IMMIGRATION UPDATES
1. Continuation of Worldwide Backlog for EB-1 Green Cards
The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) most recently released Visa Bulletin for December 2018 shows a continuation of worldwide backlog for EB-1. There has been no forward movement to the visa bulletin for EB-1s as compared to November 2018.
USCIS will accept adjustment of status applications based on the “Dates of Filing” charts for both family-based and employment-based cases.
The December 2018 Visa Bulletin can be found here.
2. Update on H-4 Visa EAD Rule
On November 16, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the mid-year agenda to the federal register, showing that the H-4 EAD termination is at the proposed stage; however, the notice of proposed rulemaking has not yet been published.
The federal register document can be found here.
On the other hand, also on November 16, congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren introduced the H-4 Employment Protection Act to the United States House of Representatives. The H-4 Employment Protection Act a new bill prohibiting the Administration from revoking H-1B spouses’ rights to work. As this bill is still in its early stages, it is difficult to predict its developments.
The introduction of the bill can be found here.
3. Proposed Rule to Require Electronic Registration for H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions
According to a proposed rule scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on December 3, 2018, USCIS announced that DHS is proposing to require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first electronically register with USCIS during a designated registration period. The proposed electronic registration period will last for a minimum of 14 calendar days before the first day of filing in each fiscal year (i.e. April 1), where USCIS will give at least 30 days advance notice of the opening of the initial registration period for the upcoming fiscal year via its official website.
DHS also proposes to change the order of counting H-1B registrations (or petitions if registration requirement is suspended), by randomly selecting among all submitted registrations/petitions and counting them towards the H-1B numerical cap first. Once the H-1B cap quota has been reached, USCIS would then select registrations/petitions towards the advanced degree exemption.
Furthermore, DHS proposes to give each selected petition at least 60 days to properly file a completed cap-subject H-1B petition for the named beneficiary. The deadline for submitting a cap-subject H-1B petition varies and is based on notification from USCIS.
This proposed change will likely increase the number of employees with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for further processing of their H-1B petitions, as well as to ensure that H-1B visas would be awarded to the most-skilled and highest-paid employees.
USCIS’s alert can be found here.
ALG SUCCESS STORIES
EB-1A Petition Approved in 15 Days for Contemporary Poet
Mr. G is considered to be one of the most important poets in contemporary Chinese literature. His pioneering style of morally- and emotionally-charged poetry writing is highly influential. Mr. G’s work confronts the sufferings and unfairness in society while advocating for morality, freedom and a better future. Given Mr. G’s extraordinary skill in literature, specifically in contemporary poetry, ALG filed and obtained EB-1A approval for him as a person of extraordinary ability.
To demonstrate Mr. G’s extraordinary ability, ALG submitted evidence of Mr. G’s numerous awards in national poetry competitions; invitations for him to perform as a judge in literature competitions and the editorial board of literature publications; published research papers, articles and conferences that studied and analyzed Mr. G and his work; and the significant international impact of his poems.
USCIS approved this EB-1A petition in 15 days without a request for additional evidence.
L-1A Petition Approved in 8 Days for Vice President of Self-cleaning Water Tank Company
Ms. Q had been serving as the Deputy General Manager of a Chinese self-cleaning water tank manufacturing and sales company for three and half years and oversaw key managers and their subordinates in 3 different departments. The U.S. affiliate company wanted Ms. Q to serve as the Vice President to manage a sales team of 4 employees.
ALG attorneys carefully reviewed all probative documents and drafted a detailed petition letter to incorporate all the supporting documents to prove the Chinese company’s thriving business and the genuine business need to expand to the U.S. market.
USCIS approved this L-1A petition in 8 days without a request for additional evidence.
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