalidation, the U.S. Consulate will waive MINACS appointments (nvars
or 900 number) for applicants who are not foreign nationals of countries
that are currently being subject to SPR. The US. consulate in
Juarez would not expect many cases, but if they are to schedule the
person, they are requiring that the applicant contact this liaison
committee, at RevalHelpline@aila.org.
New
Requirements for Indian Visa Applicants (12-15-2001) [Top]
The Consulate General of the United States recently issued a notice to
all Indian visa applicants.
As of
January 1, 2002, ALL immigrant visa applicants over age 16 MUST present
Indian Police Certificates. Two certificates must be obtained as
follows: 1) a certificate from your local police station; 2) a
certificate from your Regional Passport Office.
For
security reasons, applicants are NOT permitted to carry sealed envelopes
into the Consulate, except for the medical report from the panel
physician. When you appear for your interview, please remove all
required documents from envelopes prior to entering the building. The
Medical Report SHOULD REMAIN SEALED.
Please read carefully the requirements regarding evidence of financial
support in the U.S. Please bring ALL required documents from the
petitioner and (if required) the joint sponsor on your FIRST visit.
AVOID THE EXPENSE AND INCONVENIENCE OF A SECOND TRIP TO THE CONSULATE.
NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE REGARDING SPONSORS' MINIMUM INCOME
REQUIREMENTS.
Visa
Processing Update (12-13-2001) [Top]
Confirmation has been received that SPECIAL PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS
(SPR) have been imposed on a number of foreign nationalities - This SPR
involves a 20-day security check for foreign nationals of the following
countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia,
Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Please note that
this list could change and that you should not rely on newspaper
articles for country-list accuracy, as some countries may be
inaccurately listed or inadvertently omitted.
As of
December 3, 2001, individuals from Third Countries may again schedule
appointments at Canadian posts and certain Mexican posts (Juarez,
Matamoros and Tijuana). The system still utilizes either
900-443-3131 or www.nvars.com to make
appointments. However, visa applicants are advised to wait five (5) business days
after scheduling an appointment at a U.S. Consulate before making
airline reservations or other travel plans. An applicant may be
contacted via phone or e-mail within this five (5) day window and be
advised that the appointment has been cancelled. Those not
contacted within this time frame have appointments. However,
if an applicant is subject to SPR, the appointment will be cancelled.
The
Visa Office has assigned additional personnel to the Revalidation Unit
(process of revalidation is described on the State web site at www.state.gov)
and is currently taking about 12 weeks to process a case. This time
frame does not apply to the list of 25 countries mentioned above.
For those people, an additional wait of 20 days is needed.
INS
Office Closure Information (12-11-2001) [Top]
President Bush has issued an
Executive Order declaring the closure of Federal government agencies on
Monday, December 24, 2001. Thus, the
San Francisco District Office, Fresno Sub Office, Sacramento Sub Office
as well as San Jose Sub Office will be closed December 24, 2001 and
December 25, 2001 and will re-open for business on Wednesday, December
26, 2001.
The San Francisco District Office
Information Room (444 Washington) will stop issuing tickets to the
public at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 and on Friday,
December 21, 2001.
The following Application Support
Centers (ASCs) will be closed Saturday, December 22, 2001 through
Tuesday, December 25, 2001: Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Oakland,
Salinas, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa. (These ASCs are
normally closed on Mondays.)
The Sacramento Application Support
Center will be closed Monday, December 24, 2001 and Tuesday, December
25, 2001. (This is the only ASC that is normally open from Monday
to Friday.)
Fingerprinting appointments are scheduled several
weeks in advance, so some applicants may have already received
appointment notices for December 22, 2001 or for December 24, 2001 (in
the Sacramento area). INS
Headquarters is in the process of sending out further instructions to
these applicants.
CSC Liaison Meeting on
December 4, 2001 (12-05-2001) [Top]
-
REQUEST
FOR EVIDENCE (RFE)
-
Because
of the backlog in the mailroom, there has been a delay to match
a response sent to the CSC in response to a Request for Evidence
to the appropriate file. However,
the CSC has indicated, that if no response is received 60 days
after submitting the response, a fax inquiry may be sent.
