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Washington DC, United States
Aik Wan Kok Fillali at Tiya represents companies, employers, individuals and families in U.S. immigration law in areas including, but not limiting to, green card, work visa and waiver matters. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver, and employer-sponsored PERM labor certification; and all types of work visas such as Hs, Ls and Es. We represent clients within the U.S. and abroad. With decades of professional immigration law experience with excellent results, we are your best source of professional U.S. immigration law services. PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITES AT http://www.tiyaimmigration.com , http://www.immigrationresource.net AND http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com , THANK YOU.
Showing posts with label Green Card: Employment-Based. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Card: Employment-Based. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

N-400 Naturalization or Citizenship Oath Ceremonies

N-400 Naturalization or Citizenship Oath Ceremonies
The district office Washington, D.C. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) located in Fairfax, Virginia, has several large Oath Ceremonies scheduled in the coming months of May and June 2012. There was already an 800-person swearing in ceremony scheduled for Wednesday April 25, 2012 at George Mason University. USCIS in Fairfax, Virginia, will schedule several additional large oath ceremonies off-site. In the next months, on-site same-day ceremonies may still be held for those applicants who are back in the office, by appointment, for a re-exam or Request of Further Evidence. Depending on circumstances, on-site ceremonies for Saturday interviews (N400s only) will be also conducted through the summer months.

By Aik Wan Kok, Attorney at Law, at Tiya; Tel: 703-772-8224 & koka at tiyalaw dot com www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net .

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and all work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

All Rights Reserved.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

As of May 6, 2011: 10,200 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012

As of May 6, 2011: 10,200 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012

As of May 6, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 10,200 H-1B Regular Cap, and 7,300 H-1B Master’s Exemption.

H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtain green card status.

Foreign nationals with at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent (equivalent degree or work experience) may be sponsored for H-1B petitions. A broad range of positions may fall under H-1B specialty occupations; each case depends on a position’s own set of duties.

On April 1, 2011, the USCIS began accepting H-1B nonimmigrant petitions that are subject to the government-mandated annual H-1B cap of 65,000 and the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap exemption. The advanced degree exemption applies to an H-1B beneficiary who has successfully obtained a U.S. Master’s degree or higher. These H-1B petitions are for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012) visa quota (for employment start-date of October 1, 2011 or later). The FY2011 visas quota (for October 1, 2010 start-date or later) was already closed on January 27, 2011.

H-1B petitions filed under premium processing (faster processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications) during an initial five-day filing window had been undergoing a 15-day processing period that began on April 7, 2011. For all other H-1B petitions filed for premium processing, the processing period begins on the date that the petition is physically received at the correct USCIS Service Center.

When the H-1B cap is exhausted is the date USCIS will inform the public that the cap has been reached, and this may differ from the actual final receipt date. In ensuring a fair system, on the final receipt date, the USCIS may utilize the random selection approach by selecting the number of petitions that will be considered for final inclusion within the cap. The USCIS will reject H-1B cap petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date. The final receipt date will be the date USCIS physically receives the petition, and it is not based on the date that the H-1B petition has been postmarked.

Not all H-1B petitions are subject to the annual visa cap, depending on the types of H-1B petition being filed, and the types of entity-sponsor. For examples, foreign nationals who already have approved H-1B petitions or H-1B status can still have H-1B petitions filed for them to extend their H-1B status or to change H-1B employers. These H-1B petitions are not subject to the annual visa cap.

In general, H-1B petitions/work visas are approved for three years each time (up to a total maximum of 6 years). Under certain circumstances, H-1B work visas can be extended beyond the 6-year maximum time limitation.

Potential H-1B candidates who do not make it to the Fiscal Year 2012 H-1B visa quota (October 1, 2011 start-date or later) have the options to have their H-1B cap petitions submitted or resubmitted to the USCIS on or after April 1, 2012 (October 1, 2012 start-date or later) for the Fiscal Year 2013 H-1B visa quota. They can also consider other immigration options such as self-petition green card filings, if eligible.

