Recruitment Instructions Received For 2003 Case (12-04-2006) [Top]

On December 4, 2006, this office received recruitment instructions from the Dallas Backlog Elimination Center for a Traditional Labor Certification Application filed in California in February 2003.  One month ago, I received instructions for a case filed in April 2001.  I have not yet received instructions for any case filed in 2002.  Thus it appears, contrary to what DOL has indicated previously, that the cases are NOT being handled chronologically based on date of filing.

DOL Software Glitch (11-16-2006) [Top]

Department of Labor’s recent software glitch has resulted in erroneous withdrawals of pending traditional and/or RIR Labor Certification Applications if a PERM Labor Certification for the same employer and employee has been approved/or filed.

DOL is working on reinstating these cases to their former places in the processing queue so that the original priority date is retained.

DOL is asking not to make any inquiries/not to check the case status online until December 1, 2006 because of the concerns that a high volume of checks may cause the system to crash.

After December 1, 2006, if the case is still shown as “withdrawn”, a mechanism will be developed to address this issue.

Recruitment Instructions Received (11-15-2006) [Top]

On November 13, 2006, this office received recruitment instructions from the Dallas Backlog Elimination Center for a Traditional Labor Certification Application filed on 04-26-2001.  These instructions advise that the recruitment period begins fifteen days from the date of the letter and runs for 30 days. The Dallas office places a job order with America’s Job Bank for 30 days.  The recruitment instructions direct the employer to place an ad for three consecutive days, one of the days being a Sunday.  The ad is to contain the title, job description, education/experience and special requirements, along with the salary (thus the ad can be quite lengthy and costly). An internal posting must also be placed at the jobsite for 10 consecutive days. Interested individuals are to fax or mail a resume to the Dallas office.  Upon completion of the 30-day recruitment period, a Recruitment Report Instructions Letter will be issued by the Dallas office.  Any resumes received by the Dallas office will be forwarded to the employer/attorney of record.

For companies not planning to convert Traditional Labor Certification Applications to RIR, it will be imperative that someone at the company be prepared to respond quickly to these recruitment notices form the Department of Labor so as to conduct the needed recruitment and evaluate any resumes received from the government.

Updates from the Department of Labor (DOL) (10-26-2006) [Top]

DOL has established a public disclosure system providing status of currently pending Labor Certification (LC) cases with the Backlog Elimination Centers. This system is found on the DOL website (http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/times.asp). An LC case number is needed to check the status of the case. Frequently this system appears to be unavailable due to the number of inquiries being made at the same time; if not able to access – try at a different time.

RIR and Traditional Labor Certifications  

Beginning in November 2006, DOL will publish BEC traditional (TR) case processing dates. This list will be updated monthly and is intended to provide information as to when one might expect to receive recruitment instructions on a pending traditional case. At this time, DOL is working on April 2001 cases and is not expecting to advance the date for some time due to the volume of applications filed in April 2001. 

With respect to RIR conversion, DOL will not accept a conversion request once a job order has been placed for the traditional case. However, if an RIR conversion request is submitted to DOL with a post mark or express courier shipping date that is before the date the job order is placed, DOL will accept and process the RIR request and cancel the TR job order.

Processing of Traditional Labor Certification Applications (10-06-2006) [Top]

On September 25, 2006, the equivalent to an Assessment Notice was received by fax from the Dallas Backlog Elimination Center concerning a traditional case filed 04-27-2001.  Instead of the normal 45day timeline to respond, a deadline of fifteen days was given. 

The good news is that the traditional cases are now being reviewed – the bad news is that a response must be filed within 15 days of receiving the fax.

Pending H-1B files transfer (10-04-2006) [Top]

The USCIS announced that in order to balance the overall workload, some of the H-1B visa petitions originally filed with the Vermont Service Center were transferred to Texas Service Center and Nebraska Service Center for processing.

Approximately 20,000 H-1B petitions were transferred to the Texas Service Center and approximately 6,000 H-1B visa petitions were transferred to the Nebraska Service Center. The USCIS intends to issue transfer notices for these cases to facilitate communication.  

As a result of these transfers, one can expect that the adjudication of these cases may not be in chronological order.

