513.381.VISA (8472)
Musillo Unkenholt LLC | 302 West Third, Suite 710 | Cincinnati, Ohio

Archive for Uncategorized

DECEMBER 2017 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS

The Department of Statehas just issued the December 2017 VisaBulletin. This is the third Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2018.  This blog postanalyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin.
December 2017 VisaBulletin
Final Action Dates –Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (PermanentResidency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.
EB 
Class 
All Other  
CHINA       
INDIA     
MEXICO   
PHIL’PNES    
EB-1
C
C
C 
C
C
EB-2
C
01JUL13
01NOV08 
C
C
EB-3
C 
08MAR14
15OCT06 
C 

15JAN16       
MU Law Analysis
All Other:  The EB-2 hasbeen current for many years.  The EB-3 isalso current and is expected to remain current for the foreseeable future.
China (mainland-born):  Both China EB-2and EB-3 progressed about one month.  The China EB-3 remains morefavorable than Chinese EB-2.  The odd situation of China EB-3 progressingfaster than China EB-2 will remain to be the case for the foreseeable future.
India:  India EB-2progressed about one month, which is what we except the monthly progressionswill be in FY 2018.  Unfortunately, India EB-3 did not move.  Recently,the DOS said that EB-3’s progression will be “limited.”  MUsuspects that EB-3 will not progress at any notable rate until at least theIndia EB-3 date moves past the Visa Gate date of August 2007.
Mexico: Mirrors All Otherin analysis.
Philippines: The PhilippineEB-3 date stayed in January 2016, reflecting the fact that demand for thePhilippine EB-3s recommenced heavy demand in 2016.  This increased demand will be the cause forslower progressions in the FY2018, progressing no more than 1-2 months per VisaBulletin.

REUTERS: NURSING CRISIS STRAINS U.S. HOSPITALS

Reutersreports that health care facilities all across the US are facing dire nurse staffingshortages, which are leading to increased expenses related to staffing.  They interviewed over 20 hospitals across theUS and found nearly universal concerns tied to a lack of nurses.  
Reuters cites a StaffingIndustry Analysts report that says that the “cost nationwide for travel nurses alone nearly doubled overthree years to $4.8 billion in 2017”. For instance, “university-affiliated J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital inMorgantown is spending $10.4 million in 2017 compared with $3.6 million a yearearlier to hire and retain nurses.”
The article highlights the classicreason for the shortage, which have longbeen on the industry’s radar.  For instance:
Baby Boom Generation Demand.  The US Baby Boomgeneration, those born 1946-1964, has reached an age where they willincreasingly demand nursing services.  As The Atlantic pointsout:
Today, there are more Americansover theage of 65 than at any other time in U.S. history. Between 2010 and2030, thepopulation of senior citizens will increase by 75 percent to 69 million,meaning one in five Americans will be a senior citizen; in 2050, anestimated 88.5million people in the U.S. will be aged 65 and older.
Aging Nursing Workforce.  Out of the 3 million US nurses,one million are over age 50 and will be expected to retire in the next 10-15years.
Few Nurse Educators.  Nursing Ph.D. programs have been unableto attract nursing faculty.  These nurses Ph.D’s have traditionally madeup large numbers of nursing school faculty.  Part of the reason for thisis that a Bachelor nursing graduate is usually offered a job at graduation,thus reducing that graduate’s incentive to seek out graduate nursingeducation.  Without a dramatic increase in nurse faculty, it will beimpossible for the US to supply enough nurses to meet the demand.
Distribution Challenges.  Some of the American nursing problemstems from the lack of mobility ion the nursing force.  Nurses are oftenunwilling to leave their hometowns for jobs in rural areas or high-nurse demandareas, even if those positions pay better.

Lack of Foreign-Nurses.  Because of a terribly though-out USimmigration policy, it takes a nurse from the Philippines many years to legallyobtain a visa, in spite of the nursing shortage.  The Philippines hastraditionally been the greatest supplier of US nurses.  The story is evenworse for India, which would certainly be able to supply the US with manynurses if it did not take 10 years for a fully-qualified nurse to obtain a USvisa.  As a result of the lack of US nursing visa options,foreign-trained nurses have declined sitting for the US licensing exams. 

DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY PROGRAM

After the tragic terrorist attackin New York, President Trump recommended eliminating the Diversity Visa Lotteryprogram (DV Lottery).  Many of our blogreaders have likely not heard of the DV Lottery.  Here are some key points about the DVLottery:
  • TheDV Lottery was established by an Act of Congress in 1990.  Fifty Thousand green cards are allocated tothe DV Lottery and are reserved for countries witha historically low rate of immigration to the US. TheDV Lottery countries are identified each year by the US Department of State.
  • DVLottery applicants must registeron-line for the lottery.  There is no feeto register or apply for the DV Lottery.
  • Inaddition to being a native of one of the named countries, DV Lottery applicantsmust meet certain educational orskilled work requirements. 
  • In2015, which is the last year for which we have statistics,close to 14.5 million people around the world applied for the 50,000 DV Lottergreen cards.
  • Thosewho are selected will be notified through the Entrant Status Check, E-DV Website.  DV Lottery winners are never notified by hardcopy mail or email.  There is widespreadfraud around the DV Lottery program, so applicants must ensure that theirnotification of lottery winning is in fact from the US Department of State.
  • DVLottery winners must still meet all eligibility requirements before obtaining agreen card.  The requirements include thesame securityscreening undergone by family-based and employment-based green cardapplicants before obtaining a green card. 
  • Inaddition to the standard screening, all DV Lottery winners must appear for an in-personinterview with an Immigration of Embassy Officer.
  • If processing of the DV Lotterywinner’s application cannot be completed before the end of the US government’s fiscal year,due to background checks, resource limitations, or other issues, the DV Lotterywinner’s application will be denied, and the opportunity to obtain the greencard will be lost.

