Finding that a DOL certifying officer (CO) had erred in finding the employer failed to advertise a job opportunity in a newspaper in the area of intended employment, as required by regulation, and denied a permanent labor certification, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) has reversed the denial. Matter of Hoffman Enclosures In.
Nicola Ai Ling Prall
H-1B Numbers Up More Than 35% Over Last Year
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
Today, USCIS announced that it had completed the H-1B lottery selection and that it had received approximately 233,000 petitions for fiscal year 2016 beginning in October 2015. Last year, USCIS received 172,500 petitions. The numbers this year mean that there was an increase of over 35% from last year. USCIS randomly selected petitions to meet…
Law Professors’ Letter Advocate that Executive Authority to Extend Deportation Deferrals
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
On December 3, 2014, NBC News reportedly obtained a November 3 letter written by Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Stephen Legomsky, Hiroshi Motomura, and Michael Olivas – four distinguished immigration law professors. The professors did not take a position on who should be included in the President’s executive action, but instead advocate that the President is…
OSC Responds to Over-Documentation Question
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
What happens when during an internal I-9 Audit, a company discovers it has accepted more documentation than necessary for Form I-9. Should the company retain or destroy the documentation?
This question was recently posed to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Immigration Practices (“OSC”). OSC responded…
Predictably, USCIS Reaches FY 2015 H-1B Cap in First Week of April
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
On April 7, 2014, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year 2015 beginning on October 1, 2014. On April 10, 2014, USCIS announced that it had received 172,500 petitions. USCIS has not announced the date on which it will conduct the random selection process.…
Employers May Encounter Potential Issue with Obtaining H-1B Visas
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
Reports have surfaced that some U.S. consulates are denying H-1B visa applications on the ground that the certified Labor Condition Application referenced the incorrect wage level for the position. This can mean significant staffing issues for employers expecting workers on H-1B visas.
In about a month, beneficiaries of FY 2014 H-1B petitions will be able
…
Elimination of I-94 Cards Begins Today!
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
As reported previously, CBP is eliminating the Form I-94, Arrival / Departure Record, the familiar white card that foreign nationals are asked to complete on the airplane prior to entering the United States. Beginning April 30, 2013, if a foreign national needs a copy of the I-94 card as evidence of his or her…
Status of State E-Verify Laws
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in I-9 and E-Verify, US Immigration
The Center for Immigration Studies has published a detailed analysis of state-level E-Verify policies. Sixteen states require E-Verify in some form. According to the CIS report, South Carolina’s audit process has been the most robust, making the compliance rate with its law high and more effective than laws in states that do not have an…
Key Questions For Employers Using Electronic I-9 Vendors
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in I-9 and E-Verify, US Immigration
With employers’ increased use of electronic Forms I-9 and more states mandating use of E-Verify, a number of electronic I-9 and E-Verify vendors are offering services to help employers with these demands. However, difficulty can arise for employers if the ownership of data and the terms of that ownership are not clear, as illustrated by…
Final Rule on Form I-9 Published
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in USCIS
On April 3, 2009 USCIS published an interim rule intended to improve the integrity of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. This interim rule made several key changes to the Form I-9 process, including requiring employers to accept only unexpired documents, deleting outdated documents from the list of acceptable documents, and adding documentation applicable…