USCIS’s VIBE Aims to Enhance Accuracy, Efficiency and Fraud Detection
The Web-based Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) is a tool designed to enhance USCIS’s adjudications of certain employment-based immigration petitions.
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3373-3375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1568]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 77 , No. 15 / Tuesday, January 24, 2012 / Presidential Documents
[[Page 3373]]
Executive Order 13597 of January 19, 2012
Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing
Goals and the Task Force On Travel and Competitiveness
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
January 23, 2012
On January 24, the Department of State’s Office of Passport Services will launch a 90-day pilot program allowing adult U.S. citizens living in the United States and Canada to apply for a passport card online. By applying online, customers will not be required to mail in their current passport book and necessary forms, saving them time and money.
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4034-4035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1603]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Introduction:
VIBE is a web-based adjudication tool used by USCIS to validate basic information about companies petitioning to employ alien workers. VIBE uses commercially available data from an independent information provider (IIP) to validate basic information about companies petitioning to employ certain alien workers. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) is the current IIP for this program.
My employer applied PERM (in 6th year) in October 2011 EB-2 Category and it picked for random audit in Jan 2012, employer asked me to send signed ETA form to respond to Audit question with in 2 weeks. They said its random computer audit and has to respond with paper documents. I am already in 6th yr and my H-1 get expired by May 22, 2012 is it possible to go for H-1 extension beyond 6th year while PERM is still in Audit status.
You will be eligible for H-1 extension beginning October 2012, even if PERM is pending audit or not.
Mr. Khanna explains things easily and simply
The Department of Labor is working to incorporate new and/or revised Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes into the Permanent (PERM) Program online application system. Until the new codes are fully integrated, filers may experience situations where the new and/or revised, SOC codes are not available in the PERM online application system. Until such time as the new codes are incorporated, the Atlanta National Processing Center (ANPC) will accept the older SOC codes even though they may not match the code indicated on the Prevailing Wage Determination.
My spouse and I am legal permanent resident here in the US for more than 3 years now. We are planning to travel back to India in early December this year and my wife tentatively plans to stay back in India for close to 3-8 months. I am planning to return back after 3 months. In such situation, is it advisable to file re-entry permit (I-131) for her. Also should I get an attorney if I have to file or can I do it on my own?
If you are not abandoning your permanent residence in USA (keeping your home, job, etc.), I see no need for a reentry permit for a three-month trip. She should apply and through counsel.
I just sent my I-131 application (for reentry permit) via overnight delivery, but turns out that I need to briefly go abroad starting this Friday for a work emergency. The official Notice of Action (I-797c) would probably arrive at my house while I am still overseas. My question is, will the application be denied if I leave the country before receiving the Notice of Action? (I'm afraid that USCIS would assume that I've abandoned the application by leaving the country.) I should be back in the USA for the biometric appointment.
As I recall, as long as the application has been physically received by USCIS, your departure does not cause abandonment. So, you should not have to worry. But you will need to be back for biometrics associated with the I-131.
On Nov. 1, 2011, USCIS will introduce a new, more user-friendly version of the form used to report results of medical examinations for those seeking certain immigration benefits, Report of a Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, Form I-693. Civil surgeons completing medical examinations between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, should use the new form dated 10/11/11.
Blanket L Visa processing to move to the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai on December 1, 2011.
The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai will become the sole acceptance center in India for all applications for intra-company transfers under the blanket L category as of December 1, 2011. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and U.S. Consulates in Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad will no longer accept or process applications for this visa category. The blanket L category includes specialized knowledge professionals, executives and managers.
ICE updated its list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program approved schools.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
45 CFR Part 152
[CMS-9995-IFC2]
RIN 0938-AQ70
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Program
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds customers affected by Hurricane Isaac of certain U.S. immigration benefits that may be available to them.
USCIS understands that a natural disaster can affect an individual’s ability to maintain lawful immigration status. Eligible individuals may apply for temporary relief measures, including:
A J-1 exchange visa holder who received graduate medical education or training in the U.S.
As of Aug. 10, 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) no longer provides admission stamps on Forms I-20/DS-2019 for prospective and returning international students and scholars (traveling with F, M, and J visas) seeking admission to the United States. This change makes CBP processes consistent with U.S.
The United States Embassy in India today announced it is implementing a new visa processing system throughout India that will further standardize procedures and will simplify fee payment and appointment scheduling through a new website at www.ustraveldocs.com/in. Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs, Julia Stanley, announced at a press conference here today that beginning September 26, 2012 U.S.
A J-1 exchange visa holder who received graduate medical education or training in the U.S.
