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MVP Law Group
News You Can Use
July 2017

10632 Little Patuxent Parkway
Suite 406
Columbia, Maryland 21044
240-390-0600
1-800-447-0796
Greetings,

"Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances."
-- Robert F. Kennedy --


MVP Law Group, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with Immigration Practitioners across the World are continuously calling on POTUS to change course on immigration policy and instead work with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to move forward on immigration reform.
 
Our outdated immigration system has hobbled our economy but these executive orders and POTUS' expanded deportation force WILL NOT give us the smart balanced immigration system we need. These policies and his administration's actions have done little to improve national security and have already created enormous delays for people coming to the U.S. His policies and actions have placed discrimination based on faith and national origin on the books. We cannot stand idly by and let this happen. This path is not good for our country or the immigrants who call America home. We will not stand for abridgement of due process or human rights by this or any administration.

As the attacks continue on our foreign born, our Senators and Representatives want and need to hear from you, their constituents. They need to know how the current policies of the Trump Administration are affecting your friends, family, neighborhood and communities. NOTHING will change without real stories from YOU! We've learned from the election that your voice does count, so take a stand and make your voice heard. THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES! Their summer recess has just started, make a plan - write a letter, send a postcard, or call their office, create a plan that WORKS FOR YOU! It is your civic duty as an American.

We encourage you to Call your Representatives and Senators, regardless of where you live, they should hear from you and know what you won't stand for -  

§
1-866-940-2439 - Representative - Find your Representative here!
§ 1-866-961-4293 - Senators - Find your Senators here!

POTUS has released the following Executive Orders dealing with Immigration since officially taking Office on January 20, 2017:     
  1. Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements
  2. Executive Order:  Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States 
  3. Executive Order:  Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States (1st Travel Ban) 
  4. Executive Order: Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety
  5. Executive Order: Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and Preventing International Trafficking
  6. Executive Order: Preventing Violence against Federal, State, Tribal and Local Law Enforcement Officers
  7. Executive Order: Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States (Travel Ban 2.0, replaces the January 27, 1ST Travel Ban ) 
  8. Executive Order:  Buy American, Hire American

What's been happening in Immigration -

June 23, 2017 - USCIS released an announcement indicating that starting Monday, June 26, the USCIS will resume premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for medical doctors under the Conrad 30 Waiver program , as well as interested government agency waivers.

June 26, 2017 - SCOTUS announced it will hear oral arguments regarding the legal challenges to POTUS' travel ban.
The Court has allowed portions of the travel ban to remain in effect until then.
 
June 26, 2017 -USCIS introduced A Redesigned Form I-485
for eligible Green Card applicants to complete. The USCIS will accept both the 01/17/2017 and 6/26/2017 editions of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, until August 25, 2017.

June 28, 2017 - The Department of State provided Guidance on Implementation of the Travel Ban. T he Department of State cable also verified that the following individuals are still exempt from the travel ban: Any applicant who was in the United States on June 26, 2017; Any applicant who had a valid visa at 5:00 p.m. EST on January 27, 2017 (the day Travel Ban Executive Order was signed); Any applicant who had a valid visa on June 29, 2017; Any lawful permanent resident of the United States; Any applicant who is admitted to or paroled into the United States on or after June 26, 2017; Any applicant who has a document other than a visa, valid on June 29, 2017, or issued on any date thereafter, that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission, such as advance parole; Any dual national of a country designated under the order when traveling on a passport issued by a non-designated country; Any applicant traveling on an A-1, A-2, NATO-1 through NATO-6 visa, C-2 for travel to the United Nations, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, or G-4 visa, or a diplomatic-type visa of any classification; Any applicant who has been granted asylum; Any refugee who has already been admitted to the United States; Any individual who has been granted withholding of removal, advance parole, or protection under the Convention Against Torture; and Any V92 or V93 applicant.
 
June 29, 2017 - In celebration of the 241st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the USCIS welcomed nearly 15,000 new U.S. citizens during more than 65 Independence day-themed naturalization ceremonies across the country.
 
July 11, 2017 - DHS temporarily delayed the effective date of the International Entrepreneur Final Rule
(82 FR 5238).

July 12, 2017 -  The American Immigration Council, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights and Latham and Watkins, LLP filed a
class action lawsuit challenging Custom and Border Protection's (CBP) unlawful practice of turning away asylum seekers who present themselves at ports of entry along with the U.S. - Mexico border.
 
July 17, 2017 -  USCIS released the latest Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification . Employers may continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/2016 until 9/17/2017. Beginning 9/18/2017, employers must use the latest Form I-9 for all new hires.
 
July 17, 2017 - DHS provided an additional 15,000 temporary non-agricultural visas for workers under the H-2B program. Only 66,000 H-2B visas are allocated annually, 33,000 for the 1st half of the fiscal year (Oct 1- March 31) and the remaining 33,000 for the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 - Sept 30). To qualify for the additional visas, Employers must be able to document that their business is likely to suffer irreparable harm if it cannot employ H-2B workers during fiscal year (2017).

