Musillo Unkenholt Law | Healthcare Immigration Blog

November 5, 2018
Uncategorized

USCIS ANNOUNCES THE TERMINATION OF SELF-SCHEDULED INFOPASS APPOINTMENTS

In 2019, the USCIS plans to expand itsInformationServices Modernization Program throughout the US. This expansion will end self-scheduledInfoPass appointments and instead applicants will use the USCIS website to viewgeneral how-to information, access processing times, check case status, andother information about the processing of immigration cases.

The USCIS states that thetransition to the Information Services Modernization Program has alreadyimproved the delivery of emergency services which can only be provided inperson. USCIS surveys and data determinedthat most people scheduling InfoPass appointments could obtain the sameinformation by calling the USCIS or checking the USCIS website.

Going forward, when the USCIS customerservice representative online or on the phone determines an in-person appointmentis necessary, the customer service representative will schedule theappointment for the applicant.

October 31, 2018
Uncategorized

USCIS MAY IMPROVE US MASTERS CHANCES AT H-1B LOTTERY

Bloombergreports that USCISis considering a proposal that will slightly improve the chances of US MasterDegree holders to win the H-1B lottery. If the proposed change had been in effect in April 2018 numbers, about2,700 more US Masters degree holders would have won the lottery, at the expenseof 2,700 regular H-1B cap winners (non-US Master’s degree). USCIS selects 85,000 H-1B cap lottery winnerseach April.

USCIShas signaled that it wants to reorder the way that it runs the lottery. Under the present lottery program, the USCISsegregates all of the H-1B beneficiaries who hold Masters degrees and runs a“Masters-only” lottery. It then takesall of the Masters lottery-losers, combines them with the regular H-1Bbeneficiaries and runs the regular-cap lottery.

Theproposal calls for the USCIS to reverse the process. The USCIS would run the regular lotteryfirst. The regular lottery would includeboth regular cap petitions and Master’s degree holders. Then, USCIS would take all Masters degreelosers and run a Masters lottery. Asshown in the 2018 example, the result would be that slightly more Mastersdegree holders would win the lottery at the expense of slightly fewernon-Masters cap beneficiaries.

October 24, 2018
Uncategorized

REMINDER: USCIS POLICY MEMOS WEBINAR NOV. 7

As a reminder, MU is hosting a free webinar on November 7.

Over the last six months, the USCIS has issued several new policy memorandums. Join us for a webinar recapping these new memos and recent trends in adjudications. The webinar will cover:

Denial Notices issued without an RFE/NOID

Notice to Appear (NTA) issuance

OPT/F-1 updates (including unlawful presence and 3rd party work-sites on OPT)

H-1B 3rd party work-site and itinerary memo

Rescission of deference to previous approvals

Please click the link below to register for the webinar.

WEBINAR LINK

Should you have any questions regarding the event or our services, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Musillo.

This webinar is for MU Law clients and friends of the firm.

We look forward to speaking with you!

October 12, 2018
Uncategorized

NOVEMBER 2018 VISA BULLETIN: TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS

The Department of State has justissued the November 2018 Visa Bulletin. Thisis the second Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2019. This blog post analyzesthis month’s Visa Bulletin.

November 2018 Visa Bulletin

Table A: FinalAction Dates — Applications with these dates may be approved for their GreenCard (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

EB Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHIL’PNES
EB-1	01APR17	01JUN16	01JUN16	01APR17
EB-2	C	15MAY15	26MAR09	C
EB-3	C	01JUN15	01JAN09	08JUN17

Table B: Dates for Filing — The DOS may work on applications with these dates.But the Visa cannot be approved until the date is current per Table A.

EB Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHIL’PNES
EB-1	01JUN18	01OCT17	01OCT17	01JUN18
EB-2	C	15JUN15	22MAY09	C
EB-3	C	08AUG15	01OCT09	01JUL17

MU Law Analysis (allreferences are to Table A unless noted)

All Other, Mexico: Unfortunately no movement. Movement should start again in the next monthor two.

China: The Chinese dates barely moved in November. Weexpect the slow/no progress to be standard in the first part of FY 2019.

India: The Indian dates did not move in November. Weexpect the slow/no progress to be standard in the first part of FY 2019. After that we expect slow, but regularprogressions.

