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USCIS WILL RESUME PPS FOR ALL H-1B PETITIONS ON OCTOBER 3

AILAis reporting that USCIS will resume PremiumProcessing Service (PPS) for H-1B petitions, effective October 3.  Accordingly, PPS will again be allowed for H-1Btransfers, amendments, and extensions.

USCIS previously restarted PPS forH-1B cap-subject petitions on September 18. Earlier this summer, USCIS resumed PPS for H-1Bs for cap-exemptemployers (e.g. research entities and universities), and H-1Bs for doctors.
USCIS allows an upgrade for previouslyfiled a petition.  If you have filed anH-1B petition and would like your petitioned upgraded to PPS, please contactyour MU attorney or staff member.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEWEST TRAVEL BAN

On Sunday, September 24, 2017,President Trump made a PresidentialProclamation  regarding enhancedvetting for visa applicants from certain countries.  The Proclamation has been called the “TravelBan 3.0” by reporters and commentators. The Proclamation will go into effect on October 18, 2017 at 12:01 AMET.

The Proclamation puts restrictionson the issuance of visas to nationals of certain countries until thosecountries meet the US government’s requirements for information sharing aboutvisa applicants.  No visas will be revokedunder the Proclamation.  The affectedcountries and visa types are:

·        No B1/B2 tourist visas will be issued tonationals of:
o   Yemen
o   Chad
o   Libya
·        B1/B2 tourist visas will not be issued Venezuelan government officials andtheir family members.
·        No visas will be issued to nationals of Iran, with the exception of F, M, and Jvisas which will only be issued after extra scrutiny. 
·        No immigrant visas (green cards) will be issuedto individuals from Somalia.  Non-immigrant visas (i.e. F, J, H-1B, L-1)will be issued, but only with extra vetting. 
·        Lastly, no visas, of any type, will be issued tonationals from Syria or North Korea.

In response to the President’sProclamation, the Supreme Court cancelledthe oral argument on the earlier version of the travel ban, scheduled forOctober 10, 2017.  The Supreme Courtasked the attorneys in the case to submit briefs as to whether the travel banissue is now moot.  When a policy expiresand a new policy is put in place, the challenge to the old policy can be “moot”meaning it is no longer debatable because the old policy has expired.  

VISA BULLETIN ANALYSIS, PREDICTIONS THROUGH 2017

The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin guru, Charlie Oppenheim, hosts monthly meetings with the American Immigration Lawyers Association.  Charlie Oppenheim is the Department of State’s Chief of the Control and Reporting Division. He is the officer who is responsible for producing the Visa Bulletin each month.
This month’s Check In With Charlie featured projections for EB2 and EB3, which are the most popular categories for readers of this Blog.  Here are some of this month’s highlights, along with our analysis:
EB-2 and EB-3 Worldwide.  These categories will remain current for the foreseeable future.

EB-2 India.  This category is expected to progress one month at a time.  It should move into 2009 sometime in early 2018.

EB-3 India.  This category will not progress in November because of heavy demand at the end of the last fiscal year.  It may slowly progress in December.

EB-3 Philippines.  In FY 2018, we will not see this category move nearly as fast as it did in FY 2017.  Phils EB-3 is expected to progress 1-2 months per Visa Bulletin in the future.

DOS NOW REQUIRES 90 DAYS BEFORE CHANGING OR ADJUSTING STATUS

The United States Department ofState (US DOS) recently released a policy change to itsForeign Affairs Manual (FAM).  Going forward,any visa holder who engages in conduct inconsistent with the terms of his/hervisa within 90 days of entrance to the US is presumed to have willfullymisrepresented him or herself to the Consular Officer at the visa applicationinterview and/or to the Border Officer when entering the US. 

Conduct that violates or isinconsistent with status, may include:

  • Engaging in unauthorized employment
  • Enrolling in a course of study if study was notauthorized for that classification (e.g. Entering the US in B1/B2 status andtaking classes before 90 days)
  • Marrying a US Citizen or lawful permanentresident (green card holder) and taking up residence in the US.

Non-immigrant intent is requiredfor most visas — with a noted exception for those holding H-1B and L-1status.  Individuals entering the US onother types of visas, for example an F-1 student visa, a TN or E work visa, ora B-1/B-2 tourist visa, must have the intent to return to their home country atthe end of their authorized period of stay in the US.

