Immigration – Immigration Briefs

June Bulletin Out, Not Looking Good for EB-2 Dates

Just this week, the Department of State released its June 2024 visa bulletin. First, there has been no change in the Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing: The final Action Date is still January 15, 2023, and the Dates for Filing are still February 15, 2023. Unfortunately, the DOS also indicated as follows towards the bottom of the bulletin in the section in which they give a glimpse of the future:

High demand in the Employment Second category will most likely necessitate retrogression of the worldwide final action date (including Mexico and Philippines) in the next month to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2024 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

So what does this mean? This means they are coming to the end of the quota for EB-2 immigrant visas allocated for this fiscal year. Once they run out, they can no longer allocate any immigrant visa numbers to anyone, so they must retrogress the category to a date on which they know no one is waiting for visas. So, in the short term, this means no forward movement for the rest of this fiscal year, and, most likely, there will be retrogression in June or July as well.

In the long term, this means that there are a lot of cases in the backlog, and this may not clear up quickly, and it may take longer for cases to become current than the current dates indicate (which is about 1.5 years). However, there are still too many unknowns to know exactly how much this will extend things. Hopefully, in the next fiscal year, starting on October 1, 2024, we will get a better idea from USCIS and DOS about the backlog and how long it will likely extend things.

As always, we will update you as new information becomes available. Please remember that this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Immigration: Fueling the Positive Engine of the US Economy

Introduction:

Immigration has been a longstanding pillar of the United States, shaping the nation’s identity and contributing significantly to its economic growth. While debates around immigration policy can be divisive, recent articles highlight the positive effects that immigrants have on the US economy. From driving innovation to filling critical labor gaps, immigrants bring unique skills, talents, and entrepreneurial spirit that propel economic progress and job creation.

Job Creation and Entrepreneurship:

According to an article in Forbes, immigrants play a critical role in job creation and entrepreneurship. Immigrant entrepreneurs have given birth to some of America’s most successful companies, including tech giants Google and Tesla. A 2016 National Foundation for American Policy study found that more than half of the US-based startups valued at $1 billion or more had at least one immigrant co-founder. These companies not only generate employment opportunities but contribute significantly to tax revenues.

In addition, in another article in Forbes, they cite a new study which concludes that temporary work visas allow firms to expand and hire more U.S. workers, contrary to the arguments of immigration opponents. Economists find it is the latest in a series of recent studies that demonstrate the key premise of immigration restriction—that there is only a fixed number of jobs in the economy—relies on ignorance of economics.

Filling Labor Gaps:

The US economy relies on immigrant workers to fill labor gaps in industries such as agriculture, healthcare, and IT, which struggle to find sufficient native-born workers. As reported by The New York Times, the agricultural sector heavily relies on immigrant labor. Without immigrant farmworkers, the US agricultural industry would suffer greatly, leading to higher food prices and potential food shortages.

According to the article:

And the contribution of immigrants to America’s long-term growth is startlingly large. Since 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. labor force has increased by 14.6 million. Of these additional workers, 7.8 million — more than half — were foreign born.

Oh, and if these immigrants are taking away American jobs, how can the unemployment rate be near a 50-year low? In fact, we desperately need these workers, among other things because they will help us cope with the needs of an aging population.

And according to an article in Forbes:

Many employers say they could not operate their businesses and serve customers without access to H-2B workers. Jack Brooks, an owner of J.M. Clayton Seafood Co. in Maryland, told the _Washington Post_, “We need a long-term fix to survive.”

Boosting Innovation and Research:

Another article published by the National Foundation for American Policy discusses how immigrants drive innovation and research. The US has long been a global leader in cutting-edge technologies and scientific advancements. Immigrants, often highly skilled in STEM fields, contribute immensely to this success. The study found that immigrants were the inventors or co-inventors in more than 75% of patents granted to America’s top ten patent-producing universities.

According to an article in Forbes, which cites to the above study, in 2023, four of the six U.S. recipients of Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry and physics came to America as immigrants. The article goes on to say:

“Immigrants have been awarded 40%, or 45 of 112, of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000,” according to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). “Between 1901 and 2023, immigrants have been awarded 36%, or 115 of 319, of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics.”

Contributing to Social Security and Taxes:

Contrary to popular misconceptions, immigrants contribute substantially to the US economy, including Social Security and tax revenues. According to The Brookings Institution, immigrants filling jobs and starting businesses in the US contribute billions of dollars in taxes each year, supporting government programs and infrastructure development.

