Filing Fee Increase

Following the last week’s announcement that the Department of State (DOS) will publish fee increases for nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, the U.S. consulates are advising that as of Jan. 1, 2008, the application fee for a non-immigrant visa will increase from $100 to $131. This increase, which will be implemented worldwide, is the first since October 2002.

According to the DOS, this increase allows them to recover the costs of security and other enhancements to the non-immigrant visa application process. The DOS must periodically adjust fees, whether for visas or other services provided, to comply with the U.S. federal legislation requiring it to recuperate the costs of services through fees charged directly to the users of those services. Advances in security, information processing systems and inflation have increased processing costs for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas, as well as for certain services provided to U.S. citizens. Due to new security-related costs, new information technology systems and inflation, the DOS states the $100 visa fee is lower than the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visas. In fact, the $100 fee was already lower than the cost when the fee was reviewed as a part of the cost of service study in 2004. The DOS has been absorbing the additional cost.

Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee before Jan. 1 will be processed only if they are scheduled and appear for a visa interview before Jan. 31. Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee and appear for visa interviews after January 31, 2008 must pay the $31 difference before they will be interviewed. Please check with the U.S. consulate you intend to use for your visa interview to find which fee will apply.

January 2008 Visa Bulletin: Impact on Indian Nationals

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the January 2008 Visa Bulletin on Dec. 12.The new bulletin contains further retrogression for Indian nationals in the EB-2 category. As illustrated below, this category has retrogressed to Jan. 1, 2001. In fact, the EB-3 category for Indian nationals now has a later priority date than the EB-2 category.

The employment-based cut-off dates are as follows:

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01 Jan 2003	01 Jan 2000	C	C
3rd	15 Oct 2002	01 Nov 2001	01 May 2001	22 Apr 2001	15 Oct 2002
Other Workers	01 Oct 2001	01 Oct 2001	01 Oct 2001	01 Oct 2001	01 Oct 2001

The USCIS has addressed this retrogression of priority dates for EB-2 category Indian nationals stating it was a “direct result of continued heavy applicant demand for numbers by CIS adjustment despite the retrogression which occurred in the December Visa Bulletin.”

Unfortunately, the USCIS predicts that the annual limits for this category will be reached within the next few months. Thus, it is likely that EB-2 category for Indian nationals will become “unavailable” for the remainder of 2008.

It is important for individuals with pending I-485 applications to know that the USCIS will only adjudicate that application if their priority date is current.

Filing Location Change of I-130 Petitions for Alien Relative

As of Dec. 3, 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented a new plan to have all I-130 Petitions for Alien Relatives be filed at the Chicago Lockbox rather than the appropriate USCIS Service Center. These new filing instructions apply ONLY to Form I-130 Petitions for Alien Relatives that are filed alone, meaning that Form I-130s would be filed without I-485 Adjustment of Status applications, I-765 Employment Authorization applications and/or I-131 Travel Document applications.

I-130 Petitions filed with the Chicago Lockbox will be routed to, processed and adjudicated at the appropriate USCIS Service Center. The routing process will be based on the petitioner’s place of residence in the U. S. Although Form I-130 will be filed with the Chicago Lockbox, petitioners will receive receipt notices from either the Vermont or California Service Center. Two separate post office box addresses have been established corresponding to the appropriate USCIS Service Center (Vermont or California) that will process and adjudicate the petition.

Petitioners who reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin or Wyoming are encouraged to file their stand-alone Form I-130s with the Lockbox using the following address:

Petitioners who reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia or District of Columbia are encouraged to file their stand-alone Form I-130 with the Lockbox using the following address:

Even though this plan was implemented on Dec. 3, Form I-130s filed with the Service Center will be forwarded to the Chicago Lockbox rather than rejected. However, petitioners are encouraged to begin filing at the Chicago Lockbox immediately to avoid processing delays.

The revised form and filing instructions will be posted on the USCIS’s Web site, www.uscis.gov, once they are available.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has determined the Dallas and Philadelphia Backlog Elimination Centers (BEC) will close on Dec. 21, 2007. They have stated that all communication will cease with the BECs and inquiries should be forwarded to the Chicago National Processing Center (NPC). However, the NPC will have limited access to cases and may not have the information that is being requested. All completed cases are being forwarded to the Federal Retention Centers for archiving purposes. All cases the BECs received just prior to the closing will be forwarded to the NPC.

In order to obtain the status of a case, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, (OFLC), created the Public Disclosure System (PDS) which provides updates regarding where specific cases are in the process. This system will remain active until all cases are complete. The BEC will no longer be able to answer individual case status requests, but the PDS system will remain active and continue giving the most up to date information regarding cases. The web address for the PDS is http://pds.pbls.doleta.gov/

On Nov. 7, 2007, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a directive to all U.S. consular posts that the details of approved non-immigrant visa petitions, including H and L visas, must be accessed via the new Petition Information Management Service (PIMS). All consular officers are now required to verify that a petition has been approved through PIMS before adjudicating a non-immigrant visa application. Form I-797A Approval Notices may still be used to make consular appointments, but they are no longer sufficient proof of a non-immigrant visa petition approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The purpose of implementing the system was to reduce the use of fraudulent Approval Notices at consular posts. The DOS has already reported the success of the PIMS system in this regard.

Unfortunately, the practical impact of the new PIMS system is that, until it is fully implemented and operational, non-immigrant visa processing could be delayed for an additional one or two working days until the underlying petition is verified. This will especially affect those who are accustomed to same-day or next-day service at the U.S. consulates. This is also expected to impact dependent family members.

Non-immigrants traveling abroad with the intent to attend a non-immigrant visa appointment at a U.S. consulate should plan well in advance for potential delays.

The DOS has indicated that not all data on approvals have been transferred yet. Nearly all petitions requesting consular notification have been entered into PIMS, but petitions requesting an extension of stay or change of status in the U.S. are not currently being transferred to the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC), which is responsible for the entry of cases into the PIMS system.

For those in L-1 blanket statuses, the DOS has confirmed that a list of all petitioning companies has been entered into PIMS, but not the blanket Approval Notice case numbers.

For any cases that are not in the system, the consulate must submit an e-mail request to the KCC. The turnaround time for this type of request generally takes a few hours, if not an entire business day, barring extraordinary circumstances. The DOS has further indicated that, while emergency procedures are not currently in place for PIMS, cases of an urgent nature would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you find that your consular application is delayed beyond two working days due to the PIMS verification process, be sure to notify your immigration attorney. While there are no complaint processes in place with respect to PIMS, the delay should be reported to your attorney so that such information can be collected and shared with the government for the purpose of showing the impact the new system has on the individual immigrant experience.

As of Jan. 31, 2008, adult citizens of the U.S. and Canada will face new measures designed to heighten security under legislation known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). This legislation is designed to aid in national security by gradually implementing new documentary requirements for individuals entering the U.S. The new January requirement is the latest step in this process.

As of January 31, affected travelers will be required to present both proof of identity and proof of citizenship when entering the U.S. by land or sea. These entrants will no longer simply be able to declare their citizenship; proof will be required. Proof of identity can include evidence such as a driver’s license or state-issued photo ID. Citizenship can be proven with evidence such as a birth certificate. While a passport is not yet a requirement for such travel, it is a proposed requirement under WHTI expected to be implemented at some point in the future.

This requirement does not extend to children under 18, who will be required only to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. Passports will continue to be accepted as a valid proof of citizenship and identity. Likewise, there are no changes to existing requirements for passport validity and nonimmigrant visas.