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Immigration Updates – 2007

11 Jan

Date News Stories

12/17/2007 Applications for Permanent Employment Certification Which Were Certified by the U.S. Department of Labor Prior to July 16, 2007 Will Expire on January 12, 2008
12/17/2007 United Kingdom Implements 10-Print Biometrics Requirement in Connection with Applications for UK Visas
12/17/2007 U.S. Department of State Announces Further Retrogression of Visa Availability for Applicants Born in India Seeking Classification under the Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Immigrant Visa Category
12/17/2007 U.S. Department of State Increases Nonimmigrant Visa Application Fee from $100 to $131, Effective January 1, 2008
12/17/2007 Arizona’s Tough New State-Level Employer Sanctions Law Is Set To Go Into Effect January 1, 2008
12/17/2007 Companion Enforcement-Only Immigration Bills Are Introduced in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate
12/10/2007 Plan Now for Fiscal Year 2009 H-1B Petitions To Be Filed in April 2008; Identify Candidates Early and Contact Tindall & Foster, P.C. to Initiate Case Preparation for New H-1B Petitions
12/10/2007 Immigrant Visa Availability under the Employment-Based Second Preference Category Has Retrogressed Further for Persons Born in India and China
12/10/2007 U.S. VISIT Program Will Require 10-Print Digital Finger Scans upon Admission into the United States
12/10/2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appeals Preliminary Injunction in Ongoing Litigation over the New Social Security “No Match” Letter Regulation
12/10/2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Report Joint Effort to Reduce Backlogs and Delays in FBI Background Checks Required for Applications for Naturalization and for Adjustment of Status
12/10/2007 U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) Implement New Petition Information Management System (PIMS) Program for Electronic Verification of Petition Approvals Prior to Visa Issuance
12/10/2007 New Phase of Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) Goes Into Effect January 31, 2008, Requiring Government-Issued Photo Identification and Proof of Citizenship at Border Crossings and Seaports
12/10/2007 Direct Filing for Permanent Residency Remains an Option for Qualified Candidates Seeking Employment-Based, First Preference (EB-1) Classification, and for Many Candidates Seeking a National Interest Waiver of the Labor Certification Requirement under the Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Category
11/27/2007 U.S. Social Security Administration Will Not Issue “No Match Letters” This Year; Letters Not Likely before Spring 2008
11/27/2007 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) Announces Implementation of New Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program
11/27/2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Officially Publishes Notice of Amended Form I-9
11/27/2007 U.S. Federal Government Files Motion to Stay Proceedings in the Ongoing Social Security “No Match Letter” Litigation
11/7/2007 Newly Published Form I-9 and List of Acceptable Employment Eligibility Documents
11/2/2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Reduces Travel Restrictions on Applicants for Adjustment of Status (“Green Card” Applicants) Who Hold H-1B or L-1 Nonimmigrant Status
11/2/2007 New Biometric Requirement to Be Implemented in Japan And the United Kingdom
10/10/2007 Federal Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Implementation of New Employment Eligibility Verification Regulations Pending the Court’s Decision on the Legality of the Regulation
10/10/2007 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Reports Clearance of 363,000 Backlogged Applications for Permanent Employment Certification, Many of Which Were Pending for Over Five Years
10/10/2007 The Annual Quota for H-2B Visas for TempKashiforary Workers Has Been Reached for the First Half of Fiscal Year 2008 (October 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008)
10/10/2007 Employers and Employees are Encouraged to Plan Ahead for Holiday Travel and Visa Application Abroad
10/10/2007 Tindall & Foster, P.C. Immigration Attorneys Regularly Represent Clients for Visa Application at the U.S. Consulate in Mexico
9/5/2007 ALERT: Judge’s Order Stays “No-Match” Regulation
8/16/2007 DHS Summary of New Regulations
8/10/2007 New DHS/SSA NO-Match Regulation and Announced Increase in Worksite Enforcement
7/17/2007 Visa Availability
7/2/2007 Unprecedented State Department Closure Of Permanent Residency Window of Opportunity
6/13/2007 Reminder: CIS Filing Fees Dramatically Increase in July 30, 2007 for Most Petitions and Applications for Immigration Benefits
6/13/2007 Employment-Based Second and Third Preference Immigrant Visa Categories Will Be Current in July
6/13/2007 Reminder: Petitions Seeking Substitution of Labor Certification Beneficiaries Must Be Received by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Before July 16, 2007