Another source, “Immigration is increasing, and it helps the country’s economic growth, a Stamford group says“, emphasizes how immigrant entrepreneurs significantly contribute to the local economic system. Immigrants, regardless of their legal status, also contribute to the tax system. The Social Security system holds nearly $2 trillion in contributions from immigrants who will not benefit from it. The article also indicates that the immigrant population has increased to 46 million, and undocumented immigrants pay approximately $11 billion in taxes annually. For those who villainize undocumented immigrants, and want to deport them all and stop the inflow, I ask – how will you keep Social Security afloat if you do that? No one politician has put forth any plan to replace this vital income to our Nation. As they say, people I glass houses should not thrown stones.

Conclusion:

Contrary to the negative rhetoric surrounding immigration, recent articles and studies emphasize the positive impacts immigrants have on the US economy. Immigrants contribute significantly to job creation, entrepreneurship, filling labor gaps, driving innovation, and generating tax revenues. The nation’s economic success relies on the skills, talents, and entrepreneurial spirit immigrants bring to the table. Recognizing and harnessing these positive effects can ensure a vibrant and prosperous future for the United States.

USCIS Is Raising Premium Fees to Account for Inflation Over the Last 3 Years

The USCIS Stabilization Act, passed on October 1, 2020 established the current premium processing fees and the authority for the Department of Homeland Security to adjust the premium fees on a biennial basis. While USCIS has not used this authority to change the new Premium Processing fees after they were introduced after that date, USCIS has decided that now is the time to increase those fee. They are increasing the premium processing fees USCIS charges for all eligible forms and categories to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2021 through June 2023 according to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

Before going into the actual fee increase, it is important to note that these increase will go into effect as of February 26, 2024. This means any application postmarked February 26, 2024 or later MUST include the new fees.

So what are the new fees? Below is a table put out by USCIS which shows what the new fees will be for each premium request type:

Form	Previous Fee	New Fee
I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker	1. For H-2b or R-1: $1500 2. For All other I-129s: $2500	1. For H-2b or R-1: $1685 2. For All other I-129s: $2805
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker	$2500 (Currently allowed for classifications E11, E12, E21 (non-NIW), E31, E32, EW3, E13 and E21 (NIW))	$2805
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status	$1750 (ONLY allowed for Change/Extension of F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, J-2, E-1, E-2, E-3, L-2, H-4, O-3, P-4, and R-2)	$1965
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization	$1500 (Currently only available for certain F-1 students with categories C03A, C03B, C03C	$1685

Premium Processing Fee Increases by Type

If this increase allows USCIS is able to handle its caseload and timelines for non-premium cases come down, without raising fees on all case types, then I think it is a good compromise – instead of raising all USCIS fees, it just raises a fee for a service that is not needed by most people. However, I fear that USCIS will still move forward with additional increases in the near future, putting the immigration process out of reach for more people.

The best way to avoid the increased fees is to file application well in advance of when needed. Of course USCIS limits this somewhat by only allowing you to file an application 6 months prior to the start date, but giving yourself enough time to file the application that far in advance can avoid the need for premium in at least some cases. Of course, because USCIS is taking so long to adjudicate most case types right now, it may not help. In these cases, the only choice may be to use premium. However, if you wish to discuss possible alternatives that may help you in your case, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

January 2024 Visa Bulletin is Out and Finally Some movement.

The Department of State released the new Visa Bulletin for January 2024 just yesterday. This blog post will try to provide a summary of any movement in this bulletin of relevance.

Before getting to the summary of the current bulletin, here is a little bit about what the Visa Bulletin is and the information it contains. Every person who becomes a permanent resident in the US is given an immigrant visa number. This includes all those overseas who go to the Consulate and are actually given an immigrant visa stamp in their passport as well as all those who file an I-485 in the US and are NOT given an actual immigrant visa stamp. The Visa Bulletin is a listing of where the Department of State and USCIS are in terms of handing out Immigrant Visas. Every permanent resident category is listed and a date is given (or a C for current) as to which cases can be filed in a given month. Those cases with priority dates PRIOR to the date listed in the visa bulletin can proceed to get an immigrant visa stamp overseas or to have their I-485s approved by USCIS in the US.

