|
August 5, 2005 Immigration News Update
Click for a Printable Version of this Article
August 5, 2005 immigration news update from True, Walsh & Miller (http://www.millermayer.com/): 1. Employment-Based Green Card Update 2. State Department Opens New Business Visa Center 3. H-1B Visa Count Update 4. TWM Helps Plant Biologist Get a National Interest Waiver Green Card 5. The Firm Speaks 6. Immigration Processing Times Links 1. Employment-Based Green Card Update Following the unexpected unavailability of green cards in the employment-based third (EB-3) category in July (see our June newsletter http://www.millermayer.com/resources/news6_20_05.html (article 4) and our July newsletter http://www.millermayer.com/resources/nes[07_08_05].html (article 3), many have wondered if the EB-1 and EB-2 green card categories would also run out of numbers soon. The latest State Department Visa Bulletin has answered some questions, at least for this month. Both categories will remain current in August. It is possible, however, that the EB-2 category may become unavailable in September. If the EB-2 category does become unavailable, it is likely to be limited to India and China. The shortage of some employment-based green cards is due to the backlog reduction efforts by the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). After visa numbers ran out for the EB-3 green card category in July, USCIS offices began working on the backlog of EB-2 cases. The resulting high demand for visa numbers for EB-2 adjustment of status cases will probably lead to earlier cut-off dates for Chinese and Indian nationals to ensure that USCIS does not exceed the annual limit on EB-2 approvals. The State Department has not given a definitive statement on what may happen in September.The availability of visa numbers is listed in the monthly DOS Visa Bulletin. To view the current DOS Visa Bulletin please visit: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2573.html To read more about the USCIS backlog reduction campaign, please visit: http://www.millermayer.com/resources/news7_6_04.html (article no. 4). 2. State Department Opens New Business Visa Center On July 15, 2005, the State Department opened a Worldwide Business Visa Center. The center hopes to explain the visa process to invited guests of U.S. companies, such as clients, employees, and partners who are traveling on a B-1 nonimmigrant visa. B-1 visas are most appropriate for short-term business-related activities, such as a conventions or conferences, or contract negotiation. The Business Visa Center will serve to disperse information between U.S. businesses, embassies and consulates worldwide. As in the past, the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs will continue to maintain an “Upcoming Conferences” list. Upon notification, the State Department can add information about the event to their list of conferences where the organizer expects a large number of foreign visitors. The State Department has advised that the Business Visa Center does not address inquiries from foreign companies. Those should be directed to the appropriate U.S. consulate overseas. It also does not handle general questions about temporary work visas or requests for invitation letters. Both the Business Visa Center and the conference list can be reached via e-mail at businessVisa@state.gov or by phone at (202) 663-3198. 3. H-1B Visa Count Update The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just published an updated H-1B cap count. As of the end of July, a total of just over 49,000 H-1B cases for fiscal year (FY) 2006 have been filed or approved. At that rate, the H-1B cap for FY 2006 may be reached in late September or early October. A total of 65,000 new H-1B visas are available each fiscal year, but 6,800 are reserved for Chilean and Singaporean nationals, leaving just 58,200 visas for general H-1B applicants. If you intend to file a new H-1B case for FY 20006, you should do so quickly. On May 12, 2005, USCIS implemented a new law that allows 20,000 additional H-1B visas to specialized foreign workers with advanced degrees in addition to the annual limit of 65,000. For more information see our June 20, 2005 newsletter at http://www.millermayer.com/resources/news6_20_05.html (article 5). As of July 26, a total 10,150 of cases have been filed against the FY 2005 limit on H-1B workers with master’s or higher level degrees, and 7,884 have filed so far towards the 20,000 limit in FY 2006. It is possible that the 20,000 additional H-1B numbers available for FY 2005 will not be completely used up, since they were made available so late in the fiscal year. Although USCIS allowed filing for the 20,000 additional H-1B’s prior to reaching the FY 2006 cap, in future fiscal years they will be available only once the 65,000 general H-1B cap has been filled. The USCIS current cap count can be found at: http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm. For more information on H-1B visas generally, see our H-1B fact sheet at: http://www.millermayer.com/resources/nonimmigrant/h1fact.html 4. TWM Helps Plant Biologist Get a National Interest Waiver Green Card Rosanne Mayer of our firm recently received an approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a molecular biology plant researcher who studies the molecular structure of plants and how it controls the growth of desirable traits. His research into cell-to-cell communication and the cell division process has received much attention from both his peers in his field and several federal agencies, since it is fundamental to understanding how to genetically produce plants with desirable traits. His research could profoundly influence the U.S. agricultural sector and play a significant role in advancing the world’s ability to feed humankind. Getting the USCIS to approve his national interest waiver green card petition was not easy. While the USCIS adjudicator conceded that his work had substantial intrinsic merit and was national in scope, he sent a request for further evidence (RFE) asking for stronger evidence that labor certification was not needed. The adjudicator wanted more testimony from independent experts and government officials as well as a list of citations of the beneficiary’s research to prove that his work really constituted an advance in the field. Although Rosanne had submitted several independent letters of support with the original petition, she responded to the RFE by submitting letters from five additional experts and a list of citations in prestigious publications. This was crucial in proving that the researcher should not have to go through labor certification. The adjudicator found that the additional evidence warranted approving the green card petition. For more information about obtaining national interest waivers for researchers, please see http://www.millermayer.com/resources/niwrdm.html 5. The Firm Speaks Steve Yale-Loehr will be speaking on a teleconference about legal research techniques on September 27 for members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Contact Steve at mailto:syl@millermayer.com for more details on any of these talks. 6. 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 at http://www.aila.org/. 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, the think tank of premier immigration counsel. ABIL provides to human resource professionals, corporate counsel, in-house immigration managers, and other immigration decision makers access to a coalition of U.S. business immigration attorneys who have a demonstrated history of client service and a dedication to providing the best and most effective solutions to your immigration concerns. Each of ABIL’s Founding Fellows is committed to the highest standards of professionalism, to maintaining the most up-to-date knowledge in the field of U.S. immigration law, and to providing the kind of accessibility you expect from the best in the field. 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.
|