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We have
just returned from an
exciting tour of India
after presenting another
installment of our popular
Immigration Workshops
and for the first time
offering a comprehensive
Immigration Training
Seminar to over 100
attendees in Bangalore.
Our program spanned
5 major Indian cities
and involved more than
475 attendees from companies
representing a wide
spectrum of industries
and size. You can read
more about the experience
in one of our attending
attorneys’ diary
entry for the Hyderabad
and Bangalore events.
During our travels across
India, things continued
to develop on the political
front in the U.S. presidential
campaigns with Obama
pulling ahead of Clinton
in a series of state
democratic primaries
wins. On the Republican
side, John McCain has
galvanized his support
and is now the leading
frontrunner. From an
immigration perspective
the developments on
the Republican side
are quite positive as
McCain is considered
to have a pragmatic
approach to immigration.
Developments
in Immigration Law
Upcoming Regulations
Prohibiting Multiple
H-1B Filings on Behalf
of a Single Foreign
National
The U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services
(USCIS) will soon issue
an interim final regulation
that will prohibit employers
from filing more than
one H-1B
petition on behalf of
a single foreign national.
The regulation is now
being reviewed by federal
authorities and is expected
to be made public in
time for the start of
the Fiscal Year 2009
filing season on April
1.
USCIS
Announces Faster I-485
Background Checks
An Interoffice Memorandum
from USCIS Associate
Director Yates outlines
a new procedure for
administering national
security adjudications
and reporting, allowing
approval of I-485
and other cases that
have been pending for
more than 180 days due
to delays in the FBI
Name Check. The memo
reserves a revocation
right for USCIS should
the Name Check reveal
any actionable information
after the I-485 adjudication.
USCIS Revised
Filing Instructions
for the Petition for
Alien Relative
USCIS revised the filing
instructions for the
Petition for Alien Relative
(Form I-130).
Effective immediately,
all petitioners filing
stand-alone Form I-130s
must file their petitions
with the Chicago Lockbox
instead of a USCIS Service
Center.
DHS
Proposed New Rules to
Streamline H-2A Procedures
The proposed rule is
designed to remove unnecessary
limitations on H-2A
employers while preventing
fraud and abuse, and
protecting the rights
of temporary workers.
The proposed modifications
are mostly aimed at
making the H-2A category
a more worker and employer
friendly category.
Immigration
Articles and Other Fun
Stuff
Now for the regulars
-- this month's Immigration
Article will
compare the E and L
visa categories and
discuss which is more
appropriate for setting
up a new business in
the U.S. Check out our
In Focus
section to read about
our attorney's experiences
on the road this month
and find out how our
events in Hyderabad
and Bangalore turned
out. Make sure to also
participate in our monthly
poll. Last month 60%
of the respondents did
not believe that USCIS
would meet its goal
of maintaining processing
times of 6 months or
less in all categories
by 2010. This month's
poll question deals
with the ever elusive
H-1Bs and the possible
impact of proposed regulations
on their filing in April.
Cast your vote to express
Your Opinion.
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Pallavi
Vajranabhaiah
deserves Congratulations
for winning last
month's Immigration
Quiz. Of the answers
received her's
was most accurate
and as a result
Ms. Vajranabhaiah
won a free online
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consultation
to discuss her Immigration
issues. So get ready
for this month's quiz.
Your name might be featured
in next month's newsletter.
Good Luck!!!
To ensure you receive
your Immigration Newsletter,
please add Immigration-Monitor@VisaPro.com
to your address book
or safe list.
See you next
month with a lot more
noise from the Immigration
World!
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USCIS
Extends Validity of Expiring Medical Certifications
I-693
In a recent memorandum, USCIS has once again renewed
their policy to extend the validity of the civil
surgeon's endorsement on Form I-693 for cases
that have been pending for longer than a year. Generally,
the endorsement on Form I-693 is valid for one year
and this form is concurrently filed with Adjustment
of Status applications. However due to various backlog
issues, some of these applications remain pending
for longer than the one year period. If USCIS did
not provide this extension then petitioners would
be forced to undergo another examination and submit
a new Form I-693 to USCIS after the already submitted
medical examination form expires after one year. |
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| Submitted
your case and now it has been
pending for a long time? Check
your case status online at
My
Visa Status. |
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TSC
Pilots New Adjustment
Processing System
In an effort to streamline
the adjudications procedures,
Texas Service Center
(TSC) started the "PLUS
Pilot" program
for adjudicating concurrently-filed
adjustment of status
application packets.
Until recently, each
form in a typical AOS
packet was separated
and sent to a different
officer for a preliminary
name check and adjudication.
This often caused confusion
and led to lost documentation
and delays in processing.
Announcement
of Higher Fines for
Immigration Violations
On
Friday, Attorney General
Michael B. Mukasey announced
higher civil fines against
employers who violate
federal immigration
laws. The announcement
was made in a joint
briefing today with
Secretary of Homeland
Security Michael Chertoff
about newly enacted
border security reforms
put in place by the
Departments of Justice
and Homeland Security.
Under the new rule,
which was approved by
Attorney General Mukasey
and Secretary Chertoff,
civil fines will increase
by as much as $5,000.
The new rule will take
effect on March 27,
2008, and will be published
in the Federal Register
early this week.
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Rendezvous with India: Immigration
Seminars and Training
This month
and next, Attorneys Thomas
Joy and Jan Krasny will share
some of the experiences related
to their travels in India
for the VisaPro workshops
and training session. During
these events, the VisaPro
legal team traveled to five
different cities in India
to present substantive and
comprehensive information
on business immigration issues.
Setting up a new business:
Choosing between L-1 or E
visa!
Setting up
a new business can be quite
exciting. But there are also
many challenges. In-depth
market research and planning
can minimize the risks. Foreign
nationals setting up a business
in the U.S. face another challenge
- which visa do they use to
be able to enter the U.S.
to operate the business once
it has been established? Generally
L-1 visas are used to set-up
a new entity in the U.S. when
it is a subsidiary, parent,
branch, or affiliate of an
overseas company. However,
foreign nationals from countries
with certain treaty with the
U.S. have the choice of using
E-1, E-2 or L-1 visa for establishing
a new entity in the U.S. Let
us first understand the situations
under which each of these
visa options can be used.
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| "Immigration
Monitor" is published
monthly for users and clients of
VisaPro.com. Our goal is to help
keep you informed of the trends
and events related to US Immigration. |
| Copyright
© 2008 VisaPro.com - All rights
reserved. |
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