USCIS National Stakeholder Meeting Updates - 08/26/09
Please find attached Details of USCIS National Stakeholder Meeting which was held on July 27, 2009.
Please find attached Details of USCIS National Stakeholder Meeting which was held on July 27, 2009.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed rule on the removal of HIV infection from its list of communicable diseases of public health significance - As of now with respect to the above proposed rule the Chicago Field Office has not received any guidance from HQ. Hence the office will not hold such applications in suspension until further notice.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Application Support Center (ASC) stand-alone sites will move to a Monday through Friday schedule beginning Nov. 2, 2009. Stand-alone ASCs are those which are not co-located with other federal offices and which previously operated Tuesday through Saturday. All ASCs, both stand-alone and co-located sites, will continue to be open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The DOL released a memo to regional administrators and district directors regarding travel and visa expenses of H-2B workers under FLSA minimum wage laws. In January 2009, the Department ofHomeland Security delegated to Wage and Hour enforcement authority to ensure that H-2B workers are employed in compliance with the H-2B labor certification requirements. Wage and Hour issued regulations implementing this authority, 29 C.F.R. Part 655, which became effective on January 18,2009. Those regulations are applicable to applications for certifications filed on or after that date.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Office of Management and Budget has extended its approval of Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) to Aug. 31, 2012. Consequently, USCIS has amended the form to reflect a new revision date of Aug. 7, 2009.
Employers may use the Form I-9 with the revision date of either Aug. 7, 2009 or Feb. 2, 2009. The revision dates are located on the bottom right-hand portion of the form.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced new directives to enhance and clarify oversight for searches of computers and other electronic media at U.S. ports of entry—a critical step designed to bolster the Department’s efforts to combat transnational crime and terrorism while protecting privacy and civil liberties.
1. I am on H1B. It is valid until 2010. Since I am hearing that there are many queries on the port of entry, do ou think I should travel back to the country with valid AP or H1? Which one is more preferable?
2. Considering I have valid H1B until 2010 and valid AP (though I don't have AP at the moment). I plan to stay on H1 as long as I am waiting for my greencard. But for travel purposes I use AP. Does coming back into the country using AP will change my status from H1 to EAD?
3. How long is AP processing taking these days?
4. All my co-workers are getting huge queries on H1 extension or H1 transfer. Is AP processing also getting queries? Should I even start AP processing?
5. Please list out all the documents that I should carry while traveling?
1. I think I prefer AP. Read the Cronin memo and you will understand that even if you enter using AP, you will be considered to be on valid H-1 as long as you were maintaining H-1 status before you left. Search the word "Cronin" on my blog .
2. No. See answer above.
3. It is impossible to predict times. Plan for a six-month turnaround.
4. Do not be scared of queries. We are yet to lose an H-1 case. I am not aware of any queries on AP.
5. Advance Parole and Passport.
[Federal Register: August 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 44376-44377]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au09-66]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Agency Information Collection Activities: Form I-600/I-600A, Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request
[Federal Register: August 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 44375-44376]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au09-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Agency Information Collection Activities: Form I-485 and Supplements A and E, Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request
Here is a document USDOL (Wage and Hour Division) is using to send to employees. This outlines the factors USDOL is most interested in when investigating an employer.
The US State Department has made the following announcement today regarding the phased resumption of visa services.
Release Date
USCIS confirmed that for all forms it has reverted to the form rejection criteria it applied before October 2019 regarding blank responses.
In 2019, USCIS changed the form rejection criteria for:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of the flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19.
FAQs: AC21 Job Portability After I get my green card, is it legal to work for two companies (and not the original company) simultaneously?
Hi Vijay, Thank you so much for guiding me throughout the PERM and i140 process. You have taken utmost care during the entire process starting from filling my LCA to PERM approval. Thank you for following up on a regular basis. It is a pleasure working with you and your law firm.
Hi Suman, Thank you so much for your valuable advice
With best regards
Partha Manchala ANG Infotech LLC.
I am here on an H-1B and I am looking at quitting my job very soon to leave the country. I am aware there is no grace period for quitting on an H-1B and I don't have a choice but to work till the last day. I do however have a tourist visa that is valid until 2016. Can I quit my job earlier and still stay a week on the account of the tourist visa to pack up and leave; or would the tourist visa have to be activated only be re-entering?
It has to be "activated." Note that under the circumstances reentry and hence "reactivation" is likely to be difficult.
I had to share this, an email from Diane, a member of our team yesterday:
The following FAQ should cover the issues.
The PERM Processing Times has been updated. Please click the link below to view the times.
http://www.immigration.com/PERM-processing-dates/perm-processing-times-11062013
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 224, and the Social Security Act (SSA) require that individuals seeking coverage under a qualified health plan offered on a Health Insurance Marketplace or through an insurance affordability program (i.e., premium tax credits, cost sharing reductions, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, or Basic Health Program) provide information regarding their immigration status and certain information about their household members to determine eligibility for such coverage. This memorandum sets forth U.S.
If a foreign national in the United States who has been affected by civil unrest, a severe natural disaster or other extreme situation in your home country, the available options for which one may apply include:
OFLC appreciates the challenges the regulated community has experienced as a result of the lapse in appropriations, which resulted in the cessation of the operation of OFLC's electronic systems, and further resulted in a backlog of documents submitted to OFLC during that period by mail, hand-delivery, or email.
Mr. Khanna is the best in the Business (if you don’t agree with me, he is certainly one of the Best). His law firm is handling both my H1-B and Green Card, and my experience has always been really really very very good. Mr. Khanna has a very good team but when crises arise or there is confusion in the application process he will directly get involved – this means a lot - as the best and brightest person in us immigration arena is dealing your case. I very highly recommend his law firm.
The “Pending Employment-Based Form I-485 Report,” displays the total number of pending adjustment of status applications, per preference classification. The report shows how many pending adjustment of status (green card) applications in each preference classification have priority dates in a given month and year.
Dear Rajiv Khanna jee
I am not able to express my happiness when I got your mail. I can just say THANK YOU for the sincere effort and a strong belief that you always had in my case. I also want to share the amount of frustration that I went through after the second refusal of the application. Still in that moment of time you said that you will not give up until we achieve our goal. I want to thank Diane, Sumanjee for their immense support of preparing things with the detailed hard work. Many Many thanks. We will always be together.
Sincerely
Ronu Majumdar