Other than H-1B and L-1 visaholders, Individuals entering on a visa should wait at least 90 days afterentrance to the US before taking any steps toward a green cardapplication. 

The previous US DOS policyindicated actions inconsistent with status taken within 30 days of entry werepresumed fraudulent and actions inconsistent with status taken between the 31stand 60th day after entry were presumed fraudulent, but thepresumption could be overcome. 
We recommend that youconsult with your MU attorney before making any international travel plans, nomatter your status.

MU’S MARIA SCHNEIDER AUTHORS ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

Maria Schneider, MU’s SeniorAssociate, recently authored an article for the AlabamaAssociation of Realtors Newsletter. 

Schneider’s article focused onimmigration updates under the Trump Administration pertinent to those buyingand investing in real estate.   Thearticle outlined recent legislative proposals and executive actions, and how thesewould affect real estate brokers, agents, buyers, and sellers.  Schneider closed the article by outliningvisa options available for investors in the United States. 
The Alabama Associationof Realtors is the largest statewide organization of real estateprofessionals in Alabama.  Members of theAssociation work as real estate professionals in the sale, lease, appraisal,and development of residential, rural, and resort properties throughout thestate of Alabama.  The Association is theofficial voice and advocate of Alabama’s multi-faceted real estate industry andprovides members continuing education, public policy advocacy, annual meetingsand conferences, as well as several other services.

USCIS RESUMES PPS FOR H-1B CAP PETITIONS

USCIS has resumed PremiumProcessing Service (PPS) for H-1B cap-subject petitions.  Presently, H-1B cap-subject petitions, H-1Bsfor cap-exempt employers (e.g. research entities and universities), and H-1Bsfor doctors are the only H-1B petitions that may use PPS.  H-1B transfers, amendments, and extensionscurrently are prohibited from PPS.

USCIS’press release said that it “plans to resume premium processing for allother remaining H‑1B petitions (i.e. H-1B transfers, amendments, and extensions)not subject to the FY 2018 cap, as agency workloads permit.”  The press release did not commit to a timeframe for the resumption of PPS for these types of H-1B petitions.  However, in a June2017 AILA Q & A, USCIS HQ indicated that it “anticipates” resuming H-1BPPS processing on or before October 4. This comment did not delineate between H-1B cap petitions and othertypes of H-1B petitions, such as transfers, amendments, and extensions. 
The USCIS may have decided to prioritizeH-1B cap-subject petitions in order to allow some F-1/OPT students to continue towork without work authorization beyond October 1.  Certain F-1/OPT students’ will lose work authorizingon October 1 if their H-1B cap-subject petition is not approved before October1.  Please check with your MU attorney orstaff member if you have questions.

OCTOBER 2017 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS FOR 2017-2018

The Department of State has just issued the October 2017 Visa Bulletin.  This is the first Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2018.  This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin.  The DOS has added some predication on future date movement.  We have encompassed those thoughts within our category comments.  


October 2017 Visa Bulletin

Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card).

EB 
Class 
All Other  
CHINA       
INDIA     
MEXICO   
PHIL’PNES    
EB-1
C
01JAN12
C 
C
C
EB-2
 C
22MAY13
15SEP08 
C
C
EB-3
C 
01JAN14
15OCT06 
C 

01DEC15       


MU Law Analysis

All Other:  The EB-2 has been current for many years.  The EB-3 progression has long been effectively current, and is expected to remain current for the foreseeable future.

China (mainland-born):   The China EB-3 has again progressed faster than Chinese EB-2.  The DOS expects that EB-3 will progress at about 4 months per Visa Bulletin, while EB-2 will only progress one month per Visa Bulletin.

India:  The India progressions are steady, albeit slow.  EB-2 should progress one month per Visa Bulletin.  EB-3’s progression will be “limited,” in the words of the DOS.  MU suspects that EB-3 may finally breakout once the EB-3 date moves past the Visa Gate date of August 2007.

Mexico: Mirrors All Other in all aspects.