It should be noted that the visa bulletin now has two charts – Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing. The Final Action Date chart shows the dates for which immigrant visa numbers are actually available (so I-485s and consular processing cases which can be approved and an immigrant visa number granted). The Dates for Filing chart lists the dates in each category to alert the Consulates and USCIS as to where the Department of State feels the Final Action Dates will be within 6 months. This allows the Consulates to start working on cases that will become current over the next six months and gives USCIS the ability to allow people to file I-485 applications for cases for which the Final Action Date is not yet current but should be current in the near future. Every month, USCIS determines which chart people should use to determine if they can file an I-485 or not. For the month of January 2024, USCIS has determined that, for both Family and Employment-Based Categories, the Dates for Filing chart can be used.

Family Based Cases:

For the most part there was not much movement. The Dates for Filing chart stayed the same, but there was only very little forward movement for most categories. The most suprising was that the F2A category for Spouses and Children of permanent residents backlogged MORE to February of 2019. While we cannot be sure what this means exactly, excpet that they received more requests for immigrant visas than they thought the would, we do know that the Date for Filing in this category still stayed at September 1, 2023. To me this means that, most likely, Department of State still feels that the category will move forward in the nearish future.

Employment Based Cases:

There was LOTS of movement in the Final Action Dates and some movement in the Dates for Filing for most categories this month.

EB-1: Final Action Dates: China moved forward almost 5 months to July 1, 2022; India jumped forward about 3 years to September 1, 2020.; and, The EB-1 worldwide numbers stayed Current. Dates for Filing: China moved forward about 5 months to January 1, 2023; India jumped about 2.5 years to January 1, 2021; and, as with the Final Action Dates, Worlwife numbers were current here as well.

EB2: Final Action Dates: Worldwide numbers moved forward about 4 months to November 1, 2022; China moved forward about 3 months to January 1 2020; and, India moved forward about 2 months to March 1, 2012. Dates for Filing: Worlwide numbers moved forward about 1.5 months to February 15, 2023; China moved forward about 5 months to June 1, 2020; and, unfortunately India stayed at May 15, 2012.

EB-3: Final Action Dates: Worlwide numbers jumped forward about 9 months to August 1, 2022; China moved forward about 8 months to September 1, 2020; and, India moved some (about 1 month) to June 1, 2012. Dates for Filing: China moved forward about 10 months, to July 1, 2021; All other areas stayed the same.

Further Guidance:

Unfortunately the Department of State once again gave no additional guidance with these numbers. We will update you as soon as we hear about any guidance that the Department of State gives out or when a new Visa Bulletin is published, whichever happens first.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Education Spending, Social Security and Immigration

In looking at news reports over the last several weeks, several jumped out at me. A couple discussed immigration and social security, and several more discussed immigration and education spending. These are two very different issues, but both are being impacted by immigration – both those coming with documentation and those coming without.

First, in terms of those coming to the US with documentation. In terms of the article on Education spending, that is not really addressed because, according to the article, those people are paying taxes, etc., so they are paying for their educational costs. Regarding social security, immigrants coming to the US on valid non-immigrant and immigrant visas are helping to keep our Social Security system solvent. Why is that? According to the article in the Motley fool:

Most people legally migrating to the U.S. tend to be younger, which is an extremely important point. These are people who will spend decades in the labor force contributing to Social Security via the payroll tax. The 12.4% payroll tax on earned income (wages and salary) was responsible for providing approximately $981 billion (90.1%) of the $1.088 trillion in revenue Social Security collected in 2021.
The intermediate-cost model in the 2022 Trustees Report — the “intermediate-cost model” is what the Trustees view as the outcome likeliest to happen — is based on average annual total net immigration of 1,246,000 people. Between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2017, fewer than 955,000 total net migrants entered the U.S. annually, according to data from the World Bank. If net migration into the U.S. continues to fall, or even steadies at these reduced levels, it’s all but a certainty that Social Security’s funding shortfall will grow.
Motley Fool, January 28, 2023

As can be seen, immigrants to the US, in general, are younger, thereby providing more productive years in which they are earning taxes and paying into the system. And in fact, the lowering levels of immigrants being allowed in legally is HURTING our ability to fully fund Social Security.

What about those coming in without documentation? Surely they are costing us more money? The answer is not relatively that easy. In terms of education, because of a Supreme Court case from 1982, Plyer V. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, ALL children are eligible for free public education, including those without documentation. So States are required to spend money to educate those who come to the US and are age-eligible for public education (under the age of 21). How much does this cost? It is difficult to figure out exactly, but looking at the figures that The Hill used in a recent article, here is what it comes out to:

The Pew Research Center says that the number of illegal immigrants expelled under Title 42 – which allows the government to expel immigrants during a public health emergency – declined during 2022, from about 50 percent to about a third. That would leave some 1.5 million.

