USCIS ISSUES REVISED OCT 2015 VISA BULLETIN

MU VISA ADVISOR:  USCIS ISSUES REVISED OCT 2015 VISA BULLETIN 

On late Friday afternoon the USCIS and DOS issued a revised October 2015 Visa Bulletin.  The new revised Visa Bulletin has a devastating impact on those in the US and who qualify as China EB-2, India EB-2, and Philippines EB-3. 

The USCIS published a stilted “explanation” for the revision,
Following consultations with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Dates for Filing Applications for some categories in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based preferences have been adjusted to better reflect a timeframe justifying immediate action in the application process.
This revised Visa Bulletin means that the majority of people who could have filed their I-485s on October 1, 2015, now must indefinitely wait.  Allowing long-suffering workers the flexibility that would come with the filing of I-485s would have been excellent policy.  Implementing that policy was excellent government action.  Implementing the policy and then rescinding the policy is incompetence.
Many of these immigrant workers spent thousands of dollars hiring counsel to prepare their Applications.  They took time off from their jobs to subject themselves to ridiculously unnecessary (and costly) medical examinations. 
There are already rumors that the USCIS and DOS are being threatened with lawsuits.  There is also a rumor that the USCIS and DOS may not want to repeat the fiasco that was the Visa Gate in 2007, and therefore may rescind this Revised Visa Bulletin.  
If you have been impacted by this, MU Law advises that you hold tight.  There is a chance that the USCIS does the decent thing and rescinds this amended Visa Bulletin.

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue. 

NEW VISA BULLETIN ALLOWS EARLY FILING OF I-485s

In a ground-breaking change, the Department of State and the USCIS have changed their process for accepting I-485, Applications for Adjustment of Status.  Adjustment of Status applications will now be accepted earlier than when the priority date is current. 

The Department of State will now publish two Employment-based Visa Bulletin charts each month: (1) Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may finally be issued); and (2) Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply). 

The earlier filing of the I-485 has several direct benefits for both employers and employees:

• Applicants can file for their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) concurrently with their I-485.  This allows Applicants to take advantage of the AC-21 rule for same or similar employment.  This also allows applicant to work at second jobs.
• Applicants can file for their Advance Paroles (APs) concurrently with their I-485.  This allows Applicants to travel without having to obtain a new visa stamp.
• Spouses of applicants can apply for both EADs and APs.  This allows spouse’s work authorization.
• Fewer H-1B amendments and extensions should need to be filed.  None of the H-1B amendment rules apply to people who hold EADs.

If you are an employer or an employee who can now file an I-485, please contact our office so that we can prepare and file your I-485.

The new October 2015 Visa Bulletin is:

A. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES

This Chart is comparable to the old Visa Bulletin.

Employment- Based	All Other	CHINA - mainland born	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN12	01MAY05	C
3rd	15AUG15	15OCT11	08MAR04	01JAN07

B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS

Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date in the chart may:

• Consular Applicants:  assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions.

• Adjustment of Status Applicants: file Adjustment of Status, EAD and APs.

Employment- Based	All Other	CHINA - mainland born	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01MAY14	01JUL11	C
3rd	01SEP15	01OCT13	01JUL05	01JAN15

MU LAW CLIENT CONFERENCE CALL

Musillo Unkenholt will hold a free teleconference on Thursday September 3,2014 at 3PM ET / 12 noon PT. All clients and friends of the firm are encouraged to dial-in to the call. If you would like to register for the call, please send an email to: Annalisa@muimmigration.com.

The agenda for the teleconference includes:

* H-1B onboarding starts Oct 1: What do employers need to do to stay compliant?
* When does my H-1B worker have to start working? The 30/60 day rule.
* Update on the Simeio Solutions case and Amended H-1Bs.
* When do I have to start paying an H-1B worker's salary?
* Form I-9 compliance
* E-Verify compliance
* Managing Social Security number issues.
* Handling Professional licensure issues.
* Working with the Consulate for H-1B Visa Issuance.
* H-1B cap 2015 final numbers and projections for 2016

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue.

USCIS ISSUES FINAL GUIDANCE ON AMENDED H-1B PETITIONS AFTER SIMEIO SOLUTIONS

MU VISA ADVISOR: 

The USCIS has again revised its interpretation of the opinion that it issued in the controversial Simeio Solutions decision.  The revised Final Guidance says that the Simeio Solutions decision will not be applied retroactively, which is a significant change from the USCIS’ May 26, 2015 Guidance.  The revised Final Guidance now says that these actions must be taken:

Date of H-1B employee's move	Action
On or before April 9, 2015	No amended H-1B is needed.
April 9 - August 19, 2015	Amended H-1B must be filed before Jan. 15, 2016.
After August 19, 2015	Must file an amended H-1B once LCA is certified.

H-1B employers should note that generally an H-1B employer has 30 days from the date of the move to file the amended H-1B.  Accordingly, we advise that MU Law is informed of the move immediately, so that we can prepare the LCA and the amended H-1B filing.

