Diversity lottery opens for 2011

The US Department of State has announced details of the next round of the Diversity Visa lottery here. The online entry registration period for the DV-2011 lottery is between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Friday, October 2, 2009, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, November 30, 2009. Entrants apply on Form DS-5501, Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form available only during the DV open registration period.

As a "winner" of the lottery myself, 15 years ago, I encourage everyone who is eligible to apply as soon as possible. The odds may be long, but somebody has to win. Good luck!

Full details of DV-2011 are here and here

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisa_monkeylover/3578402283/

USCIS launches redesigned website

The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) launched a redesigned website today. As stated in the press release

The new USCIS website provides a one-stop location for immigration services and information—including an innovative service called My Case Status, which allows immigration customers to receive alerts on the status of their applications via text message and e-mail.

Other new features include a Where to Start tool to guide users through the navigation process; a simplified way to track individual case status; local and national case processing times; an improved search engine; and a new Information Dashboard feature allowing users to access national immigration trends associated with immigration petitions and applications.

The site is available in English and in Spanish.

Employer pays almost $1/2 million fine for hiring undocumented workers

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that investigates and enforces immigration matters, issued a press release confirming that a southwest Missouri poultry-processing plant where 136 illegal alien workers were arrested in 2007, paid a $450,000 fine last week.

George’s Processing Inc., paid the fine as part of a settlement agreement, according to the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 137 illegal alien workers in May 2007 at the firm’s poultry-processing plant near Cassville. The workers included 28 who were criminally prosecuted for various immigration violations, including falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. Two of the company’s hiring personnel were convicted of harboring illegal aliens and inducing illegal aliens to remain in the U.S.

E-Verify Manual Online Link.

As I have discussed in prior blog postings, the requirement that certain federal contractors use E-Verify took effect on September 8, 2009. USCIS has a comprehensive user manual for employers available online here.

How to complain about immigration treatment at airports and borders

The US Customs and Border Protection is the division of the Department of Homeland Security that inspects travelers on entry to the US. The agency now has four primary programs in place to address and respond to customer complaints and compliments. These programs are:

1. Passenger Service Representatives (or Passenger Service Manager)
2. Comment Cards
2. Customer Service Center, and
4. a program where port directors and supervisors personally respond to telephone and verbal complaints.

More details about the programs are here.

1. Passenger Service Manager (PSM).

In March 2009, CBP introduced 20 PSMs at international airports around the US, listed here. According to the CBP website,

PSMs will provide training to managers and supervisors on customer service issues, they will collect and analyze reports concerning professionalism, and they will promote public awareness of the CBP mission through distribution of public information bulletins, brochures and comment cards; and oversee issues related to travelers requiring special processing.

2. Comment Cards.

CBP is supposed to provide comment cards to all travelers entering the US who have been referred to secondary inspection. CBP says that it will contact everyone who completed a comment card to address concerns, however it is unclear if this happens, or even if comment cards are being given out.

3. Customer Service Center.

CBP's website describes this as their

single point-of-contact for reviewing, responding to, tracking, and addressing all customer complaints and compliments relating to CBP interaction with the general public, travelers, industry, Congress, and other government entities.

CPB explains how to make a complaint here, but it is very cumbersome, especially for people who are not familiar with online procedures.

4. Port Director and Supervisor Response.

Complains about a passenger's treatment at a port of entry or border are supposed to be resolved within one business day by the relevant Port Director or Supervisor. For contact information, see here

Visa Bulletin for October 2009

The US Department of State has released the new Visa Bulletin for October 2009. In family-based categories, there is very slight movement forward, but just by a few weeks or months in most categories. However, Family 1st Preference for Mexico moves forward by 17 months

Employment-based categories remain "Current" for all 1st preference applicants, and for 2nd preference from Mexico, China, and countries other than India and China.

The biggest change is that the bulletin once again lists priority dates for 3rd Preference and Other Workers. These categories have been "Unavailable" since the May 2009 bulletin. Unfortunately, the priority dates listed on the October bulletin are all at least a few weeks behind the dates listed the last time, in the April bulletin. This may be the Visa Office being conservative in its first allocation of numbers for the new fiscal year. Let's hope so, and hope that they move forward in the next few months.

