May 15th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
6 weeks after USCIS released the H-1B visas for an October 1st start date, they are over half gone. USCIS’ most recent H-1B count update indicates that as of May 11, 2012: 36,700 Regular cap petitions have been filed and 14,800 Master’s Degree Cap petitions have been filed. The H-1B visas are going much faster than the last few years.
In my opinion, the time it takes to use up the H-1B visa cape is actually a pretty strong
April 9th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
Many stakeholders, such as immigration attorneys, skilled foreign workers, IT firms, health care facilities, and other employers speculated on whether the H-1B cap would be reached in the first week as a result of the improved economy. It didn’t. Not even close.
As of April 9th, 25,600 cap subject H-1B petitions were received. 17,400 of these are in the regular H-1B category and 8,200 are counted in the H-1B Master’s cap category.
March 22nd, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of Visa Control and Reporting for the Department of State just announced that he will likely retrogress EB-2 priority dates in August 2007. Charlie Oppenheim made the announcement at the 2012 American Immigration Lawyers Association Midwest Regional Conference. He stated that this retrogression will most likely be effective in either the May or June 2012 Visa Bulletin.
Charlie Oppenheim also advised that he anticipates all of the EB-1 visas to be used this year. This would
March 15th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
Roxana Bacon, an immigration attorney, former general counsel for USCIS, and a staunch advocate for immigration reform, recently wrote a detailed article for Bender’s Immigration Bulletin on how she thinks we can make immigration reform happen. One point that struck home with me is her reference to a story of our not too distant history and the correlation with the fight for civil rights.
In the 1940′s A. Philip Randolph, an African American leader and President of the
March 5th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
Many government agencies now allow individuals and the immigration lawyers that represent them to file a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) online. This Act states that any person has a right to obtain access to federal agency records (except when protected under one of the 9 exemptions or a law enforcement exclusion).
A FOIA request is used in many different situations when a person wants to view a copy of their records with a particular
March 2nd, 2012 Written by: Shehryar Chaudhry
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 cap on Monday, April 2nd, 2012. The numerical limit cap for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year is 65,000. Of the 65,000 yearly numbers, 6,800 are allocated for nationals of Singapore and Chile, leaving only approximately 58,200 numbers per fiscal year. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. Master’s Degrees or higher are exempt from the H-1B
March 1st, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
A recent PERM (labor certification), case bucked the trend from the typically unforgiving BALCA (Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals) review board. In the Matter of Target Point Media, LLC a labor certification case was initially denied certification because some of the advertisements stated that the position available was a “Business Development VP” instead of a “Business Development Specialist”.
I applaud BALCA for using their heads and realizing that the difference in the job title did not mean that
February 10th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
Applying to become a U.S. Citizen has various requirements that vary depending on whether someone obtained permanent residency through marriage to a U.S. Citizen or through another means (employment based, sponsorship by a family member, asylum, etc.) .
Regardless of the grounds for becoming a permanent resident in the first place, an individual must meet certain presence tests during his/her permanent residency to become a citizen. This includes residing in the U.S. continuously for 3 or 5
January 30th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
The American Immigration Council plans to honor entrepreneurial immigrants that have contributed to our nation at the Immigrant Achievement Awards on March 29th, 2012.
The American Immigration Council is a non-profit organization that “exists to promote the prosperity and cultural richness of our diverse nation”. It’s activities include educating people about the contributions of America’s immigrants, lobbying for sensible immigration policies and laws that encompass American values and constitutional and human rights, and they try
January 27th, 2012 Written by: Jason Feldman
An excellent recent New York times article described why Apple ultimately decided to shift its production to China. As Steve Jobs told Barack Obama, “Those jobs aren’t coming back”. Apple kept its manufacturing plant in the U.S. longer than almost all of its competitors. Apple eventually realized it just could not compete using U.S. manufacturing plants. All of the products used in the supply chain are much cheaper in China, and more importantly they get the job done in the
