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September 25, 2017
Uncategorized

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 31^stand 60^th 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.

September 20, 2017
Uncategorized

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.

September 19, 2017
Uncategorized

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.

September 12, 2017
Uncategorized

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.

August 28, 2017
Uncategorized

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.

August 21, 2017
Uncategorized

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.

August 17, 2017
Uncategorized

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.

August 10, 2017
Uncategorized

SEPTEMBER 2017 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS

The Department of State has just issued the September 2017 Visa Bulletin. This is the final Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2017. This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin.

NOTE: Please be sure to read our Post, “What does the August Visa Bulletin Mean?”

September 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	01JAN12	C	C
EB-2	01JAN16	15MAY13	22AUG08	01JAN16	01JAN16
EB-3	C	01JAN12	15OCT06	C	01NOV15

MU Law Analysis

All Other: The EB-2 has been current for many years. The slight retrogression is temporary and will revert back to Current in October 2017. The EB-3 progression has long been effectively current, and is, in fact, current in this Bulletin.

China (mainland-born): The DOS instituted a retrogression for China EB-1 with the June Visa Bulletin, which remains. The continued high level of demand for EB-1 numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for June. It is expected that this EB-1 retrogression will last until October 2017.

The China EB-2 date again moved up, by about one month. The DOS recently noted that there has been an extremely large increase in EB-3s during the past month. The China EB-3 date remains at January 2012, which is where it was in July. It is now slower than China EB-2.

India: As with China, India EB-1 now is retrogressed. It is expected that this EB-1 retrogression will last until October 2017.

EB-2 India moved ahead by a month. EB-3 India jumped into late 2006, which was a pleasant surprise. The DOS is clearly trying to ensure that all visa numbers are used in FY2016.

Mexico: Mirrors All Other in all aspects.

Philippines: EB-3 moved ahead to November 2015! This is yet another incredible progression. The Philippine EB-3 number essentially cleaned out all of the 2010 through 2015 EB-3 visas in less than one year. This is even more positive than we expected.

Our internal metrics see the Philippine EB-3 number continuing to progress at a rapid clip for the rest of 2017.

The retrogression of the EB-2 (Phils) number is nothing to be concerned about. It will return to Current in October 2017. Note that all EB-2s retrogressed, which reflects heavier demand than usual in the entirety of the EB-2 category.

August 2, 2017
Uncategorized

CINCINNATI IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE

Musillo Unkenholt Immigration Lawis hosting a live in-person conference for business professionals in the Greater Cincinnatiarea on the topics of H-1Bs and immigration under the Trump Administration.

REGISTERHERE

This Cincinnati Immigration Seminarwill feature these topics:

· Business Immigration visas: H-1B, L-1, TN, OPT,F-1
· Business Immigration Green Cards: PERM, I-140,I-485
· Entrepreneur and investor options: EB-5, E-1,E-2
· Immigration Compliance: I-9s, E-Verify, PublicAccess Files
· Impact of Pres. Trump’s policies on businessimmigration
· Legislative and Regulatory changes that may beon the horizon

The conversation will be led byMU’s immigration lawyers who have a combined experience in immigration of overtwo decades.

The conference will begin at 8 AMand go to 10:30 AM. A courtesy continental breakfast will be provided at thebeginning of the event.

Parking is available underneath thehotel in their parking garage, as well as on the streets surrounding the hotel.

Please do not hesitate to contactus via email with any more questions you may have regarding the presentation orour services.

July 31, 2017
Uncategorized

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE CONFIRMATION OF THE NEW USCIS DIRECTOR?

In April Pres. Trump nominated Lee Francis Cissna to be the Director of the USCIS. USCIS is a sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS is tasked with processing immigration applications and petitions. The Director normally reports directly to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Because it is such an important position, any nomination for USCIS Director requires confirmation by the Senate.

Three months have now passed since the Cissna nomination. Although the President has complained loudly about Senate Democrats holding up confirmations, that does not seem to be the case with Mr. Cissna’s nomination.

In mid-May, Pro Publica reported that Mr. Cissna had spent much of the last few years ghost-writing letters on behalf of Sen. Grassley (R-IA). These letters were aimed at dismantling much of Pres. Obama’s immigration policies. On May 31, Mr. Cissna testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Three hundred immigration stakeholders have since pushed the administration to withdraw Mr. Cissna’s nomination.

Mr. Cissna’s confirmation hold-up does not entirely appear to be about the Cissna policies raised by Pro Publica. In fact, the confirmation hold-up was a leverage play by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Senate custom allows a single Senator to delay a confirmation.

Why did Sen. Tills delay Cissna’s confirmation? Sen. Tillis wanted an increase of H-2B visas, which are temporary visas used in seasonal occupations. North Carolina uses more H-2B visas than 47 other states, trailing only Texas and Colorado. In mid-July, the President caved into Sen. Tillis’ demands and released an additional 15,000 H-2B visas. Only then did Sen. Tillis agree to lift his hold on the confirmation.

Yet Mr. Cissna’s confirmation continues to sit. Right-wing media, who are fans of Mr. Cissna’s views, are ramping up the pressure on the GOP Senate to move forward.

Because the Cissna nomination is still stuck, questions remain: Is Mr. Cissna going to be confirmed before the August recess? Is his delay more about him or more about the Senate’s packed schedule? Will the forthcoming DHS Secretary withdraw Mr. Cissna and want to appoint his own candidate? We should know a lot between now and the recess.

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