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May 23, 2006 immigration news update from Miller Mayer
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1. H-1B Cap May be Reached in June! 1. H-1B Cap May be Reached in June! The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that as of May 16, 2006, approximately 39,500 of the 58,200 "regular" H-1B visa numbers for start dates effective October 1, 2006 have been used up. Of these, about 6,500 have been approved and 33,000 are pending at Immigration Service Centers. Approximately 5,000 of the 20,000 additional numbers set aside for candidates with a U.S. master's degree have been spoken for. Of these, about 1,500 have been approved and 3,600 are still pending at Immigration Service Centers. If this case filing rate continues, the standard H-1B cap could be met in early June 2006, and the advanced degree cap could be met in September 2006. We believe that this pace will continue, particularly for the standard H-1Bs, now that we are in prime college graduation season. For that reason, any person who is eligible to file an H-1B should do so immediately to avoid missing the cap and then having to wait until October 1, 2007 to work in H-1B status in the U.S. Reminder: It is still possible to obtain H-1B status with an immediate start date for "new" employees who: * currently maintain H-1B status with another employer, OR * who have previously been in H-1B status in the past six years and have subsequently been absent from the U.S. for not more than one year. Note: if the prior H-1B employer was an exempt employer as described below, the new petition does require a number under the H-1B cap and is not eligible for an immediate start date. The following organizations are exempt from the "cap" and may continue to obtain H-1B status for new employees: * institutions of higher education; * a nonprofit organization related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education; and * a nonprofit research organization or governmental research organization. The USCIS H-1B notice is at: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm 2. USCIS Expands Premium Processing Service to Immigrant Visa Petitions The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a notice in the Federal Register today (May 23, 2006) that opens the agency's premium processing service to nearly all Form I-140 employment-based immigrant worker petitions (also known as green card applications). The agency is also extending premium processing to certain Form I-539 applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status, as well as to Form I-765 applications to renew employment authorization for foreign nationals with pending employment-based applications for adjustment of status. In addition, USCIS now is permitting concurrent filing of Forms I-539 and I-765 for certain nonimmigrant classifications. The notice takes effect immediately. USCIS's premium processing program allows petitioners and applicants to request expected adjudication of certain cases. Upon payment of a $1,000 fee, designated applications and petitions are slated for adjudication within 15 calendar days of filing. If the agency does not act on the case within the stated period - by issuing an approval, a denial or a request for evidence in the case - the $1,000 fee is refunded. Premium processing is now available for the following employment-based immigrant categories: * EB-1 foreign nationals of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers; * EB-2 members of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability (note, however, that premium processing is not available for EB-2 petitions that seek national interest waivers); and * EB-3 skilled workers, professionals and other workers. The USCIS notice also expands premium processing to include certain applications for extension of status or change of status filed on Form I-539, as follows: * B-1 personal and domestic servants; * B-1 foreign airline employees; * J-1 professors, scholars, trainees, teachers, specialists, alien physicians, international visitors, government visitors, camp counselors, au pairs and summer work travel (changes of status only); * J-2 dependents of the above-listed J-1 principals (changes of status * Dependents of E-1 treaty traders; * Dependents of E-2 treaty investors; * H-4 dependents of H-1B specialty occupation workers, H-2B temporary workers or H-3 trainees or special education trainee program workers; * L-2 dependents of L-1A and L-1B intracompany transferees; * O-3 dependents of O-1 foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, business, education or athletics or O-2 essential support nonimmigrants; * P-4 dependants of P-1 athletes or entertainment group members, P-2 artists or entertainers in reciprocal exchange programs, P-3 artists or entertainers in culturally unique programs, or any P-1, P-2 or P-3 essential support personnel; * R-2 dependents of R-1 religious workers; and * TD dependents of TN nonimmigrants pursuant to NAFTA. The USCIS is also extending premium processing service to Form I-765 applications to renew employment authorization for foreign nationals who have pending Form I-485 applications to adjust status that are supported by immigrant visa petitions in the EB-1 through EB-5 classifications. No other type of employment authorization application on Form I-765 is yet available for premium processing service. The notice also states that USCIS will permit concurrent filing Form I-765 employment authorization applications with Form I-539 applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status in the following categories: * B-1 domestic and personal servants; * B-1 airline employees; * E-1 and E-2 dependent spouses; and * L-2 spouses. Note that premium processing, if requested, will apply only to Form I-539. USCIS will not guarantee 15-day processing for an I-765 filed concurrently with a premium processed I-539. The USCIS premium processing notice is at: http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=398853149330+2+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve 3. The Firm Speaks Steve Yale-Loehr will speak at a NAFSA Region X conference on June 15 in Utica, New York on immigration options for undocumented college students. Steve will speak on a panel on how to be a better immigration lawyer at the annual conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in San Antonio, Texas on June 22. Contact Steve at mailto:syl@millermayer.com for more details on these talks. 4. Immigration Processing Times Links Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Service Centers and the Department of Labor, or the Department of State's latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers: USCIS Service Centers: https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp _____________________ Some of the information in this issue also comes from the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL). Steve Yale-Loehr is a founding member of ABIL, the think tank of premier business immigration counsel. For answers to any of your immigration questions, contact: Hilary Fraser (mailto:htf@millermayer.com) For general information, visit our web site at http://www.millermayer.com/ The usual required legal disclaimers (we ARE attorneys, after all): Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. The information in this newsletter is for general purposes only, and is not intended as legal advice for any particular situation. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Copyright (c) 2006 Miller Mayer, LLP. All rights reserved.
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