6/8/2007 U.S. Senate Bill on Comprehensive Immigration Reform is Withdrawn from Floor Consideration Following Two Failed Cloture Votes
6/8/2007 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Filing Fee Increase Goes into Effect July 30, 2007
6/8/2007 U.S. Passport Rules Will Be TempKashiforarily Suspended Until September 30, 2007 for U.S. Citizens Traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Carribean and Bermuda
5/18/2007 U.S. Senate Republicans and Democrats Appear to Have Reached Accord with Respect to Sweeping New Immigration Legislation
5/18/2007 The U.S. Department of Labor Implements File Rule Limiting the Validity of Certified Applications for Permanent Employment Certification and Eliminating the Substitution of Beneficiaries
5/18/2007 Employment-based Immigrant Visa Availability Significantly Advances for Most of the Backlogged Immigrant Visa Categories
5/8/2007 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) Announces the Fiscal Year 2008 H-1B Advanced Degree Exempt Visa Cap of 20,000 Was Reached on April 30, 2007
5/8/2007 Act Now to Voice Your Company’s Support for H-1B Cap Relief and Comprehensive Immigration Reform
5/8/2007 Tindall & Foster, P.C. Immigration Attorney To Accompany Clients to the U.S. Consulate on May 30, 2007; To Request One of the Appointments Reserved for Tindall & Foster Clients, Contact Your Immigration Attorney by Wednesday, May 16, 2007
5/8/2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff Announces Extension of TempKashiforary Protected Status (TPS) for Eligible Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Salvadorans
4/17/2007 Tindall & Foster, P.C. Immigration Attorney To Accompany Clients to the U.S. Consulate on April 30, 2007
4/17/2007 Immigrant Visa Availability Advances One Year for Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Candidates Not Born in India, China, or Mexico
4/17/2007 Immigrant Visa Numbers Will Become TempKashiforarily Unavailable for the “Other Worker” Visa Category Beginning May 1, 2007
4/17/2007 U.S. Senators Propose Legislation To Alleviate the Shortage of H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Numbers; Act Now to Voice Your Company’s Support for H-1B Cap Relief
4/17/2007 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) Clarifies Procedures for the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa “Lottery” and Addresses Premium Processing and the Significance of H-1B Receipt Notices Issued before and after the Numeric Selection Process on April 12, 2007
4/17/2007 The Fiscal Year 2008 H-1B Advanced Degree Exempt Visa Cap of 20,000 Is Likely To Be Reached This Week
4/3/2007 U.S. CIS Announces Fiscal Year 2008 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached
2/20/2007 Act Now to Secure One of the Limited H-1B Numbers Available for Fiscal Year 2008
2/20/2007 U.S. CIS Proposes Exorbitant Filing Fee Increases for Applications and Petitions
2/20/2007 U.S. DOL Plans Filing Fee for PERM Applications for Permanent Employment Certification
2/20/2007 U.S. DOL May Limit the Validity of Labor Certifications and Eliminate the Substitution of Beneficiaries
2/20/2007 U.S. Senate Passes Amendment Barring Companies Employing Undocumented Workers from Receiving Government Contract Awards
2/20/2007 Missouri Introduces Koster-Green Reform Bill to Mandate Employer Enrollment in the Basic Pilot Program for Verifying Employment Eligibility
2/20/2007 Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) Implements Pilot Project for Prescreening of Work Permit Applications in Alberta and British Columbia
1/30/2007 Recent High Profile Workplace Enforcement Initiatives by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Implicate Potential Criminal as Well as Civil Penalties
1/30/2007 Colorado, Georgia, and Louisiana Introduce State-Level Employment Eligibility Verification Requirements in Excess of Federal Requirements
1/30/2007 U.S. CIS Will Begin Accepting New Fiscal Year 2008 H-1B Petition Filings on April 1, 2007, for a Fiscal Year 2008 Employment Start Date of October 1, 2007
1/30/2007 U.S. Department of Labor Introduces a Labor Condition Application Requirement for the E-3 (Australian) Visa Program
1/30/2007 U.S. CIS Creates Background Check Service to Consolidate Background Checks and Results
1/30/2007 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Will Launch a Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) to Assist Travelers in Correcting Erroneous Information Stored in Databases
1/30/2007 U.S. CIS Announces the Electronic Completion and Filing of Address Change Notifications
1/8/2007 U.S. Department of Labor Implements New Procedure to Convert Regular Track Labor Certification to Reduction-in-Recruitment (RIR) Applications
1/8/2007 Immigration Officers at Ports of Entry Now Requesting Additional Document for Some L-Classification Nonimmigrants