Permanent residence (green card) petitions down by half

The Associated Press reports that the number of employers filing immigrant petitions has declined dramatically in the past two years. According to AP, CIS received about 1/2 the number of I-140s in Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009 than it did in each of the previous years.

There were almost 235,000 applications submitted in fiscal 2007, almost 104,000 the following year, and fewer than 36,000 through the first eight months of fiscal 2009, according to data obtained by the AP.

One side-effect of the drop in applications is that I-140s are now being processed much faster than before, the report notes.

The decline in filings is attributed to "weak job market, long waits for immigrant visa availability, deep job cuts in sectors that have traditionally lured large numbers of applicants and more competition from American job seekers."