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ADJUSTMENT
APPLICATIONS (I-485)
-
Fax
inquiries may only be made on cases filed prior to 12-31-2000.
-
For
cases filed with Notice Dates after 05-01-2001, an inquiry on
the scheduling of fingerprints may only be made AFTER 01-31-2002
– even in cases, where one family member has not been
scheduled.
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EMPLOYMENT-BASED
IMMIGRANT VISA PETITIONS (I-140)
Advance
Parole Processing Update (11-29-2001) [Top]
Upon contacting the California Service Center, it has been learned that
Advance Parole Applications that have a Notice Date of September 1, 2001
are currently being processed. Thus, at present, the processing
time for Advance Parole Applications is approximately three months.
TCN
Processing at Vancouver Consulate (11-27-2001) [Top]
Jocelyne recently visited the American Consulate in Vancouver.
She was informed that events
and circumstances are constantly changing and that, unless it is an
emergency, it is suggested that individuals not keep
appointments. There is no
guarantee that an individual seeking a visa to enter the United States
will, in fact, be issued a visa. Further,
if a visa is not issued, it is unclear whether or not the individual who
was not issued the visa would be permitted to return to the United States.
TCN
Processing in Canada (11-27-2001) [Top]
The State Department (DOS) has advised that posts in Canada are canceling
only those existing appointments for third country nationals who would
be affected by the new clearance requirements, but that they are
honoring other existing appointments. DOS
has still not released a list of countries whose nationals are affected
by these requirements.
TCN
Processing at Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (11-27-2001) [Top]
The US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico will honor existing
appointments, even though it is not scheduling new appointments for
third country nationals. It is not clear whether other posts also will
honor existing appointments.
State
Department Suspends TCN Processing in Mexico and Canada (11-19-2001) [Top]
The Department of State (DOS) has temporarily suspended the ability for 3rd
country nationals (individuals who are not residents of Canada or Mexico) to
process their request for visas at the US Consulates and border posts. Currently
scheduled non-immigrant visa appointments are being cancelled.
Apparently, DOS is concerned that INS maybe changing
its
practices on the borders. This
appears to be a reference to readmission after a stay of less than 30
days in Canada or Mexico. DOS does not want to burden Canada and
Mexico with a large number of visa applicants whose cases are pending
background and security checks, but who may not be readmitted to the US.
Visa
Appointment System Warns of 20-Day Wait for Certain Applicants
(11-16-2001) [Top]
While the State Department continues to refuse to confirm press reports
that young males from Middle Eastern countries will face 20-day waits
for security checks before receiving a nonimmigrant visa, the following
message appears when individuals born in certain countries attempt to
make a visa appointment through the on-line Visa Appointment Reservation
System:
"Effective immediately, the State
Department has introduced a 20-day waiting period for men from certain
countries, ages 16-45, applying for visas into the United
States." The following countries of birth are among those for
whom this message appears: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Dijbouti,
Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,
Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
H-1B
Cap Status (11-07-2001) [Top]
The INS recently states that 163,200 H-1B Petitions were approved
against the 195,000 cap for Fiscal Year 2001. At the end of the
fiscal year, there were approximately 29,000 H-1B petitions pending that
if approved, would be recorded against the Fiscal Year 2002 cap of
195,000.
Documents
to Carry When Traveling Domestically in the US (11-06-2001) [Top]
As a result of the increased security at all airports within the United
States, non-U.S. Citizens and non-Permanent Residents should carry when
traveling domestically, the following documents: Passport,
Form I-94, current H-1B Approval Notice, Recent Paycheck, Letter from
Employer Verifying Employment and, if a Permanent Residence Application
(I-485) has been filed, the Receipt for filing the I-485.
