Immigration Updates and FAQs
According to the U.S. Department of State’s April 2012 Visa Bulletin, the cut-off date in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category remains at May 1, 2010, for April. This is better than the retrogression that many feared would occur, but a disappointment for those hoping to see even more advancement.
USCIS Memorandum Enables R-1 Nonimmigrants to Recapture Time Spent Outside of U.S.United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has published a memorandum that outlines the procedures that should be taken to recapture time spent outside the U.S. by R-1 nonimmigrants (religious workers) seeking an extension of status. The guideline applies to all pending and new R-1 petitions filed with USCIS.
Current USCIS guidance allows H-1B and L-1 nonimmigrants to recapture time spent outside of the U.S. when calculating their maximum period of authorized stay. This memorandum now extends that same policy to the R-1 nonimmigrant classification. Further, USCIS states that the spouse and minor child of an R-1 nonimmigrant who has recaptured time spent outside of the U.S. may receive periods of R-2 stay that are in parallel to those received by their R-1 counterpart.
USCIS States that I-601 Provisional Waiver Is Not in EffectUSCIS is considering changes that would allow certain immediate relatives (the spouse, children or parents of a U.S. citizen) who can demonstrate extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent to receive a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence bars before leaving the United States.
These procedures are not in effect and will not be available to potential applicants until a final rule is published in the Federal Register specifying the effective date. USCIS plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the coming months and will consider all comments received as part of that process before publishing a final rule.
• Do not send an application requesting a provisional waiver at this time. USCIS will reject any application requesting this new process and cannot accept applications until a final rule is issued and the process change becomes effective.
• Be aware that some unauthorized practitioners of immigration law may wrongly claim they can currently file a provisional waiver application (Form I-601) for you. These same individuals may ask you to pay them to file such forms although the process is not yet in place. Please avoid such scams. Protect yourself and your family against scammers by visiting uscis.gov/avoidscams.
Q: I have heard that the H-1B cap will be filled much earlier this year. Is that true?The fiscal year for USCIS begins on October 1, 2012, and H-1B cases can be filed for this FY2013 on April 1, 2012. The expectations for FY2013 are somewhat similar to FY2012. The usage of cap numbers, however, depends to a large extent on the state of the economy. There was a marked difference between FY2012 and FY2011. The cap was reached approximately two months earlier in FY2012 than FY2011. There is no way to accurately predict the length of the cap season. Cap-subject cases can be filed until the cap is reached. Employers needing to file for their potential H-1B employees should file early to avoid being surprised by an early end to the cap as many were last year.
VISA PREFERENCE NUMBERS FOR APRIL 2012
|
FAMILY |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
01Apr05 |
01Apr05 |
|
2A |
08Oct09 |
08Oct09 |
|
2B |
15Jan04 |
15Jan04 |
|
3rd |
15Feb02 |
15Feb02 |
|
4th |
08Nov00 |
08Nov00 |
|
EMPLOYMENT |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
Current |
Current |
|
2nd |
01May10 |
Current |
|
3rd |
01Sep02 |
08Apr06 |
|
Other |
01Sep02 |
08Apr06 |
|
4th |
Current |
Current |
|
5th |
Current |
Current1B |
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