USCIS Announces Citizenship and Integration Grant Opportunities
USCIS is offering three competitive grant funding opportunities designed to help prepare permanent residents for citizenship and promote immigrant integration in the United States.
USCIS is offering three competitive grant funding opportunities designed to help prepare permanent residents for citizenship and promote immigrant integration in the United States.
[Federal Register: January 20, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 13)]
[Notices]
[Page 3637-3638]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ja11-76]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines
AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
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Please see the links below for information on TVU.
Recording of the calls regarding the Tri-Valley University issues:
http://www.immigration.com/free-community-conference-calls
Forum dedicated to the Tri-Valley issues:
http://forums.immigration.com/forumdisplay.php?328-Tri-Valley-University-and-Related-Issues
The Department has published in the Federal Register a Final Rule on the Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-agricultural Employment in the H-2B Program. The Final Rule revises the methodology by which the Department calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and U.S. workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification. The Final Rule is effective for wages paid for all work performed on or after January 1, 2012.
The United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world. During the last decade, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomed more than 6.6 million naturalized citizens into the fabric of our nation. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 676,000 individuals were naturalized
The poverty guidelines are a simplified version of the federal poverty thresholds used for administrative purposes — for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. They are issued each year in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The poverty guidelines may be used as soon as they are published in the Federal Register each year — usually about mid-February — unless a program has chosen to make them effective at a later date.
USCIS interim memo for comment providing field guidance on the eligibility for members of the National Guard to naturalize under section 329 of the INA. Comments are due 2/10/11. The memo is in effect until further notice.
For detail please check the attachment.
Guidance on L Visas and Specialized Knowledge
Reference Document:
STATE 002016, 01/11
I have 3 yr BSc(Computer Science)+ 2 yr MSc(Information Technology)from India and I completed my MSc on May 2003 and I am currently working for my current employer from July 2008 and my job description requires Masters degree + 2 yrs to perform the job. Overall I started my career from Jan 2000 - Till Date. Am I eligible for EB2 please let me know? Also can u explain, will I fall into this category 3 yr bachelors degree + 2 yr masters degree = bachelors degree + 1 year and would require 5 yrs progressive experience to qualify under the EB2?
You could qualify for EB-2 under BS + 5.
I got my H1B approval on 31 Dec 2010, thus my visa status changed from F1 to H1B (I am currently going to grad school and graduating in April 2011). My company wants me to get my visa stamped. I have heard various stories about problems faced in Canada for first time stamping. Is this really an issue? Is there any law which prevents us to get first time stamping done in stamping done in Canada?
H-1B stamping has been made difficult by consulates. There is nothing stopping you from applying in Canada, but your lawyers need to help you decide what is best.
My husband is on H4 with an I94 valid till June 17, 2011 and I am a H1B visa holder with a valid petition document. I am planning to go for a vacation. Will it be a problem if I leave my husband (dependent) in US and go for a vacation and come back in 3 to 4 weeks?
A few weeks absence should create no problems for your dependents.
I have my green card since June 30, 2001 and stayed in the US till December 2003 before leaving for India to attend to my father diagnosed with cancer. I have since been residing in India, visiting the US every 6 months or so to maintain GC. My wife got her citizenship in 2006 since she stayed back here in the US. I would now like to consider applying for citizenship - what is the minimum duration I need to be physically present in the US before applying?
1.5 years out of the last three and you must move back to USA before applying.
This memorandum provides guidance regarding implementation of the provisions of Public Law 111-230 that increase certain H-1B and L-1 petition fees. The additional fee applies to petitioners that employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50% of their employees in the United States in H-1B or L-1A or L-1B nonimmigrant status. Petitioners meeting those criteria must submit the additional fee with an H-1B or L-1 petition filed.