Philippines:    The Philippine EB-3 number essentially cleaned out all of the 2010 through 2015 EB-3 visas in FY2017.  Unfortunately the progressions will be considerable slower in FY2018, probably progressing 1-2 months per Visa Bulletin.  The demand for Philippines EB-3 numbers increased dramatically in 2016-17.  This increased demand will be the cause for the slower progressions in the FY2018.


USCIS MIND-NUMBINGLY TO REQUIRE IN PERSON INTERVIEWS FOR I-485s

The USCIS onFriday announced that all employment-based Adjustment ofStatus applicants (Form I-485) will now be subject to an in-person interview before theUSCIS approves the green card.  Politico first reported the story.
This is a colossal waste ofeveryone’s time and money.  It shows thisPresidential administration’s complete disregard for government efficiency whenthey have the option to pander to their base.  The USCIS is using “extreme vetting” as therationale for this new in-person interview requirement.  In reality of course, his administration isanti-immigrant and uses any excuse it can muster to inconvenience and harass contributing immigrants.
How stupid is this policy change?  Employment-based I-485 applicants will havealready been in the United States for years before this useless interview. For instance, most Indian-born nationals average 10-15 years of US statusbefore they are eligible to receive the green card.  Any damage that they wished upon the USwould surely have happened in the 10-15 years before that interview.  Terrorists,as a class, are not the type of people who work at a gainful job for years,diligently file countless immigration papers, and have no criminal record, allof which is required before any such interview would happen.
The USCIS knows this, which is whythey long-ago waived the interview requirement for employment-basedimmigrants.  Back then, USCIS recognized that in a governmentof scarce resources, its scarce resources could much better be used to findreal threats to US.  This policy changereveals just how tone deaf the President is as to who actually contributes tothe richness of American life and who are the actual threats. 

VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS FOR 2017-18

The Department of State’s VisaBulletin guru, Charlie Oppenheim, hosts monthlymeetings with the American Immigration Lawyers Association.  Charlie Oppenheim is the Department ofState’s Chief of the Control and Reporting Division. He is the officer who isresponsible for producing the Visa Bulletin each month.

This month’s Check In With Charliefeatured projections for EB-2 and EB-3, which are the most popular categories forreaders of this Blog.  Here are some ofthis month’s highlights, along with our analysis:
EB-2 Worldwide.  TheWorldwide EB-2 should return to current in October and remain there for therest of this calendar year.
EB-2 India.  This category isexpected to use the full allotment of visas in September, which may result inthe category becoming temporarily unavailable. Charlie hopes to advance the final action date to December 2008 in the1Q 2018.  It may advance into 2009 atsome point in late FY2018.
EB-2 and EB-3 China. In FY2018, EB-2 and EB-3 will return to theprior inverted condition where China EB-3 has a smaller retrogression thanChina EB-3.  History tells us that thisleads to China EB-3 “downgrades”.
EB-3 Worldwide.  Thiscategory will remain current or close to current for the foreseeable future.
EB-3 India.  This categorywill advance about one retrogress month by one real calendar month in FY2018. 
EB-3 Philippines.   It is notexpected that FY2018 will be as positive as FY2017 was to this category.  Charlie speculates, and Musillo Unkenholt canconfirm based on our internal metrics, that progressions will slow inFY2018.  We expect an average of about a 1.5-2-yearretrogression in FY 2018.  

MU’S MARIA SCHNEIDER TO SPEAK AT ALABAMA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION’S “LAWYER UNIVERSITY”

Senior Associate, Maria Schneider, willbe speaking to attorneys in Birmingham on August 24, 2017 as a part of the AlabamaState Bar Association’s Lawyer University.

Lawyer University is an initiativeof the Alabama State Bar that monitors changing economic and technologicaltrends affecting the state’s attorneys and helps the attorneys to obtain thepractical skills needed to meet these challenges and trends.
Schneider will speak on the basicsof business-based immigration and the shifting landscape under the TrumpAdministration.  Schneider will be joinedby otherlawyers, speaking on personal jurisdiction, cybersecurity, and electronicdiscovery.
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Musillo Unkenholt LLC is a full-service immigration law firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving clients throughout the United States and the world.

Our attorneys have vast experience in an array of immigration processes.

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Phone: 513.381.VISA (8472)

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