Federal Contractor E-verify mandatory today

Despite last-minute appeals and lawsuits to delay its implementation, the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) rule takes effect today. The rule requires contractors to use an electronic system (E-verify) to verify whether their employees are eligible to work in the U.S.

The E-Verify requirement would apply to federal contracts with a performance period longer than 120 days and a value over $100,000. The rule covers subcontractors if a prime contract includes the clause. For subcontracts that flow from those prime contracts, the rule extends the E-Verify requirement to subcontracts for services or for construction with a value over $3,000.

Employers who would like more information are encouraged to sign up for the free webinars being hosted by DHS: link.

For more details, see the prior blog posts here.

Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125236773673291025.html

I have blogged in the past about the so-called "widow penalty" in immigration law. These postings included one in June about DHS establishing relief by granting deferred action for two years to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens and children under 18 years old, who live in the US and who were married for less than two years before their spouse’s death.

USCIS has now issued formal guidance on this relief here. The link includes FAQs and a Fact Sheet.

CIS explains deferred action as

an exercise of prosecutorial discretion not to pursue removal of a particular alien for a particular period. Deferred action is not intended to be a permanent remedy to the “widow penalty,” rather it is a temporary discretionary solution to an issue that is subject to ongoing legislative and judicial actions. The grant of deferred action by USCIS does not confer or alter any immigration status.

Until the law is changed to eliminate the widow penalty, deferred action is the best that CIS can do to alleviate the hardship to families.

DHS offering free webinars on employer compliance issues

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering free 1.5 hour webinars on various dates, covering employer compliance topics. The webinars will include a topic overview, demonstration of the E-Verify system if applicable, and a question and answer session.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the E-Verify program and its proper use as well as other select topics. The overview will allow participants to receive a full understanding of the program and key features. The webinars will cover the following topics:

• Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
• E-Verify
• FAR E-Verify.

Registration for the webinars is required, and more details are here.

DHS creates new blog

The Department of Homeland Security has created a blog, called "Our Border, A Southwest Border Civic Network." The blog encourages "a new kind of dialogue about issues unique to the southwest border." Already it has about 250 members from many backgrounds and political opinions. It will be interesting to see where this social networking experiment goes.

FAQs on recapturing I-140 priority dates.

1. When can I recapture an earlier priority date?

If you have an approved I-140 in the employment-based 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd preference category, this can be transferred to a subsequent I-140 filed on your behalf in one of these categories. Priority dates cannot be transferred to 4^th or 5^th EB preference petitions or to family-sponsored petitions.

2. What if my earlier employer withdraws the I-140?

Your priority date is transferable unless CIS revokes the I-140 petition due to fraud or misrepresentation. Withdrawing the I-140 does not affect priority date recapture.

3. Does the new I-140 petition need to be filed by the same employer?

No. The later I-140 can be filed by a different company and be for a different position.

4. Doesn’t the new job have to be in the “same or similar occupational classification” for portability?

No. Recapturing priority dates does not require that the I-140s be for similar jobs. "Porting" usually refers to AC21 portability, nothing to do with priority dates. AC21 portability allows a person to change jobs during the permanent residence process in specific circumstances.

5. Can I transfer my earlier EB-3 priority date to my husband’s later EB-2 filing, so that we have an earlier EB-2 priority date?

No. Priority dates can only be transferred from one I-140 to another when the I-140s are filed for the same beneficiary. They are not transferable between beneficiaries.

6. How do I ask CIS to use an earlier priority date?

Normally the lawyer filing the 2^nd or later I-140 will include a letter asking CIS to use the earlier priority date. The request needs to include a copy of the Earlier I-140 approval, or at least the receipt number. CIS needs some way to confirm that the earlier I-140 was for the same beneficiary.

7. What if the 2nd I-140 was already approved - how to I make sure CIS is using the earlier priority date?

You should not need to do anything. However I would contact CIS once the priority date is current to be sure that are using that PD
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PLEASE READ: I welcome all the comments to this posting. However, please do not ask specific questions about your particular case via the blog. I can only provide general information on this forum.

