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The Department’s H-2A regulations at 20 CFR 655.120(l) provide that employers must pay their H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment at least the highest of: (i) the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR); (ii) the prevailing wage; (iii) the prevailing piece rate; (iv) the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, if applicable; or (v) the Federal or State minimum wage, in effect at the time the work is performed.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will change the filing locations for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Effective Jan. 1, 2012, domestic petitioners will mail their stand-alone I-130 applications to either the Chicago Lockbox or the Phoenix Lockbox, depending on where they reside in the United States. The new filing locations will be updated with the corresponding addresses on Jan.

Please see the attachment to view the PERM Statistics.

In January 2010 the BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) was updated. This year the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) began issuing prevailing wages using the new SOC occupations and a few transitional occupations. The OFLC iCERT system and FLC Data Center incorporated this data as of July 5, 2011. To read the full text, please click here.

Please check the attachment to view CRS report on "Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues".

The Department has posted a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) to assist employers and others regarding the H-2A program. The FAQ is available here on the FAQs page of the OFLC website under the H-2A heading.

The Department has posted a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) to assist employers and others regarding the H-2B program.

Please check attachment.

Please check the attachment.

Please read the attachment for "EB-5 Stakeholder QAs".

Please check the attachment.

Annual Report 2011

On June 29, 2011, Ombudsman January Contreras submitted the 2011 Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman’s Annual Report to Congress.

In her opening message, Ombudsman Contreras writes:

U.S. Refugee Admissions Program

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is an inter-agency effort involving a number of governmental and non-governmental partners, both overseas and domestically, whose mission is to resettle refugees in the United States. The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) has overall management responsibility for the USRAP and has the lead in proposing admissions numbers and processing priorities.

Wages for the 7/2011 - 6/2012 program year are now available and are effective 7/1/2011.

The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center is the location of the Online Wage Library for prevailing wage determinations, and the disclosure databases for the temporary and permanent programs. To access our databases or downloadable files click one of the links below.

Online Wage Library

[Federal Register: July 7, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 130)]
[Unified Agenda]              
[Page 40073-40079]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07jy11-36]                        


[[Page 40073]]

Vol. 76

Thursday,

No. 130

July 7, 2011

Part IX





Department of Homeland Security

Telecon Recap: Application Processing Times: A Conversation with USCIS Office of Performance and Quality

Overview

On April 27, 2011, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman’s Office (Ombudsman’s Office) hosted a public teleconference regarding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processing times and interviewed Mr. Joseph Moore, Chief of the USCIS Office of Performance and Quality (OPQ), for this conversation.

Mr. Moore provided a brief overview of the functions of OPQ, as summarized below:

Media Note

Washington, DC
July 8, 2011