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September Visa Bulletin
Numbers Largely Unchanged
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released its Visa
Bulletin for September 2008. The numbers are largely
unchanged from the previous month.
Of significance, numbers have progressed for nationals of
India who are within the EB-2 filing preference. The numbers
have moved ahead two months, from June 1, 2006, to August 1,
2006. As a result, Indian nationals with priority dates on
or before August 1, 2006 are now eligible to file Form I-485
(Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust
Status) as well as any I-485 filings necessary for spouses
or children. Additionally, individuals with priority dates
in this range (i.e., between June 1, 2006 and August 1,
2006) who have previously filed I-485 cases should again see
their pending I-485s actively processed by the USCIS.
Unfortunately, the EB-3 category for skilled and
professional workers this month remains unavailable in its
entirety. This means that no I-485 cases will be accepted by
the USCIS during the month of September. Likewise, I-485
cases currently pending for individuals in the EB-3 filing
preference will not be processed by the USCIS during this
period.
The DOS makes no assertion as to when EB-3 visa numbers may
return, but it is expected that these numbers will again be
available when the next fiscal year begins on October 1,
2008. It is likewise expected that those dates published
when visa numbers become available again will be very
similar to the dates listed in the July 2008 Visa Bulletin.
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All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
China - mainland-born |
India |
Mexico |
Philippines |
|
1st |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
|
2nd |
C |
1-Aug-06 |
1-Aug-06 |
C |
C |
|
3rd |
U |
U |
U |
U |
U |
|
Other Workers |
U |
U |
U |
U |
U |
Form I-9 Revision
Clarification
A revised version of
Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) was
introduced in June for a limited period through the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) website,
http://www.uscis.gov.
The form on the site has since been changed causing
confusion over whether the new form was invalid or simply
not yet required for use.
The USCIS has clarified that an initial I-9 form had been
available on their website with a revision date of June 5,
2007 and an expiration date of June 30, 2008. In mid-June
2008, a new form was posted with a revision date of June 16,
2008 and an expiration date of June 30, 2009. However, the
content of the form did not change. Therefore, the USCIS
determined that the revision date did not need to be
changed, but the expiration date simply needed to be updated
which resulted in the multiple posting of forms.
As a result, the I-9 form currently on
USCIS.gov is the latest
version of the form and lists the correct revision date of
June 5, 2007 along with an updated expiration date of June
30, 2009. If employers have used the version of the form
with the June 16, 2008 revision date, it is still valid per
the Verification Division of the USCIS.
New U.S. Passport Card used for I-9 Employment Eligibility
Verification The U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced
that the new U.S. Passport Card can now be accepted by
employers during the Employment Eligibility Verification
process. The Passport Card is considered a “List A” document
that confirms the holder’s identity and employment
eligibility.
The new U.S. Passport Card, which began production on July
14, aids entry and speeds up the document processing at U.S.
land and sea ports of entry when arriving from Canada,
Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Although the card may not
be used to travel by air, it is treated the same as the U.S.
passport book and is reviewed with the same standards. To
date, the U.S. Department of State has accepted well over
350,000 applications for the U.S. Passport Card and has
already begun distribution.
During the hiring process, employers are required to verify
the identity and the employment eligibility of all new
employees. The Passport Card is now considered a “List A”
document and may be presented to prove identity and work
authorization when filling out an I-9 form.
New Special Immigrant Visa for Iraqi Nationals
The U.S Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) recently introduced a new special
immigrant visa category for nationals of Iraq
allocating 5,000 visas during the years 2008 to
2012.
Candidates who are eligible for the special
immigrant visa must be Iraqi nationals that have
worked for the U.S. government for at least one year
starting from March 20, 2003. Other requirements
include documentation demonstrating that they
performed at an acceptable service level during
their employment with U.S government, a cleared
background check and documentation supporting that
the candidate faces a threat in their home country
resulting from their involvement with the U.S.
government. Candidates can provide letters from
supervisors to establish the service that was
performed and incorporate personal statements and
letters from others to demonstrate the threatening
treatment they face in their homeland.
Candidates filing for the special immigrant visa
will also have to go through a personal interview.
The interview may take place either in the U.S. or,
if the candidate is in Iraq, at the U.S. Embassy.
Candidates at this time will also have to provide
documentation showing that are able to immigrate to
the U.S.
Spouses and children may also file for the same
special immigrant visa as the candidate.
Update on the PIMS Program
In November 2007, the U.S. Department of
State (DOS) introduced the Petition Information Management
Service (PIMS) program. This program stipulates that before
a consular post can issue a visa, the officer must confirm
petition approval with a positive PIMS records check. A PIMS
record is now the “primary source of evidence to be used in
determining petition approval.” Below is an introduction and
update on how PIMS currently operates in practice.
1. What is PIMS?
PIMS is a separate report issued to provide consular posts
with official notification of H, L, O, P and Q visa
classification approvals along with any information on the
petitioner or beneficiary which the DOS thinks relevant.
2. Why was PIMS created?
PIMS was created to end consular posts’ reliance on paper
Form I-797 Approval Notices issued by the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS), as these were subject to
fabrication and altercation. PIMS was introduced to enhance
fraud detection.
3. How does PIMS work?
The DOS’s Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) enters data into
PIMS. The PIMS Petition Report contains data on some
approved petitions dating back to 2004. Unfortunately, I-129
petitions that requested a change of status, extension of
stay or amendment of a previously approved petition were not
recorded in PIMS. The PIMS report only recorded those
petitions that requested consular notification. The PIMS
report may also include the results of other checks such as
fraud, criminal background and immigration history.
Before a consular post can issue a visa based on an Approval
Notice, the post must confirm petition approval in PIMS.
Where no petition record is found, the post must notify KCC
and request verification of the approval.
4. How and when does an application
get entered into PIMS?
A case is entered into PIMS after a USCIS service center
sends the case to the KCC. Initially, when PIMS was
implemented, the DOS incorrectly assumed that the USCIS
forwarded all petition approvals to KCC. As mentioned above,
this was not the case and only those petitions that
requested consular notification were sent by the USCIS to
KCC.
In March 2008, it was agreed that the USCIS would send all
petition approvals to the KCC including those for a change
of status, extension of stay or amendment of a previously
approved petition. This new process provided a solution for
those petitions approved from March 2008 onwards, but those
petitions approved prior to that date have still not been
sent to the KCC. Accordingly, those petition approvals may
not be in PIMS at the time a visa applicant makes an
appointment for a consular interview. As a result, some visa
applicants have been experiencing delays at consulates
waiting for petition verification from the KCC.
The DOS has now instructed all consular posts to implement
procedures to verify PIMS for H, L, O, P and Q visas before
an interview. Many posts now use the interview scheduling
procedures to obtain the receipt/petition number before the
interview is conducted. As such, posts are beginning to take
steps to ensure verification of the petition is available at
the time of the visa interview.
Currently, it is not possible for a petitioner or
beneficiary to send a petition directly to the KCC for entry
into PIMS or to contact the KCC directly to verify the
petition is in the system. If the petition is not in the
system at the time of the interview, the consular post will
contact KCC to verify the petition approval. According to
the DOS, this is to be accomplished within two business
days. Please note that verification can, at times, take
longer than this depending on the workload of the KCC,
failure to timely notify the consulate of the verification,
etc. If a post is waiting for PIMS notification to issue a
visa, the visa applicant may not be told of the exact cause
of the delay but may instead be advised that the application
is undergoing further “administrative processing.”
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