Employment Based Visa Bulletin

Family Based Visa Bulletin

New versions of Form I-600, Petition to classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, and Form I-600A, Application for advance Processing of Orphan Petition, with edition dates of 10/16/08, have also seen posted to www.uscis.gov/forms.  Previous editions will still be accepted..

USCIS has posted a new version of the Form I-765, application for Employment Authorization on www.uscis.gov/forms with an edition date of 10/16/08. The previous edition of this form 5/27/08) had an expiration date of 8/31/08 and therefore had to be reviewed by The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before the current edition could be posted to the website. Because the last edition of this form expired while it was pending review with OMB, the expired edition (5/27/08) could still be used. Also, since the only change made to the form was an update to the expiration date, the previous edition of 5/27/08 may continue to be used.

Employment Based Visa Bulletin

Family Based Visa Bulletin

Source: US Department of State

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased the maximum period of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico may remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay. This final rule changes the initial period of admission for TN workers from one to three years, making it equal to the initial period of admission given to H-1B professional workers. Eligible TN nonimmigrants may now be allowed to receive extensions of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the prior maximum period of stay of one year. 

The TN nonimmigrant classification is visa category available to eligible Mexicans and Canadians with at least a bachelor’s degree or appropriate professional credentials who work in certain qualified fields pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Qualified professions identified within NAFTA include, but are not limited to, accountants, engineers, attorneys, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers.

USCIS Update 10/14/2008; USCIS Frequently Asked Questions

WASHINGTON –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that prospective adoptive parents already in the process of adopting a child from a country that has implemented the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) who filed a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008, and who have received the one time no-charge extension, may file one additional Form I-600A, and continue to proceed with their intercountry adoption through the “orphan” process.  The new Form I-600A must be filed before the current approval expires, and only if the prospective adoptive parents have not yet filed the corresponding Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  

USCIS Update 10/14/2008

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds its customers that authorization for the non-minister special immigrant religious worker program will expire on Oct. 1, 2008.   Individuals applying to serve in the two non-minister categories of the program must either adjust status to permanent residence or apply for, and be admitted with, an immigrant visa before Oct. 1, 2008.

The two expiring categories are special immigrant religious workers in professional or non-professional capacities within a religious vocation or occupation.   The expiration date also applies to the accompanying spouses and children of these workers.  Special immigrant religious workers entering the United States solely to carry on the vocation of a minister of a religious denomination are not impacted by the expiration date.

USCIS continues to receive and process Petitions for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360) for those immigrant religious workers affected by the upcoming expiration date.   USCIS is also, to the extent that it can, expeditiously processing Applications to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485), based on approved Form I-360 petitions for special immigrant religious workers in the expiring categories.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on April 14, 2008, extending the expiration date; the Senate is currently considering similar legislation.   If congressional action results in the extension of the expiration date, affected special immigrant religious workers with an approved Form I-360 may be eligible to file Form I-485.

Absent a congressional extension of the expiration date, USCIS will, beginning on Oct. 1, 2008, hold in abeyance any pending Form I-360 and Form I-485 affected by the expiration date until further notice.   Also, unless or until Congress extends the expiration date, USCIS will reject Form I-360 petitions and Form I-485 applications filed on or after Oct. 1, 2008 which are based on the expired provisions.

Source: USCIS Update 09/19/08

The Diversity Visa-2010 Lottery online entry begins at Noon EDT on October 2, 2008, and ends at Noon EST on December 1, 2008.  Information and instructions for the DV-2009 lottery will appear here, as soon as available.  Please check this web page at a later time for Diversity Visa information updates. Thank you for your interest in the Diversity Visa Program.

See the list of complete countries that qualify to apply for the diversity visa and instructions, refer to DV-2009 Lottery Instructions.

Diversity Visa Program:

Each year, the Diversity Lottery (DV) Program makes 55,000 immigrant visas available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The State Department (DOS) holds the lottery every year, and randomly selects approximately 110,000 applicants from all qualified entries. The DOS selects the approximately 110,000 applications since many will not complete the visa process. However once 55,000 are issued or the fiscal year ends, the DV program is closed. If you receive a visa through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program you will be authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. You will also be allowed to bring your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States.

You are eligible for the Diversity Visa Program if:

·         You or your spouse must be a native of a country that is eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery. You may also be eligible to apply if your parent was born in a country that is eligible to participate. (The State Department will publish the names of countries that are eligible to participate before each year's lottery.)

·         You must have a high school diploma or the equivalent, defined in the United States as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR you must have two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform.

·         Before each year's lottery drawing, the Department of State will publish explicit instructions on how to apply in press releases and the Federal Register. Please follow all directions exactly. Millions of applicants are rejected each year for failure to follow the directions. Instructions are usually posted in August, and the registration period is usually held in October each year.

You may also call the State Department's Visa Lottery Information Center at 1-900-884-8840 for more information.

Source: US Department of State, Diversity Visa.

Compared to September 2008, the visa numbers do not show much progress – and in some cases shows the visa numbers are retrogressing again.  Specifically important to note the following comparison:

Category	September 2008	October 2008
EB2 India	01-Aug-06	01-April-03
EB2 China	01-Aug-06	01-April-04
EB3: Skilled Workers	Unavailable	01-Jan-05 Worldwide, Philippines 01-Oct-01 China (mainland) O1-Jul-01 India 01-Jult-02 Mexico
EB3: Unskilled	Unavailable	01-Jan-03

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during October 2008. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status.  Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by September 9th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory limits, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed.  The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits.  Only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number.  Immediately that it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new cut-off date.

Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000.  The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000.  Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620.  The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320

OCTOBER 2008 VISA BULLETIN:

Employment Based Visa Bulletin