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya PLC; Tel: 703-772-8224

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

All Rights Reserved.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Original Certified PERM form ETA 9089 for Permanent Labor Certification, Lost and Expiring

Original Certified PERM form ETA 9089 for Permanent Labor Certification, Lost and Expiring

Recently, there have been reports that original certified forms ETA 9089 for permanent labor certification PERM process were not received. There was also an incident where the original certified form ETA 9089 was lost after being filed with the I-140 Immigrant Petition. Lost of original certified forms ETA 9089 unnecessarily complicates and increases green card processing time for foreign nationals and their employers. For more information on the PERM process, please read the last paragraphs below.

In a situation where the original certified form ETA 9089 is unavailable, the employer-sponsors may be unaware that their forms ETA 9089 have been certified, thereby missing the crucial filing periods for their I-140 Immigrant Petitions. The applicable I-140 petition must be filed during the validity period stipulated on the certified form ETA 9089. The original certified form ETA 9089 is submitted with the I-140 petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It is also possible that the original certified form ETA 9089 is lost during the filing process of the I-140 petition after being sent off by the employer-sponsor.

Due to recent reports on missing original certified forms ETA 9089, the following steps are encouraged:

For PERM application filed electronically, please check the online case status to verify whether it has changed from “in process” to “certified.” A pdf copy of the certified ETA 9089 can also be downloaded from the PERM website.

For PERM application filed by mail, please check the status of the case by e-mailing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Atlanta NPC (National Processing Center) if the case is pending at least 3 months beyond the current processing date.

Also check the iCERT portal’s latest PERM processing time at http://icert.doleta.gov/ . If the pending PERM case is more than 3 months beyond the date being processed, send an inquiry to the applicable DOL PERM center.

If original PERM approval was never received, one can submit the I-140 petition with a copy of the approval (or with other proof that it was certified, such as an e-mail from the Atlanta NPC), and ask USCIS to request a duplicate certification from DOL. Also, if the certified ETA 9089 is lost during I-140 petition processing after filing, it may be best to ask U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to request a duplicate certification from DOL by including a copy of the approval; and other proof that it was certified, such as an e-mail from the DOL.

Foreign nationals may apply for green card to live and work in the United States via several methods. The common methods of green card applications are green card lottery, employer sponsorship such as through PERM, self-petition green cards such as extraordinary ability or certain national interest waiver category, etc.

PERM is a process of permanent labor certification by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). PERM filing with the DOL is submitted via form ETA 9089. Some green card sponsorships by employers require the PERM process and some do not. PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management System. PERM is a process whereby the U.S. Department of Labor determines that:

a) The employer-sponsor has adequately tested the U.S. labor market to ascertain that there are no qualified, willing, able and available U.S. workers for the green card position;

b) The job requirements of the employer-sponsor are not unduly restrictive;

c) The offered green card salary meets the DOL prevailing wage criteria;

d) The employment of the foreign national will not adversely affect the wages and conditions of U.S. workers who are similarly employed; and

e) The foreign national meet the job requirements for the green card position in compliance with the criteria promulgated by immigration law.

Once the U.S. Department of Labor approves the PERM application by certifying the form ETA 9089, the employer sponsor may then submit the I-140 Immigrant Petition during the validity of the certified PERM form ETA 9089. Depending on the criteria, the foreign national may also submit his/her I-485 Application to Adjust to Permanent Resident Status with the I-140 petition. During the I-485 stage, the foreign national can also file for the I-765, Application for Employment Authorization Document (EAD card); and I-131, Advance Parole Document (an international travel authorization).

By Aik Wan Kok Fillali, Attorney at Law, at Tiya PLC; Tel: 703-772-8224; koka@tiyalaw.com

www.tiyaimmigration.com ; http://tiyalaw.blogspot.com ; www.immigrationresource.net

We represent employers, and individuals and their families in green card and work visa matters in U.S. immigration law. We also have a focus on self-petition green card cases such as extraordinary ability and national interest waiver.

All Rights Reserved.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be relied on as a legal advice or an attorney-client relationship.

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