Ours is a long story. My green card was filed under EB3 India with a PD of May 2006. My husband's green card was filed under EB3 India in 2005. When our dates became current sometime in 2007, my I-140 was already approved and his was pending. So, we decided to go ahead with my case and filed for I-485 for both of us. However, the dates then retrogressed and our lawyer informed us that my husband's case is no longer valid since his LC expired 3 months after it was approved. We didn't know that LC expires if not used within a specific time frame and the lawyer did not inform us either. Anyways, my husband's GC was again filed, this time through Rajiv's firm with proper guidance and through EB2. Rajiv also guided us to go through Consular Processing instead of I-485 since in our case, my husband could legally work using EAD via the I-485 applied through my case. In all these years, the company I work for has increased in size and wants to promote me. I consulted with Rajiv regarding this and inquired about possibility for porting from EB3 to EB2. Rajiv answered all our questions and guided us appropriately this time too. We are now waiting to hear about the Priority Dates for October 2012 bulletin and will make a decision about EB3 to EB2 porting. It feels so good to be able to talk to Rajiv regarding these questions related to immigration and his knowledge and experience in this field is very very valuable for people like us. Every time we have talked to him we have received excellent response and guidance. My husband and the company he works for had a very good experience with EB2 filing. Everything was very professional and was checked and rechecked before it was sent through. Thanks to Rajiv for all his help with our case so far!
I have looked at this forum a million times throughout my journey and have found it sooo amazingly helpful I thought I would share my experience in the hopes that it might help some people.
On sep 5th, I arrived at the embassy 06.30am for my interview, but waited till 11am before being interviewed as the cashier was not at her desk for me to make my visa payment.Good morning
good morning sir I replied
do you swear that everything you have written in the forms and you will say this morning is true? I answered yes
what is your name? I answered
you are .... Years old right? ..... Yes
why did you apply for dv lottery in the first place.......... I answered
where were you when you applied.... I answered
EB3 to EB2 conversion
EB3 to EB2 porting
EB3 to EB2
Good afternoon, everyone. This is US Immigration Attorney, Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com, the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
This is a community information call. It is not intended to create an attorney/client relationship. Whatever we say here remains merely an informational conversation.
This is a follow-up to the August 30 Community Conference Call.
We are talking about issues related to converting from EB3 to EB2.
What is this idea of EB-3 to EB-2 conversion?
Most of you know that EB-3 for countries like India and China are very backed up and EB-2’s are better. Actually, for the rest of the world also, EB-2 is much better. So sometimes even though you have obtained a Labor Certification (PERM certification) and then you obtained an I-140 approval or you are on the path to that, you feel, “Oh, maybe I should have filed an EB-2, or maybe circumstances have changed and now I can file under EB-2.” So, in those cases, when we get the priority date from an EB-3 case and put it on top of an EB-2 case, thereby essentially converting an EB-3 case to an EB-2 case, we refer to that loosely as a conversion. Really, it is not a conversion. It is a new case filed under EB-2, and essentially the priority date is being transferred.
One relevant question here. Can priority dates be transferred if an employer revokes my old I-140?
The answer is “Yes.” USCIS has said that they will allow transfers (carryovers) of priority dates even if the old I-140 is revoked, as long as the revocation is not for fraud.
So, when you do this analysis of EB-3 to EB-2 conversion, the first question you want to ask yourself is “Am I currently qualified for EB-2?”
Why is this question important? Remember a Green Card is for a job in the future, which means today I am working as a programmer; tomorrow’s job could be a project manager, and even though I continue to work as a programmer for the next three years or until I get my Green Card, it is not a problem. The future job of project manager can be given to me once the Green Card is approved. Or before. That is up to the employer, but it is not required. So the idea is a Green Card is for a future job. However, you must be qualified for it on the date you filed the PERM application.
So let’s say you have three years of experience after Bachelor’s Degree, and you know that the Green Card will take three or four more years, can you file under EB-2 today?
No, because you are not qualified. You may be qualified in two years or three years, but that does not mean you can file an EB-2 right now.
So are you currently qualified for EB-2?
One of the recommendations I have is for people who are not qualified and don’t have the five-year experience or have a three-year Bachelor’s Degree, you may consider doing a Master’s Degree online. I have a video on this. It’s on my blog. It tells you how to choose an appropriate on-line Master’s Degree program that is accredited and that will help you get into EB-2.
Here is a link to the video and a transcript:
Accreditation of distance education for EB-2
The next question you want to ask yourself is Do I want to process my EB-2 case with the same employer who petitioned the EB-3 or some other employer?
It is a little bit easier to do it with another employer, but given the choice between going with a totally new employer and going with an employer who is totally, solidly behind me, who is going to pay the attorney’s fees. This is a considerable expense. If they’re on my side and they want to cooperate fully with the law, then of course I would stay with the same employer.
The next question you have to ask yourself is Do you need a promotion--present or future?
