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MVP Law Group
News You Can Use
February 2018
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10632 Little Patuxent Parkway
Suite 406
Columbia, Maryland 21044
240-390-0600
1-800-447-0796
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Greetings,
"America is White and Black and Latino and Asian. America is mixed. America is immigrants." -- Jose Antonio Vargas
Your Senators and Representatives NEED to hear from you. NOTHING will change without your Voice! CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES NOW! PLEASE call, write or email your Senators and Representatives, regardless of where you live, they should hear from you and know what you won't stand for!
Existing Immigration Law & Policy Challenged by the Trump Administration:
I.
Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses (H-4 Rule)
- DHS had previously indicated that in February 2018 they would provide through a 60-day notice and comment period, details concerning the cancellation of the H4 EAD regulation. In addition, there would be a 30-day period to reconcile those comments. After reconciliation they would publish a final rule with an effective date in the federal register.
- The American Immigration Lawyer Association (AILA) and various business groups are already promising to block the regulation with lawsuits.
- At this time, the H4 EAD regulation remains in effect and MVP Law Group, P.A. has been successful in securing initial grants and renewal applications for H4 EAD recipients. DHS has not provided a 60-day notice and comment period as of 2/26/2018.
- Qualified Applicants are encouraged to apply and/or renew their EAD, if they are eligible.
II. H-1B Extensions Pursuant to AC21
- Under current law, the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21) has two provisions, section 104(c) and section 106(a), which enable DHS to grant an H-1B extension to an H-1B worker who has reached the six-year limit if certain milestones in the LPR process have been met. It had been rumored that the Trump Administration was considering ways in which to limit and/or stop the availability of extensions granted to H-1B nonimmigrants.
- At this time, the USCIS is NOT considering changing its interpretation of section 104(c) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit for H-1B workers who have reached certain milestones in the green card process. USCIS went on to note that "such a change would not likely result in these H-1B holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead." USCIS did, however, indicate that the agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President's Buy American, Hire American" executive order, including conducting a "thorough review" of employment-based visa programs.
III. Family Based Immigration - What the Trump Administration calls 'Chain Migration'
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A United States Citizen may sponsor an immediate relative. An Immediate relative is considered: (a) Spouse of a U.S. Citizen; (b) Child under the age of 21 of a U.S. Citizen; and (c) Parent of a U.S. Citizen (the U.S. Citizen is over 21)
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In order to sponsor an Immediate Relative, a U.S. Citizen must successfully file an
I-130
, Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative with the USCIS documenting the bona fide relationship. Once approved, the Immediate Relative will need to either file for Adjustment of Status with the USCIS (if within the U.S.), or Consular Processing (if outside the U.S.) with the Department of State. The U.S. citizen is required to file an
Affidavit of Support
, illustrating that they have the ability to support the relative at 125% of the
poverty rate
. If they cannot, they must find a joint sponsor or other sponsor to meet the affidavit of support requirements, or the intended relative will NOT be able to immigrate to the United States.
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A U.S. Citizen may also sponsor their unmarried (F1)/married (F3) son/daughter, and their brother/sister (F4); however, those family members of a U.S. Citizen are subject to the
family-based preference categories
and will wait a number of years to be in a position to immigrate to the United States.
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On the other hand, all family members of a Lawful Permanent Residents of the United States, are subject to the family-based preference categories and will wait a number of years to be in a position to immigrate to the United States.
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To make is as clear and simple as possible - family members of Lawful Permanent Residents are defined as: Spouses and children under 21 (F2A), and unmarried sons/daughters (F2B). No one else may be sponsored by a lawful permanent resident - not an Aunt or an Uncle, not a niece or a nephew, nor a grandparent. Lawful permanent residents may not sponsor their married sons/daughters, or their parents, only U.S. Citizens may.
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We mentioned that it will take a number of years for a family member to be able to immigrate to the United States, and this is why: according to
Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), each fiscal year only 226,000
family-sponsored preference immigrant visas
are made available. It is important to note that there is a per-country limit for preference immigrants set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored preference limits.
Examples:
Pushma is a Lawful Permanent Resident, who traveled to India to marry her Spouse, Suresh. Suresh would fall under the F2A preference category. The March 2018 Visa Bulletin indicates that as of March 1, 2018, the Department of State will be processing F2A cases for Nationals of India who filed the I-130 petition on or before March 22, 2016. Therefore, at this rate, it is likely that Suresh will not be able to reunite with his wife in the United States for at least 1-2 years.