The revised Final Guidance reconfirmed that an amended H-1B petition is NOT required if the geographical move is within an “area of intended employment.”  An “area of intended employment” is generally the same as a Metropolitan Statistical Area.  Likewise, an amended H-1B petition is NOT required if the H-1B employee is attending training sessions, seminars, conferences, etc. of a short duration.

The revised Final Guidance also confirms that if an employer's amended H-1B petition is denied, but the original petition remains valid, the H-1B employee may return to work at the place of employment covered by the original petition.

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue. 

** REMINDER ** MU VISA ADVISOR: H-1B AMENDMENT NEEDED FOR ALL GEOGRAPHICAL CHANGES, EVEN IF BEFORE APRIL 9, 2015

** REMINDER **

MU VISA ADVISOR:   H-1B AMENDMENT NEEDED FOR ALL GEOGRAPHICAL CHANGES, EVEN IF BEFORE APRIL 9, 2015

The USCIS has just released Guidance on its webpage further clarifying the Simeio Solutions case from April 2015. 
The most impactful part of the Guidance is that the USCIS is now requiring all H-1B employers to file an H-1B amendment for employees who have moved their geographical location, even if that move happened before April 9, 2015, the date of the Simeio Solutions decision. 
Simeio Solutions holds that a new H-1B petition is required whenever an H-1B worker changes his geographical location, if that geographical change requires a new Labor Condition Application (LCA).  Typically geographical changes outside of a metropolitan statistical area require a new LCA. 
The USCIS previously implied that only relocations happening after the issuance of the April 0, 2015 Simeio Solutions decision.  This new interpretation reaches back in time, requiring all prior geographical moves to file amended H-1Bs.
Accordingly all MU Law clients are encouraged to fully review their H-1B roster and confirm that the H-1B employee’s current worksite matches the worksite listed on the employee’s I-129 petition.  If the H-1B employee’s current worksite does not match the worksite listed on the employee’s I-129 petition, then we should prepare and file an amended H-1B petition. 
Thankfully, the Guidance is giving all H-1B employers a 90 day grace period, until August 19, 2015, to comply with this latest Guidance interpretation.
The new USCIS Guidance also confirms existing safe harbors within the law.  An amended H-1B does not have to be filed when:
-          The geographical move is within the same metropolitan statistical area.
-          Under certain circumstances, you may place an H-1B employee at a new job location for up to 30 days, and in some cases 60 days (where the employee is still based at the original location), without obtaining a new LCA.
-          The job is “peripatetic in nature,” such as situations where their primary job is at one location but they occasionally travel for short periods to other locations “on a casual, short-term basis, which can be recurring but not excessive.  

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue. 

MU VISA ADVISOR: H-1B TELECONFERENCE APRIL 22, 2015

MU Law will be holding a free teleconference for our clients on April 22,
2015 at 2PM ET / 11AM PT.  Interested clients should email MU’s Annalisa
Smith (annalisa@muimmigration.com), who can register you for the
teleconference.

The agenda will include:

1.       H-1B cap update.

2.       Analysis of the new H-1B ruling, Matter of Simeio Solutions, which
mandates a new or amended H-1B petition whenever there is a change in the
employment location.

3.       What the new Visa Bulletin means for the Philippines EB-3
category.

4.       Hot topics in PERM adjudications.

5.       Legislative update.

Please contact your MU immigration attorney if you have any questions about
this MU Visa Advisor or any other immigration issue.

MU VISA ADVISOR: NEW H-1B NOW REQUIRED WHEN AN H-1B WORKER CHANGES LOCATION

MU VISA ADVISOR:   NEW H-1B NOW REQUIRED WHEN AN H-1B WORKER CHANGES LOCATION

In a dramatic change ignoring 20 years of past precedent, the

USCIS' Administrative Appeals Office has decided that a new H-1B

petition must be filed every time an H-1B employee changes worksites, if

the new worksite is outside of the original metropolitan area.

Effective immediately all MU Law client-employers must file new or amended

H-1B petitions to protect these H-1B workers.  This will dramatically and

negatively change the process for many H-1B employers, especially those

employers in the staffing and consulting industries.  These industries

should expect to spend additional time and cost preparing and filing

previously unnecessary H-1B amendment petitions.

The AAO decision is titled, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC.

H-1B TELECONFERENCE FEB 4, 2015

In anticipation of the H-1B cap filing date of April 1, 2015, MU Law will be holding a free teleconference for our clients on February 4, 2014 at 2PM / 11AM PT.  Interested clients should email MU’s Annalisa Smith, who can register you for the teleconference.

Last year the H-1B cap was reached in the first week; we expect that the demand will be even greater this year.  It is imperative that all H-1B cap-subject petitions are filled on April 1, 2015.

H-1B cap-subject petitions include:

* International students working on an EAD card under an OPT or CPT program after having attended a U.S. school

* International employees working on a TN may need an H-1B filed for them in order for them to pursue a permanent residency (green card) case

* Prospective international employees in another visa status e.g. H-4, L-2, J-1, F-1

* H-1B workers with a cap exempt organization

* Prospective international employees currently living abroad

In addition to the H-1B cap discussion, MU lawyers will also provide an employment-based immigration legislation update.