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November 1, 2005 Immigration News Update
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1. Senate Committee Approves Relief for Green Card and H-1B Backlogs 2. State Dept. Provides Guidance on Students and Immigrant Intent 3. U.S. Embassy in Mexico Sets New Procedures for Nonimmigrant Visa Appointments 4. USCIS Updates Adjudicators' Field Manual 5. Nanotechnologist Granted National Interest Waiver Green Card 6. The Firm Speaks 7. New Articles on our Web Site 8. New Halloween Photo on our Web Site 9. Immigration Processing Times Links 1. Senate Committee Approves Relief for Green Card and H-1B Backlogs The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved language in a budget bill that would increase the availability of permanent resident and H-1B visa numbers by allowing the recapture of unused numbers from past years. An additional fee of $500 would be assessed for each employment-based immigrant petition and H-1B petition using the recaptured numbers. The bill also would provide that only employment-based immigrants, not their spouses and children, would count toward the annual limit on employment-based immigration. The provisions would permit the recapture of an extra 30,000 H-1B numbers per year. The Senate Judiciary committee's proposal must now go to the full Senate, and then be reconciled with the House's budget bill. The House bill would impose a new $1,500 fee for each L-1 nonimmigrant intracompany transferee, and would not provide any extra numbers for H-1B visas or employment-based green cards. A final bill is expected to be enacted before Thanksgiving. It is important that members of Congress hear from companies, scientific and research institutions and universities about the adverse impacts of the H-1B visa blackout and the backlogs in the employment-based immigrant visa system. The more they hear from their constituents, the more likely it is for the Senate proposal, rather than the House bill, to be enacted into law. As chair of the Business Visa committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Steve Yale-Loehr is coordinating lobbying efforts on the Senate bill. Contact Steve or any other True, Walsh & Miller immigration lawyer to see how you can help. 2. State Dept. Provides Guidance on Students and Immigrant Intent The Department of State issued a cable on September 28, 2005, noting that consular officers adjudicating student visa applications should evaluate the applicant's requirement to maintain a residence abroad in the context of the student's present circumstances. Most visa classifications having a nonimmigrant intent component (e.g., the B, F, J, M, O-2, P, and Q classifications) require the applicant to demonstrate that he or she possesses a residence abroad and has no intention of abandoning it. Each classification differs, however, in terms of the activities permitted and the time period to be spent in the U.S. Student visa adjudication is made more complex by the fact that students typically stay in the U.S. longer than many other nonimmigrants. In student visa cases, the cable states, consular officers should focus on the applicants' "immediate and near-term intent," not on what might happen in the future. "That this intention is subject to change or even likely to change is not a sufficient reason to deny a visa," the cable states. The cable notes that the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual is being revised to reflect this policy. The cable is important because so many prospective students apply for visas each year, and the failure to prove nonimmigrant intent causes many student visa denials. This cable should make it slightly easier to prove nonimmigrant intent for students. 3. U.S. Embassy in Mexico Sets New Procedures for Nonimmigrant Visa Appointments The U.S. Embassy in Mexico reports that all third country nationals currently in the U.S., including children, who are interested in applying for a nonimmigrant visa in Mexico must make an appointment first. Information and appointments via the U.S. Embassy's Visa Information Center are available through a self-service Web site, http://www.visa-usa.com.mx/, or by phone. Those residing in Mexico must use the telephone service option; the Web service is unavailable to such applicants at this time. For more information on the telephone service option, see http://www.visa-usa.com.mx/SelfServicePaymentOptns.aspx. Before October 17, 2005, all third country nationals in the U.S. applying for a visa at a border consulate in Mexico or Canada obtained information and appointments through the visa information service of the Embassy in Canada. To standardize procedures for the consulates in Mexico, applicants interested in applying in Mexico began to use the Visa Information Center. Consulates in Mexico will no longer be scheduling through the Canadian service. Appointments scheduled before October 17 through the Canadian service will be honored. Applicants wishing to confirm, cancel or reschedule an appointment made through the former service should use the telephone service option. Applicants interested in applying in Canada will not be affected by this change and may continue using the current service options. More information is available at http://www.amcits.com/phone.asp. 4. USCIS Updates Adjudicators' Field Manual U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Adjudicators' Field Manual is now available to the public for the first time. The manual is available at http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/handbook/hnmanual.htm. Parts of the manual have been redacted for security or law enforcement reasons. The Adjudicators' Field Manual advises USCIS adjudicators on how to process various petitions. The manual is useful to employers and immigrants wanting to know current USCIS policies and procedures. 5. Nanotechnologist Granted National Interest Waiver Green Card A few months ago, a nanotechnologist with a doctorate degree approached our office hoping to self-petition for an immigrant visa. His work focuses on the organization of structured, thin films. Specifically, our client is working on improving water quality by eliminating water pollution caused by anti-fouling coatings. Ships use these coatings to eliminate organisms that attach themselves to the hulls, causing damage and slowing the ship. Our client is developing a coating that will decrease this pollution. He is working at a federal research facility that has a contract with the Navy for this research. National interest waivers allow people holding advanced degrees to self-petition for a green card if their work is in the national interest. See generally http://www.millermayer.com/resources/niwrdm.html Our office believed that as an acclaimed Ph.D. working in a field that is national in scope and of substantial intrinsic merit, he qualified for a national interest waiver. We argued that our client would benefit the national interest because of his distinctive ability to extend applications of his work. He has unique skills in using a new technology, which very few scientists know how to use to apply to thin films. His papers have been published by the federal government and premier journals, and have been cited over 70 times by other scientists. He has also given over 20 presentations at major national and international conferences and is a member of a research team at a federal research facility that continues to produce significant results. After we filed his green card petition, the immigration agency sent a request for evidence asking for further documentation that the Navy supports his work. We provided the contract between the Navy and the research center and a letter of support from the principal investigator to prove the support of the Navy, who believed that his work was instrumental in procuring the continued support of the Navy and other governmental organizations. Given this additional evidence, our client was approved for a national interest waiver. Through this waiver, our client will continue his research, forging into new areas and shining new light on the micro-world. 6. The Firm Speaks Steve Yale-Loehr and Hilary Fraser will give two talks in Buffalo on Friday November 18: one on visa options after graduation to students at the University of Buffalo; the other to medical students on their visa options. Contact Steve at mailto:syl@millermayer.com for more details on any of these talks. 7. New Articles on our Web Site A new article on our web site answers common questions about backlogs and priority dates for employment-based green cards. The article is available at http://www.millermayer.com/resources/generalgcbacklog.html 8. New Halloween Photo on our Web Site It's that "trick or treat" time of year again! Our treat to you is our immigration group's 2005 annual Halloween photo, posted at the top of the following page on our web site: http://www.millermayer.com/resources/generalcont.htm Enjoy! 9. 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 Department of Labor: http://www.ows.doleta.gov/foreign/times.asp Department of State Visa Bulletin: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html _____________________ That's it for this issue. Some of the information in this issue comes from the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Thanks to AILA for allowing us to reprint their information. 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. ABIL's website is: http://www.abil.com/ For answers to any of your immigration questions, contact: Hilary Fraser (mailto:htf@millermayer.com) Carolyn Lee (mailto:csl@millermayer.com) Rosie Mayer (mailto:rma@millermayer.com), or Steve Yale-Loehr (mailto:syl@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. To unsubscribe to this newsletter, email mailto:syl@millermayer.com. Please type "unsubscribe to millermayer.com immigration newsletter" in your subject line. Copyright (c) 2005 True, Walsh & Miller, LLP. All rights reserved.
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