There was another estimated 600,000 who avoided border patrol in 2022, for an estimated total of 2.1 million new undocumented immigrants living in the country.

If we use TRAC’s estimate of 37 percent being children, that’s about 777,000. Of course, not all of them are school age. If we subtract, say, a third of them for being too young to enter public school, that leaves us with about 513,000 school-age children.

Multiply that times the average cost of a public education, $14,840, and that equals about $7.6 billion in new public education costs for just one year’s worth of undocumented children. And while the migrants have spread out across the country, a relatively small number of states and cities must cover most of those costs.
The Hill, 1/31/2023

While the article goes on to say that the adults who come over without documents will eventually work, maybe, and equivocate about whether they can legally work or will work, the article does present a stark picture of approximately $7.6 billion in additional costs every year. Again, however, this is not the full picture. While those who ENTERED this year may not be able to contribute immediately, there are other people in the US without documentation – how much do they contribute? Well, again, according to the Motley Fool article:

What’s more, a study from New American Economy showed that undocumented workers contributed $13 billion in payroll tax revenue in 2016. These undocumented workers either used a friend’s or family member’s Social Security number to obtain work, or their employer failed to properly vet the worker. Either way, more than 1% of Social Security’s annual revenue derives from undocumented workers, yet not one cent of benefits from traditional Social Security will be returned to these workers.
Motley Fool

So while there may be $7.6 billion in education costs a year, there is $13 billion in payroll taxes – which more than covers those costs. In addition, our Social Security system is receiving 1% of its annual revenue from these sources, and these are people who will never see any of that social security money.

As stated at the beginning of this article, it is tricky to look at the costs and benefits of immigration, either for those who come with documentation or those who come without documentation. But overall, almost every study has shown that there is a net benefit not just to those who come over with the correct papers but also to those who have entered without documentation. Hopefully, someday, our politicians will look at our immigration system and how much it is hurting our economy and our society and start making policies based upon that instead of the current climate of scare politics being used to frame the immigration debate.

New Executive Order and Possible Furloughs at USCIS

executive_order__1_ The US President issued a new executive order on Monday evening. The order did several things. First, it extended the April 22, 2020 order limiting the ability for those overseas to get immigrant visas. Second, it expanded that order to include certain non-immigrant visas as well. Lastly, it required USCIS and DOL to review processes and procedures regarding EB-2 and EB-3 cases. Before providing a summary of the provisions, there are a couple points to highlight.

First, and most importantly, the non-immigrant visa suspensions affect only those NOT IN THE United States. This is also true of the immigrant visa suspension. Second, the J-1 visa suspension does NOT include all categories of J visas. For example, the Research Scholar category, and the Visiting Scholar categories are NOT included in the suspension. Lastly, those outside the US with a currently VALID H-1B visa may still be able to return on that visa as the suspension only halts the issuance of new visas. Here is a slightly more expansive summary of the provisions:

On June 20, 2020, President Trump has issued a proclamation that suspends the entry of foreign nationals on certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas into the United States.

This Proclamation also extends, effective immediately, Presidential Proclamation 10014 issued on April 22, 2020 which suspended the entry of certain immigrants into the United States.

The Proclamation suspends the issuance of visas for those seeking entry pursuant to a(n):

H-1B visa and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them;

H-2B visa and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them;

J visa, to the extent the foreign national is participating in an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program, and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them; and

L visa, and any foreign national accompanying or following to join them.

The Proclamation will only apply to an individual identified above if they are:

Outside the United States on the effective date of the Proclamation;

Do not have a nonimmigrant visa that is valid on the effective date of the Proclamation; and;

Do not have an official travel document other than a visa (such as a transportation letter, boarding foil, or advance parole document), valid on the effective date of the Proclamation or issued thereafter permitting the individual to be admitted to the United States.

Exemptions:

The Proclamation will not apply to the following individuals:

lawful permanent residents;

spouse or child of a U.S. citizen;

any individual seeking entry to provide temporary labor essential to the U.S. food supply chain;

any individual whose entry would be in the national interest as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.

For the purposes of determining who is covered under the “national interest” exemption, the Proclamation directs the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security to determine standards for those to whom such an exemption would be available, including any individuals who:

are critical to the defense, law enforcement, diplomacy, or national security of the United States;

are involved with the provision of medical care to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 and are currently hospitalized;

are involved with the provision of medical research at U.S. facilities to help the United States combat COVID-19;

are necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States; or

are children who would age out of eligibility for a visa because of this proclamation or Proclamation 10014.

