Archive for Uncategorized

In the first five days of this H-1B season in April, the USCIS says that it received 42,000 H-1B petitions. The total is now about 45,000. This tiny increase in number is attributed to two factors: (i) the tougher measures being employed by both USCIS and the DOS; and (ii) the current economic condition in the US.

H-1B History:

(Note- Fiscal Year runs from October 1 of the prior year until September 30 of the next year. You may file for an H-1B 6 months in advance of the October 1 start of the fiscal year. In other words, the FY2010 H-1B “season” began on April 1, 2009).

FY 2009: Immediate (First week of April 2008)
FY 2008: Immediate (First week of April 2007)
FY 2007: April 1, 2006 – May 26, 2006
FY 2006: April 1, 2005 – August 12, 2005
FY 2005: April 1, 2004 – October 1, 2004
FY 2004: April 1, 2003 – Feb 17, 2004
FY 2003: Not reached (Cap was 195,000)
FY 2002: Not reached (Cap was 195,000)
FY 2001: Not reached (cap was 195,000)

The other political issue in the spotlight is the resignation of Sen. Sen. Martinez (R-FL) and Sen. Bailey-Hutchinson (R-TX). On one hand these two Senators have been general supporters of immigration reform and so their resignations are unwelcome. Sen. Bailey-Hutchison particularly has been a leader on healthcare visa reform.

On the other hand, since both are Republicans, their influence in Senatorial matters is negligible at this point. Also, since they both are from states with increasing immigration populations, it is expected that any replacements will be unlikely to hinder any CIR legislation. To do so would alienate their constituency.

Philippine Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr urged Ms. Arroyo to press Mr. Obama on nurse immigration issues. GMANews reports that Sen. Pimentel said that if Ms. Arroyo can get “a quota of 20,000 nurses a year, that would be a great economic bonanza for our nurses and their families.”

Ms Arroyo’s other engagements on Friday called for meetings with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who has repeatedly called for increased nursing and healthcare visa quotas.

Note on the Death of Fmr. Pres. Aquino. As Philippine readers of this Blog surely know, Former President Corazon Aquino died Friday (Saturday in the Philippines). The Musillo Unkenholt firm recognizes the great leadership that Ms. Aquino played in the “people power” movement in the 1980s and would like Philippine readers to know that we will keep the Aquino family and the Philippine people in our thoughts and prayers.

California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@dhs.gov

Vermont Service Center: vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

The email should explain how the particular case meets the standards set forth in the Velarde Guidance Memorandum.

The EB2 category remains “current” for natives of most countries. Cases filed under EB2 are eligible for immediate processing and should expect approval in the near future. The two major EB2 exceptions are China and India. Chinese and Indian cases are only being processed for those with priority dates before October 1, 2003.

The September Visa Bulletin will be released in mid-August. The September VB will likely have the same dates as the August Visa Bulletin, at least with respect to the categories discussed in this post.

The next major Visa Bulletin will be the October VB, which should be published in mid-September. The US fiscal year runs from October 1 – September 30, and so the 2010 US fiscal year begins October 1, 2009. Preliminary expectations are that the DOS will start the dates off slowly, and then progress them in a systematic process throughout the year. My sense is that the EB3 dates will be in the 2003-05 time frame. Depending on demand in October and November, I could see those dates aggressively moving ahead.

Predicting the progression of Visa Bulletin dates is a somewhat impossible exercise. No one knows just how many 2003-05 visas remain unused, and no one knows how many of those people no longer want their visas.