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Latest
News :
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September
17, 2006
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Premium
Processing Expanded to Certain EB-3 I-140 Petitions.
On
August 28, 2006, the USCIS expanded its Premium Processing
service to include EB-3 I-140 petitions for professionals and
skilled workers applying for a green card.
A new Form I-907 has also been introduced.
Under
the Premium Processing program, for an additional $1,000, the USCIS
will adjudicate the I-140 petition in 15 days, either
approving it or requesting additional information or evidence.
Up until now, Premium Processing has only been available for
I-129 petitions for nonimmigrant work visas, such as
H-1B visas, L-1 visas, etc.
Currently
only EB-3 professionals and skilled workers can request Premium
Processing. EB-3
“other workers” and all other employment-based green card
applicants do not qualify.
The
recent development has met with limited enthusiasm due to the onset
of visa retrogression late last year and the current 4 to 5 year
backlog for EB-3 processing. In
most cases, there’s little to be gained in paying the $1,000
Premium Processing fee as the I-485 Adjustment / Immigrant Visa
application will still be subject to the visa retrogression delays.
There
are, however, certain applicants who will benefit from I-140 Premium
Processing, such as those who are approaching their 6th
year in H-1B status and want to be able to request 3-year extensions
of their H-1B status (until their green card applications are
approved) rather than requesting repeated 1-year extensions.
The
USCIS announcement concerning the expansion of the Premium
Processing program is available on the USCIS website at:
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/PremProc081806NR.pdf
If
you’d like to discuss whether you can benefit from the new
I-140 Premium Processing, contact us by phone at (617) 889-0215
or by e-mail at E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
for an initial assessment.
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January
4, 2006
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Most
Recent Cap Count for H-1B Advance Degree Exemptions.
On
December 30, the USCIS released the most up-to-date numbers in the
cap count for H-1B Advance Degree Exemption cases.
As of December 27, 18,636 cases had been approved or were
being processed, leaving only 1,364 visas for the FY-2006 quota of
20,000 H-1B Advance Degree cases.
When
the USCIS last released figures on December 15, 17,436 cases had
been processed. At this
rate, it’s likely that all of the visas will be used by next month
at the latest.
For
more information on H-1B Advance Degree Exemption cases, see our
news item from December 22. |
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January
2, 2006
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New,
Live Chat Service Starts on Tuesday, January 3, 2006.
In
response to the popularity of our monthly chats, we’re pleased to
announce the launching of our new, Live Chat Service on Tuesday,
January 3.
The
service will be available daily (Monday through Friday) and will be
accessible directly through the homepage of our website at http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com/.
To access it, you simply need to click on this blue box down
below or at
the bottom of the homepage:
When
we are online there will be a green light in the box to indicate so.
To start chatting with us, click on the box to open a dialog
box.
You’ll then
be asked to enter your name and your question. Press the
“Submit” button to start the chat.
If
no one is available to chat with you, you’ll be able to send us a
message by e-mail.
We’re
offering this new, free Chat Service as part of our commitment to
make our services more accessible to you.
No
matter where you are in the world – and our clients are located
all around the world, from Australia and Southeast Asia to Africa,
Europe, and the Americas – all you’ll need to contact us is an
Internet connection.
You’ll
no longer have to pay expensive phone fees to get top quality, live
immigration advice. With
the proliferation of non-legal Internet sites providing outdated and
incorrect immigration information, it’s comforting to know that
you always have a direct line to Attorney Weiner and his staff to
obtain qualified immigration advice.
We
look forward to chatting with you in 2006!
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December
22, 2005
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Most
Recent Cap Count for H-1B Advance Degree Exemptions.
On
December 15, the USCIS released the latest numbers in the cap count
for H-1B Advance Degree Exemption cases.
These H-1B visas are available to individuals who have
received a master’s degree or higher from a
US
university.
As
of December 9, there were 17,436 cases counted against the
FY-2006 quota of 20,000 for Advance Degree cases.
These
20,000 H-1B visas are available in addition to the 65,000
“regular” H-1B visas, which require applicants to only have a
bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
Once
the Advance Degree quota is reached, the only new H-1B visas
available before
October 1, 2006
will be for
individuals working for cap-exempt employers or for individuals who
currently have an H-1B visa and are changing employers.
You
can follow the final count-down for the Advance Degree cases on the
USCIS site at:
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm
Be
careful, however. The
USCIS does not update the site daily, and if things are anything
like what happened for the regular H-1B cap count in August, there
will be very little advance warning – perhaps even none – that
the cap has been reached.
On
April 1, 2006
(in just over
four months’ time!) the hunting season for the FY-2007 H-1B visas
will open.
Considering
that the FY-2006 quota was reached at the beginning of August, in
just over four months, it’s likely that there will be a huge
rush of applications in the spring and that the FY-2007 quota
could be reached as early as June or July.
If
you’re planning to file an H-1B application – either an Advance
Degree case or a regular case – we’d be pleased to discuss your
case with you.
Contact
us by e-mail at E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
or phone to set up a consultation.
In the
US
you can reach us
at (617) 889-0215. You
can also leave us a message at + 33 (0)6 67 88 73 85 in
France. |
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| Other
News :
For information
concerning previous years, we invite you to visit the corresponding archive
page :
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