CISSNA’S FIRST ACT: CONTINUE ASSAULT ON BUSINESS IMMIGRATION

New USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna’sfirst act as USCIS Director is to rescind a 2004 Memorandum that had easedburdens on nonimmigrant extension petitions. In its place, USCISissued a Memorandum instructing officers to revisit all prior findings offact and law in extension petitions.  USCISsays that this new policy is, “more consistent with the agency’s currentpriorities and also advances policies that protect the interests of U.S.workers.”
Accordingly, employers and employees should expectdelays in the adjudication of extension petitions. This new Memorandum will be used as authority for increased RFE and denials. 

AFTER LONG DELAYS CISSNA SWORN IN AS DIRECTOR OF USCIS; NIELSEN NOMINATED FOR DHS

To little fanfare, L. FrancisCissna was finally swornin as Director of the USCIS.  Pres.Trump originally nominated Cissna in April. There was little news coming out of Washington explaining the delay inCissna’s appointment.  The lack of informationled to plenty of speculationabout the delay.  Cissna served invarious capacities within the Department of Homeland Security, most recently asthe Director, Immigration Policy within the DHS Office of Policy,
Delayed appointments are nothing newfor this administration.  The DHS hasbeen without a leader since Secy. Kelly became Pres. Trump’s Chief of Staff in July.  The administration finally nominated KirstjenNielsen earlierin October, more than two months since Secy. Kelly’s promotion.
Axiosdid not have favorable reporting on Ms. Nielsen,
“Nielsen is not a beloved figure atDHS; just as she wasn’t inside the White House. She has a very sharp-elbowedapproach to doing business and doesn’t command anywhere near the respect thather predecessor, Kelly, did, according to more than half a dozen sources who’veworked with her.”

NOVEMBER 2017 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

TheDepartment of State has just issued the November 2017 Visa Bulletin.  This is the second Visa Bulletin of FiscalYear 2018.  This blog post analyzes thismonth’s Visa Bulletin.
November2017 Visa Bulletin
Final Action Dates — Applicationswith these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residencycard) or Immigrant Visa appointment.
EB 
Class 
All Other  
CHINA       
INDIA     
MEXICO   
PHIL’PNES    
EB-1
C
C
C 
C
C
EB-2
C
15JUN13
08OCT08 
C
C
EB-3
C 
01FEB14
15OCT06 
C 

15JAN16       
MU LawAnalysis
AllOther:  The EB-2 has been current formany years.  The EB-3 is also current andis expected to remain current for the foreseeable future.
China(mainland-born):  China EB-1reverted to Current.  Our sense is thatit will stay Current for much of the fiscal year.  Both China EB-2 and EB-3 progressed onemonth.  The China EB-3 remains morefavorable than Chinese EB-2.  The odd situationof China EB-3 progressing faster than China EB-2 will remain to be the case forthe foreseeable future.
India:  India EB-2 progressed about one month, whichis what we except the monthly progressions will be in FY 2018.  Unfortunately, India EB-3 did not move.  A few weeks ago, the DOS said that EB-3’sprogression will be “limited.” MU suspects that EB-3 will not progress at any notable rate until atleast the India EB-3 date moves past the Visa Gate date of August 2007.
Mexico: MirrorsAll Other in analysis.
Philippines:  The Philippine EB-3 number essentially cleanedout all of the 2010 through 2015 EB-3 visas in FY2017.  The demand for Philippines EB-3 numbers increaseddramatically in 2016-17.  This increaseddemand will be the cause for slower progressions in the FY2018, probablyprogressing 1-2 months per Visa Bulletin.

NEW STREAMLINED PROCESS TO OBTAIN SIMULTANEOUS EAD AND SSN

Effective October 1, 2017, the USCitizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the Social SecurityAdministration (SSA) have instituted a newinformation-sharing partnership allowing foreign nationals to apply for anEAD (Employment Authorization Document) and a SSN (Social Security Number) atone time and on one form.

This should be helpful for thoselawfully in the US and who are eligible for work authorization via an EAD, butwho have previously not had social security numbers.  H-4/EAD, L-1/EADs, and spouses and children applyingfor I-485/EADs are some examples of people who will benefit from this newprocess.

EADs are documentation of theindividual’s work authorization and can be shown to employers to satisfy theI-9 and e-verify tests.  EADs permit theforeign national to work for a finite period of time, listed on the EADcard.  SSNs are used to report wages tothe government and to determine the individual’s eligibility for certaingovernment benefits. 
Under the previous system, foreignnationals had to first obtain an EAD and then go to their local SSA Office andapply for an SSN separately.  The revisedEAD Application (Form I-765) allowsapplicants to apply for an SSN or a replacement SSN card without visiting theSSA Office.  The USCIS will now transmitthe SSN data to the SSA for processing. Applicants will receive their EAD from the USCIS and their SSN card fromthe SSA within two weeks.

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.
<1 ... 38 39 40 41 42 ... 107 >
About Us

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.

Contact

302 West Third Street, Suite 710
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Phone: 513.381.VISA (8472)

info@muimmigration.com

Quick Links
Linkedin-in
© 2025 Musillo Unkenholt, LLC.