EDD
and DOL Processing Update (10-30-2001) [Top]
Upon contacting the Employment Development Department, that office
advised that Non-Waiver cases filed on March 26, 2001 are being "pulled
off the shelf for review." That date has not changed for a
number of months. EDD
and DOL Processing Update (10-26-2001) [Top]
Upon contacting the Employment Development Department, that office
advised that Reduction in Recruitment (Waiver) cases filed on May 3, 2001 are being "pulled
off the shelf for review." It is therefore taking approximately six (6)
months to pull a file for review. Once a file is pulled, it takes
about one more month to review the case at the Employment Development
Department.
Effective
Lay Offs on H-1B Status (10-19-2001)
[Top]
The following were two questions recently raised to the Nebraska Service Center concerning the effect of
layoffs on H-1B status and the definition of "extraordinary"
circumstances (bolded are the questions, italics are NSC's
response):
"Please comment on the following
scenario:
An H-1B nonimmigrant worker is laid-off from his/her job. The lay-off
occurs with no or little notice. Since the H-1B worker is no longer
working for the company that petitioned for him/her, the H-1B worker
is out of status. The H-1B worker immediately begins looking for
another job. The H-1B worker keeps records of all efforts to find
another job. He/she owns a home, a car, has children in school, bank
accounts in the U.S., etc. Another U.S. company extends an offer of
employment to the H-1B worker within weeks of the H-1B worker's
lay-off. The new company files an I-129 petition on the worker's
behalf and request an extension of his/her H-1B status. The petition
explains - and documents with letters, affidavits, and other evidence
- the circumstances causing the H-1B worker and his/ her family to
fall out of status. The new U.S. company files its petition within 30
or so days of the employee's lay-off. The H-1B worker is not in
proceedings nor has he/she otherwise violated his/her status. He/she
remains a bona fide nonimmigrant in that he/she has an offer of
temporary employment. The NSC approves the petition but denies the
extension of stay with no explanation beyond the fact that the H-1B
worker was out of status at the time of filing. The H-1B worker and
his/her family are forced to return to their home country to apply for
H-1B/H-4 visas, or, at the very least, travel abroad and travel back
to the U.S. to be readmitted."
"While the Service is sympathetic to the circumstances
mentioned in your example, the fact remains that the beneficiary is
out of status. The petition is filed by the petitioner, and as such
when they terminate employment, the beneficiary is out of status.
While termination is certainly beyond the control of the beneficiary,
we do not believe that mere termination of employment, by itself,
rises to the level of extraordinary for a temporary worker. The
regulations cited, indicate that such incidents MAY be excused in the
discretion of the Service, however does not mandate such use of
discretion. The NSC has excused brief periods of time in the past,
however each situation is handled on a case by case basis. Generally
speaking, 30 days as outlined in the situation described above, would
be considered a significant break in status."
"What are some examples of circumstances the NSC would
consider to be "extraordinary" such that the Service
would exercise its discretion under 8 CFR 214.1(c)(4)
and grant an extension to a laid-off H-1B worker? One INS official
recently indicated to our office that the only circumstance the NSC
would consider "extraordinary" would be a one or two
day delay in mailing. How is being laid-off not extraordinary? Is not
being laid-off "beyond the control of the applicant or (and)
petitioner?" It seems to AILA members who practice before
then NSC and the other Service Centers that the NSC in particular
ignores 8 CFR 214.1(c)(4) and routinely denies such
cases. Given the existence of 8 CFR 214.1(c)(4), what is
the rationale in denying these extensions under these circumstances?
The NSC's attitude seems unnecessarily harsh when compared with the
manner in which the other Service Center exercise their discretion in
similar cases."
"The Service has not defined "extraordinary."
The NSC would agree that being "laid-off" is beyond
the control of the beneficiary. However, the NSC disagrees that being
"laid-off", by itself, is extraordinary for a
temporary worker. Dismissals and "lay-offs" are not
new. In fact by definition a temporary worker is providing his/her
service for a limited duration.
The NSC believes that if "lay-offs" were intended to
rise to the level of extraordinary, then the regulations would have
been written to clearly establish an exception for such occurrences.
