On Nov. 18, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published its final rule to “modernize and improve” employment-based non-immigrant and immigrant visa programs. As stated by DHS, the primary purpose of the improvements is to enhance the ability of U.S. employers to hire and retain specific foreign national employees who are the beneficiaries of
The Department of State released the November Visa Bulletin, which contains some movement of final action dates in certain employment-based categories.
After the release of the October Visa Bulletin, Charlie Oppenheim, chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), provided his predictions on the future movement in the employment-based green card categories. They are summarized below:
EB-1 China and India
In the October bulletin, final action dates for India
This week, the Department of State released the Visa Bulletin for October 2016.
EB-5
Unfortunately, the expected movement as the U.S. government begins a new fiscal year did not materialize for the EB-5 visa category. The date for final action for the EB-5 visa category for mainland China born applicants advanced only one week from
After the release of the August Visa Bulletin, Charlie Oppenheim, chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), provided his predictions on the future movement in the employment-based green card categories. They are summarized below:
EB-2 and EB-3 China
The Final Action date of Jan. 1, 2010, will
Greenberg Traurig is pleased to host an informative Immigration presentation on key areas that can impact companies across all industry areas. Please join us on Tuesday, June 28, at the GT Mclean office at 8:30 a.m. It’s a great opportunity to meet new connections and get reacquainted with old friends over coffee.
Topic areas to
Charlie Oppenheim is the chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS) where he is responsible for providing analysis and prediction for immigrant preference categories. After the release of the July 2016 visa bulletin Mr. Oppenheim provided the following information regarding employment-based petitions to AILA:
EB-2 and EB-3 –
I recently returned from a month in Vietnam meeting with clients and potential immigrants to the United States. Over the course of the past five years and in my travels to Vietnam, I have watched the EB-5 program grow in popularity as a tool for Vietnamese nationals to self-sponsor for a U.S. green card. In fact, Vietnam now ranks second in EB-5 visa usage worldwide.
The growing interest in immigration to the U.S. has also spurned in Vietnam a new trend, with some immigration agents promoting the EB-3 visa program, to target clients that cannot afford the EB-5 program or wish to spend less money to immigrate to the U.S. This development is alarming, as in many cases, the way the EB-3 program is being described and offered to the Vietnamese public is inconsistent with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and U.S. Department of Labor Regulations (DOL) laws and regulations. In the most egregious cases, these EB-3 for sale programs intentionally circumvent the legal requirements and are fraudulent.
By way of background, EB-3 stands for Employment-Based Third preference category – a concept long existent in U.S. immigration law and a valid means to a green card when properly used. Employment-based sponsorship in U.S. immigration is divided into several preference categories, with the Employment-Based Third category being reserved for sponsorship for positions requiring:
The process of employment-based sponsorship in the EB-3 category entails a three step process:
1. A PERM application is processed and filed by the employer with the DOL. The process involves the U.S. employer engaging in various methods of recruitment to find U.S. workers for the position. This is because the DOL’s main purpose is to ensure that U.S. workers get preference for jobs. The DOL determines the prevailing wage rate for the position that the employer is required to pay. Only after recruitment is completed, and if the employer can show that it was not able to find minimally qualified, able, or willing U.S. workers for the position, would the DOL certify and approve a PERM application. If the sponsoring organization receives applications from interested individuals in the U.S. in response to the ads but does not review and interview the applicants or disclose receiving the applications to the DOL, the sponsoring company and all persons involved in the process can be subject to enforcement action.Continue Reading Permanent Residency Through the EB-3 Program: What’s Lawful and What’s Not
On Dec. 14, 2015, USCIS released the Visa Bulletin Charts for January 2016, in conjunction with the Visa Bulletin, USCIS announced that Family-sponsored immigrant visa applicants may use the “Dates of Filing” chart for January 2016 for filing adjustment of status applications, but Employment-based applicants must use the “Final Action Dates” chart for January 2016
On November 9, 2015 the December 2015 Visa Bulletin was released. Immediately following publication of the December 2015 Visa Bulletin, AILA “checked in” with Charlie Oppenheim, chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, for his analysis of current trends and future projections for the various immigrant preference categories. The following