The VISANOW Visa Bulletin update is back from hibernation! The USCIS seems to have turned over a new and more productive leaf in the new year and shows advancements in almost every employment-based and family-based immigration category.

The F-1 category, unmarried children over 21 of permanent residents, has advanced rather dramatically, with China, India, Philippines, and all other areas charging ahead one month and seven days ahead. Mexico is not as speedy, and inches ahead by only seven days.

The F-2A category, spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents, exhibits progress across the board with China, India, Philippines, and all other areas scooting two months forward to 06/08/2009, while Mexico mimics the move with a two month advance to 05/08/2009.

In the F-2B category, or unmarried children 21 years or older of permanent residents, China, India, and all other areas continue to forge ahead to 10/15/2003. The Philippines follows suit and progresses one...

The August 2011 Visa Bulletin shows continued progress in both employment-based and family-based categories, and no signs of retrogression.

On the employment-based side, the EB-1 category remains current for all countries. In the EB-2 category, Mexico, the Philippines, and all other countries remain current. Major progress is once again seen for EB-2 China and EB-2 India as both moved forward by five weeks to April 15, 2007. This is welcome news as EB-2 China and EB-2 India have now seen a combined forward movement of more than six months since the June 2011 Visa Bulletin.

In the EB-3 category, the rest of the world and the Philippines moved forward by three weeks to November 1, 2005, China moved forward by one week to July 8, 2004, and India moved forward by one month to June 1, 2002. EB-3 Mexico once again shows a major change as the priority date moved forward by six months to November 1, 2005. In the other workers category, the priority date for all other countries, Mexico, and the Philippines...

On July 4, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued a new Operational Bulletin (OB316) and provided additional guidelines regarding Intra-Company Transferees (ICTs) under specialized knowledge. Since October 2010, there has been a substantial increase in the number of ICT applications due to the cancellation of Canadian exemption of labor market opinions for IT workers. The major shift will concern how ICT applications under specialized knowledge are to be reviewed by CIC officers and how these applications will be assessed.

ICT applications under the specialized knowledge will be reviewed considering the following factors: education, knowledge, experience, salary, relevant training and supporting documentation. The knowledge component is superior in importance when officers are reviewing such applications. Knowledge of the prospective worker should be uncommon, gained through experience with the company abroad (which may include...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released H-1B cap numbers as of 6/17/2011, receiving 19,000 toward the 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions and 12,200 towards the 20,000 H-1B Master's category.

Thus, H-1B cap numbers remain available, and there is still time to submit your FY2012 H-1B visa application for foreign national applicants beginning employment on October 1, 2011 or later.  Contact VISANOW to see if this is an option for you/your foreign national.

VISANOW will be blogging regular updates on the H-1B cap in addition to notifying our social media followers of real-time information through Facebook and Twitter.

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

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With the lack of comprehensive immigration reform from the Obama Administration, numerous states have taken creating immigration reform into their own hands. Although highly controversial and questioned as unconstitutional, other states such as Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina and Louisiana have followed and continue to follow in Arizona’s footsteps with the controversial SB10170 legislation. E-Verify, an employment verification system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA), plays a large role in all of these local laws to verify legality. Below is a summary of state-level E-Verify legislation:

Arizona —As one of the first states to mandate E-Verify for all...

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), along with six democratic senators, recently reintroduced an immigration reform bill entitled The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011. The legislation aims to strengthen border security, enhance worksite enforcement of immigration laws, and requires that undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. to pass numerous checkpoints before attaining permanent residency.

The proposed bill will also include the DREAM Act. Sen. Richard Durbin, a supporter of Menendez’s bill, commented, “I want the DREAM Act to be the catalyst for comprehensive immigration reform.” Durbin believes passing the...

The Pacific Steel Casting Company, the fourth largest steel industry in the nation, is undergoing an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for highly suspicious activity involving hiring illegal aliens.  Based in Berkeley, California, the steel company is being forced by ICE to submit I-9 forms for all 500 employees in three days.  ICE is also asking the employers for all I-9 forms from the past 12 months from the steel company, even if the employees have left or been fired. As a very diverse employer with about 30 different types of nationalities on staff, the company is concerned about the ramifications of the I-9 audit on their employees and the Berkeley community.  

I-9 raids are likely to continue, and companies should take steps now to ensure compliance. Contact us to learn more about...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released H-1B cap numbers as of 6/17/2011, receiving 16,300 toward the 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions and 10,800 towards the 20,000 H-1B Master's category.

Thus, H-1B cap numbers remain available, and there is still time to submit your FY2012 H-1B visa application for foreign national applicants beginning employment on October 1, 2011 or later.  Contact VISANOW to see if this is an option for you/your foreign national.

VISANOW will be blogging regular updates on the H-1B cap in addition to notifying our social media followers of real-time information through Facebook and Twitter.

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

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The July 2011 Visa Bulletin shows progress and provides hope for families and individuals in America and throughout the world. On the employment-based side, the EB-1 category remains current for all countries. In the EB-2 category, Mexico, the Philippines, and all other countries remain current. Major progress is seen for EB-2 China and EB-2 India as both moved forward by almost five months to March 8, 2007. We are likely seeing a “carryover effect” as a decrease in demand for EB-1 visa numbers is allowing unused numbers to become available in the EB-2 category. In the EB-3 category, the rest of the world and the Philippines moved forward by three weeks to October 8, 2005, China moved forward by more than six weeks to July 1, 2004, India moved forward by one week to May 1, 2002, and Mexico moved forward by more than six months to July 1, 2005. In the other workers category, the priority date for all other countries, Mexico, and the Philippines moved forward by more than one year to November 22, 2004, it remained unchanged for China, and moved forward by one week for India to May 1, 2002. ...

VISANOW is headed to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas June 26-29. If you are attending the conference, stop by our booth (#3314 in the Global section of the exhibition near the entrance to the General Sessions) to learn more about streamlining your immigration process. Every booth visitor will receive a FREE gift and have the chance to enter a raffle to win $1,000 in travel vouchers on American Airlines!

Key speakers at the conference include founder and president of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Zappos.com Tony Hsieh, Editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group Arianna Huffington and Emmy-award-winning actor Michael J. Fox. Attendees also have the opportunity to attend seminars on personal leadership and development, international HR, and strategic management.