The NSC will not issue a blanket forgiveness of status violations for
all laid-off temporary workers. The NSC will instead continue to
consider each case on its individual merits."
Fingerprint
Notice Updates (10-18-2001) [Top]
On September 28, 2001, a new National Scheduler system began fingerprint
scheduling for individuals who submitted an I-485 application on or
after May 1, 2001. INS has requested that individuals allow 120
days from September 28, 2001 before making an inquiry on fingerprint scheduling.
Families
of Victims of Terrorists Attacks (10-16-2001) [Top]
Mr. James W. Ziglar, Commissioner of the INS, has announced that
families of victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon whose immigrant or non-immigrant status was dependent
on the victim’s status should not be concerned about facing immediate
removal from the United States. The Commissioner stated, “The INS
will exercise its discretion in a compassionate way toward families of
victims during this time of mourning and readjustment. On September 19,
we began to advise our offices to exercise compassionate discretion in
these circumstances."
Tetanus
Vaccination Waiver (10-12-2001) [Top]
INS has recently stated that the automatic waiver from the necessity for
tetanus vaccinations for the Permanent Residence process will continue
until March 30, 2002. The automatic waiver for flu vaccines has
not bee extended.
Tetanus
Vaccination Waiver (10-01-2001) [Top]
INS has stated that a proposal to extend the blanket waiver based on the
unavailability of the tetanus vaccine beyond September 30, 2001 has been
brought forth, but has not yet been approved. Premium
Procssing Statistics (10-01-2001) [Top]
INS has issued the number of Premium Processing Cases filed in June and
July at each Service Center. August numbers are not yet available:
| Service Center |
June |
July |
| CSC |
360 |
640 |
| NSC |
202 |
590 |
| TSC |
363 |
657 |
| VSC |
547 |
914 |
DOL
and EDD Liaison Meeting on September 25, 2001 (09-25-2001) [Top]
Information
on Visas to Mexico (09-19-2001)
[Top]
In cooperation with the U.S., the Mexican Government will not issue visas to enter Mexico for certain nationalities without a prior check conducted by the Gobernacion (Mexican INS) office in Mexico City.
This policy can slow processing by 30 days or more. The policy
also applies to U.S. legal Permanent Residents. Before making a nonimmigrant third country national appointment for a
U.S. post in Mexico or before going to a third country national immigrant visa appointment, please check with the Mexican consulate regarding the policy.
The policy is temporary, but the longevity is unknown.
Department
of State Says No Changes in Visa Procedures (09-19-2001)
[Top]
The Visa Office of the U.S. Department of State has advised AILA's State Department liaison committee that it has not changed visa procedures, and that virtually all posts are open for full consular services.
It was indicated that some posts have reported a decrease in interest in going to the
U.S.
Minutes
of the CSC Liaison Meeting held on September 10, 2001 [Top]
-
Receipt
Notices:
INS hopes to become current with the issuance of receipts by October
14, 2001.
-
Request for Evidence: During
the next 30 days, INS will be focusing on adjudicating cases which
been pending due to the issuance of a Request For Evidence and a
response has been received by the INS.
Thus, the processing of new applications/petitions
(especially I-140s) may be delayed until these Requests for Evidence
have been adjudicated.
-
Annual Audit:
Again this year, the INS will be conducting its year end
audit, during which time files will not be moved.
This audit is scheduled to begin September 14, 2001 and end
October 5, 2001. During
this time, no files will move within the Service Center.
However, adjudicators should have cases at their desks to
process, but no approval notices are likely to be sent out nor will
the computer be updated. The exception to this will be the continued processing of
cases filed under Premium Processing.
-
Just-In-Time Report:
Inquiries can only be made based on the NOTICE date not the receipt
date.
-
Adjustment
Applications: The
INS confirmed that the delay with inputting cases into the system
and thus the issuance of receipts – will delay the ability to
inquiry on fingerprint notices.
An inquiry can only be made once 120 days have elapsed from
the Notice date indicated on the receipt not the receipt date.
