Priority Date Retrogression: Visa Office Update
On June 19, 2012, Mr. Charlie Oppenheim of the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Office predicted the visa demand in the employment preference categories for fiscal year 2013 and beyond. This month (July 2012) shows a backlog of the EB-2 “All chargeability areas Except those Listed” category for the first time since July 2007. This […]
H-1B’s Still Available!
The H-1B visa category is used by employers hiring a foreign national in a professional level position (“specialty occupation”) requiring at least a Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) began accepting H-1B petitions on April 1, 2012 , with a start date of October 1, 2012 (FY 2013). There […]
ARB finds worker’s time to obtain social security card entitled her to back pay
The Administrator, Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (“ARB”) recently found that the time for which an approved H-1B employee was unavailable to start work while she was waiting for a Social Security card to be issued, was nonproductive status, entitling her to back pay. (Matter of Univ. of Miami v. Gabriele […]
Not your Usual Trip Through O’Hare
In March 2012, The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the launch of TSA Pre √ at both Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) airports. The TSA Pre √ enhances aviation security by enabling TSA to focus on a risk-based, intelligence driven approach while expanding screening for travelers who volunteer information about […]
USCIS ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF E-VERIFY SELF CHECK
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced recently that the on-line service E-Verify, allowing workers to check their own employment eligibility, is now available in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. E-Verify is available in both English and Spanish, broadening the […]
Family & Employment Based Preference Categories and Priority Date Retrogression
Section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets limits on how many “green cards” (legal permanent residency cards or immigrant visas) may be issued during the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (“USCIS”) fiscal year in all visa categories. The fiscal year runs from October 1 st through September so”. A certain number of […]
USCIS Proposes Mandatory Electronic Registration Process for Employers Filing
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) proposes to establish a mandatory Internet-based electronic registration process for U.S. employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for alien workers subject to either the 65,000 or 20,000 annual caps. This proposed regulation would alleviate significant administrative burdens on USCIS Service Centers, and eliminate the need for U.S. employers […]
Technology Company Agrees to Pay more than $740,000 in Back Wages to 73 H1-B Workers
In a recent settlement announced by the Department of Labor (DOL) in June 2012, Semafor Technologies, of Norcross, Georgia, agreed to pay workers $741,288 in back wages. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found violations of the H-1B visa program, which permits foreign nationals to work temporarily in the United States. Semafor Technologies is an […]