Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification Archives - Page 3 of 4

13 05, 2014

Employment Authorization for Qualified Dependents of H-1B Visa Holders

By Richard Hanus|2014-05-13T08:42:13-05:00May 13th, 2014|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published: May 13, 2014 In the past week, the Obama Administration announced its plan to implement a program allowing qualified spouses of H-1B visa holders to obtain an Employment Authorization Document. The plan has yet to be put into action, and it’s expected that Department of Homeland Security will start accepting and processing applications from eligible applicants a short time after the “comment period” expires in the coming 60 days. For now the provision is a “proposed rule,” where anyone in the public is free to chime in and comment on the proposal. Once the comment period expires, the comments will be […]

12 04, 2012

H-1B Work Visa Availability, Heavy Demand Since April 1

By Richard Hanus|2012-04-12T14:07:18-05:00April 12th, 2012|Categories: Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|Tags: advanced degree holders, bona fide, eligibility, fiscal year, job offer, visa supply|

Published: April 12, 2012 For most government agencies, including Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), fiscal year 2013 starts on October 1, 2012. Starting on that date, U.S. employers are able to benefit from a new crop of foreign workers who are issued H-1B work visas. As early as April 1, 2012, interested employers and foreign workers have had an opportunity to start the process of accessing the annual supply of 85,000 visas – with 65,000 visas in the general supply and 20,000 reserved for U.S. graduate school degree holders – with workers then becoming eligible to commence […]

23 11, 2011

H-1B Visa Cap Reached

By Richard Hanus|2011-11-23T11:02:08-06:00November 23rd, 2011|Categories: Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|Tags: change employers, concurrently, fiscal year, H-1b, prospective workers, terms of employment|

Published: November 23, 2011 As of November 22, 2011, the allotment of 85,000 H-1B work visas for Fiscal Year 2012 (which includes 20,000 visas reserved for those receiving advanced degrees in the US) has been exhausted. Thus, any H-1B petitions received by CIS after November 22, 2012 will be rejected, with all paperwork and filing fees returned to the filing party. In the meantime, petitions involving workers that are otherwise exempt from the cap will continue to be accepted, including petitions to: extend a current H-1B worker’s status in the U.S.; change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; allow […]

23 10, 2011

UPDATE: H-1B Work Visa Availability

By Richard Hanus|2011-10-23T13:23:00-05:00October 23rd, 2011|Categories: Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification|Tags: eligibility, employment visa, H-1b|

Published: October 23, 2011 For most government agencies, including Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), fiscal year 2012 starts on October 1, 2011. Starting on that date, U.S. employers are able to benefit from a new crop of foreign workers who are issued H-1B work visas. As early as April 1, 2011, interested employers and foreign workers have had an opportunity to start the process of accessing the annual supply of 85,000 visas – with 65,000 visas in the general supply and 20,000 reserved for U.S. graduate school degree holders – with workers then becoming eligible to commence […]

4 08, 2010

ATTENTION: Important Filing Locations to Change

By Richard Hanus|2010-08-04T08:06:15-05:00August 4th, 2010|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment-Based Immigration Law, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification|

ATTENTION: Important Filing Locations to Change Published: August 4, 2010 CIS has announced new filing locations for a variety of petitions and applications, including: For I-129F – Petition for Alien Fiance – Now to be filed at: US CIS, P.O. Box 660151, Dallas, TX 75266 For I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker – Now to be filed at one of three locations, depending on the basis of the filing and/or proposed location of employment: a) US CIS P.O. Box 660867, Dallas, TX 75266 b) US CIS, Nebraska Service Center, P.O. Box 87140, Lincoln, NE 68501-7140 c) US CIS, Texas Service Center, […]

26 06, 2009

Expedited Processing Back On for I-140, Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers; Visa Availability Still an Obstacle

By Richard Hanus|2009-06-26T18:03:19-05:00June 26th, 2009|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Expedited Processing Back On for I-140, Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers; Visa Availability Still an Obstacle Published: June 26, 2009 Expedited processing, or “Premium Processing,” allows for processing of certain immigration petitions in 15 calendar days or less with the payment of an additional filing fee of $1000. In the past, Premium Processing had been available for most types of I-140 immigrant worker petitions, but eventually Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) discontinued the program for I-140’s for a variety of logistical reasons. Effective June 29, 2009, however, Premium Processing for most I-140 petitions is back on again. Who files an I-140 […]

29 04, 2009

New Filing Instructions for Residents Seeking to Renew Resident Cards

By Richard Hanus|2009-04-29T10:46:25-05:00April 29th, 2009|Categories: Asylum in the United States, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Employment-Based Immigration Law, Family-Based Immigration Law, Foreign Exchange Student Visas to the U.S., Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

New Filing Instructions for Residents Seeking to Renew Resident Cards Published: April 29, 2009 US lawful permanent residents renewing their Permanent Resident Cards by way of direct mailing of Form I-90 (as opposed to online filing) should pay attention to two important changes. Firstly, I-90 applicants are now instructed to file their supporting documentation when submitting their application, as opposed to only presenting it when appearing for their post-filing biometrics appointment – as was the procedure previously in place. Second, all I-90 applications are now to be filed with the following US CIS lockbox: USCIS P.O. Box 21262 Phoenix , AZ […]

5 09, 2008

The Role of Counsel in PERM / Labor Certification Processing

By Richard Hanus|2008-09-05T13:16:17-05:00September 5th, 2008|Categories: Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification|

The Role of Counsel in PERM / Labor Certification Processing Published September 5, 2008 Foreign nationals seeking to obtain permanent resident status in the U.S. by way of a job offer are usually subject to a process wherein the employer must document the unavailability of ready, willing and qualified U.S. workers to fill the position at issue. The process is initiated by way of an online application, known as PERM, submitted by the employer to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The application is straightforward in its language and lay out, yet complex in its regulatory underpinnings. At the heart of […]

11 01, 2007

Can PERM Applications Lead to a Green Card in Less Than a Year?

By Richard Hanus|2007-01-11T14:00:36-06:00January 11th, 2007|Categories: Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Can PERM Applications Lead to a Green Card in Less Than a Year? January 11, 2007 Unless the worker has a Master’s Degree or equivalent AND generally, is in lawful immigration status (if in U.S.), the answer is NO. The discussion below is mainly a response to the common misconception that quick PERM processing necessarily means quick permanent residence/green card processing. Firstly, what is PERM? PERM stands for PROGRAM ELECTRONIC REVIEW MANAGEMENT, and is the online application for alien labor certification – an application filed with the U.S. Department of Labor by an employer to facilitate U.S. permanent residence on behalf […]

21 07, 2005

PERM is Starting to Work

By Richard Hanus|2005-07-21T14:00:36-05:00July 21st, 2005|Categories: Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification|

PERM is Starting to Work July 21, 2005 The new, expedited online labor certification procedure known as Program Electronic Review Management (“PERM”) has been implemented, and immigration law practitioners across the US are starting to see results. As background, labor certification is the first step in most job based permanent resident (green card) filings, with employers being required to document that U.S. workers are unavailable to perform the job at issue. With PERM, employers submit their filing online with the U.S. Department of Labor and pledge that they have taken steps to recruit for the position at issue, but that their […]

Previous 234 Next

Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification

Contact Info

Recent Posts