April 2008 ★ Archive of Immigration News

On April 1, 2008, employers may file petitions requesting H-1B workers for fiscal year (FY) 2009 employment starting on October 1, 2008. For FY 2009, Congress has once again set a tight limit of 65,000 for most H-1B workers, and the supply is expected to be exhausted immediately. Last year, the cap was reached in one day.

USCIS published an interim final rule, effective March 24, 2008, that prohibits employers from filing multiple H-1B petitions for the same employee. USCIS said the changes “will ensure that companies filing H-1B petitions subject to congressionally mandated numerical limits have an equal chance to employ an H-1B worker.” USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions. USCIS noted that the interim rule does not preclude related employers (such as a parent company and its subsidiary) from filing petitions on behalf of the same worker for different positions, based on a legitimate business need. Read the rest of this entry »

On March 26, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a supplemental proposed rule on procedures for employers who receive a “no-match letter” from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or a “notice of suspect document” from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) casting doubt on the employment eligibility of the employer’s workers. The previous final rule, which was published on August 15, 2007, was preliminarily enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on October 10, 2007. The DHS issued the new supplemental proposed rule to clarify certain aspects of the August 2007 final rule and to respond to three findings underlying the district court’s injunction. Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) sent guidance (PDF) to the field on March 21, 2008, updating the Adjudicator’s Field Manual on accepting and adjudicating H-1B petitions for specialty occupations when a required professional license cannot be obtained because of state licensing requirements mandating possession of a valid immigration document, such as an approved H-1B petition, as evidence of employment authorization before the license can be issued. USCIS noted that this situation creates a “Catch-22″ adjudicative difficulty for the agency because approval of the H-1B petition may be contingent on the beneficiary’s possession of the required license. USCIS stated that in such situations, it will allow the temporary approval of the petition provided all other requirements are met. Such an approval will not constitute authorization for the beneficiary to practice his or her profession without the required license but should be considered “merely a means to facilitate the State or local licensing authority’s issuance of such a license.” Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued revised instructions, effective March 5, 2008, for the Application for Travel Document (Form I-131). The revised instructions require applicants for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents to provide biometrics (e.g., fingerprints, photographs) at USCIS Application Support Centers (ASCs). USCIS will notify applicants of their appointments at designated ASCs after submission of the I-131 application.

The new instructions for the I-131 require that applicants for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents who are ages 14 through 79 provide biometrics before departing from the U.S. Applicants for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents who are in the U.S. must pay an $80 biometrics fee or submit a fee waiver request with sufficient documentation. The $305 I-131 application fee cannot be waived. The I-131 instructions also provide guidance for certain persons applying for refugee travel documents (not re-entry permits) who are abroad at the time of filing, on visiting a U.S. Embassy or consulate for fingerprinting.

The Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) recently released fiscal year (FY) 2007 data covering cases processed under the Permanent Labor Certification Program. Selected statistics include:

• More than 85,100 PERM cases were certified during FY 2007.
  Foreign workers representing 176 countries were certified for permanent work in the U.S.
• Nearly 6 out of 10 PERM cases were certified for small employers (defined as fewer than 250 workers).
• Top states: California (20,222), New York (8,843), New Jersey (6,594), Texas (6,534), Florida (5,128).
• Top countries: India (24,573), China (6,846), Mexico (6,442), South Korea (5,159), Canada (4,837).
• Top employers: Microsoft Corporation; Cognizant Technologies; Oracle USA, Incorporated; Intel Corporation; Ernst & Young, LLP; Motorola Incorporated.