[Federal Register: January 28, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 19)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 5058-5061]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ja11-2]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
8 CFR Part 234
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
19 CFR Part 122
[CBP Dec 11-05]
RIN 1651-AA86
I started my GC processing in Sept. 98. Rajiv and his team got my LC done in Apr 99. I filed my I-140 in May 99. There were some questions regarding the valuation of my degree and experience. But Rajiv and Fidelina went out of way and got second evaluation of my education done which fitted the case in the EB2/RIR category. My I-140 was approved on 7 Dec.99 and now I have sent my I-485 papers for filing. Thank you very much Rajiv, Fidelina , Suman and the entire team. They are very dependable team even in difficult times. I must appreciate the skill and patience they showed in getting my I-140 approved.
We have started a forum for students of Tri-Valley University. This information is being continually updated. Please go here:
http://forums.immigration.com/forumd...Related-Issues
Many web sites are erroneously reporting that India EB-2 is current for February 2011. Please note, that is FALSE. India EB-2 is backed up to May 2006.
1. My employer filed my I-140 and it was approved. They refused to provide me the approval notice but through InfoPass I was able to get my receipt number and Alien #. To port my priority date, I would like to request USCIS for the duplicate copy of I-140 approval notice.
2. Is it possible to request USCIS a duplicate copy of my I-140 approval notice using either G-639 (FOIA) or I-824 (Action on an approved application or petition) or any other method as I have my receipt#?
FAQ Transcript
Answer 1. People typically file a FOIA request. File the Form G-639 (Form G-639 - USCIS). Often you get copies of all kinds of documents. Government gives you copies of documents they have on you. It is not consistent but people have got copies of their 140 approval notices, copies of their H-1 approval notices, the entire perm package. So it is worth filing a FOIA and it doesn’t cost you anything. It can take a little bit of time a couple of months maybe three months but do file it if you don’t have documentation. You can port the Priority Date with your alien number itself and receipt number as well. It should not need a I-140 approval notice. Remember the government has that information already. They don’t specifically need it from you.
Answer 2. By all means file the form. File G-639 and not I-824. File G-639 and let’s see what they give you.
I have been laid off by my current employer, with severance paycheck coming at regular pay intervals until mid January-2016. Finding a new employment is taking time. I am on H-1B which first started on October 01, 2013, latest I-797 valid until December 2017.
1. How long do I legally have, before I become unauthorized to stay? What constitutes as unlawful presence?
2. My I-94 admission validity is until October 2016; with no employment, does this mean anything?
3. Before I transition into a new H-1B, can I travel outside and into the country, without a Change of Status? Can I use severance pay checks if asked, for entry purposes?
4. Can I use my severance pay stubs as pay stubs when my next employer applies for new H-1B?
5. I am hesitating to inform my next employer about my termination, thinking that this may impact my hiring decision or my ability to negotiate. But not indicating terminated employment, is it possible that my H1B transfer or new petition may be considered unethical?
6. In your experience, how long does the USCIS take to update a revoked H-1B petition in their systems?
7. If my new employer files for H-1B transfer before the update but with pay stubs older than 30 days, do I have to mandatory leave the country for new H-1B stamping before starting to work?
8. If such is the case, is it best to change to a B-2 status and have my next employer apply for new H-1B? If yes, I would assume that I will be cap exempt until September 30, 2019 plus the days spent on B2; would this be a fair assumption.
9. Can my employer continue to pay severance checks when I am on B-2 status?
10. What happens if my new employer applies for H-1B transfer with severance paychecks, after USCIS has updated their records?
11. In your experience, what gap in unemployment is generally ignored by USCIS when filing for new H-1B or transferring new H-1B?
12. What other words of wisdom do you have for me?
If you get laid off on H-1B there is no grace period. You get laid off today tomorrow you are out of status.
Answer 1. Not even one day. However when you are getting paid can you not make the argument that since you are getting paid you are still maintaining status. That’s a slightly unpredictable argument. It can cut both ways. An example: I did a consultation on garden leave. Garden leave is very common in the financial industry. The employer lets you resign or if they lay you off they will pay you for the couple of months but they don’t want you to join another employer. The idea is you should not be able to take their information which is current and apply to a competitor. So in that case those pay checks are strongly set to keep you in status because it is full salary and they are maintaining control over you and they are not letting you do what you please . And that’s the assumption.