Discretion: The consular officer has discretion to determine if an individual is within one of the exempted categories outlined above.

Asylum Seekers: Asylum seekers are not included in the ban. The Proclamation states that it does not limit the ability of individuals to apply for asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

Fraud: Individuals who circumvent the application of the Proclamation through fraud, willful misrepresentation or illegal entry will be prioritized for removal.

Additional Review: Within 30 days of this Proclamation’s effective date, and every 60 days after, while it and Proclamation 10014 are in effect, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and State will make a determination as to any need to modify either proclamation.

COVID-19 Prevention: The Secretary of Health and Human Services will provide guidance to the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security concerning measures that will reduce the risk of those seeking admission to the United States introducing or spreading COVID-19 within the country. It is our understanding that this means individuals will be subject to a COVID-19 test before arrival.

Additional Measures:

Issue regulations or take additional actions to ensure that those who have already been admitted, or are seeking admission, on an EB-2 immigrant visa, EB-3 immigrant visa, or H-1B nonimmigrant visa do not limit opportunity for U.S. workers.

In addition to the above, USCIS announced that their revenues are down over 50% and that, unless Congress allocates more funding to the agency they will be required to furlough almost 70% of their staff, causing huge delays in adjudications if it were to occur.

If you have any questions, or wish to discuss the above, please do not hesitate to call or email me. And please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

How does the new Proclamation from the President Affect you?

On April 22, 2020. President Trump issued a proclamation “Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak.”

This proclamation is effective at 11:59 pm (ET) on April 23, 2020. The proclamation will expire 60 days from its effective date and may be continued.

Per the proclamation, the suspension and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation applies to individuals who:

are outside the United States on the effective date of this proclamation;
do not have an immigrant visa that is valid on the effective date of this proclamation; and
do not have an official travel document other than a visa (such as a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil, or an advance parole document) that is valid on the effective date of this proclamation or issued on any date thereafter that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission.

Exclusions include:

(b) The suspension and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:

(i) any lawful permanent resident of the United States;

(ii) any alien seeking to enter the United States on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional; to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees; and any spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old of any such alien who are accompanying or following to join the alien;

(iii) any alien applying for a visa to enter the United States pursuant to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program;

(iv) any alien who is the spouse of a United States citizen;

(v) any alien who is under 21 years old and is the child of a United States citizen, or who is a prospective adoptee seeking to enter the United States pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications;

(vi) any alien whose entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General or his designee;

(vii) any member of the United States Armed Forces and any spouse and children of a member of the United States Armed Forces;

(viii) any alien seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a Special Immigrant Visa in the SI or SQ classification, subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may impose, and any spouse and children of any such individual; or

(ix) any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.

By the above terms, the proclamation only affects those coming to the US as “immigrants”, not those coming as non-immigrants. It also only affects those not in the United States, so it does not affect the adjustment of status process either.

We are happy to answer any additional questions about the application of the above, but please do understand, as of this writing, no formal guidance has been released so we can only base our answers on what is written in the above proclamation, and that may change once USICS, DOS and ICE issue their guidance documents.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

National Interest Waiver: Not just for Scientists

A big question that many people have, before even asking if they would qualify for a National Interest Waiver application, is can I even file one considering that I am a [fill in the blank with your profession]. You may be surprised that, for the most part, the answer is “Yes, people in that profession can apply for a National Interest Waiver”. Business people, engineers, researchers, some computer people as well – all these professions (and many more) can work with the National Interest Waiver.

First, before discussing how they qualify, let me explain what the National Interest Waiver is and why people want to file that application. The National Interest Waiver is what is called a self-sponsored application – that is an application in which the beneficiary (the foreign national) is also the petitioner. This means NO employer or family member is needed to sponsor you. To qualify, a foreign national must show that their proposed endeavor (the work they want to do in the US) is of substantial merit and national importance. The must also show that they are well positioned to carry out the proposed endeavor and that it would be beneficial to the National Interest to waive the job requirement.

As you can see from the requirements, a business person who can show that their past business activities helped the US economy or helped employ people, or affected how other businesses operate can show that they meet all three categories as listed above (please note, I did not say that it is guaranteed that they can meet the three categories, just that such a position has the potential of meeting all three categories. It always will come down to that actual evidence the person is able to get). The same holds true for other areas as well. Even engineers and computer personnel who may not publish their work may still be able to make a good case for the National Interest Waiver. Under the new standard, it is not only research and discoveries that are looked at but entrepreneurship is also looked at for its ability to help our economy and lower unemployment.

