Musillo Unkenholt Law | Healthcare Immigration Blog

August 25, 2015
Uncategorized

USCIS DISCONTINUING LEGACY E-FILING

USCISis discontinue its legacy e-Filingsystem and will be rolling out a new system called the ElectronicImmigration System. A date for the launchof the new system has not been announced.

USCISexpects that the new system will be faster, more secure, and easier to upgradeand update. Importantly, the new systemswill have high data security standards.

Thelast day to start new forms in the present system is August 30, 2015. The oldsystem will be decommissioned on September 20, 2015. After September 20, all forms must be filedvia hard, paper copy.

Thelegacy e-Filing system has offered online filing for several USCIS forms,although it was never widely accepted by users. MU Law rarely used the e-filing system, as it offered no tangiblebenefits to petitioners and had several detriments.

Itremains to be seen if the new proposed system will enhance user experience. It is worth noting that the Department of Labor’son-line PERM system just celebrated its 10^th anniversary. While the PERM system is not perfect, it achievesits goals and is a good model for the USCIS to emulate.

August 20, 2015
Uncategorized

MU LAW CLIENT CONFERENCE CALL

Musillo Unkenholt will hold a free teleconference on Thursday September 3, 2015 at 3PM ET / 12 noon PT. All clients and friends of the firm are encouraged to dial-in to the call. If you would like to register for the call, please send an email to: Annalisa@muimmigration.com.

The agenda for the teleconference includes:

* H-1B onboarding starts Oct 1: What do employers need to do to stay compliant?
* When does my H-1B worker have to start working? The 30/60 day rule.
* Update on the Simeio Solutions case and Amended H-1Bs.
* When do I have to start paying an H-1B worker’s salary?
* Form I-9 compliance
* E-Verify compliance
* Managing Social Security number issues.
* Handling Professional licensure issues.
* Working with the Consulate for H-1B Visa Issuance.
* H-1B cap 2015 final numbers and projections for 2016

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue.

August 12, 2015
Uncategorized

SEPTEMBER 2015 VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State has just released the September 2015 Visa Bulletin. This is the final Visa Bulletin of the 2015 Fiscal Year. In mid-September the DOS will issue the first Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2016.

The bizarre retrogression of the Philippines EB-3 continues. Although the July Visa Bulletin showed that Philippine EB-3 was unavailable, and the August 2014 Visa Bulletin showed a June 1, 2004 priority date, this Visa Bulletin lists December 22, 2004. This means that there are a few available visas for this fiscal year. Please read our blog post from May 19 for deeper analysis on the state of the Philippine EB-3.

India EB-3 and China EB-3 also have priority dates of December 22, 2004.

All Other EB-3 is essentially current, with a date of August 15, 2015. This is great news for all EB-3s, other than Philippine, China, and India.

India EB-2 retrogressed to January 1, 2006, reflecting continued heavy demand in this category. As mentioned above, India EB-3 continued to move steadily. It is now at December 22, 2004.

China EB-2 also reflected heavy demand, retrogressing back to Jan 1, 2006.

Employment- Based	All Other	CHINA – mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN06	01JAN06	C	C
3rd	15AUG15	22DEC04	22DEC04	15AUG15	22DEC04

August 11, 2015
Uncategorized

DOL EXPECTS TO REDUCE PERM AUDIT TIMES

Registered Nurses and PhysicalTherapists are exempt from the Department of Labor PERM Application processbecause they are Schedule A occupations. This is a great relief because it saves considerable time. Other healthcare occupations, notably Occupational Therapist and SpeechLanguage Pathologists,must still avail themselves of the PERM process.

PERM Applications usually takeseveral months to prepare because before a PERM Application can be filed, theemployer must test the labor market with a variety of advertisements that maybe placed in newspapers, on the internet, and via hard copy Noticeposting.

After the labor market test iscomplete, the PERM Application is electronically filed with the Department ofLabor. The electronic filing sets theApplication’s “priority date”. The DOLelectronically reviews the Application. The DOL presently is reviewing PERM Applications that have December2014 prioritydates.

A percentage of PERM Applicationsare selected for auditing. The auditselection process is generally random, although some factors can increase anApplications chance of being selected. The biggest downside of the Audit is the processing time.

The DOL is presently reviewing PERMApplications with a priority date of March 2014, which is about one and a halfyears from the date of the initial filing of the PERM Application. If one assumes about 6 months for thepre-filing labor market test, then the total processing time for the PERM processis almost two years.

Fortunately the DOL appears to beaware of the backlogs. At a recent meeting between AILA and the Office ofForeign Labor Certification, the OFLC said that it expects to see a“considerable reduction” in the audit processing queue.

August 3, 2015
Uncategorized

NVC ERRONEOUSLY TERMINATING IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATIONS

TheNational Visa Center has been issuing erroneous letters indicating thatimmigrant visa applications will be terminated because neither the applicantsnor their attorneys have contacted the NVC within one year of notification ofthe availability of a visa. Theseletters are often erroneous because applicants and their attorneys havecontacted the NVC during the prior one year. It appears that the emailed letters were sent by the NVC during the lastweek of July 2015. The NVC is aware oftheir mistake and is taking steps to correct the erroneous letters. A similar issue arose in November 2014.

Ifyou have received one of these emails, MU Law advises you to contact the NVC tomake sure that they do not close your immigrant visa application.

TheNVC has the right to ordinarily close applications under INA §203(g) forfailure to contact the NVC within one year of notification of the availabilityof a visa.

