USCIS: IMMIGRATION RELIEF FOR SEVEN CATEGORIES OF FILIPINOS
November 18, 2013
The USCIS has announced that Filipino nationals who are impactedby Typhoon Haiyan maybe eligible for certain immigration relief measures:
1. Change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even when the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired;2. Extension of certain grants of parole made by USCIS;
3. Extension of certain grants of advance parole, and expedited processing of advance parole requests;
4. Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship;
5. Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs);
6. Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, where appropriate; and
7. Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without immigration or travel documents, such as Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards). USCIS and the Department of State will coordinate on these matters when the LPR is stranded in a place that has no local USCIS office.
Philippine nationals should note that these provisions donot grant any extra rights or paths to those in the Philippines who may have beenharmed as a result of the Typhoon. Theserelief measures are limited to the seven situations described above.
Philippine nationals should note that these provisions donot grant any extra rights or paths to those in the Philippines who may have beenharmed as a result of the Typhoon. Theserelief measures are limited to the seven situations described above.
TYPHOON HAIYAN RECOVERY DONATIONS
November 13, 2013
Typhoon Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda inthe Philippines) was devastating to the Philippines. Thousands are feared dead and countlessothers have been injured. By any measureTyphon Haiyan was one of the worst natural disasters in human history. If you would like to donate to help the victimsof Typhoon Haiyan here are organizations that are helping. Please take a minute and consider donating.
Doctors Without Borders: DWB’s work isbased on the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality. Theorganization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people in crisisregardless of their race, religion, or political affiliation.
Oxfam:Oxfam aid teams areon the ground in the Philippines and reporting urgent needs of food, cleanwater, medicine and shelter.
Global Red Cross: The global Red Crossnetwork is responding to emergency needs in the Philippines with food, water,and relief supplies, and the American Red Cross is lending people, expertiseand equipment to this massive effort.
DECEMBER 2013 VISA BULLETIN
November 11, 2013
The Department of State has justreleased the December 2013Visa Bulletin. This is the third Visa Bulletin of the 2014 US FiscalYear, which began on October 1, 2013.
The All Other Countries EB-3 date jumped a full year to October 1, 2011. The Chinese EB-2 and EB-3 continued to be flipped: the Chinese EB-2 is worse than the Chinese EB-3. Chinese nationals who are BE-2 may be able to file an EB-3. Chinese EB-3s should check with their attorneys to effect this change.
The Visa Bulletin contained these projections for the next few months:
Employment First: Current
Employment Second:
Employment Third:
Worldwide: This cut-off date has been advanced extremely rapidly duringthe past seven months in an effort to generate new demand. As the rate ofapplicants who are able to have action on their cases finalized increases, itcould have a significant impact on the cut-off date situation. The rapidforward movement of this cut-off date should not be expected to continue beyondFebruary.
Visa Availability in the nextcoming months.
Employment First: Current
Employment Second:
Worldwide: Current
China: Three to five weeks
India: No forward movement
Employment Third:
Worldwide: This cut-off date has been advanced extremely rapidly duringthe past seven months in an effort to generate new demand. As the rate ofapplicants who are able to have action on their cases finalized increases, itcould have a significant impact on the cut-off date situation. The rapidforward movement of this cut-off date should not be expected to continue beyondFebruary.
China: Expected toremain at the worldwide date
India: No forwardmovement
Mexico: Expected to remainat the worldwide date
Philippines: Three to six weeksHere is this month's complete chart:
| December 2013 Visa Bulletin | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Countries | China | India | Philippines | |
| EB-2 | Current | 08NOV08 | 15NOV04 | Current |
| EB-3 | 01OCT11 | 01OCT11 | 01SEP03 | 08JAN07 |
DECEMBER 2013 VISA BULLETIN PREDICTIONS
November 5, 2013
AILA has just reported that theDepartment of State’s Charlie Oppenheim spoke to the AILA Washington D.C.Chapter dinner. While his statements are not official, Mr. Oppenheim is oftencorrect with his predictions.
- The India EB-2 cutoff date is expected to retrogress fromJune 2008 (which is what it is in the November 2013 Visa Bulletin) to 2004 or2005 in December 2013. This is due in large part to Indian nationals"upgrading" from EB-3 to EB-2.
- IndiaEB-3 will continue to move very slowly.
- WorldwideEB-2 is expected to remain current.
