The U.S. Department of State’s (“DOS”) February 2011 Visa Bulletin continues the trends of prior months, with continued forward movement for the employment-based Visa Bulletin, but either no movement or retrogression (i.e., the backward movement of priority dates) in most preference categories.  The DOS confirmed that the increased demand is the result of more family-based applicants with very early priority dates now becoming “documentarily qualified” to be granted their immigrant visas. In the employment-based Visa Bulletin, almost every category with a cutoff date moved forward.  There were no giant leaps ahead of more than 30 days, but even small gains are indicative of the fact that the DOS seems to have gotten a handle on predicting employment-based demand and is able to keep these categories moving.

In the EB second preference category, China moved ahead by 9 days, to 07/01/2006.  India remains...

On January 27, 2011, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H-1B cap has been met and will no longer accept new H-1B petitions for employment in fiscal year 2011 (which started on October 1, 2010). Now that the cap has been met, the USCIS will conduct a “lottery” of petitions received on the final receipt date of January 26, 2011 (not postmarked date). Cases not selected in the lottery or received after January 26, 2011 will be returned. 

Three options exist if you have already submitted an H-1B case and are waiting for approval:

If you received a government receipt of an already submitted H-1B petition, your case will proceed as normal  If you submitted your H-1B petition prior to January 26th, but did not receive a receipt, you will be either notified that your petition was selected to proceed (by receipt) or notified of rejection*  If your petition was postmarked...

A customer survey of the E-Verify system (an employment verification system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA)), given to more than 4,500 random employers has been released, finding high approval ratings and favorable feedback amongst users.  The results of the customer satisfaction survey were coincidentally published in accordance with the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report indicating widespread improvements in accuracy and fraud reduction of the E-Verify system.    

Both reports help validate the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) claim that given the appropriate resources from the Obama administration, E-Verify...

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) list of countries eligible to participate in this year’s H-2A (for temporary agricultural jobs) and H-2B (for temporary non-agricultural jobs) programs became effective Tuesday, January 18, 2011.  The DHS, in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), has accepted 53 countries whose foreign nationals can apply for short-term work opportunities in the U.S.  The new list was published in the Federal Register today and is only valid for one year from the date of publication.     Both the DHS and the DOS take into account several factors when determining the list of approved countries, some considerations include the country’s cooperation with the distribution of travel documents and other statistics in regards to the citizens and nationals of that country that may interest the U.S. The 2011 list...

Massive economic growth was recognized as 2010 came to a close with the creation of over 297,000 private sector jobs.  The ADP National Employment Report specified that December’s job creation number nearly tripled its projected forecast for the month in addition to the November rate, making it the largest monthly gain in over 10 years for the private sector (nonfarm, private employment).

The creation of jobs indicates an optimistic outlook on the economy, thus it’s no surprise that the H-1B cap count keeps growing.  With the remaining regular H-1B petitions dwindling to less than 5,000 available (as of 1/14/2011) and the Master’s cap already met, it may be as little as a few weeks until the quota is completely full.   Anyone planning to file an H-1B petition in the immediate future should continue to watch the quota...

On January 4, 2010, immediately following the governor inauguration ceremonies, immigration took the front seat in Florida and Rhode Island as two newly elected governors promptly addressed the E-verify program, an internet-based system that matches an employee’s I-9 information with the databases of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  On that day, Governor Rick Scott (R-FL) issued Executive Order 11-02 mandating the use of E-Verify for all Florida state agencies and contractors.  Florida has now become the 14th state in the nation to have mandatory E-Verify requirements outside of federal law, which currently requires only federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify.  Conversely, Governor Lincoln Chafee (I-RI) withdrew...

As the new Congress gears up for what is forecasted to be a disappointing year in immigration reform, many state legislative leaders are making plans to fight illegal immigration on the state line. Even though President Obama has promised to overhaul several untouched immigration laws, Republicans are dissatisfied and continue to look for ways to enforce border control and confront illegal immigration.  It’s plausible that up to seven states may try to pass Arizona-like (S.B. 1070) immigration laws in 2011 despite the bill’s ongoing litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice.  All seven states, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi, carry heavy support from a combination of largely republican legislators and governors. Additionally, a controversial initiative expected to be announced in Washington this week is the joint effort amongst state lawmakers...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released H-1B cap numbers as of 12/24, receiving 55,800 toward the 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions and 20,000 towards the 20,000 H-1B Master's category.

Thus, the cap for the H-1B Master's category has been met, however, numbers remain available for those individuals through the regular cap until that too, has been reached.  There is still time to submit your FY2011 H-1B visa application for foreign national applicants beginning employment on October 1, 2010 or later. Contact your immigration services provider to see if this is an option for you/your foreign national.

Photo attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8042373@N03/

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) drafted a proposal to develop a mandatory online registration system for H-1B petitions. The new registration process will allow U.S. employers to supply basic application information to the USCIS online instead of submitting a full-blown H-1B petition, prior to the randomized H-1B visa lottery, which is implemented when the number of petitions exceeds the limit set by the USCIS (in a matter of weeks or even days).

In the event a visa lottery is executed during a good hiring year, a full-blown H-1B petition will not need to be initially submitted, which will eliminate the need for U.S. employers to unnecessarily prepare and file tedious H-1B petitions without any guarantee that an H-1B cap number will be assigned to that particular petition. Along with helping the USCIS manage H-1B petitions more efficiently and effectively. For...

January 2011 brings a tale of two Visa Bulletins: the employment-based Visa Bulletin shows modest gains in almost every category, while the family-based Visa Bulletin shows severe retrogression (i.e., the backward movement of priority dates) in almost every category. Forward movement was seen in nearly every category of the January 2011 employment-based Visa Bulletin.  The EB third preference category perhaps benefited the most, with priority dates advancing for all foreign nationals.  Mexico saw the biggest leap forward, with a jump of 9½ months to 04/15/2003 in both the EB-3 and Other Workers category.  All other countries besides India, China, and Mexico moved ahead by 1 month, to 03/22/2005.  India moved to 02/01/2002 in both the EB-3 and Other Workers categories, a progression of 9 days, and China moved ahead by 1 week to 12/15/2003. The only other employment-based category to move forward is the EB second...