Reynaldo, a United States Citizen, has a brother in Mexico (F4) that he has sponsored through the filing of an I-130 petition back in March of 2002. The March visa bulletin indicates that the DOS is currently processing I-130 petitions filed on or before November 15, 1997. Therefore, Reynaldo and his brother have already waited 16 years for this process and may be waiting an additional 5 years for his brother to come to the United States.
Hopefully, this detailed breakdown of family-based immigration has made it clear that a single immigrant cannot bring in unlimited numbers of distant relatives, as Trump alleged during the State of the Union address on January 31, 2018. Simply put, he lied.
IV. TPS and Adjustment of States - Class Action
- A class action lawsuit against officials at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been filed in a federal district court in New York, challenging the government's unlawful practice of depriving certain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders with close family relationships or employment in the United States from becoming lawful permanent residents. In particular, USCIS has a practice of denying the adjustment applications of TPS holders who, in accord with the Immigration and Nationality Act, have been "inspected and admitted" for purposes of adjustment of status because, prior to their receipt of TPS, they entered the United States without inspection (EWI).
- Currently, USCIS applies its unlawful policy to TPS holders living everywhere in the country except for within the jurisdictions of the U.S. Courts of Appeals which have ruled on the issue, the Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits. Thus, the proposed class would include individuals living within the jurisdictions of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits.
- As a result of this class action lawsuit being filed, MVP Law Group is accepting PERM sponsorship cases for TPS beneficiaries that had an EWI entry, if clients wish to move forward with the case after disclosure of risks of denial.
V. H-1B "New" Policy Memorandum re Third Party Worksites
- On Thursday, February 22, 2018, the USCIS released a Policy Memorandum making clear that USCIS may request detailed documentation to ensure a legitimate employer-employee relationship is maintained while an employee is working at a third-party worksite. Yet, in 2010, a policy memorandum, called 'The Neufeld Memo' made it clear that detailed documentation may be requested from Petitioners to ensure a legitimate employer-employee relationship while an H-1B applicant is placed at a third-party worksite, and provided a non-exhaustive list of the types of evidence to prove a legitimate employer-employee relationship.
- MVP Law Group has been successfully filing for the past 8 years, H-1B initial petitions, amendments and extensions for those working at third party worksites based upon the requirements of the 2010 Neufeld Memo.
- There is nothing 'new' in the 2018 policy memorandum.
VI. USCIS Removes "Nation of Immigrants" from its Mission Statement
- The New Director of the USCIS issued a New Mission Statement for the Organization: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation's lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.
- The prior Mission Statement of the USCIS read: USCIS secures America's promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.
- We at MVP Law Group share in the deep disappointment at the Trump Administration's rewrite of the USCIS mission statement. Removing the words, 'nation of immigrants' cannot change the proud history of our country. There was no need to change the mission statement of the USCIS.
What's been happening in Immigration:
January 18, 2018 - The USCIS opened the
TPS re-registration process for Salvadorians
, allowing them to submit their applications to maintain TPS status through the termination date of September 9, 2019. The re-registration period runs from 1/18/2018 through 03/19/2018 only.
January 18, 2018 - The USCIS opened the
TPS re-registration process for Haitians
, allowing them to submit their applications to maintain TPS status through the termination date of July 22, 2019. The re-registration period runs from 1/18/2018 through 03/19/2018 only.
January 18, 2018 - The USCIS released an announcement listing all of the countries eligible to participate in the
H2A and H2B programs
. Haiti was left off of the list without a justifiable excuse.
January 31, 2018 - The USCIS announced a
new policy
for the adjudication of Asylum claims, scheduling recent applications for interviews ahead of older filings, in an attempt to reduce the backlog.
February 1, 2018 - The USCIS released a
statement
announcing that the U.S. Department of Labor will not begin releasing H-2B temporary labor certificates until February 20th, due to a surge in applications.
February 1, 2018 - The USCIS
announced
that the USCIS and the Department of State will be strengthening screening for all family members seeking to join refugees. The new security measures include ensuring that following-to-join refugees receive the same screening and vetting checks as other refuges and requesting that they submit his/her Form I-590 along with the principal refugee's Form I-730.
