REMINDER: MU Law Client Conference Call

Musillo Unkenholt will hold a free teleconference on Thursday September 3, 2015 at 3PM ET / 12 noon PT.  All clients and friends of the firm are encouraged to dial-in to the call.  If you would like to register for the call, please send an email to: Annalisa@muimmigration.com.

The agenda for the teleconference includes:

* H-1B onboarding starts Oct 1: What do employers need to do to stay compliant?

* When does my H-1B worker have to start working?  The 30/60 day rule.

* Update on the Simeio Solutions case and Amended H-1Bs.

* When do I have to start paying an H-1B worker's salary?

* Form I-9 compliance

* E-Verify compliance

* Managing Social Security number issues.

* Handling Professional licensure issues.

* Working with the Consulate for H-1B Visa Issuance.

* H-1B cap 2015 final numbers and projections for 2016

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue.

USCIS DISCONTINUING LEGACY E-FILING

USCIS is discontinue its legacy e-Filing system and will be rolling out a new system called the Electronic Immigration System.  A date for the launch of the new system has not been announced.

USCIS expects that the new system will be faster, more secure, and easier to upgrade and update.  Importantly, the new systems will have high data security standards.

The last day to start new forms in the present system is August 30, 2015. The old system will be decommissioned on September 20, 2015.  After September 20, all forms must be filed via hard, paper copy. 

The legacy e-Filing system has offered online filing for several USCIS forms, although it was never widely accepted by users.  MU Law rarely used the e-filing system, as it offered no tangible benefits to petitioners and had several detriments. 

It remains to be seen if the new proposed system will enhance user experience.  It is worth noting that the Department of Labor’s on-line PERM system just celebrated its 10^th anniversary.  While the PERM system is not perfect, it achieves its goals and is a good model for the USCIS to emulate.

MU LAW CLIENT CONFERENCE CALL

Musillo Unkenholt will hold a free teleconference on Thursday September 3, 2015 at 3PM ET / 12 noon PT.  All clients and friends of the firm are encouraged to dial-in to the call.  If you would like to register for the call, please send an email to: Annalisa@muimmigration.com.

The agenda for the teleconference includes:

* H-1B onboarding starts Oct 1: What do employers need to do to stay compliant?
* When does my H-1B worker have to start working?  The 30/60 day rule.
* Update on the Simeio Solutions case and Amended H-1Bs.
* When do I have to start paying an H-1B worker's salary?
* Form I-9 compliance
* E-Verify compliance
* Managing Social Security number issues.
* Handling Professional licensure issues.
* Working with the Consulate for H-1B Visa Issuance.
* H-1B cap 2015 final numbers and projections for 2016

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue.

SEPTEMBER 2015 VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State has just released the September 2015 Visa Bulletin. This is the final Visa Bulletin of the 2015 Fiscal Year.  In mid-September the DOS will issue the first Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2016.

The bizarre retrogression of the Philippines EB-3 continues.  Although the July Visa Bulletin showed that Philippine EB-3 was unavailable, and the August 2014 Visa Bulletin showed a June 1, 2004 priority date, this Visa Bulletin lists December 22, 2004.    This means that there are a few available visas for this fiscal year.  Please read our blog post from May 19 for deeper analysis on the state of the Philippine EB-3.

India EB-3 and China EB-3 also have priority dates of December 22, 2004.

All Other EB-3 is essentially current, with a date of August 15, 2015.  This is great news for all EB-3s, other than Philippine, China, and India.

India EB-2 retrogressed to January 1, 2006, reflecting continued heavy demand in this category.  As mentioned above, India EB-3 continued to move steadily. It is now at December 22, 2004.  

China EB-2 also reflected heavy demand, retrogressing back to Jan 1, 2006.

Employment- Based	All Other	CHINA - mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN06	01JAN06	C	C
3rd	15AUG15	22DEC04	22DEC04	15AUG15	22DEC04

DOL EXPECTS TO REDUCE PERM AUDIT TIMES

Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists are exempt from the Department of Labor PERM Application process because they are Schedule A occupations.  This is a great relief because it saves considerable time.  Other healthcare occupations, notably Occupational Therapist and Speech Language Pathologists, must still avail themselves of the PERM process.

PERM Applications usually take several months to prepare because before a PERM Application can be filed, the employer must test the labor market with a variety of advertisements that may be placed in newspapers, on the internet, and via hard copy Notice posting. 

After the labor market test is complete, the PERM Application is electronically filed with the Department of Labor.  The electronic filing sets the Application’s “priority date”.  The DOL electronically reviews the Application.  The DOL presently is reviewing PERM Applications that have December 2014 priority dates.

A percentage of PERM Applications are selected for auditing.  The audit selection process is generally random, although some factors can increase an Applications chance of being selected.  The biggest downside of the Audit is the processing time. 

The DOL is presently reviewing PERM Applications with a priority date of March 2014, which is about one and a half years from the date of the initial filing of the PERM Application.  If one assumes about 6 months for the pre-filing labor market test, then the total processing time for the PERM process is almost two years.

Fortunately the DOL appears to be aware of the backlogs.  At a recent meeting between AILA and the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, the OFLC said that it expects to see a “considerable reduction” in the audit processing queue.

NVC ERRONEOUSLY TERMINATING IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATIONS

The National Visa Center has been issuing erroneous letters indicating that immigrant visa applications will be terminated because neither the applicants nor their attorneys have contacted the NVC within one year of notification of the availability of a visa.  These letters are often erroneous because applicants and their attorneys have contacted the NVC during the prior one year.  It appears that the emailed letters were sent by the NVC during the last week of July 2015.  The NVC is aware of their mistake and is taking steps to correct the erroneous letters. A similar issue arose in November 2014.

If you have received one of these emails, MU Law advises you to contact the NVC to make sure that they do not close your immigrant visa application.

The NVC has the right to ordinarily close applications under INA §203(g) for failure to contact the NVC within one year of notification of the availability of a visa.