There are some limitation, however. For example, a chef working at a 5 star restaurant, regardless of their renown, etc. would have a hard time showing that their work is in the National Interest. A painter/artist would similarly have a hard time showing that they qualify for a National Interest Waiver, as would a programmer for a company with 50 other programmers who does not do anything special at that company. What it comes down to is that it is what you do in your occupation rather than the occupation you are in that matters for the National Interest Waiver. That means that people in ANY occupation COULD qualify. For example, an artist who starts to work in art therapy and publishes on the techniques they use, or who opens up a business and hires US Citizens, etc. This is really the same for any occupation – because, as stated above, any occupation can do activities that would fit within the National Interest framework – it is just not quite as straight forward or easy for certain occupations. If you have any question, or wish us to review your CV to see if you could qualify in this category, please do not hesitate to call or email me.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

EB-1 for China and India Backlogged come April 1

Charlie Oppenheimer and the Department of State have determined that, because of increased usage of the EB-1 immigration visas that, come April 1 they will have to backlog this category for both India and China. Both have been backlogged to January 1, 2012 (a date for which there will be no demand). This action was taken to make sure that worldwide usage for this category stays within the numbers allowed.

Charlie did say that, if worldwide usage declines over the coming months he may be able to move these dates forward at some point this fiscal year. While the category will move forward, and may even come current, at the beginning of the next fiscal year (October 1, 2018), it is most likely that both India and China will continue to use their allotted share of EB-1 visas each year and there may end up being a more consistent backlog as there is for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories for India and China.

We will update you as soon as we receive any additional information.

President Issues New Travel Restrictions

images On September 24, 2017, the President issued a new Executive Order (“EO”) entitled “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public Safety Threats”. This new EO builds upon the last order, which was only valid for 90 days. However, part of the old EO directed DHS to do a worldwide review to determine what additional information is needed from each foreign country to assess whether foreign nationals who seek to enter the United States pose a security or safety threat. DHS completed that review and gave the President a list of seven countries that had “inadequate” information sharing practices. The new EO implements certain types of restrictions against nationals of these seven countries (plus one additional country that the President felt posed security risks) in terms of their ability to get certain visas.

Who Does the Ban Affect?

The countries that are part of this new Executive Order are:

Chad
Libya
Iran
North Korea
Syria
Venezuela
Yemen
Somalia

As stated, the restrictions are not uniform for all the above countries. The following table lays out what restrictions are placed on immigrant and non-immigrant visas for each country:

Country	Non-Immigrant Visas	Immigrant Visas
Chad	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Iran	No non-immigrant visas except the F, M and J student visas	No Immigrant or diversity visas
Libya	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
North Korea	No nonimmigrant visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Syria	No nonimmigrant visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Venezuela	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas of any kind for officials of the following government agencies: Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace; the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration and Immigration; the Corps of Scientific Investigations, Judicial and Criminal; the Bolivarian Intelligence Service; and, the People’s Power Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and their immediate family members.	No Restrictions
Yemen	No B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas
Somalia	No nonimmigrant visas	No Immigrant or diversity lottery visas

Dual Nationals: Dual nationals can still travel and get visas based upon another nationality besides the ones listed above (So, for example, a national of both Iran and Canada can still get any nonimmigrant visa or immigrant visa based upon their Canadian Nationality).

Those in the US at the time the travel ban takes effect: They are not affected by the travel ban as they are already in the US.

Those Outside the US with valid visas: Exempt from the restrictions

Permanent Residents of the US: These people are exempt from the Travel Ban

There are other certain exemptions as well, please make an appointment if you feel you may be affected by the travel ban and we can review the waivers and exemptions with you.

When will the Ban take effect?

From 3:30 pm on September 24, 2017, until 12:01 am on October 18, 2017, Nationals of Iran, Libya, Syria Yemen and Somalia will remain under the previous Travel Ban (i.e. only those with close family ties can get visas). Sudanese national will no longer be subject to any ban as of that date and time.

From 12:01 am on October 18, 2017, forward the above travel restrictions will be in force and will replace the previous Executive Order Travel Ban.

If you feel you may be affected by the new travel ban, please do call our office. We can assess your case and let you know if the travel ban does affect you, and if you are eligible for any of the waiver/exemptions.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.