- WorldwideEB-3 could move up to 2011 in the December Visa Bulletin.
- WorldwideEB-1 is expected to remain current.
- ChinaEB-2 will continue to move slowly.
- China EB-3 is expected to continue to be ahead of a China'sEB-2 priority date.
PERM FILINGS IN THE WAKE OF THE iCert BLACKOUT
November 4, 2013
Last month’s government shutdownmade it impossible to file PERM Applications. The problem has continued into November, as the iCert portal has beeninundated with a large volume of filings. The Department of Labor fortunately has issued a blog posting explaining thatEmployers and Employees will not be prejudiced.
According the blog posting, any PERMfiling on or before November 14, 2013 will be considered timely filed even ifthe PWD or recruitment has nominally expired. The iCert system will warn the user that theapplication contains information that will cause the application to be denied,but such an application will not be denied for this reason. This accommodation applies only to PERM applications that had timely recruitment or prevailing wage determinationsduring the shutdown period and are now unsuitable for filing due to expiredrecruitment or prevailing wage determinations.
Similarly, any response due to the DOLbetween October 1 -18, 2014 will be deemed timely filed if received at the DOLprior to November 14, 2013.
The DOL blog posting also notes thatany document that was filed with their office between October 1 – 18, 2013 willbe given a receipt date of October 18, 2013. Since October 18, 2013 is before November 14, all of these documents arealso timely.
BOO-SILLO UNKENHOLT
October 30, 2013
Every year our office transforms for a few days from Musillo Unkenholt to Boo-Sillo Unkenholt. Check out our Facebook page to see more pictures of our Halloween-themed office.
IS CIR ALIVE OR DEAD?
October 23, 2013
Withthe government shutdown ended, the conventional wisdom is that the RepublicanParty’s strategy backfired. The RepublicanParty’s approvalratings have plummeted with the American public.
Moremoderate forces, suchas Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Eric Cantor (R-VA)think ComprehensiveImmigration Reform may be the way for the Republicans to stop the falling polling numbers.
Moremoderate forces, suchas Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Eric Cantor (R-VA)think ComprehensiveImmigration Reform may be the way for the Republicans to stop the falling polling numbers.
Thepolitics on this will be the key. On onehand, this may be Maj. Leader John Boehner’s (R-OH) last chance to salvage hislegacy. On the other hand, a substantialrift has developed within the GOP ranks. Tea Party members, whose unofficial leadership includes Sen. Ted Cruz(R-TX) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), contend that the shutdown strategy waseffective and likely will not seek to compromise on immigration reform. One interesting development may be that whileSen. Cruz remains popular, Sen.Lee’s own ratings have plunged. Hisfellow Utah Senator, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), has refusedto endorse him for re-election.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ENDS; SERVICES SLOWLY COMING ON-LINE
October 17, 2013
Late yesterday theSenate and House each passed a budget bill, which was signed by PresidentObama. The bill’s signing ends the twoweek federal government shutdown. The shutdownobstructed many immigration services, notably the Departmentof Labor’s iCert system, which was shuttered. Through the iCert system employers and theirlawyers apply for Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), Prevailing Wage Determination(PWDs) and Permanent Employment Labor certification (PERM). The discontinuation of these programs meantthat H-1Bs and PERM-based green card applications effectively stopped.
As of this writing,the iCert system remains inoperable. Itis expected that the iCert system will commence operating within 24 hours. At that time MU Law immediately will beginfiling LCAs, PWDs, and PERM applications. We are prioritizing those matters with a legal deadline or businessnecessity.
Other immigrationservices were slowed by the shutdown. Itis expected that those services should return to normal processing times in thenear future.
I-9 TIPS FOR STAFFING COMPANIES
October 16, 2013
The US Immigrationand Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently announcedan increase in Form I-9 enforcement. Form I-9 completion and retention is often problematic for companies whoplace workers at third-party worksites because the Form I-9 documents must beseen in person by the employer or the employer’s representative. The April 2013 update to the US government’s M-274, Handbook for Employers,reconfirmed the best practice for Form I-9 completion in these difficultsituations.
In theseinstances, the best practice is for the employer to specially designate someoneto personally review the documents and complete Form I-9, Section 2, Employer orAuthorized Representative Review and Verification. Ideally this person should be a NotaryPublic, although the rule allows anyone acting on the employer’s behalf, suchas another employee at the worksite.