Philippines: The EB-3 date moved up by week, which is agood sign, considering most other categories in this month’s Visa Bulletin didnot progress. Over the course of FY2019, we should eventually see the EB-3priority date extend into CY2018, both in Tables A and B.

October 4, 2018
Uncategorized

USCIS ISSUES GUIDANCE ON NEW NOTICE TO APPEAR (NTA) POLICY

TheUSCIS has backtracked from a proposed policy change that would have placed H-1Band other employment-based workers immediately into deportation processing afterthe denial of a petition. USCIS hasdecided to only enforce this new policy for denials of:

I-485, Adjustment of Status
I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status(typically, H-4, F-1, and B-1/B-2).

Underthe revised policy, USCIS will send special letters to deniedapplicants if their I-94 card is expired. The special denial letter is designed to provide adequate notice toapplicants that they should depart the US. If the applicant does not timely depart the United States, USCIS mayissue a Notice to Appear (NTA). An NTAinitiates deportation proceedings. Youcan read more about the NTA policy on our earlierblog post.

USCISwill prioritize the issuance of an NTA in cases of:

Criminal records
Fraud or misrepresentation
National security concern

TheUSCIS will continue to use prosecutorial discretion when issuing an NTA inthese instances on a case-by-case basis.

October 4, 2018
Uncategorized

WEBINAR: USCIS NEW POLICY MEMORANDUMS

Over the last six months, the USCIS has issued several new policy memorandums. Join us for a webinar recapping these new memos and recent trends in adjudications. The webinar will cover:

Denial Notices issued without an RFE/NOID

Notice to Appear (NTA) issuance

OPT/F-1 updates (including unlawful presence and 3rd party work-sites on OPT)

H-1B 3rd party work-site and itinerary memo

Rescission of deference to previous approvals

Should you have any questions regarding the event or our services, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Musillo.

This webinar is for MU Law clients and friends of the firm.

We look forward to speaking with you!

September 25, 2018
Uncategorized

LAWSUIT ALLEGING HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF H-1B NURSES ALLOWED TO PROCEED AS A CLASS ACTION

As reported in the New York Law Journal, A FederalJudge will allow a group of Filipino H-1B nurses to continue theirlawsuit against Sentosa Care as a “certified class.” At issue was whether the nurses had to pursuetheir claims individually or whether they could proceed in one class actionlawsuit. By allowing the case tocontinue as a class, the lawsuit could lead to greater damage awards againstSentosa Care since it is generally easier for plaintiffs to pursue litigationtogether. The plaintiff’s lawyer saysthat 200 H-1B nurses could now bring their claims.

The judgelaid out the case in her decision. The substantive issue is whether Sentosa’s pursuit of a damage clause inthe employment contractual clause rises to the standard of violating theTrafficking Victims Protection Act. Theemployment agreement entitled Sentosa to $25,000 in liquidated damages if thenurses left Sentosa’s employment prior to fulfilling the three-yearcontract.

The nurses allege two claims:

Because the nurses were not paidthe contractual wage from the time that they began working, the employmentagreements were breached. Therefore,Sentosa’s pursuit of the $25,000 violates several provisions of the TVPA.
Even if the agreements were notbreached, the $25,000 itself is so far above Sentosa’s actual damages thatpursuit of the $25,000 violates several provisions of the TVPA. The judge notes that there is some evidencethat Sentosa only spent a few thousand dollars per nurse.

Sentosa’s employment and recruitingpractices have been the subjectof lengthy litigation. Wewill follow the case and report back as we hear anything.

September 17, 2018
Uncategorized

OCTOBER 2018 VISA BULLETIN: TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS

The Department of State has just issued the October 2018 Visa Bulletin. This is the first Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2019. This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin.

The USCIS is allowing Adjustment of Status filings based off of Table B, Dates of Filing. If you are physically in the US, you can file your I-485 on October 1, if your priority date is earlier than the date in Table B.

October 2018 Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates — Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

EB Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	MEXICO	PHIL’PNES
EB-1	01APR17	01JUN16	01JUN16	01APR17	01APR17
EB-2	C	01APR15	26MAR09	C	C
EB-3	C	01JUN15	01JAN09	C	01JUN17

Table B: Dates for Filing — The DOS may work on applications with these dates. But the Visa cannot be approved until the date is current per Table A.