USCIS is Expanding Premium Processing Service [Top]

Starting September 25, 2006, the USCIS added three new categories to the Premium Processing Service for I-140s. For a $1,000.00 processing fee, the USCIS will accept requests for premium processing of the following categories:

• EB-1, outstanding professors and researchers,

• EB-2, members of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability not seeking a National Interest Waiver; and

• EB-3, workers other than skilled workers and professionals.

The USCIS guarantees that for a $1,000.00 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice, or where appropriate, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation within 15 calendar days of receipt.

 If the petition is not processed within 15 calendar days, the USCIS will refund the $1,000.00 fee and continue to process the request as part of the Premium Processing Service.

Local USCIS Offices No Longer Issue Interim EAD Cards (09-05-2006) [Top]

Effective 10-01-2006, the local USCIS offices will no longer issue interim EAD cards.  Upon receipt at a local USCIS office for an interim EAD card (the original EAD application filed more than 90 days), the local USCIS will perform the following tasks:

            CLAIMS verification:

Verify application is pending

                        Verify if RFE has been issued (which tolls the 90-day period)

                        Confirm I-765 is unadjudicated

                        Biometircs have been captured, if not refer to ASC

            Contact Service Center to initiate EAD production

            Provide notice to applicant of status.

The interim EAD card or actual EAD card will be issued and sent by the Service Center.

USCIS To Expand Premium Processing Service (08-31-2006) [Top]

The USCIS announced that starting on August 28, 2006, it will accept Premium Processing requests for a fee of $1,000.00 for the following newly designated classifications:

1. Employment Based Immigrant Visa Petitions (I-140), 3d preference – EB-3 Professionals; and
2. Employment Based Immigrant Visa Petitions (I-140), 3d preference – EB- Skilled Workers.

Additionally, the USCIS has revised Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Services) to include expansion of Premium Processing Service to the newly designated classifications.

H-1B visa cap reached on July 26, 2006 (07-28-2006) [Top]

On July 28, 2006 USCIS announced that the H-1B visa cap for Advanced U.S. degreed professionals had been reached on July 26, 2006.  H-1B visa petitions subject to the cap and received on July 26th will be subject to the random selection process.

More than 20,000 H-1B visa petitions filed (07-27-2006) [Top]  

On July 27, 2006 USCIS announced that a total of 19,390 H-1B visa petitions for Advanced U.S. degreed professionals had been receipted, with another 655 H-1B visa petitions not yet entered/receipted.  The non-receipted cases were received primarily on July 25 and 26.  USCIS has projected that it would accept 21,000 H-1B visa petitions, which would allow for denials and revocations.  One could expect that USCIS will soon announce that the cap is reached and that no further petitions will be accepted.

H-1B visas may be exhausted in July 2006 (07-26-2006) [Top]

Fewer than 3000 H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (07-20-2006) [Top]

Fewer than 4000 H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (07-11-2006) [Top]

H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (07-09-2006) [Top]

USCIS announced that the H-1B visa numbers are still available to individuals who possess a U.S. Master’s or higher degree. As of June 9, 2006, when the USCIS did its last count, 7,324* petitions had been received, with 2,218 visa petitions approved, 5,106 visa petitions pending.

*This number includes receipted petitions only. As of June 13, 2006, the USCIS had an estimated total of 4,000 unreceipted H-1B visa petitions awaiting data entry. Only a small number of these petitions are seeking the H-1B Advanced Degree exemption.

H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (07-02-2006) [Top]

H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (06-29-2006) [Top]  

As of June 23, 2006, when the USCIS did its last count, 11,918 petitions had been received. This number includes receipted petitions only. Additionally, the USCIS had identified 800 non-receipted H-1B visa petitions seeking the Advanced Degree.  Thus approximately 7,000 H-1B visa numbers remained as of one week ago.

It is expected that the number of submissions will steadily increase until the cap is reached.

H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (06-29-2006) [Top]

As of June 20, 2006, when the USCIS did its last count, 10,261* petitions had been received, with 3,311 visa petitions approved, 6,950 visa petitions pending.