July 17, 2017 - U.S. Federal Judge in Hawaii modifies the Travel Ban Injunction . The Judge ruled that the Trump Administration's temporary ban should not prevent close relatives of residents from entering the United States, to include: Grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States; and Refugees who have a formal assurance from a resettlement agency in the United States or who are part of the Lautenberg Program.
 
July 19, 2017 - USCIS announced it had officially returned all fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the computer-generated random selection process.
 
July 20, 2017 - Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 .
 
July 21, 2017 -The National Immigration Law Center released a Side by Side comparison
of the recently introduced 2017 Dream Act with parallel provisions of the DACA program, and the Dream Act of 2010.

July 24, 2017 -   USCIS released an announcement indicating that the USCIS will resume premium processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions effective immediately. Premium processing will resume for petitions that may be exempt from the cap if the H-1B petitioner is: An institution of higher education; A nonprofit related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education; or A nonprofit research or governmental research organization. Premium processing will also resume for petitions that may also be exempt if the beneficiary will be employed at a qualifying cap-exempt institution, organization or entity. Premium Processing remains suspended for all other H-1B transfer and extension filings.
 
July 25, 2017 - USCIS announced that it is accepting applications for two funding opportunities - Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services, and Citizenship Instruction only. The two programs will provide up to $10 million in grants for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country.
 
July 25, 2017 -  USCIS launched a mobile form for replacing the Green Card. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) eligible to renew their green card, who do not use the assistance of an attorney or accredited representative, may file their form and upload their evidence entirely on a mobile device.

July 26, 2017 - Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan House version of the Dream Act of 2017 .
 
July 26, 2017 - USCIS revised its Policy Manual to specify that every naturalization applicant must provide biometrics regardless of age, unless the applicant qualifies for a fingerprint waiver due to certain medical conditions.
 
July 28, 2017 - Arizona, Maryland and Wyoming joined the Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE) program.


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 August 2017 is now available. The cutoff date movement is consistent with earlier predictions. The cutoff date for the EB2 category for India remained at 7/22/08 and EB3 moved from 2/15/06 to 7/15/06. The cutoff date for the EB2 category for Chinese Nationals moved from 3/22/13 to 4/22/13 and the cutoff date for the EB3 category for Chinese Nationals remained at 1/1/12.

The summer months have been an extremely busy time for MVP Law Group. Attorney Kellie Lego attended the Maryland State Bar Association Annual Conference in Ocean City, MD from June 14 - June 17, where she attended various presentations concerning Maryland laws. The presentation Attorney Lego found most useful was a Crimmigration Presentation presented by fellow colleagues of the MSBA Immigration Law Section focusing on the effects of criminal charges on the foreign born under the Trump Administration. Attorney Lego and fellow colleagues hosted an immigration pro bono legal clinic during the Conference for Eastern Shore residents. A week later, Attorney Lego attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana from June 21 - June 24 attended by over 3,000 Immigration Attorneys across the U.S. Attorney Lego attended three full days of presentations to stay up-to-date on the ever changing regulatory environment, and to learn and implement useful tools and resources to effectively and efficiently help her clients.

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.
In This Issue
USCIS Returns Unselected FY 2018 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions

USCIS issued a news alert on Wednesday, July 19th stating that they have returned all fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018) H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in their computer-generated lottery. USCIS completed the data entry of all selected H-1B cap-subject petitions on May 3rd (USCIS Completes Data Entry of Fiscal Year 2018 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions). If you submitted a cap-subject petition between April 3rd and April 7th of this year and have not received a receipt notice or a returned petition by July 31, 2017, contact USCIS for assistance.

Read more

H-2B Visa Program News - Weekly List of Top News Stories

List of Top News Stories from the last week related to the H-2B Visa Program:

Trump's H-2B support? Not a problem

 

President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort notified federal authorities that it wants to hire 70 temporary guest workers under the H-2B visa program. His resort will be hiring cooks, housekeepers and servers to enter the country and work there from Oct. 1 to May under the H-2B visa program.

 

Last week, the Trump administration announced that the H-2B program would be enlarged by 15,000 positions, but they could have expanded the program by 55,000 more under authority granted by Congress.
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 

 

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PERM Processing Priority Dates

(As of 7/31/17)

 

PROCESSING AREA

MONTH

CALENDAR YEAR

Analyst Reviews

April        

2017

Audits       

Dec. 

2016

Requests for
Reconsideration

May 

2017

AUGUST 2017 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).




MVP LAW GROUP - Immigration Q&A Forum
 

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 - What are my rights when stopped by Authorities as a foreign national in the US?  
  
Answer #1 - You have the right to remain silent * You have the right to refuse to consent to a search of yourself, your car or your home * If you are not under arrest, you have the right to calmly leave * You have the right to a lawyer if you are arrested, ask for one immediately * Regardless of your status in the U.S., you have constitutional rights


Question #2 - What should I do if stopped by the Authorities?

Answer #2 - Read more