February 1, 2018 - The White House released an
article
listing criminals that have come into the United States through chain migration or the visa lottery program, stating that the visa lottery program does not serve the national interest and both chain migration and the visa lottery admit "random foreign nationals" who, many of which, "have absolutely no ties to the United States, and are not require to have special skills or much education."
February 1, 2018 - The White House released another
statement
calling for the termination of the visa lottery program, saying that it will eliminate chance out of the immigration system and "direct immigration selection towards merit and skill."
February 2, 2018 - The White House released a
statement
on border security. It includes statistics on border security during President Trump's term and on arrests and drug seizures by border patrol agents and ICE officers.
February 8, 2018 - The White House released a
statement
supporting the creation of a merit-based immigration system. The statement states that low-skilled labor burdens American taxpayers and has put a strain on public resources.
February 14, 2018 - The Eastern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. At this time, the
DACA policy
will continue to operates as it did prior to the rescission of the program on September 5, 2017.
February 14, 2018 - The USCIS announced that it will
accept credit card payments
for 41 of its fee-based forms. We are deeply concerned about the process for accepting credit card payments as outlined by the USCIS - an applicant must fill out a form with their credit card information and mail it to the USCIS, the USCIS will enter the data into their pay system, and then destroy the original form with the credit card data.
As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to attack the Immigrant population, local nonprofits could use your support. If you are interested in helping either by volunteering your time or making a monetary contribution, on a nationwide level or locally, please reach out to the following organizations:
NATIONWIDE:
In other immigration news, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for March 2018 is now available. The cutoff date movement is consistent with earlier predictions. The cutoff date for the EB2 category for India moved from 12/8/08 to 12/15/08 and EB3 moved from 12/1/06 to 1/1/07. The cutoff date for the EB2 category for Chinese Nationals moved from 10/1/13 to 12/8/13 and the cutoff date for the EB3 category for Chinese Nationals moved from 9/15/14 to 11/15/14.
We hope you continue to read our newsletter as well as our blog in order to stay in touch and obtain important information concerning changes to the regulatory environment and new trends in the adjudication of petitions.
Kellie N. Lego, Esq.
MVP Law Group, P.A.
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Letter from the Congressional Black Caucus to President Trump about his Immigration Proposal!
On Monday, February 12, 2018, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA), sent a letter to President Trump condemning his immigration proposal. In the letter he characterizes the President's immigration proposal as "Unreasonable" and "Un-American"! Read more |
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated FY2018 Statistics (First Quarter)
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2018 statistics (first quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2018 statistics (first quarter) cover October 2017 through December 2017.
The link to each program factsheet is listed below: * Permanent Labor Certification Program - Select Statistics, FY 2018 (first quarter)
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About Our Law Firm
MVP Law Group, P.A. offers Business Immigration Services to Employers and Individuals World Wide. We deal primarily with Business Immigration by assisting clients in obtaining Temporary Work Visas; Preparing and Filing Employment Based and Family Based Immigrant Petitions; Aiding Lawful Permanent Residents in Attaining Naturalization; and ensuring compliance with Immigration laws by conducting internal audits for businesses in all industries.
U.S. Immigration Law is federal in nature (i.e., No State or provincial law is involved), therefore, our firm is able to provide U.S. Immigration Law Services to clients ANYWHERE in the United States and around the World.
MVP Law Group, P.A. 10632 Little Patuxent Parkway
Suite 406
Columbia, Maryland 21044
240-390-0600 1-800-447-0796 Keep In Touch With Us!   
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| PERM Processing Priority Dates (As of 2/27/18)
| PROCESSING AREA |
MONTH |
CALENDAR YEAR |
| Analyst Reviews |
Aug. |
2017 |
| Audits |
June
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2017 |
| Requests for
Reconsideration |
Dec. |
2017 |
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MARCH 2018 VISA BULLETIN
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: "Application Final Action Dates" (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and "Dates for Filing Applications," indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).
Read more
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MVP LAW GROUP - Immigration Q&A Forum
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MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.
Question #1 - General What is the Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) system?
Answer #1 - According to the USCIS website:
The Web-based Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) is a tool designed to enhance USCIS's adjudications of certain employment-based immigration petitions. VIBE uses commercially available data from an independent information provider (IIP) to validate basic information about companies or organizations petitioning to employ certain alien workers.
Currently, Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) is the independent information provider for the VIBE program.
Question #2 - Family Based Immigration
I'm an 18 year old US citizen and want to file a Green card application for my husband who is 32 years old. Am I old enough to do this?
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