Premium Processing Service Expanded for Certain Form I-140 Petitions
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will expand Premium Processing Service for designated Forms I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) to include alien beneficiaries who have reached, or are reaching, their limitation of stay in H-1B nonimmigrant status. Currently, only certain alien beneficiaries who are in H-1B nonimmigrant status at the time of filing may request premium processing for Form I-140.
Beginning March 2, 2009, USCIS will accept Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Service) for alien worker petitions filed on behalf of alien beneficiaries who, as of the date of filing the Form I-907:
Are the beneficiary of a Form I-140 petition filed in a preference category that has been designated for premium processing service;
Have reached the sixth-year statutory limitation of their H-1B stay, or will reach the end of their sixth year of H-1B stay within 60 days of filing;
Are only eligible for a further H-1B extension under section 104(c) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (AC21); and
Are ineligible to extend their H-1B status under section 106(a) of AC21.
Section 104(c) of AC21 permits applicants to extend their stay in H-1B nonimmigrant status in increments of up to three years, provided they are the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 and an immigrant visa is not immediately available. Section 106(a) of AC21 permits applicants to extend their stay in H-1B nonimmigrant status in increments of up to one year, provided the Form I-140 petition or underlying labor certification has been pending for at least 365 days.
Premium Processing offers 15 calendar day-processing for designated employment-based petitions and applications upon request. There is a nonrefundable fee of $1,000 for this service. During the 15-day period, USCIS will issue an approval or denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence, or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation.
More details on premium processing for Form I-140 petitions are available in a Fact Sheet in the Related Links section of this page.
AAO Holds 5-year Indian M.B.B.S. Degree Equivalent of U.S. M.D. Degree
VIA AILA
In
a non-precedent decision, the AAO holds that a 5-year M.B.B.S. degree
from India is the equivalent of a U.S. M.D. degree and discusses
evidence of degree equivalency.
DHS Publishes Final Rule Expanding US-VISIT to Include LPRs
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 77473-77491]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19de08-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each week.
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[[Page 77473]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
8 CFR Parts 215 and 235
[DHS-2005-0037]
RIN 1601-AA35; RIN 1600-AA00
United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (“US-VISIT”); Enrollment of Additional Aliens in US-VISIT; Authority To Collect Biometric Data From Additional Travelers and Expansion to the 50 Most Highly Trafficked Land Border Ports of Entry
AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (US-VISIT) in 2003 to verify the identities and travel documents of aliens. Aliens subject to US-VISIT may be required to provide fingerscans, photographs, or other biometric identifiers upon arrival at the United States. Currently, aliens arriving at a United States port of entry with a nonimmigrant visa, or those traveling without a visa as part of the Visa Waiver Program, are subject to US-VISIT requirements with certain limited exceptions. This final rule expands the population of aliens who will be subject to US-VISIT requirements to nearly all aliens, including lawful permanent residents. Exceptions include Canadian citizens seeking short-term admission for business or pleasure under B visas and individuals traveling on A and G visas, among others.
I-140 Premium Processing is Back for Certain Cases
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicated on June 16, 2008 that it will begin accepting Premium Processing Service requests for Forms I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) filed on behalf of certain alien workers who are nearing the end of their sixth year in H-1B nonimmigrant status.
USCIS Update Apr. 29, 2008
USCIS Update Apr. 29, 2008
USCIS MODIFIES REPORT OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND VACCINATION RECORD
Revised Form I-693 Effective on May 1, 2008
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has revised Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. The revision was necessitated by changes to the Tuberculosis (TB) Component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons.
This revised form (edition date 04/02/08) must be used for any medical examination completed on or after May 1, 2008. Previous editions of the Form I-693 may not be used on or after that date.
The medical examination Form I-693 provides USCIS results of a medical examination for applicants filing for adjustment of status to become permanent residents. The examination is required to ensure that an applicant is not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds.
The new form lists seven TB classifications at the bottom of its first page. Civil surgeons must record the results of all medical examinations conducted on or after May 1, 2008, on the new form. Additionally, the current vaccination supplement will not be accepted for any vaccination assessment completed on or after May 1, 2008. An updated vaccination supplement has been included in part 2 of the revised form.
The revised TB Component of the Technical Instructions is available for review at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/civil.htm. For more information on the revised Form I-693, visit USCIS’ Website at www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.
Some Observations from DOS on India EB-2 Unavailability
Via AILA
On January 10, 2007, AILA Liaison contacted Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting at the State Department, to speak about the announcement of India EB-2 visa unavailability in the February 2008 Visa Bulletin. By early November, indications were that USCIS demand for India EB-2 visa numbers would place significant pressure on the overall annual limitation, leading to the decision to roll back the priority date for India EB-2 for December 2007 to 01JAN02, and for January 2008 to 01JAN00. Even with those significant retrogressions, USCIS requested almost 300 India EB-2 for December. (As an indication of the rate of demand and how close to the quarterly and annual limits usage is, the USCIS requested three India EB-2 numbers for January, all with dates prior to 01 JAN 00.) There is some possibility that India EB-2 could again become available if it appears that the demand for India EB-1 will not exceed the annual limit, but, that determination will not be able to be made until the second half of the fiscal year.
For China-mainland born EB-2, if demand remains as has been seen over the last couple of months, it is expected that the 01 JAN 03 cut-off date will hold, and it is likely that all numbers will be used within the current cut-off date.
As is always the case, Charlie is looking for mechanisms to maximize number usage so that no visa numbers remain unallocated, and is looking for ways to make additional India and China-mainland born numbers available, such as by making sure that unused numbers that had been sent to consular posts are promptly returned.
