USCIS MAY IMPROVE US MASTERS CHANCES AT H-1B LOTTERY

Bloomberg reports that USCIS is considering a proposal that will slightly improve the chances of US Master Degree holders to win the H-1B lottery.  If the proposed change had been in effect in April 2018 numbers, about 2,700 more US Masters degree holders would have won the lottery, at the expense of 2,700 regular H-1B cap winners (non-US Master’s degree).  USCIS selects 85,000 H-1B cap lottery winners each April.

USCIS has signaled that it wants to reorder the way that it runs the lottery.  Under the present lottery program, the USCIS segregates all of the H-1B beneficiaries who hold Masters degrees and runs a “Masters-only” lottery.  It then takes all of the Masters lottery-losers, combines them with the regular H-1B beneficiaries and runs the regular-cap lottery.

The proposal calls for the USCIS to reverse the process.  The USCIS would run the regular lottery first.  The regular lottery would include both regular cap petitions and Master’s degree holders.  Then, USCIS would take all Masters degree losers and run a Masters lottery.  As shown in the 2018 example, the result would be that slightly more Masters degree holders would win the lottery at the expense of slightly fewer non-Masters cap beneficiaries.

REMINDER: USCIS POLICY MEMOS WEBINAR NOV. 7

As a reminder, MU is hosting a free webinar on November 7. 

Over the last six months, the USCIS has issued several new policy memorandums. Join us for a webinar recapping these new memos and recent trends in adjudications. The webinar will cover: 

• Denial Notices issued without an RFE/NOID

• Notice to Appear (NTA) issuance 

• OPT/F-1 updates (including unlawful presence and 3rd party work-sites on OPT)

• H-1B 3rd party work-site and itinerary memo

• Rescission of deference to previous approvals 

Please click the link below to register for the webinar. 

WEBINAR LINK

Should you have any questions regarding the event or our services, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Musillo. 

This webinar is for MU Law clients and friends of the firm. 

We look forward to speaking with you! 

NOVEMBER 2018 VISA BULLETIN: TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS

The Department of State has just issued the November 2018 Visa Bulletin. This is the second Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2019.  This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

November 2018 Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

EB  Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHIL'PNES
EB-1	01APR17	01JUN16	01JUN16	01APR17
EB-2	C	15MAY15	26MAR09	C
EB-3	C	01JUN15	01JAN09	08JUN17

Table B: Dates for Filing -- The DOS may work on applications with these dates. But the Visa cannot be approved until the date is current per Table A.

EB  Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHIL'PNES
EB-1	01JUN18	01OCT17	01OCT17	01JUN18
EB-2	C	15JUN15	22MAY09	C
EB-3	C	08AUG15	01OCT09	01JUL17

MU Law Analysis (all references are to Table A unless noted)

All Other, Mexico: Unfortunately no movement. Movement should start again in the next month or two.

China: The Chinese dates barely moved in November. We expect the slow/no progress to be standard in the first part of FY 2019.

India: The Indian dates did not move in November. We expect the slow/no progress to be standard in the first part of FY 2019. After that we expect slow, but regular progressions.

Philippines: The EB-3 date moved up by week, which is a good sign, considering most other categories in this month’s Visa Bulletin did not progress. Over the course of FY2019, we should eventually see the EB-3 priority date extend into CY2018, both in Tables A and B.

USCIS ISSUES GUIDANCE ON NEW NOTICE TO APPEAR (NTA) POLICY

The USCIS has backtracked from a proposed policy change that would have placed H-1B and other employment-based workers immediately into deportation processing after the denial of a petition.  USCIS has decided to only enforce this new policy for denials of:

• I-485, Adjustment of Status
• I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (typically, H-4, F-1, and B-1/B-2).

Under the revised policy, USCIS will send special letters to denied applicants if their I-94 card is expired.  The special denial letter is designed to provide adequate notice to applicants that they should depart the US.  If the applicant does not timely depart the United States, USCIS may issue a Notice to Appear (NTA).  An NTA initiates deportation proceedings.  You can read more about the NTA policy on our earlier blog post.

USCIS will prioritize the issuance of an NTA in cases of:

• Criminal records
• Fraud or misrepresentation
• National security concern

The USCIS will continue to use prosecutorial discretion when issuing an NTA in these instances on a case-by-case basis.

WEBINAR: USCIS NEW POLICY MEMORANDUMS

Over the last six months, the USCIS has issued several new policy memorandums. Join us for a webinar recapping these new memos and recent trends in adjudications. The webinar will cover: 

• Denial Notices issued without an RFE/NOID

• Notice to Appear (NTA) issuance 

• OPT/F-1 updates (including unlawful presence and 3rd party work-sites on OPT)

• H-1B 3rd party work-site and itinerary memo

• Rescission of deference to previous approvals 

Should you have any questions regarding the event or our services, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Musillo. 

This webinar is for MU Law clients and friends of the firm. 

We look forward to speaking with you!