CSC had a goal to complete 28,000 adjustment applications
during the fiscal year October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001; in fact,
they have to date completed 33,000 cases.
Following the audit to be conducted at the end of September, it
is hoped to confirm how many adjustment applications remain pending -
there is a “guess estimate” that there may be 29,000 pending cases.
CSC has also confirmed a new policy that they will keep
family adjustment packets together; thus should one family member’s
case be delayed, for example due to a fingerprint issue, the whole
family will remain together and the cases will only be adjudicated as a
unit and not individually.
If
an EAD card is returned to the Service Center because the applicant has
moved, the card will be kept at the Center for 6 months.
However, it was left unclear as to how long, if at all, an
Advance Parole Document would be kept.
It appears that it will likely be destroyed soon after it is
returned to the Service Center and thus to obtain another, a new
Application will need to be filed.
Fax
Inquiries Based on NOTICE Dates (08-30-2001)
[Top]
INS has recently advised that fax inquiries must be based on the NOTICE
Date of the application and not the Receipt Date. An example
follows: A
Permanent Residence Application was sent by overnight courier to the INS
on April 12, 2001. INS received the application on April 13,
2001. However, INS did not input the application into the system
until June 15, 2001. The Receipt Date is April 13, 2001 and the
Notice Date is June 15, 2001. An inquiry cannot be faxed to the
INS regarding fingerprints until October 15, 2001, which is 120 from the
Notice Date.
Traveling
While Change of Status for non-Immigrant Visa is Pending (08-23-2001)
[Top]
INS has recently stated
that an individual who travels outside the U.S.
after a change of status for a non-immigrant classification (does not
apply for I-485) has been filed but before the request
is adjudicated is considered to have abandoned the request and informs
the field that such requests should be denied.
Lottery
2002 (08-23-2001) [Top]
The Department of State has recently announced that mail-in period for
the 2002 Lottery will be held between October 1, 2001 and October 31,
2001. For more information, click on the following link: Lottery
2002 Information.
Fingerprint
Notice Updates (07-16-2001)
[Top]
This office has not received fingerprint notices for Adjustment
Applications since March 2001. Apparently, in the past week,
fingerprint notices have been received by some clients, although my
office has not received the notice. Note: if cases
filed prior to March do not receive a fingerprint notice in the next
month, i.e. by August 16, 2001, a fax inquiry will be sent to INS.
H-1B
Cap Status (06-08-2001) [Top]
As of May 23, 2001, the INS reported that approximately 117,000 H-1B
visa petitions have been approved against the 195,000 limit for Fiscal Year
2001, which ends September 30, 2001. There are another 40,000
cap-subject H-1B visa petitions that are pending.
Premium
Processing Service for Employment-Based Petitions and Applications
(06-01-2001) [Top]
Beginning today, June 1, 2001, INS will begin its premium processing
program for employment-based petitions and applications. For an
additional $1,000 filing fee, INS will guarantee completion of the case
within 15 calendar days, unless a Request for Evidence is sent.
The program will initially include the following nonimmigrant visa
types: E-1, E-2, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3 and Q-1.
According to the INS Regulations published today, H-1B, TN and R
petitions and applications will be eligible for the premium
processing program beginning July 30, 2001.
Minutes
of the Liaison Meeting with DOL and EDD
(05-22-2001) [Top]
-
PROCESSING
TIMES AT DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL)
-
Reduction in Recruitment (RIR): same day
-
Limited Review Process (LRP): current
-
Non Waiver (Regular): October 1998 to January 1999
-
PROCESSING
TIMES AT EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (EDD)
-
The
number of cases currently pending is approximately 56,000.
-
Essentially processing has been suspended until all
the cases have been data entered.
Currently entering cases received 04-23-2001. Once all cases received on or before 04-29-2001 have been
data entered, the EDD will resume processing RIR cases. Oldest RIR case to be processed was filed 03-27-2001.
-
EDD received 24,899 cases on 04-30-2001.
