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The Business Immigration Monthly
is Hammond Law Group’s latest news eZine, directed at
international workers and employers seeking the most up-to-date news
on U.S. immigration issues, specifically those that impact workers
on H, L, E, and O visas and workers seeking permanent residency.
H-1B CAP-
LATEST UPDATE
On May 3, 2006, the USCIS released the latest update on the FY2007
H-1B cap. As of April 24th, 3,907 cap-subject visas had been
approved with 8,806 additional cap-subject cases currently pending.
In other words, 12,713 H-1B visas have been used up for this year’s
H-1B cap. This leaves approximately 45,487 visas (not including the
Singapore and Chile numbers) for the remaining cases. HLG currently
projects that at this pace the H-1B cap could be reached by late
June-early July 2006.
For further information see:
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/05.03.2006_alert.htm
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm
ELIGIBILITY FOR USCIS CAP EXEMPTION FOR US
MASTER’S DEGREE OR HIGHER CLARIFIED BY USCIS
In a recent USCIS memo, Acting Associate Director of Domestic
Operations, Michael Aytes, clarified the eligibility requirements
for the H-1B cap exemption for graduates of Master’s or higher
degree programs from US universities. Specifically, the memo
provides guidance on determining whether the master’s degree and
issuing institution qualify for the requirements under the
congressionally mandated exemption.
The memo can be found here:
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/monthly/h1bmemobim_copy.pdf
USCIS ANNOUNCES BI-SPECIALIZATION
The USCIS has implemented its bi-specialization system whereby
service centers work on certain types of cases. As a result, all
I-140 cases are filed with the Nebraska Service Center, with the
Texas Service Center sharing the workload on I-140 cases (i.e.
currently Nebraska is transferring I-140 cases to Texas every other
day, resulting in approximately a 50/50 sharing of I-140 cases
between Nebraska and Texas). Pending I-140 files from the Vermont
and California Service Centers have already transferred their files
to Texas. HLG has already seen Texas approving some of the files
that have been transferred. In addition, all I-129 cases are now to
be sent to the Vermont Service Center, to be adjudicated by the
Vermont and California service centers. The bi-specialization system
is expected to result in greater efficiency and consistency.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/03.27.2006_alert.htm
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION POLICY
GUIDANCE RELEASED REGARDING “NO-MATCH” LETTER INQUIRIES
The American Immigration Lawyers Administration (AILA) has been
provided a copy of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) policy
on the processing of “no-match” letter inquiries. The SSA has
clarified that the purpose behind the letters is not to imply that
the employer or employee intentionally provided false information to
the government, but to encourage employers to correct their records
and ensure accurate reporting of employers’ names and social
security numbers.
http://www.ssa.gov/
http://www.aila.org/
CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE RELEASES
LATEST NUMBERS ON PERMANENT ADMISSION
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released a report
commenting on the latest numbers for permanent residence by foreign
nationals. In the report, CRS notes that during FY2004, a total of
946,142 foreign nationals became Legal Permanent Residents (LPR)
(65.6% of which entered based on family ties). Mexico led the
countries with 175,364 aliens becoming LPRs, followed by India with
70,116 LPRs, and the Philippines with 57,827 LPRs. These three
countries accounted for almost one-third of the total LPRs for
FY2004.
For further details see ILW.com at
http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/news/2006,0425-crs.pdf
SENATE TO RESUME IMMIGRATION DEBATE THIS
WEEK
The Senate will begin considering S.2611, the Comprehensive
Immigration Reform Act of 2006, on Monday, May 15th. Majority Leader
Frist is pushing for the bill to be passed before the Memorial Day
Recess, which begins on May 29th. HLG encourages all clients and
others to contact your Senator and voice your opinion in favor of
the Comprehensive Bill.
For further contact information see:
http://capwiz.com/aila2/dbq/officials/
EMPLOYERS' REQUIREMENTS FOR THE I-9 FORM
In a recent article published on ILW.com entitled, “Renewed Form I-9
Employment Eligibility Verification Enforcement: How Employers and
HR Reps Should Protect Themselves”, Robert F. Loughran and Jennifer
Walker Gates remind employers of their obligations under the I-9
regulations and the penalties for noncompliance.
For full article see:
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0511-loughran.shtm
DELAY IN GETTING THE GREEN CARD?
The USCIS has implemented an email system to inquire when there is a
long delay between a case approval and receiving the green card.
Normally, the USCIS is issuing green cards within a few weeks of the
approval of the I-485 petition. If it takes more than 4 months to
get the actual green card in the mail, contact your attorney at
Hammond Law Group.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/main.htm
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