Search

Here is a commonly encountered situation for AOS applicants (I-485 pending) from our clients-only extranet:

The following statistics released by USDOS note the percentage of B visas that were refused by US consulates world-wide.

Afghanistan 56.0%
Albania 37.7%
Algeria 21.9%
Andorra 100.0%
Angola 21.4%
Antigua and Barbuda 19.7%
Argentina 3.1%
Armenia 51.4%
Australia 23.7%
Austria 11.5%
Azerbaijan 13.5%
Bahrain 4.1%
Bangladesh 36.4%
Barbados 10.2%
Belarus 19.7%
Belgium 13.2%
Belize 33.4%
Benin 39.7%
Bhutan 64.1%
Bolivia 23.8%
Bosnia-Herzegovina 9.7%
Botswana 13.9%
Brazil 5.2%

State Department has published the following press release.

Press Releases 2010

U.S. ambassador announces more convenient U.S. visa application process

November 18, 2010

At the October 28, 2010, stakeholder meeting with the U.S. Department of Labor, DOL discussed their increased staffing capability and a corresponding increased scrutiny of cases where the employer fails to respond to an Audit Notification letter or submits an incomplete response to such a letter. Where DOL identifies a substantial failure by the employer to provide required documentation in response to an Audit Notification letter, DOL indicated that we can expect to see more debarment and/or revocation proceedings.

The news item and related documents are available here:
http://www.immigration.com/newslette...prmprocss.html

Please note, for now (June 2008), premium processing is only available if you meet ALL of the current requirements:
1. Your are currently on H-1;
2. Your H-1 status is expiring within 60 days when you apply for I-140 premium processing; and
3. You are not eligible to receive 1-year H-1 extensions because your labor certification was filed less than one year ago.

This issue has come up several times. Here is what USCIS says:

USCIS Considerations to expedite Cases

All expedite requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and are granted at the discretion of the Director. The criteria are as follows:

* Severe financial loss to company or individual
* Extreme emergent situation
* Humanitarian situation
* Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States

This morning, I was working on explaining to a client (whom I respect greatly), one of the foremost musicians from India, how EB1 (Extraordinary Ability) category applies to musicians and performers. As I was sending him the basic information on EB1 category, I thought I will share the general criteria with all of you. This information is for EA, generally and applies to all fields - not just music. See attached.

Regards to all. Rajiv.