As cases are being data entered, EDD is separating the
RIR cases from the NON RIR cases.
EDD hopes to resume processing RIR cases by mid June
2001. It is
estimated then that processing time for RIR cases will be 180
days.
-
EDD did not specify when processing of Regular cases will
resume but not likely until almost all cases have been data
entered including those received on 04-30-2001.
The recruitment shelf is suspended with cases put on it
as of 03-27-2001. Regular cases which were filed on or after 03-1-2001 have not
been reviewed.
-
LIMITED
REVIEW CASES
-
NEW
PERM PROGRAM AND CONVERSION OF REGULAR TO RIR
-
PREVAILING
WAGE DETERMINATIONS
H-1B
Cap Status (05-22-2001) [Top]
As of March 7, 2001, the INS reported that approximately 72,000 H-1B
petitions have been approved against the 195,000 limit for Fiscal Year
2001, which ends September 30, 2001.
CSC
Liaison Meeting Cancelled (05-10-2001) [Top]
The California Service Center has advised that the Liaison Meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, May 15, 2001 is cancelled and a new date has not
been set. This
meeting is unlikely to be scheduled for before July.
Labor
Certification Processing Times (05-07-2001) [Top]
The Employment Development Department (EDD) has advised that the processing
time for an Alien Labor Certification Application has lengthened
significantly due to the increase in the volume of cases
submitted. RIR cases will now take approximately 90 days, instead
of 15 to 30 days to be reviewed. Non-RIR cases will take approximately 6 months,
instead of 1 to 2 months to be reviewed.
H-1B
Cap Status (04-19-2001) [Top]
Presently, the INS does not have a count for the H-1B cap; however, it
is hoped that a count will be completed within the next several
weeks. Thereafter, INS plans to issue regularly a count.
H-1B
Cap Status (03-29-2001) [Top]
As of March 7, 2001, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
reported that approximately 72,000 H-1B workers have been approved
against the 195,000 limit for Fiscal Year 2001, which ends on September
30, 2001.
INS
Will NOT "Let Things Slide" (03-26-2001) [Top]
INS has repudiated a widely-distributed story in Wired News that quoted
INS sources as saying that the INS is "going to let things
slide" for laid off H-1B workers and allow them to change jobs
"without leaving the country, even if they have been unemployed for
a while." INS has indicated that it maintains its long-held
view that H-1B nonimmigrants who remain present in the U.S. after losing
their jobs and failing to file requests with INS to change status
are considered to be in violation of their status.
Employment-Based India and China Numbers to Move Forward (03-26-2001) [Top]
According to Charles Oppenheim of the State Department, Employment-Based
Second Preference numbers for India and China are to become current in
the near future, possibly as early as May or June. Employment-Based
Third Preference numbers for China and India are expected to advance an
average of about five months or more per month for China and about four
months per month for India. Mr. Oppenheim also indicated that
there is a possibility that Employment Based Third Preference numbers
for all nationalities will become current as early as October
2001. It should be noted, however, that unexpected spikes in
demand could change this outlook.
LCA Update
(02-07-2001) [Top]
The Department of Labor's LCA faxback system
returned to operation yesterday, February 6, 2001. According to
Dale Ziegler of the DOL, the only reported glitch in the faxback system
has been on rejection notices: rather than printing the reason for the
rejection, test codes were printed on the notices. The DOL believes,
however, that it has now re-sent all notices that contained the problem.
LCA Update
(01-11-2001) [Top]
The Department of Labor will be retooling its computers starting January
19, 2001 - thus, no Labor Condition Applications (LCA) will be processed
between January 19, 2001 and February 5, 2001. It is hoped
that all LCAs filed by January 17, 2001 at the latest will be processed
before the computers are shut down. Of course after February 5,
2001, the reliability of the re-tooling could be a problem so the
ability to obtain LCAs in the month of February could be problematic.
LCA
Faxback System is Caught Up (01-10-2001) [Top]
The Department of Labor has announced that, as of today, LCAs faxed
should be processed within 24 hours.
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