Watson Law Offices Newsletter
June 2012
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H-1B Cap Reached
| |  June 11, 2012 serves as the final receipt date for new H-1B petitions requesting an employment start date in FY 2013
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 degree programs.
No more Cap-Subject H-1B petitions will be accepted by USCIS for the 2013 Fiscal Year quota.
You can read the USCIS Press Release on their website.
Because the Cap on H-1B visas has been reached, employers will need to wait until April 2013 to file any new H-1B petitions. Any petitions filed on or after April 1, 2013 will not become valid until October 1, 2013. For more information on the H-1B Cap, please visit our website.
Please note: If you have already filed your Cap-Subject H-1B petition, and you have received a Receipt Notice from the government, you have already been counted against the Cap. Clients in this situation do not need to worry about "missing" the Cap.
If you are an employer interested in hiring a foreign worker and would like to discuss your options, please feel free to contact the office. |
| EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines Retrogress in July 2012 Visa Bulletin | |  EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines Now Backlogged The U.S. Department of State has now published the latest Visa Availability dates for July 2012.
After remaining "current" for a very long time, EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines have retrogressed and are now backlogged to January 1, 2009.
This means that applicants in the EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines Categories with Priority Dates on or later than January 1, 2009 may not file Applications for Adjustment of Status or obtain immigrant visas abroad until more visas become available.
The EB-2 Worldwide Category includes EB-2 foreign nationals of all countries except India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines.
Visas remain unavailable for EB-2 India and China in the July Visa Bulletin.
However, the American Immigration Lawyers Association has met with Mr. Charles Oppenheim, the official at the State Department responsible for the Visa Bulletin. Mr. Oppenheim has projected that EB-2 Worldwide will become "current" again in the October 2012 Visa Bulletin, after the start of the new Fiscal Year. He also predicted that EB-2 India and China may progress to August or September 2007 in the October Bulletin.
Please keep in mind that these are simply projections, and we can only know what the visa availability will be when the Visa Bulletin is published each month. The October 2012 Visa Bulletin will be published in September 2012. If you have been affected by the retrogression, it is important to discuss your options with your immigration attorney to make sure you are maintaining valid status, that you can work, and that you can travel.
Watson Law Offices Summary of the July 2012 Visa Bulletin |
Obama Administration Announces New Policy Offering "Deferred Action" to Certain Undocumented Young People
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On Friday, June 15, 2012 Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that certain young people brought to the United States through no fault of their own as children, and who do not present a risk to national security or public safety and meet several select criteria, would be considered for relief from removal from the United States, or from entering into removal proceedings. President Obama reiterated this policy in his address on the same afternoon.
Click here to read more
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Supreme Court Rules on Arizona Immigration Law
| | Supreme Court Ruling Strikes Down Three Contested Provisions of SB 1070
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of the Obama Administration's argument that three provisions of Arizona's immigration enforcement law, SB 1070, conflict with Federal immigration law. The ruling strikes down the provisions of the law that authorize police to arrest immigrants suspected of committing removable offenses, and that impose penalties under state law for immigrants who fail to carry "registration" papers or attempt to work without federal authorization. However, the Court upheld the "show me your papers" provision that requires local law enforcement to verify the authorization of individuals in their custody who they have a reasonable suspicion may be in the country illegally.
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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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