News Update: L-1 USCIS Site Visits
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently acknowledged that its fraud detection and national security division will be making unannounced pre- and post-adjudication site visits at L-1 intracompany transferee petitioners. I believe the expansion of their verification program is a direct result of the Office of Inspector General’s report published in August 2013 listing many […]
News Update: Governmental Agencies Communicating
The Texas Department of Public Safety recently announced The Texas Department of Public Safety recently announced that before they will be issuing a valid driver’s license to a foreign national they will need verification from the USCIS SAVE verification process program of the individual’s legal status in the U.S. A problem has arisen when the […]
News Update: Government Reopening
Updates on the Government Reopening U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Effective this morning, DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (“OFLC”) began to accept and process Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), Applications for Prevailing Wage Determination, Applications for Temporary Employment Certification, and Applications for Permanent Employment Certification. OFLC’s web site, including the iCERT Visa Portal System, has […]
News Update: Impact of the Government Shutdown on Immigration
The U.S Government is on a partial shutdown… The U.S. government is on a partial shutdown, affecting many services including immigration law enforcement and benefit adjudications provided by different government agencies. Here is a summary of the effect of the shutdown on various employment-related immigration services. U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) DOL’s Office of Foreign […]
News Update: Encountering L Petition Problems
At the request of a number of senators and congressmen, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed the L intra-company transferee visas… At the request of a number of senators and congressmen, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed the L intra-company transferee visas issued over the past 10 years and has found […]
News Update: Reported Phone Scam
Reported USCIS Phone Scam The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced that they are aware of a telephone scam where applicants and petitioners are being contacted by phone. Apparently, the scammers have obtained a list of petitioners and applicants and have spoofed the caller ID system so it appears that the […]
News Update: I-9 Email Mystery Solved – Video Inside
I-9 Email Mystery Solved – Plus Video! If you have hired a new employee recently, you may be lamenting the passing of a time when the I-9 Form was only a single page. Not only is the new form two pages long, but it has some extra fields too. One of those extra fields is […]
News Update: Proposed Increase in Fines
Recently, the U.S. Senate voted out of the Judiciary Committee proposed new legislation which will significantly increase penalties upon employers… Recently, the U.S. Senate voted out of the Judiciary Committee proposed new legislation which will significantly increase penalties upon employers for paperwork violations and for knowingly hiring undocumented workers. The civil fine for knowingly hiring […]
News Update: Financial Sequester Causes Delays at the Consulates, Airports and the Border
As part of the Federal government’s effort to force more than $1 trillion in spending cuts As part of the Federal government’s effort to force more than $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, the sequestration law would require $85 billion in reductions for 2013. This $85 billion sequester affects the U.S. […]
News Update: H-1B Cap Update
H-1B Cap Update Between April 1, 2013 and April 5, 2013, USCIS received approximately 124,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions. On April 7, 2013, USCIS conducted a lottery to select a sufficient number of petitions for the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption limit. USCIS conducted the lottery for […]