However severance pay… government has at one point said that they don’t consider severance pay to maintenance of status because severance pay seems to be a part of an arrangement were this is not salary you are basically just getting paid sought of a bonus to part company and I have doubts about that . I do not believe that to be a very good legal opinion from the government. I feel as long as my salary amount is getting paid, my deductions are being made, it is does not matter if I have a job or not. So you can certainly argue that. Severance pay doubtful, something like garden leave or regular leave coming out your way is probably ok to maintain status.
Answer 2. Not really. Understand the difference between out of status and unlawful presence. These are two different concepts. If you are on H-1 and you get laid off you are out of status the next day. But you are not unlawfully present until your H-1 is revoked or until your 1-94 expires. For sure unlawful presence begins when 1-94 expires. So unlawful presence and out of status are two different things. You are out of status the following day but you may not be unlawfully present until you’re I-94 expires or revocation of the H-1 occurs. Consequences of being out of status and unlawful presence are quite different. You are out of status that is no bar from getting another H-1B visa, another H-4, L-1, L-2 maybe a problem for F-1 or B-1 visas that have rather weak basis but for H-,4 H-1, L-1, L-2 or even O-1 or E-3 this is not a problem. On the other hand if you are unlawfully present for 180 days you are barred from green card or work visa for three years to ten years if you are unlawfully present for one year. So you can’t come back without a waiver and waivers are limited.
Answer 3. No because you don’t have a job. If you use the same visa to come back in, that could be fraud.
Answer 4. The answer is yes and why not. Government has never made a formal announcement that they will not accept severance as indicative of violation of status. So definitely use them.
Answer 5. That’s between you and your new employer. Immigration law does not require you to inform your new employer about termination by the old employer.
Answer 6. It can be many months but revocation should be retroactive so if your employer sent a revocation request which reaches USCIS today even if they act on it three months down the line they will back date it to today. Revocation is effective on the date revocation request is received.
Answer 7. It is up to USCIS, they might allow you status if the facts of your case is such that they require some sympathetic consideration but normally if you are out of status even one day government is well within its right to refuse to issue you status within the country. In these cases I always advice people to file premium processing soon so you know rather quickly were you stand.
Answer 8. B-2 application to maintain status is acceptable sometimes and also objectionable by the government. You can try, you can tell them that you were laid off unexpectedly and you have enough money to support yourself and you will not work without authorization, and that as soon as you find another employer you will immediately apply for an H-1. When all these things are said and done I think you can make a case for a B-2.
Sometimes government has come back and said we cannot give you a B-2 but as long as you get it filed before your current H-1 expires at least you have the right to stay in the US. You can argue in what is called authorized period of stay. But the problem is this. Something you need to be aware of. Let’s say your status is expired you have filed for B-2 and it is pending now you found a job remember an H-1 transfer within US will be approved only (most cases) if the pending B-2 has been approved in your favor by the time USCIS decides the H-1 transfer. If the case is still pending they will not give you status within USA, they will ask you to go for visa stamping. That is not a problem. You can do that but be mindful of that. If the B-2 is still pending or the B-2 is denied you will have to leave USA. The only time you get H-1B within USA is if by the time they decide your second H-1and your B-2 is already approved in your favor.
You will be cap exempt. That is not a problem because cap just says if you have been approved anytime in the last six years you are not subject to the quota.
Answer 9. Why not. On the one hand we are arguing that’s keeping you in status. On the other government could take the position that means you are violating status and I would say “no” because that is payment for work already done. They are giving me severance not because I am working for them; it’s because I already worked for them and this is either a payment for work already done or part of the arrangement while I was working. In order for employment to be unauthorized there must be a payment or remuneration as well as work. If there is payment without work or work without payment I think that is a good argument that’s not an unauthorized employment.
Answer 11. There is no consistency. I have seen them ignore not even one day they will come back and say no you were out of status for one day, in some situations they have done for two or three months. Most of the times they are not tolerant of this issue at all.
Answer 12. I think B-2is a good idea as long as you understand the implications of a B-2.
Rajiv Khanna is very helpful, provided an excellent advise hearing all my case details.