*This number includes receipted petitions only. As of June 20, 2006, the USCIS had identified 500 non-receipted H-1B visa petitions seeking the Advanced Degree exemption and another 1,800 petitions not yet sorted.

H-1B visas for Advanced Degree Professionals (06-20-2006) [Top]

USCIS announced that the H-1B visa numbers are still available to individuals who possess a U.S. Master’s or higher degree. As of June 9, 2006, when the USCIS did its last count, 7,324* petitions had been received, with 2,218 visa petitions approved, 5,106 visa petitions pending.

H-1B visa cap reached (06-01-2006) [Top]  

USCIS announced on June 1, 2006, that the H-1B cap was reached on May 26, 2006.  Thus, H-1B visa petitions subject to the cap, which were received on May 26, 2006, will be subject to a random selection process.  All cap subject petitions received after May 26, 2006 will be rejected.  These petitions may be filed again on or after April 1, 2007 with a start date of October 1, 2007.

Apparently a total of 64,300 H-1B visa petitions were accepted for processing.

However, there are still H-1B visa numbers available to individuals who possess a U.S. Master’s or higher degree.  Additionally, individuals who currently hold an H-1B visa and wish to change employers are not subject to the cap and can have a new employer file a H-1B visa transfer.  Extensions of an H-1B visa by the same employer are also available, i.e. not subject to the cap.

There are TN visas available for Canadian citizens, as well as Mexican citizens and individuals’ holding citizenship from Chile and Singapore.  Citizens of Australia are also eligible for E-3 visas.

H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2007 (05-30-2006) [Top]  

As of May 25, 2006, a total of 49,034 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 61,000 targeted cap. In two business days (May 23^rd to 25^th), USCIS received almost 4,000 petitions, an average of 2,000 per day; the cap may now be reached by the end of this week.

Additionally, as of May 25, 2006, USCIS has received 5,830 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap.  Thus, the 20,000 U.S. Master’s degree cap may be reached by October.

H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2007 (05-25-2006) [Top]  

As of May 23, 2006, a total of 45,150 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 61,000 targeted cap. Of these, 7,396 have been approved.  Since more that 45,000 H-1B visa petitions were received in the first seven weeks of filing, the cap may be reached in the next three weeks, i.e. mid-June.  It should be noted that with each passing week more petitions are being filed – thus if the rate of filing is now in excess of 1,000 petitions a day – the cap could be reached in less than 21 days of filing, i.e. prior to mid-June.

Additionally, as of May 23, 2006, USCIS has received 5,555 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap, of which 1,611 have been approved.  The number of petitions received weekly has now increased to approximately 500 per day.  Thus, the 20,000 U.S. Master’s degree cap may now be reached by October.

H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2007 (05-19-2006) [Top]

As of May 16, 2006, a total of 39,445 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 61,000 targeted cap. Of these, 6,465 have been approved.  Statistically speaking, if almost 40,000 H-1B visa petitions were received in the first forty-six calendar days of filing, the cap may be reached before the end of June, likely mid-June.  However, it should be noted that between May 12, 2006 and May 16, 2006 more than 4,000 petitions were filed – thus if the rate of filing is now in excess of 1,000 petitions a day – the cap could be reached in less than 21 days of filing, i.e. prior to mid-June.

Additionally, as of May 16, 2006, USCIS has received 5,048 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap, of which 1,442 have been approved.  Between May 12, 2006 and May 16, 2006 approximately 400 petitions were received, i.e. 100 per day.  Thus, the 20,000 U.S. Master’s degree cap may not be reached until October/November timeframe.

H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2007 (05-18-2006) [Top]  

As of May 12, 2006, a total of 34,808 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 61,000 targeted cap. Of these, 6,033 have been approved.  It should be remembered that only 58,200 H-1B visa numbers are actually available under this cap, as 6,800 visa numbers are set aside for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.- Singapore Free Trade Agreement.  USCIS is targeting to accept 61,000 petitions so as to reach the cap, with allowance for denials and revocations

Additionally, as of May 12, 2006, USCIS has received 4,638 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap, of which 1,392 have been approved.