EB Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	MEXICO	PHIL’PNES
EB-1	01JUN18	01OCT17	01OCT17	01JUN18	01JUN18
EB-2	C	15JUN15	22MAY09	C	C
EB-3	C	08AUG15	01OCT09	C	01JUL17

MU Law Analysis (all references are to Table A unless noted)

All Other, Mexico: EB2 and EB3 returned to current, as we expected. They should stay current for most/all of FY2019.

China: The EB2 and EB3 dates moved into CY2015. Our sense is that these dates will stay in 2015, slowly improving over this Fiscal Year.

India: These dates moved back into 2009, again as expected. We expect to steady progress in both categories in FY2019.

Philippines: The fact that the EB-3 Final Action date stayed in 2017 is a terrific sign, indicating that there may be fewer immigrant visas in the pipeline than we had expected. Over the course of FY2019, we should eventually see the EB-3 priority date extend into CY2018, both in Tables A and B.

September 6, 2018
Uncategorized

CHANGES FOR F-1 STUDENTS – ACCRUAL OF UNLAWFUL PRESENCE

On May 11, 2018, the USCIS issueda policymemorandum that changed the rules regarding unlawful presencefor F-1 students. Unlawful presencebegins to accrue once a foreign national has stayed beyond the end date onhis/her I-94 card. Because F-1 I-94cards do not have an end date, but show D/S (duration of status) as the term ofstay, unlawful presence previously did not apply to F-1s.

As of August 9, 2018, individuals in F, J,and M status who fail to maintain their status will start accruing unlawfulpresence on or after the date of one of the following events:

The day after DHS denies the student’srequest for an immigration benefit with a formal finding that the studentviolated status while adjudicating the benefit request;

The day after the student’s I-94expires;

The day after an immigration judgeor in certain cases, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), orders the studentexcluded, deported, or removed;

The day after the student no longerpursues a course of study or authorized activity, or the day after the studentengages in unauthorized activity (e.g. unauthorized employment); or

The day after the student completeshis/her course of study or program, including any authorized CPT or OPT plusany authorized grace period.

Individuals who have accrued more than 180days of unlawful presence are generally subject to a 3 year bar of re-entry tothe US. Individuals who accrue more than365 days of unlawful presence are generally subject to a 10 year bar ofre-entry to the US.

Things to keep in mind with regard to thisnew rule:

This new rule went into effect onAugust 9, 2018. Unlawful presence willaccrue from August 9, 2018 or the date the student engages in unlawful activityforward. No formal notice will be givento the student as to when unlawful presence begins to accrue. If a student believes he or she may haveengaged in unlawful activity, the student should contact their DSO or animmigration attorney immediately for advice.

The timely filing of an applicationfor reinstatement stops the accrual of unlawful presence, and, if theapplication for reinstatement is approved, cures any unlawful presence in thestudent’s record. Applications forreinstatement must be filed within 5 months of the date the student firstengaged in unlawful activity.

There is no accrual of unlawfulpresence during the cap-gap period or when a change of status from F, M, or Jto another status has been filed, unless the change of status request is denied. Unlawful presence will begin to accrue fromthe date of the denial of the change of status going forward. If the change of status is approved, theUSCIS will not reopen the previous F, M, or J. For example, if an F-1 student engaged in unlawful activity in 2016while on F-1 status but has now changed status to H-1B, the USCIS will notreexamine the 2016 F-1.

August 29, 2018
Uncategorized

USCIS WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT PPS FOR H-1Bs EXCEPT EXTENSIONS, CAP EXEMPT INSTITUTIONS

In an unexpected move (although all-too-commonfor an increasingly erratic agency), the USCIS will no longer accept Premium ProcessingService (PPS) for all H-1Bs, except for H-1B extensions with the same employeror H-1Bs for cap-exempt institutions, such as Universities or research organizations.

Effective September 11, 2018, PPSwill not be available for H-1B cap petitions and H-1B amendments. The ban on PPS will continue until February19, 2019.

The justification for the ban onPPS is to reduce overall H-1B processing times.

If you are asking yourself how eliminating a fee-based premiumprocessing service will reduce processing times, you are not alone. The PPS is supposed to pay for itself. This is yet another example of an agency thatcannot get out of its own way.

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