July 28, 2015
Uncategorized

GREEN CARD SIGNATURES UNNECESSARY

Green Cards (also known asPermanent Resident Cards) do not always include the Permanent Resident’ssignature on the face of the card. Beginning in February 2015, the USCIS began waiving the signaturerequirement for individuals who filed for their Green Card from abroad throughthe Embassy or Consulate in the home country. The USCIS may waive the signature requirement in other limited circumstances,such as for children under the age of 18 or individuals physically unable toprovide a signature.

When the Green Card is issuedwithout a signature, the card will say “Signature Waived” on the front and backof the card where a signature would normally be located.

Green Cards identify the holder asa Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States and are proof of identity andwork authorization. Green Cards whichsay “signature waived” are valid for I-9 purposes, as long as the Green Card isunexpired.

July 23, 2015
Uncategorized

USCIS ISSUES FINAL GUIDANCE ON AMENDED H-1B PETITIONS AFTER SIMEIO SOLUTIONS

The USCIS has again revised its interpretation of the opinion that it issued in the controversial Simeio Solutions decision. The revised Final Guidance says that the Simeio Solutions decision will not be applied retroactively, which is a significant change from the USCIS’ May 26, 2015 Guidance. The revised Final Guidance now says that these actions must be taken:

Date of H-1B employee’s move	Action
On or before April 9, 2015	No amended H-1B is needed.
April 9 – August 19, 2015	Amended H-1B must be filed before Jan. 15, 2016.
After August 19, 2015	Must file an amended H-1B once LCA is certified.

H-1B employers should note that generally an H-1B employer has 30 days from the date of the move to file the amended H-1B. Accordingly, we advise that MU Law is informed of the move immediately, so that we can prepare the LCA and the amended H-1B filing.

The revised Final Guidance reconfirmed that an amended H-1B petition is NOT required if the geographical move is within an “area of intended employment.” An “area of intended employment” is generally the same as a Metropolitan Statistical Area. Likewise, an amended H-1B petition is NOT required if the H-1B employee is attending training sessions, seminars, conferences, etc. of a short duration.

The revised Final Guidance also confirms that if an employer’s amended H-1B petition is denied, but the original petition remains valid, the H-1B employee may return to work at the place of employment covered by the original petition.

July 20, 2015
Uncategorized

DOS: EB-3s MAY MOVE AHEAD “A FEW MONTHS” IN SEPTEMBER

AILA’s“Check In with Charlie” is a monthly discussion with the Department of State’s officerwho sets the monthly Visa Bulletin. Thismonth’s Check In revealed that Charlie thinks that EB-3 China, EB-3 India andEB-3 Philippines all have the potential to move forward a few months inSeptember. Whether or not the dates movewill depend on demand for EB-3 Worldwide through early August.

Charliealso predicts EB-3 Worldwide and EB-3 Mexico will continue to advance inSeptember. He expects that thesecategories dates may hold steady starting in October for a month or two. This will allow the DOS to see if greater demandfrom the recent advancement of the cut-off date results in these categories.

Indiaand China EB-2 is expected to remain unchanged for the next month.

July 13, 2015
Uncategorized

USCIS AGAIN ACCEPTING H-1B EXTENSION PREMIUM PROCESSING

Effective immediately the USCISis again accepting H-1B premium processing extensions petitions, ending aseven week suspension of the program.

In May, the USCISsuspended premium processing for all H-1B extension petitions. The suspension was because the USCIS fearedthat the volume of H-1B extension petitions would surge due to the newH-4 EAD rule.

Rumors persisted that the USCISmight end the suspension earlier than the previously announced July 27reenactment date. USCIS closely monitoredthe demand for the H-4 EADs and are confident that the implementation of theH-4 EAD program has worked well. Accordingly, the suspension of the H-1B extension premium processingprogram is over.

July 10, 2015
Uncategorized

AUGUST 2015 VISA BULLETIN

The Department ofState has just released the August 2015 Visa Bulletin. This is the eleventh Visa Bulletin of the 2015 FiscalYear.

The bizarreretrogression of the Philippines EB-3 continues. Although the JulyVisa Bulletin showed that Philippine EB-3 was unavailable, this monthshows a date: June 1, 2004. This means that there are afew available visas for this fiscal year. Please read our blogpost from May 19 for deeper analysis on the state of the PhilippineEB-3.

All Other EB-3is essentially current, with a date of July 15, 2015. This isgreat news for all EB-3s, other than Philippine, China, and India.

IndiaEB-2 remained at October 1, 2008. On the other hand, India EB-3leapt ahead. It is now at June 2004.

China EB-2 improvedanother two and a half months to December 15, 2013 and EB-3 remained atSeptember 1, 2011. The story was much different for China EB-3, whichretrogressed back to 2004. Just a few months ago, China EB-3had actually progressed further than EB-2. There is now anearly ten year gap between these two categories.

Employment- Based	All Other	CHINA – mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15DEC13	1OCT08	C	C
3rd	15JUL15	01JUN04	01JUN04	15JUL15	01JUN2004

The Visa Bulletin also included this notice:

D. CHINA-MAINLAND BORN EMPLOYMENT THIRD, AND THIRD OTHER WORKER VISA AVAILABILITYThere was an extremely large increase in applicant demand reported for consideration in the determination of the August cut-off dates. Therefore, it has been necessary to retrogress the Employment Third, and Third Other Worker cut-off dates to hold number use within the FY-2015 annual limit.Every effort will be made to return those categories to the previously announced July cut-off dates as quickly as possible under the FY-2016 annual limits. Those limits will take effect October 1, 2015.

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