Statistically speaking, if almost 35,000 H-1B visa petitions were received in the first six weeks of filing, the cap may be reached by mid/end June timeframe. However, the 20,000 U.S. Master’s degree cap may not be reached for six months, i.e. October timeframe.

H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2007 (05-08-2006) [Top]

As of April 28, 2006, a total of 16,737 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 61,000 targeted cap. Of these, 4,507 have been approved.  It should be remembered that only 58,200 H-1B visa numbers are actually available under this cap, as 6,800 visa numbers are set aside for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.  USCIS is targeting to accept 61,000 petitions so as to reach the cap, with allowance for denials and revocations.

Additionally, as of April 28, 2006, USCIS has received 2,884 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap, of which 1,007 have been approved.

Summary of Hi-Lites from the CSC Liaison Meeting of April 26, 2006 (05-01-2006) [Top]  

As a result of a USCIS bi-specialization program, which began on 04-01-2006, all nonimmigrant visa petitions and associated applications are now filed with the Vermont Service Center (VSC).  The caseload is shared with the California Service Center (CSC).  Due to a large volume of cases received during early April, there have been delays in the issuance of receipts.  USCIS expects to be current on the issuance of receipts by mid May.  The VSC is backlogged in issuing receipts to 04-05-2006, whereas the CSC is backlogged to 04-15-2006.  The receipts are issued by the Service Center, which will be handling the case.  The allocation of cases between the two Service Centers is distributed according to case type.

All I-140s and concurrently filed I-485s are now filed with the Nebraska Service Center (NSC).  The caseload is shared with the Texas Service Center (TSC).  Apparently, cases filed with NSC are sent to TSC on alternating days, not based on case type.  Additionally, fourteen thousand I-140s were transferred from CSC to TSC.  These I-140s had not yet been reviewed by an Officer.  CSC has approximately one thousand I-140s still pending in its office.  For the most part, attorneys did not receive transfer notices for these cases.  All approved I-140s with pending I-485s have remained at the CSC.

N-400 interviews will no longer be scheduled unless all security clearances have been received.  Since the system may still schedule an interview when clearances have not yet been received, if this is the case, the interview will be de-scheduled.

As of April 24, 2006, a total of 12,713 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 65,000 cap.  Of these, 3907 have been approved.  It should be remembered that only 58,200 H-1B visa numbers are actually available under this cap, as 6,800 visa numbers are set aside for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.  USCIS is targeting to accept 61,000 petitions so as to reach the cap, with allowance for denials and revocations

Additionally, as of April 24, 2006, USCIS has received 2,358 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap, of which 898 have been approved.

H-1B visas for Fiscal Year 2007 (04-13-2006) [Top]

On April 3, 2006, a total of 1,631 H-1B visa petitions were filed against the 65,000 cap.  Of these, 76 have been approved.  It should be remembered that only 58,000 H-1B visa numbers are actually available under this cap, as 6,800 visa numbers are set aside for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.  However, USCIS is targeting to accept 61,000 petitions so as to reach the cap, with allowance for denials and revocations . 

Additionally, on this first day of filing, USCIS received 340 H-1B visa petitions, which are counted against the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap, of which 9 were approved. USCIS is targeting to receive an estimated 21,000 petitions to reach this cap, again allowing for denials and revocations.

Update on Adjudication of Employment-Based I-485 Applications (04-13-2006) [Top]

Starting April 12, 2006, the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) will begin processing employment based I-485 (Permanent Resident) cases for which visas are not currently available.  These cases will be processed in a normal fashion to the fullest extent possible up to the visa request stage.  Requests For Evidence (RFEs) will be issued for some cases. The responses to these RFEs must be submitted as usual in a timely manner.

Security checks for these cases will be electronically maintained so it is imperative that the applicants respond to fingerprinting appointments in a timely manner.  Inquiries are allowed for cases for which visas have been available for at least 90 days.

Update on H-1B Visa Cap (04-10-2006) [Top]

The USCIS has confirmed that a press release purportedly from the USCIS Borgoniareporting that the H-1B visa cap for Fiscal Year 2007 had been reached was a spoof.

Unofficially, the USCIS indicated that the first two days of filings for H-1Bs for fiscal year 2007 were at about the same pace as last year. The cap last year was reached on August 10, 2005. The USCIS is expecting to have a count of initial receipts within approximately one week.

