IMMIGRATION NEWS & INFORMATION

•  COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM: IS IT DEAD?
  
  
• USCIS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASES FEES FOR PROCESSING IMMIGRATION BENEFIT APPLICATIONS AND PETITIONS.  THE NEW FEE SCHEDULE WILL BE EFFECTIVE JULY 30, 2007.
  
  
• NEW RULE FOR EMPLOYERS FILING LABOR CERTIFICATIONS: NO MORE SUBSTITUTIONS AS OF JULY 16, 2007
  
  
• ANOTHER NEW RULE FOR EMPLOYERS:  NO MORE PREMIUM PROCESSING SERVICE FOR FORM I-140 WITH SUBSTITUTED BENEFICIARIES
  

IMMIGRATION ITEMS OF INTEREST   

• SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:  CURTIS PIERCE, AN  AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYER IN PARIS

Processing Times

Case Status Service Online

IMMIGRATION NEWS & INFORMATION  

COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM:  IS IT DEAD?

On Thursday, June 7, 2007, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) withdrew S. 1348 from the floor.  Is comprehensive immigration reform dead as a result?  The Senate temporarily suspended debate on immigration following failed cloture.  Cloture would have limited debate and moved the Senate toward a vote on the final passage of S. 1348. 

Some supporters of immigration reform still think that a workable bill is possible in 2007.  S 1348, in its present form, has many shortcomings.  Is it possible to balance the specific needs of employers, enforce the borders, protect the wages of American workers, and preserve family based immigration? 

We at the Law Offices of Curtis Pierce support the historical principal of family reunification as the cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy.  We are strong advocates of future changes to legislation that would provide for family based immigration.  In addition, we support an increase in H-1B nonimmigrant visas that will meet the needs of the labor market, especially the high tech market.  We also support a workable path to permanent status for new temporary workers rather than a “guest worker” program that encourages transience and does not allow the aliens to connect with society. 

Twice in two years now Congress has grappled with immigration. The first time, Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, but President Bush could not persuade members of his own deeply divided party to resolve their disagreements. The Republicans pushed for a tough border security bill but balked at dealing with the controversial question of how to treat the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the country.

USCIS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASES FEES FOR PROCESSING IMMIGRATION BENEFIT APPLICATIONS AND PETITIONS.  THE NEW FEE SCHEDULE WILL BE EFFECTIVE JULY 30, 2007.

USCIS has finalized a new fee structure for the processing of immigration benefit applications and petitions.  The substantial fee increases will be effective July 30, 2007.  All applications or petitions postmarked or otherwise filed on or after that date must include the new fee.  Click the link below for a complete fee structure.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf

Click the link below for the complete fee structure en Espanol.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalFeeSchedule052907Sp.pdf 

USCIS maintains that the new fee structure will allow for more efficient processing and lead to a 20 percent reduction in processing times by the end of fiscal year 2009 and will cut processing times by the end of fiscal year 2008 for four key application types:  the I-90 (Renew/Replace Permanent Resident Card), I-140 (Immigration Petition for Alien Worker), the I-485, and the N-400 (Naturalization).  These four application types represent one-third of all applications filed.

NEW RULE FOR EMPLOYERS FILING LABOR CERTIFICATIONS

In the practice of filing labor certifications, employers are required to name the employee on whose behalf the application is being filed.  Sometimes, the employee may change jobs or find another manner of immigrating.   In these cases, the ability to substitute the beneficiary has proven beneficial to both employers and certain substituted employees. 

As of July 16, 2007, the current practice of substitution will be eliminated.  The new rule will apply to both pending permanent labor certifications as well as approved labor certifications.

Officially, the new rule is the Department of Labor’s administrative regulation Amended 20 CFR 656.22.  It will mandate that the information contained in a labor certification application may not be modified after the labor certification application is filed with DOL.  This includes the substitution of alien names on the labor certification.  Beginning on July 16, 2007, USCIS will no longer accept Form I-140 petitions that are supported by labor certifications that were approved by DOL for an alien other than the alien beneficiary named on the labor certification application

Also, under this new rule, employers must file within 180 days to the Department of Homeland Security the approved permanent labor certification to support the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140).

Finally, the new rule will also prevent employers who sponsor foreign workers from recovering expenses related to that worker. Therefore, the employer will be required to pay certain legal fees associated with the permanent labor certification process, such as the costs of preparing, filing, and obtaining certification.

Directly related to the above rule, USCIS terminated Premium Processing service for Form I-140 petitions requesting labor certification substitution beginning on May 18, 2007.  USCIS anticipates a substantial increase in the number of petitioning employers that will file Form I-140 petitions requesting Premium Processing Service and seeking labor certification substitution prior to July 16, 2007.

Premium Processing Service guarantees that within 15 calendar days of receipt of a petition, USCIS will issue either an approval notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation.  Due to the volume of Form I-140 petitions, USCIS can not reasonably ensure this level of processing service for Form I-140 petitions that request labor certification substitution within 15 calendar days. 

IMMIGRATION ITEMS OF INTEREST

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:  CURTIS PIERCE, AN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY IN PARIS

Immigration Attorney Curtis Pierce spoke to a packed lecture hall at the AMERICAN BUSINESS SCHOOL PARIS on the right bank of the city of light on May 29, 2007 on issues of business immigration.  Frequently interrupted with questions from the enthusiastic participants, Mr. Pierce nevertheless managed to complete his presentation and provide all the information he had prepared for the event.   

The program, presented in French, included information on business visas, investor visas, and J-1 exchange visas for Europeans seeking to reside in the United States.  It also included a discussion of visa processing at the American Embassy in Paris as well as general information on US immigration law and the consequences of  unlawful presence.

Mr. Pierce had taught American Constitutional Law in the 1990s at the Sorbonne.  He is fluent in both Spanish and French

Processing Times

·  To view processing times and your case status, click one of the links below to connect to the correct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services information page.

Processing Times·  To view processing times and your case status, click one of the links below to connect to the correct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services information page.

·  California Service Center ·  Nebraska Service Center ·  Texas Service Center ·  Vermont Service Center

 Case Status Service Online

If you have an application receipt number, you can use the Internet to check the status of your case with the USCIS.

The CPVISA.COM NEWSLETTER is free. 

Disclaimer:  The information contained in this newsletter is analysis and commentary of a general nature.  Nothing in this newsletter applies to a specific case nor does it constitute legal advice. 

Schedule appointment:  For legal advice on your case, please schedule an appointment with Curtis Pierce, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

“The only title in our democracy superior to that of President (is) the title of citizen”.

Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.   (In the case Ng Fung Ho v. White, 259 U.S. 276, 284 (1922), Justice Brandeis wrote that deportation can deprive an individual of "life, or of all that makes life worth living.")

top of page