The Office of Foreign Labor Certification has posted updated program factsheets containing the FY 2014 Q4 TD selected statistics for the Permanent Labor Certification Program, Prevailing Wage Determination Program, H-1B Temporary Visa Program,
Release Date: September 16, 2014
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will welcome more than 27,000 new citizens in more than 160 naturalization ceremonies between Sept. 17 and Sept. 23 in honor of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. During this week—also known as Constitution Week—museums, historic and public libraries, government landmarks and national park sites will provide the backdrop for our celebration of citizenship and the achievements of our newest U.S. citizens.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) awarded nearly $10 million in grants today to 40 organizations that will help permanent residents prepare and apply for U.S. citizenship. Located in 24 states and the District of Columbia, these organizations will receive federal funding to support citizenship preparation services for permanent residents through September 2016.
On July 1, 2014, U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began using a new secure blue ink for many of its secure stamps.
Do we need to send an LCA for H-1B1 Singapore quota?
Yes, you do. E-3 visas for Australia and H-1B1 for Singapore and Chile, all require an LCA.
What happens if I travel without visa or advance parole while my I-485 is pending? I want to go to India.
That would lead to abandonment (sort of like cancellation of I-485). You will have to enter USA under some legal status (like H-4/H-1/L-2/L-1) and then file I-485 again when the priority dates becomes current.
The USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS) is a streamlined online account-based system that allows customers to view their applications, petitions or requests, receive electronic notification of decisions, and receive real-time case status updates.
USCIS ELIS allows applicants to:
DV 2016 Program: Online registration for the DV 2016 Program will begin on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and will conclude on Monday, November 3, 2014 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4).
USCIS Automatically Extends Validity of Employment Authorization Documents
If I have 3 years of college from the UK and 7 years of professional experience, can they give me E-3 visa? The employer has given me a job offer in USA. All degree and work is in IT systems
If the degree and at least three years of professional experience are in the same field, E-3 should be available.
I have my I-140 approved(in my 6th year of H-1). But my employer is not handing the approval notice to me. I have both Receipt Number and my Labor number (starting with A.). I have filed FOIA to get copy of I-140 approval notice. I wanted to know
1) Can I transfer my H-1 to another employer by just giving I-140 receipt number to them?
2) Can my new employer use this number to file my GC and keeping the PD based on this number?
As long as your I-140 is not revoked BEFORE approval of H-1 extension/transfer, the receipt should be enough to get an extension with another employer. The priority date transfer is "automatic" and done at the USCIS level; that should not even need a receipt.
I am working for company X as a full time employee on H-1B visa. They have filed my green card and my I-140 has been improved. Company Y to hire me as a part time on W2 but I need to work as and when required. So sometime I have to work 20-3- hours in a week and sometime, I will not have work for months. I can work from home too during off hours. Company Y is going to file concurrent H-1B. I have few questions regarding my visa:
<br>
1) Will it affect my current full time H-1B with Company X<br>
2) Will it affect my green card process<br>
3) Is it ok if I don't work for months for company Y without affecting Company Y's H-1B<br>
4) If I get new I-94 through company Y, will it affect my current status?<br>
5) Will company X know about H-1B filed by Company Y?
This is not likely to work. Filing a concurrent H-1 is perfectly acceptable in this case and it does not affect your green card process, nor your current H-1. I dont know of any way an H-1 can be approved for an intermittent employment.
DHS will allow 13,999 CW-1 nonimmigrants for FY 2015
USCIS Federal Register Notice of Filing Procedures for Employment Authorization and Automatic Extension of Existing EAD for Liberians Eligible for DED.
Hello Rajiv Ji,
Thanks for your time and responses (over the email). I have below questions.
1) I am an EB-2, with Priority date Jun-2008. Applied i-485 in Jan-2012. Cut-off date became current in July-2014. Through congressperson / infopass found that my application is in background checks.
1.a) I have given fingerprints 2.5 years ago and background checks are not cleared yet. so what are my options in expediting it?
1.b) My worry is the checks may not be cleared before next time dates become current, and I may be in the same situation again.
1.b) Can I use Writ of Mandamus? Does my case (485 pending for 2.5 years, current for 2.5 months, but background checks are not completed yet) have enough reasons to claim "unreasonable delay"?
2) I am using my EAD. My labor says "Senior Analyst" as my job title.
2.a) Can I accept a promotion with a director/managerial job title ?
2.b) or does it cause a problem / RFE in future? Duties are more or less similar and work on same software technology, but will have few direct reports and need to manage projects.
3) Can I switch to H1-B as a safe measure?
3.a) Does switching mean I am abandoning my GC?
3.b) Do I need to go out of the country for stamping or can I continue to work without going out?
3.b) what are the risks involved?
See the marked clip below from Rajiv's video recording for the answer to this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UUm4s1qwOS…
Hello Sir,
I am H4 visa holder and want to blog for hobby. If I get any money from blogging due to advertisements or page hits, I want to take all of that money and donate it to charitable organization. I want to know is this legal while in H4 status and if so I want to know the correct procedure to do what I have mentioned, so that I am still following the rules for the H4 visa.
See clip from video recording by Rajiv for the answer to this question regarding volunteer work on H-4 visa status.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UUm4s1qwOS…
My sister filed petition for me last year maybe I-130. I am an Indian and my wife is Italian, I am in California nowadays since last week. Can we stay here permanently under I-485 or AOS whatever?
That category takes 13-14 years. During the time you are waiting for your priority date to be current, you cannot stay in the USA just because your green card is pending. You can, however, stay or come to the USA under a visa independent of the green card such as L-1, H-1. You can also apply for a green card in several categories simultaneously.
1. What are TN and L nonimmigrant classifications?<br>
2. How can Canadian citizens obtain TN and L-1 classifications? <br>
3. I am a first time TN and L-1 applicant – am I required to go to a designated port of entry?<br>
4. Which ports of entry are designated for optimized processing?
1. The TN nonimmigrant classification permits qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level. The L-1 nonimmigrant classification - Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager – enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company that does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the U.S.
Recently USCIS erroneously scheduled some customers for more than one Application Support Center (ASC) biometric appointment (Form I-797C).
If you have already attended an ASC biometric appointment, and received a second appointment notice for the same application type, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY for hearing impaired: 1-800-767-1833) to confirm that you do not need to return to the ASC to have biometrics collected again.
On January 1, 2015, E-Verify must dispose of transaction records that are over ten years old - those dated on or before December 31, 2004. E-Verify employers have until December 31, 2014, to download case data from the new “Historic Records Report” if they want to retain transaction data that is more than ten years old.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez announced the launch of myE-Verify—a new website designed for employees. myE-Verify is a one-stop shop for employees to create and maintain secure personal accounts and access new features for identity protection.
Important Notice - New Application Fees: Nonimmigrant and immigrant visa application fees for certain visa categories will change on September 12, 2014. All visa applicants must pay the fee amounts in effect on the day they pay, with the exception of Immigrant Visa application processing fees paid domestically to the National Visa Center (NVC), which will be effective as of the date of billing.
Fees that will decrease are not refundable. If you paid a visa fee before September 12, 2014 and that fee decreased, we cannot give you a refund.
It was a nice experience to work with Rajiv and his team. The team is pro-active and the response time is amazingly quick. Overall I would highly recommend their service. I am sure that the team is equipped well to help people like us struggling with out immigration.