‘Green-card soldier’ film tragic
“The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez is an award-winning documentary about the first U.S. soldier to be killed in Iraq during the current war.
Gutierrez was not actually an American but a “green-card soldier,” one of the thousands of non-citizens in the U.S. Armed Forces who hope their military service will speed up citizenship. “
Continue Reading
U.S. Agency Is Swamped by Requests for Visas
By JULIA PRESTON
“Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency, was still receiving applications for employment visas yesterday, the last day of a special period it announced on July 17 for immigrants with professional skills to file petitions for permanent residence visas, known as green cards. As a result, the total tally of applications received in the last six weeks was not available.
Continue reading
Frequently Asked Questions – Employment-Based Adjustment Applications
VIA USCIS
Press Release
07/23/2007
Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Filed by Aliens Whose Priority Dates are Current under Department of State July Visa Bulletin No. 107
Link Here
AILF Welcomes Government Reversal on Permanent Resident Applications (“Green Cards”)
VIA AILF
Press Release
The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) is pleased that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State (DOS) have announced they will comply with their own regulations and policies and accept the “green card” applications of tens of thousands of intending immigrants. A class action lawsuit scheduled to be filed by AILF on July 17, 2007 on behalf of all affected intending immigrants argued that the government must do exactly that. See AILF’s complaint. AILF is gratified that the government accepted AILF’s arguments and belatedly is doing what it should have done in the first place.
“The government’s reversal is exactly what our thousands of plaintiffs and class members would have sought in their lawsuit,” said Nadine Wettstein, Director of AILF’s Legal Action Center and lead counsel in the lawsuit. “We were literally on the electronic courthouse steps, when we learned that a solution was imminent.”
AILF’s lawsuit alleged that the federal government’s refusal to accept tens of thousands of applications for green cards (and discouraging thousands of other workers from even applying) violated federal statutes, regulations and policies, as well as the U.S. Constitution.
The announcements by DHS and DOS allow intending immigrants to file applications for adjustment of status “green cards” until and including August 17, 2007. They also allow these applicants to pay the current fees, even though the fees otherwise will increase on July 30, 2007.
These changes resolve the majority of the issues in the class action lawsuit AILF has prepared. The one issue unresolved is for the “Other Workers.” This is a small group of people who should have been allowed to file adjustment applications all during June 2007. Mid-month, however, DHS shut their window of opportunity. The announcement from DHS and DOS does not allow them to apply. AILF will assess the situation for this group of people and will consider whether litigation will proceed for them.
AILF worked with intending immigrants from across the country to prepare the class action suit. Many of these applicants have waited in line for years and were following the government’s rules to obtain a green card.
“The American Immigration Law Foundation created its Legal Action Center to protect fundamental principles of due process and demand government accountability under immigration law,” said Benjamin Johnson, AILF’s Executive Director. “Sadly, there are very few checks and balances left in our immigration laws to guard against government misconduct or abuse of power. AILF and its outstanding legal team will continue to do all that it can to ensure that our dysfunctional immigration laws are not made worse by agency misconduct or mismanagement. Even in this emotionally charged environment where it often appears to be open season on immigrants,” said Johnson, “our government cannot disregard the law.”
“Compelling the government to correct this wrongdoing sends a message that all the recent talk about respecting those immigrants who are trying to follow the law isn’t just empty rhetoric,” said Paul Zulkie, President of AILF. “These are legal immigrants going through the process in the right way. To have the door slammed in their faces would have been a violation of basic principles of fairness and due process.”
AILF is very grateful to the hundreds of people – intending immigrants and their lawyers – who have contacted us to be plaintiffs and support the litigation. We received emails and calls from more than 500 people in the last two weeks. Your efforts enabled us to prepare a very strong challenge to the government’s actions.
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Rep. Lofgren Applauds Resolution of Visa Bulletin Debacle
For Immediate Release: July 17, 2007
CONTACT: Pedro Ribeiro
202-225-3072, pedro.ribeiro@mail.house.gov
Rep. Lofgren Applauds Resolution of Visa Bulletin Debacle
Washington, D.C. – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) issued the following statement in response to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’s planned announcement on adjustment of status applications.
“The Secretary of Homeland Security in a phone call today informed me that a solution to the Visa Bulletin fiasco has been found. The Department of State will issue an August Visa Bulletin that permits the filing of adjustment of status applications through August 17, 2007, at the current fee level, which will be accepted through that date by the Department of Homeland Security. I’m pleased that a reasonable solution has been reached. I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that both the Departments of State and Homeland Security follow through properly with this plan.”
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Why Skilled Immigrants Are Leaving the U.S.
BusinessWeek Online Article – Via Yahoo News
By Vivek Wadhwa
This is an extremely interesting article by Mr. Wadhwa which highlights the affects of the broken US Immigration System. Years of backlogs and additional unnecessary delays owing to overworked and untrained service center staff, out-of-date regulations and laws are creating a vacuum within the highest ranks of this nation’s academic, business and professional sectors.
Excerpts:
“At the end of 2006, more than 1 million skilled professionals (engineers, scientists, doctors, researchers) and their families were in line for a yearly allotment of only 120,000 permanent resident visas. The wait time for some people ran longer than a decade. In the meantime, these workers were trapped in “immigration limbo.” If they changed jobs or even took a promotion, they risked being pushed to the back of the permanent residency queue.
…
Why should we care? Because immigrants are critical to the country’s long-term economic health. Despite the fact that they constitute only 12% of the U.S. population, immigrants have started 52% of Silicon Valley‘s technology companies and contributed to more than 25% of our global patents. They make up 24% of the U.S. science and engineering workforce holding bachelor’s degrees and 47% of science and engineering workers who have PhDs.”
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