Watson Law Offices Newsletter
April 2012
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EB-2 India and China Retrogress to August 2007
| |  Retrogression will occur in May 2012 The U.S. Department of State has now published the latest Visa Availability dates for May 2012. After months of rapid movement, both the EB-2 India and China categories will be retrogressed back to August 15, 2007 as of May 1, 2012. This will likely end movement in these categories for the remainder of the Fiscal Year. The Visa Bulletin includes the following statement regarding the retrogression:
Due to the rapid forward movement of the cut-off date, demand for China and India Employment Second preference numbers has increased dramatically during recent months, and at a much faster rate than had been expected. Therefore, it has been necessary to retrogress that cut-off date to August 15, 2007 in an attempt to hold number use within the annual limit while maintaining availability for those countries that have not yet reached their per-country limit. Notices were included in the November, January, and February Visa Bulletins alerting readers to the possibility of such a retrogression. While corrective action has become necessary earlier than was anticipated based on the information available at the time cut-off dates were determined, it is hoped that readers are not caught off guard by this retrogression.
Should additional information regarding potential demand become available, it may be necessary to take additional corrective action at any time.
Every effort will be made to return the China and India Employment Second preference cut-off date to the previously announced April date of May 1, 2010. This will be done as quickly as possible under the FY-2013 annual limits, which take effect October 1, 2012. It will not be possible to speculate on the cut-off date which may apply at that time until late summer.
The retrogression takes affect on May 1st. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to accept applications for the remainder of April for those with Priority Dates earlier than May 1, 2010. After April 30th, no more petitions with Priority Dates later than August 15, 2007 will be accepted.
If you have a Priority Date after August 15, 2007 and your petition is currently pending with USCIS, it may not be processed before the retrogression. If it has not been approved before May 1st, your case will remain pending with USCIS until visas are again available.
If you fall into this category, your Priority Date is before May 1, 2010, and you have NOT filed your Adjustment Application yet, you should make arrangements with your attorney to do this now, if possible.
Watson Law Offices Summary of the May 2012 Visa Bulletin |
25,600 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions Already Received
| |  First week of filings shows dramatic increase in usage
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is now reporting the current H-1B Cap Count as of April 9, 2012.
Each Fiscal Year, the government may only issue 65,000 new H-1B visas. An additional 20,000 are set aside for graduates of U.S. Master's degree programs.
As we reported last week, the first few days of this year's filing window showed the most significant usage in several years. As of April 9th, 17,400 Cap-Subject petitions had been received by USCIS for the 2013 Fiscal Year H-1B quota. 8,200 petitions that qualify for the U.S. Master's Exemption have also been received.
USCIS began accepting petitions for the 2013 Cap on April 2nd. In the past, the quota for H-1B visas was exhausted within days, but that has not been the case for the last couple of years. In FY 2012, the cap was not reached until late November 2011. However, usage has already increased significantly this year, and current projections predict that this year's quota will be used up by June 2012.
If you are an employer interested in hiring a foreign worker under the FY 2013 H-1B Cap, now is the time to contact us! |
Proposed Rule to Change Waiver Filing Process
| |  One step toward changing Waiver process
On March 30th, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it had posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register that would change the way Waivers of Inadmissibility are filed on behalf of the spouses and children of U.S. Citizens. The Obama administration has proposed this change in an effort to keep families of U.S. Citizens together. This is the first step towards making the proposed change a reality. The new rule would only apply to immediate relatives (spouses, children, and parents) of U.S. Citizens who are subject to the three to ten year bars. Many may be eligible for Waivers of Inadmissibility, but cannot apply for the Waiver until they have already left the U.S. and their U.S. Citizen family members. The current system separates families for months, and sometimes years. The new process would allow these relatives to file for Waivers of Inadmissibility prior to leaving the U.S., rather than waiting until they are already abroad. This would significantly shorten the period in which U.S. Citizens must be separated from their immediate relatives. The proposed rule is not currently in effect, and will not be implemented until USCIS publishes a final rule with an effective date in the Federal Register. The proposal is currently open for public review and comment until June 1, 2012. |
USCIS Changes Look of I-797C Notices of Action
| | In an move that will save an estimated $1.1 million per year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has redesigned their I-797C Notices of Action. Now instead of receiving a Notice on an official-looking government stock, applicants, petitioners, and attorneys will receive I-797C Notices of Action on a plain sheet of white paper.
The new Notices will also contain a disclaimer at the top, which states "THIS NOTICE DOES NOT GRANT ANY IMMIGRATION STATUS OR BENEFIT."
This change only affects I-797Cs, which are used for notifying parties of Receipt, Rejection, Transfer, and Re-Opening of cases, as well as for scheduling appointments.
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This is an effort on our part to reach out to our larger community of friends, colleagues, current and former clients and anyone interested in Immigration Law. We expect there will be a strong push to make changes to existing Immigration Laws in the coming months and years, and we will try to keep our subscribers informed not only as to what changes are taking place, but how they are likely to impact everyone.
We welcome your input on what we should include, and how we should present this information. Please let us know what you think and what you would like to see. Also, please share this email with anyone whom you think would be interested in and benefit from this information.
THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
ROY J. WATSON, JR.
Watson Law Offices
142 Great Road
Bedford, MA 01730
rjw@watson-law.com
(781)533-7700 |
The information you obtain in this newsletter is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice, and persons receiving this information should not act on it without consulting professional legal counsel. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail.
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