What does that mean? What if you have three years of experience before you joined this employer, you want to process your Green Card through this employer, and you’ve got two years with this employer now? Now you’ve got five years but two years are with the same employer through whom you are going to file your EB-2 who also did your EB-3 earlier. In order to use that experience, you must be offered a job which is more than fifty percent different than what you were doing before. Let’s say the old job was all coding and the new job is mostly providing project management, so that’s a promotion and then the experience that you have gained with this employer can be applied towards your EB-2.
I hope I’m making myself clear. Most of you already know the concepts, but still I want to put it out there so that you are sensitized to the issues. You can ask your lawyers the right kind of questions and make sure your case is being properly approached. These concepts are difficult. They can be complicated. Even we can make mistakes. Lawyers are not perfect, as all of you know. Be educated and take your lawyers’ help in making these decisions.
It is very important to have a bona fide job.
What does that mean? If you have a three-employee company and the employer says, “I will you a promotion.” That’s a little difficult to establish and believe. It can be true but, if you are a 300-employee company or a 3,000-employee company, probably a better case for a promotion, but of course it all depends upon the facts of the case. I’m just giving you an example. This does not mean smaller companies cannot process promotion cases.
How do I eliminate the risk of problems of EB-3?
What does that mean? I already have my EB-3 approval. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to mess that up.
What you can do is, you can make sure, taking the example of the programmer under EB-3 who wants to go for project manager under EB-2. If your EB-3 was for a programmer, make sure you continue working as a programmer until the I-140 for the new case is approved. So don’t change jobs, because, if you take a promotion to project manager, then the Government could question, "This guy has already taken a promotion, then why would he come back to the lower job which is the Green Card job?” Do not take a promotion until the I-140 for the new case is approved. That would be important.
What if I used AC-21?
This is a very tricky situation. You are one of the lucky ones who’s got your I- 485 pending and I-140 is approved under EB-3. You changed from IBM to Sun Microsystems. You changed employers. Your job was programmer. Now, for AC-21, the job that Sun gives you has to be the same or similar to the job IBM gave you. So it’s got to be a programmer or thereabouts. Now the problem here is this. In order for Sun Microsystems to process your case under EB-2, they have to assess whether they have to promote you so that an EB-2-level job can be given to you or can they use the same job. This can be tricky.
So for AC-21, the key question is can the same job which was the subject of AC-21 be used to file an EB-2 case?
Tricky question. Depends upon the facts of the case.
Now, to the posted set of Questions from the Community Conference call of August 30th.
First Set of Questions
Question: I have an I-485 pending on EB-3. I have been with my company for 12 years. They are planning to apply for EB-2. Same company. I have a Bachelor’s four-year engineering degree from India. Can I qualify for EB-2?
Answer: Yes if the job that is being offered to you is sufficiently dissimilar from the EB-3 job.
Question: Is there any audit risk?
Answer: No. Filing for a conversion (again, I am using the term “conversion” loosely) does not create any additional audit risks.
Question: If we apply in EB-2, will my EB-3 application processing stop?
Answer: No, it does not stop.
Question: What happens to the EB-3?
Answer: It goes on. Don’t take up a promotion. I just mentioned that.
Question: My wife is working on EAD. Will her EAD be affected?
Answer: No, not at all. No problem at all.
Question: If I get EB-2 I- 140 approved, can I use EB-3 priority date?
Answer: Yes.
Question: At that time, will I get another EAD from EB-2 processing?
Answer: No. What you do is, you take the EB-2 I-140 approval and put it on top of the existing I-485. So your old I-140 gets knocked out and the new one now sits on top of your I-485. So I-485 does not need to be re-filed.
Second set of questions
Question: He is preparing for his I-140 for EB-2. Can this be done premium processing?
Answer: Sure.
Question: Do we have to specify the pending EB-3 case information?
Answer: You will have to, because if there is an I-140 approved or pending under the old case, you have to mention that. There is a question I think on the form.
Question: Should we do it during the I-140 filing?
Answer: Yes. On the form itself, there is a question. If there is only a Labor Certification pending, there is nothing to say. If the I-140 is either pending or approved from the old case, you have to say it in the new I-140.
Question: When I started filing for my EB-2 case, my attorney mentioned not to file AC-21.
Answer: I think that’s a personal choice. I like to file AC-21’s and then I like to assess whether I would need a promotion case or I can go ahead with the same AC-21 job for EB-2. I would like your lawyer to decide that as I do not know the case.
Rajiv and his firm have represented my company for several years. They provided the entire suite of immigration services including the preparation work, H-1B, green card approvals (I-140, I-485) for several of my employees successfully. Rajiv, and his team under his guidance, provided exceptional service and personal attention to all our company cases and successfully won the approvals in all the cases. Quality, personal attention and diligent follow ups to ensure successful case completion are some of their hallmarks. I would gladly and highly recommend Rajiv and his firm to anyone looking for immigration related services.