Immigration Updates from Challa Law Offices June 2010

lux & lex

June 2010

Greetings!

Please send this newsletter to anyone you think will be interested.

Challa Law Offices, PLC opens offices in VA Beach VA and in Cary, NC

We are pleased to announce that to serve the needs of our clients in the Hampton Roads community we have opened a branch office in VA Beach, Virginia. The details of our office are as below:

Challa Law Offices, PLC

4445 Corporation Lane, Suite 291 Virginia Beach, VA 23642

Toll Free Phone: 800-913-4122

We have also opened an affiliated office in Cary NC to serve the needs of our clients in North and south Carolina.The details of our office are as below:

Challa Immigration Law Offices, LLC
1000 Centre Green Way, Suite 200 Cary, NC 27513
Toll Free 800-890-4358

To Schedule a consult and to meet one of our attorneys at either of these new locations please call us at one of the above numbers.

USCIS - Proposed New Fees by Immigration Benefit Applications

Proposed New Fees by Immigration Benefit Applications.

I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card: $365

I-102 Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document: $330

I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker $325

I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) $340

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative $420

I-131 Application for Travel Document: $360

I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker: $580

I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion: $630

I-360 Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant: $405

I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status: $985

I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur: $1,500

I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status: $290

I-600/600A, I-800/800A Orphan Petitions: $720

I-687 Application for Status as a Temporary Resident: $1,130

I-690 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility: $200

I-694 Notice of Appeal of Decision: $755

I-698 Application to Adjust Status From Temporary to Permanent Resident: $1,020

I-751 Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence: $505

I-765 Application for Employment Authorization: $380

I-817 Application for Family Unity Benefits: $435

I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition: $405

I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions: $3,750

Civil Surgeon Designation Registration: $615

I-924 Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program: $6,230

N-300 Application to File Declaration of Intention: $250

N-336 Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings: $650

N-400 Application for Naturalization: $595

N-470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes: $330

N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document: $345

N-600/N-600K Applications for Certificate of Citizenship: $600

Waiver Forms (I-191, I-192, I-193, I-212, I-601, I-612): $585

Immigrant Visas: $165

Biometric Services: $85

UNITED STATES - USCIS Unveils Tool to Verify Immigration Petitioners

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will soon launch a pilot program that will use Dun & Bradstreet databases to verify the business information of employers who submit immigration petitions, the agency announced to stakeholders on Thursday. A new electronic tool - the Verification Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) - is intended to help combat immigration fraud, as well as eventually minimize duplicative requests for petitioners' business data.

VIBE will be used to verify a petitioner's ownership, date of establishment, current address, number of employees, business activities, and relationship with other entities, among other information. Where there are discrepancies between VIBE and the information contained in a petition, the employer will be issued a request for evidence (RFE) or a notice of intent to deny (NOID) and given an opportunity to explain the discrepancy or provide additional information. At least initially, the system will not replace the paper documentation that employers submit with their petitions, though one of the goals of the program is to ultimately reduce the need for frequent petitioners to submit extensive business documentation with each filing.

USCIS officers are expected to begin using VIBE in the adjudication of selected immigrant and nonimmigrant visa petition types next month, with full implementation of the system to occur later this year.

USCIS Issues Revised Employment Authorization Document

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has revised the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or Form I-766, to incorporate the addition of a machine-readable zone on the back of the card..

This update to the EAD is part of USCIS's ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud. Starting May 11, USCIS began issuing the revised EAD cards. The machine-readable zone is compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. USCIS also removed the two-dimensional bar code on the backside of the card and moved the informational box of text to just beneath the magnetic stripe on the card. The revised card retains all of its existing security features.

These revisions are the result of extensive collaboration among Department of Homeland Security components, particularly U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and USCIS. For more information on employment authorization, travel documents and other immigration benefits,call our office.

USICE Policy Guidance on OPT, 17-Month STEM Extension, and H-1B Cap-Gap Rules, as Revised 04/23/2010

The USICE has been implementing its revised policy guidance since 04/23/2010 for OPT students without much publicity and controversy. Following are the changes which they made to the Policy Guidance which was released earlier years:

· Provides current dates related to H-1B petitioning for 2010 and removes information related to previous years.

· Amends the text to past tense, as applicable.

· Replaces the term OPT STEM extension with 17-month extension.

· Deletes reference to the public comment period for the IFR, which has closed (section 1.2). Adds text related to school filing of courses of study for CIPs, for STEM designation of CIPS and for DHS approval of STEM CIPS for the 17-month extension of OPT (section 1.3). Adds text on other resources available related to the IFR (section 1.4)

· Refines procedures for filing for OPT after the program end date (section 5.2)

· Deletes 10 day exceptions to the time that counts for unemployment during OPT at the EAD start date and between jobs. SEVP will need approval for such exceptions through another proposed rulemaking. (sections 7.1.6 and 7.1.7)

· Removed restriction that employment during the 17-month extension must be paid employment. SEVP will need approval for such a restriction through another proposed rulemaking. (sections 7.2.2 and 7.2.3)

· Deletes dates for wait-listing for this year. SEVP has been notified by USCIS that there will not be a waitlist utilized as a part of the FY 2011 H1B Cap filing process (section 9.1.1).

Current OPTs and future OPTs may want to review this revised Policy Guidance as the agency has backed off from previous policies in certain areas to comply with the rule-making requirements.

FY 2011 H-1B Cap Count (as of June 25, 2010)

Cap Type

Cap Amount

Cap Eligible Petitions

Petition Target

Date of Last Count

H-1B Regular Cap

65,000

23, 500

6/25/2010

H-1B Master's Exemption

20,000

10,000

6/25/2010