The US Department of State has released the new Visa Bulletin for September 2009. In family-based categories, there is very slight movement forward, but just by a few weeks or months in most categories.

Employment-based categories remain "Current" for all 1st preference applicants, and the entire 3rd preference and Other Workers category remains "Unavailable", like it has been since May 2009. The biggest change is that the priority date for India and China EB-2 categories have moved forward again. In June and July 2009, these categories retrogressed by 4 years (India) and 5 years (China). Both categories advance by over a year this month, each moving from 10/1/03 to January 8, 2005.

Obama puts off immigration bill - Washington Times

Obama puts off immigration bill - Washington Times

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CIS to increase employer site visits

USCIS has received significant funding for a substantially increased volume of random site visits to employer petitioners. Over the coming year, many thousands more employers will be visited by USCIS, often unannounced.

FDNS (Office of Fraud Detection and National Security) visits are to verify the existence of the employer, discuss the information that the employer has provided to USCIS in their petition(s) and whether the foreign national is working in accordance with the terms of their admission to the USA. Sometimes the visits relate to an approved petition, and sometimes they are used to check information in a pending petition.

Officers commonly ask about the employer’s business; the worksite; the number of employees; whether the employer filed the immigration petition in question; whether the foreign national is actually employed by the employer; the foreign national’s position, job duties and salary; and the foreign national’s qualifications for the position, educational background, previous employment and immigration history, residence and dependents in the United States. Typically, the FDNS officer will want to talk to the HR representative and perhaps also the foreign national.

If you are contacted about an upcoming site visit, please contact your immigration attorney immediately. If you receive an unannounced site visit - please contact us as soon as possible afterwards to discuss. In either situation, it is important to cooperate with the CIS representative as far as possible

Links: FDNS fact sheet

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."

New medical forms for consular applicants

The US State Department has updated the forms to be used by panel physicians for people applying for permanent residence via US consulates. Doctors should begin using the following forms immediately:

• DS-2053, Medical Examination for Immigrant or Refugee Applicant (1991 TB TIs)
• DS-3024, Chest X-Ray and Classification Worksheet (1991 TB TIs)
• DS-3026, Medical History of Physical Examination Worksheet (all posts), and
• DS-3025, Vaccination Documentation Worksheet (all posts).

The remaining forms should be used starting on 10/1/09:

• DS-2054, Medical Examination for Immigrant or Refugee Applicant (2007 TB TIs)
• DS-3030, Chest X-Ray and Classification Worksheet (2007 TB TIs).

People who have already completed their medical exams using the older version of the forms do not have to have new exams. For more details, see here.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianclarkmbbs/

H-1B cap count updated

USCIS has updated the H-1B cap count. As of July 24, 2009, the agency has 44,900 cases against the regular (non-Master's) H-1B cap. This is only 100 more than the count on June 30. For more information, see the previous blog posts here.

Premium Processing for religious workers resumes

USCIS resumed Premium Processing (PP) for R-1 religious workers on July 21, 2009. Premium Processing guarantees a decision on the petition in 15 calendar days, for an extra $1000 government filing fee.

For religious workers, Premium Processing is available to petitioners who pass a site inspection at the location where the beneficiary will work. If the site inspection was at a different location, or if the petitioner failed the inspection, PP will be rejected.

Premium Processing is limited to R-1 nonimmigrant petitions; it is not available for permanent residence religious worker petitions.

For more details, see the USCIS Press Release and Q&A.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/3288666284/

Immigration attorney arrested for her own marriage fraud

The DHS enforcement division, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) announced today that it had arrested an Ohio immigration attorney and an associate on charges of marriage fraud.

According to the ICE Press Release, Lilian Asante, the lawyer, and Kwadwo Asante, a businessman, are alleged to have entered into separate marriages with two US citizens in order to obtain citizenship. The pair currently live together.

Marriage fraud carries a penalty of up to a $250,000 and/or five years imprisonment.

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