Check your petition status February 8, 2010
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentTeleconference – Signatures on Applications and Petitions Filed with USCIS February 6, 2010
Posted by admin in : Events , add a comment| February 9, 2010 | ||
| 1:00 pm | to | 3:00 pm |
The USCIS Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in a teleconference to discuss the implementation of recently developed policy and guidance clarifying the acceptability of signatures on applications and petitions filed with USCIS. A copy of the memorandum will be provided in advance of the session.
February 9, 2010 @ 1:00pm EST
USCIS is interested in hearing feedback and input on the impact of this guidance, how to best implement and to understand any stakeholder concerns.
To attend this meeting, please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1213 by 10am EST, Tuesday, February 9th.
Regulation to Enhance Attorney Discipline Program February 6, 2010
Posted by admin in : FAQ , add a commentThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new rule to enhance the integrity of the immigration adjudication process. The rule clarifies who is authorized to represent applicants and petitioners in cases before DHS; updates and enhances the standards and disciplinary procedures for these immigration practitioners; and eliminates duplicative immigration adjudication rules, procedures and authority. The new rules and procedures published on Feb. 2, 2010, in the Federal Register take effect on March 3, 2010.
Questions and Answers
Q. Do I have to be represented by an attorney in immigration proceedings before DHS?
A. No. You may represent yourself in immigration proceedings, or you may choose to be represented by an eligible attorney admitted to practice in the United States or by an eligible non-attorney accredited representative (see below for more information). For a list of accredited organizations and individual representatives, please visit the Justice Department’s webpage.
Q. How do I notify DHS that I am represented by an attorney or an accredited representative?
A. You and your attorney or accredited representative will file a “Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative,”(Form G-28) with your application or petition, following which DHS will review your representative’s eligibility.
H-1B and H-2B Cap Exemptions for Work Performed in the CNMI and Guam February 6, 2010
Posted by admin in : FAQ , add a commentWorkers in H-1B and H-2B classifications who are admitted to perform labor and services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam are exempt from the H-1B cap and H-2B cap from November 28, 2009 to December 31, 2014. The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), Public Law 110-229, provides a special exemption to the statutory numerical limitations (or “caps”) for temporary workers in H nonimmigrant classifications mentioned in Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Questions and Answers
Q. Who may qualify for this CNMI and Guam H cap exemption?
A. Nonimmigrants admitted as H-1B and H-2B workers for labor or services in the CNMI and/or Guam. To qualify for this exemption in H-1B classification, the prospective employer’s petition must include a Labor Condition Application (LCA) listing employment or services in the CNMI and/or Guam only. To qualify for this exemption in H-2B classification, the petition must include a temporary labor certification (TLC) listing labor or services in the CNMI and/or Guam only.
Additional Information Regarding the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) February 6, 2010
Posted by admin in : News , add a commentU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today provides additional guidance regarding the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) to employers seeking to file H-1B petitions.
The EAWA was enacted to ensure that companies that receive funding under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act do not displace U.S. workers. Under this legislation, any company that has received covered funding and seeks to hire new H-1B workers is considered an “H-1B dependent employer.” An H-1B dependent employer must make additional statements to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the recruitment and non-displacement of U.S. workers when filing a Labor Condition Application (LCA). Please refer to the DOL’s Web site for guidance regarding the LCA filing requirements.
Subsequent to the enactment of EAWA, USCIS revised its Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, to include a question asking whether the employer received covered funding (Question A.1.d). See the first page of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement. Question A.1.d. is meant to identify petitioners who received funding under TARP or section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act when the petition is filed.
USCIS understands that some businesses who received covered funding may have subsequently repaid their obligations and may not know how to respond to Question A.1.d. (For information on whether covered funding obligations have been repaid, recipients of TARP funding should seek guidance from the Department of Treasury, or the Federal Reserve, respectively.) If you have repaid your obligations, then answer “No” to Question A.1.d. If you wish to provide further information with the petition to assist USCIS in determining that your status for purposes of EAWA is correct, you may do so.
USCIS reminds you that a valid LCA must be on file with DOL when the H-1B petition (with a copy of the LCA) is filed with USCIS. Processing delays or a denial of the H-1B petition may result if the LCA does not correspond with Question A.1.d of the H-1B petition, unless any inconsistency is explained to the satisfaction of USCIS. For example, if the LCA includes the additional statements, but Question A.1.d is answered “no,” you can explain that you had received covered funding at the time of filing the LCA but repaid the obligation before filing the Form I-129. However, please note that if you indicate on the petition that you are subject to the EAWA, but the LCA does not contain the proper declarations relating to H-1B dependent employers, USCIS will deny the H-1B petition.
USCIS additionally reminds employers that EAWA applies only to new hires and not to H-1B petitions seeking to change the status of a beneficiary working for the petitioning employer in another work-authorized category. It also does not apply to H-1B petitions seeking an extension of H-1B status for a current employee to continue working for the same employer.
