Tag Archives: Employment-Based Immigration

January Visa Bulletin Released

Posted on by

January Visa Bulletin Released

 

The January Visa Bulletin was released yesterday by the State Department. The January bulletin preserves the action date and filing date framework, instructing potential applicants when they are eligible to file for green cards. For example, for the Employment-Based 2 category of India, the filing date is July 1, 2009 and the action date is February 1, 2008. That means someone who has an approved I-140 in that category before July 1, 2009 is eligible to file, but that someone with a priority date before February 1, 2008 is current. This bifurcated system is based off predictions and is intended to assist applicants and be more efficient with immigrant visas.

Employment Based Immigration News – Visa Bulletin and EB-5 Pilot Program

Posted on by

December Visa Bulletin and EB-5 Pilot Program

 

EB-5 pilot programThe December Visa Bulletin was released earlier this week, using the same filing and action date system that the Department of State introduced with the October Bulletin. Like the November Bulletin and the revised October Bulletin, the December Bulletin was disappointing for many hopeful immigrant visa applicants. Many categories remained stagnant. One beacon of hope was the EB-2 category for India. The action date moved from August 2006 to June 2007. The EB-3 categories still lag far behind and there was no movement in the filing dates for any Employment Based category.

Another concern in Employment-Based immigration is the expiration of the EB-5 pilot program. The pilot program concerns the regional centers, where investors can make more passive investments and not be actively involved in the running of the invested business. The pooling of resources among a group of investors is another attractive feature and this program has been utilized to construct shopping malls, residential complexes, and even turnpike expansion. The program has been championed by US mayors as stimulating investment without taxing. However, the pilot program is set to expire on December 11. The program has existed for 20 years in short incremental cycles of renewal. A bill was proposed earlier this year to make the program permanent in contemplation of the September 30 deadline. Instead of voting on that bill, Congress decided to extend the program to December 11, continuing its temporary nature.

EB-4 Religious Workers

Posted on by

Praying for Renewal: EB-4 Religious Workers Program to Sunset

This week on the blog, we are covering the four immigration programs that are slated to expire on September 30, 2015 (see our coverage of CONRAD 30 from yesterday). Congress returns from its summer recess on September 8 and will have three weeks to renew the programs, as it last did in 2012. Today, the focus is on the Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker program.

The Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Workers fits into the EB-4 category of employment immigration. Please see the Visa Bulletin and scroll to the Employment Based, Category 4 for current priority dates (all countries are listed as current). There is a strict cap of 5,000 workers a year. The non-minister is allowed to bring his or her under 21 children and spouse, given eligibility. The workers whose petitions are approved become permanent residents.

The eligibility criteria include:

  • Member of religious denomination that is a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the US for at least two years before the worker’s petition is filed
  • Entering the US to work in a full time and compensated position
  • Working for either a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the US or bona fide organization affiliated with the religious denomination in the US
  • At least two years of continuous work as a religious worker in the position either abroad or in the US

The major American religious organizations have written a joint letter to the Senate, urging Congress to reauthorize the program for an 8th time. It has been in operation since 1990 and the letter mentions the laudable work that the immigrant workers have helped accomplish. The letter also exhorts the critical need these workers fill in the religious organizations and their communities. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced the bill to extend the program in the Senate in May.

H-4 Work Authorization and More

Posted on by

Limited H-4 Work Authorization Begins Today

USCIS begins accepting limited H-4 dependent employment authorization application today. This announcement was made three months ago and the Notice and Comment process occurred last summer. USCIS is altering its priorities to ensure that these applications are adjudicated in a timely fashion.

This is not work authorization for all H-4 dependents of H-1B visa holders. H-4 dependent children are forbidden from employment. The majority of H-4 dependents are not allowed to apply for employment authorization. It is limited to those H-4 dependent spouses whose H-1B principals have an approved I-140 petition or have H-1B status through AC21 106(a) and (b) status (American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act, which allows for an H-1B visa holder to extend the six year limit of H-1B status with a pending I-140 application). The H-1B visa is a dual intent nonimmigrant visa. Although it is a nonimmigrant visa, a holder does not need to have nonimmigrant intent. An employer can file an I-140 application for Permanent Residence. There are 140,000 immigrant visas available each year through the employment-based path.

In other employment immigration news, employment-based visa modernization has been added to the regulatory agenda. The rudiments at the moment indicate that, “DHS proposes to allow certain approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) beneficiaries to obtain work authorization, clarify the meaning of portable work authorization, and remove unnecessary restrictions on the ability to change jobs or progress in careers, as well as provide relief to workers facing lengthy adjustment delays.” Please be aware that this does not mean rulemaking is imminent.