Summary of DOL statistics pertaining to Labor Certification Applications (04-10-2006) [Top]

PERM Labor Certification Applications (LC)

As of March 17, 2006, apparently 80,272 PERM LC cases had been filed. 15% of these cases are in a “pending workload”: these cases require an analyst’s attention before a decision can be made.

36,687 cases have been certified.

1,950 cases have been withdrawn.

23,205 cases (including denials for minor errors, which caused repeat filings meaning the number is not really definitive) have been denied.

24,960 cases are being audited.

Backlog Labor Certification Applications

Transfer of I-140 and I-485 cases from California Service Center (CSC) to Texas Service Center (TSC) (04-10-2006) [Top]

The USCIS Headquarters has announced that approximately 15, 000 I-140/I-485 cases are in the process of being transferred from CSC to TSC. This transfer is being made in preparation of the agency’s  “bi-specialization” program.

Two of the USCIS centers (Nebraska and Texas) will handle all I-140 and related I-485 cases, whereas the other two service centers (Vermont and California) will handle all I-129 cases.

Effective April 1, 2006, all I-129 and related cases will be filed with the Vermont Service Center. The adjudication of these cases will then be shared with the California Service Center.

All I-140 and related cases (for example I-485) will be filed with the Nebraska Service Center. The adjudication of these cases will then be shared with Texas Service Center.

Visa Appointments in Paris, France (02-21-2006) [Top]

Recently, the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France has experienced backlogs in issuing U.S. nonimmigrant visas for French travelers. Currently there is a nine-week wait for an interview appointment.

In order to relieve the backlog, the U.S. Embassies/Consulates in Berlin, Bern, Brussels, London and Madrid will accept visa appointments from French citizens.

Information on the nearby U.S. embassies or consulates now accepting appointments for French visa applicants is listed below. Visa applicants must telephone to make a visa appointment.

Berlin/Frankfurt
http://berlin.usembassy.gov

Bern
http://bern.usembassy.gov

Brussels
http://belgium.usembassy.gov

London
http://london.usembassy.gov

Madrid
http://spain.usembassy.gov

Traveling to India in February - March  2006 (02-03-2006) [Top]

Employees of the Airport Authority of India continue to strike in opposition to the Government of India’s plans to privatize the Delhi and Mumbai airports. Travelers may find themselves in confrontations between strikers and police at the airports. Disruptions to the telephone exchange have been reported. Other regions of the country have been lightly affected. 

Travelers should monitor news reports or check with airlines or travel agents to determine the current situation as the strike could disrupt travel. For latest security information, log into State Department’s website: http://travel.state.gov

Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328.  These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Additionally, U.S. citizens may contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Embassy or the Consulates General for further information:

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov.

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov

http://calcutta.usconsulate.gov.

http://chennai.usconsulate.gov.

Department of State Outlook on Employment Based Visa Numbers (02-03-2006) [Top]

The Department of State (DOS) advised AILA that the demand for employment-visa numbers from the USCIS has decreased. This has resulted in the rapid advancement of the established cut-off dates. However, if the USCIS demand changes in the future, it may be necessary to retrogress the cut-off dates.

Based on the current use of visa numbers in the 1^st and 2^nd Preference categories, there will be no need for cut-off dates worldwide.

Update on H-1B Visas (01-25-2006) [Top]

On January 18, 2006, the USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B visa petitions towards the 20,000 cap-exempt petitions for aliens holding U.S. advanced degrees.

The USCIS determined that the final receipt date for these 20,000 cap-exempt petitions is January 17, 2006. Petitions received on January 17^th are subject to the random computer generated selection process. This process will randomly select the exact number of petitions from that day’s receipts needed to meet the congressionally mandated cap exemption of 20,000.

H-1B Visa Number Availability as of Dec 27, 2005 for US Graduates (01-05-2006) [Top]

As of December 27, 2005, only 1,3664 H-1B visas remain of the additional 20,000 visas made available for individuals with US graduate degrees for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006. A total of 18,636 petition have been filed; 16,478 petitions have been approved, while 2,158 are still pending.