JANUARY 2019 VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State has just issued the January 2019 Visa Bulletin. This is the fourth Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2019. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

January 2019 Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

EB  Class  All Other   CHINA        INDIA      PHIL'PNES     EB-1 01OCT17 15DEC16 01DEC16 01OCT17 EB-2 C 01AUG15 01APR09  C EB-3 C 08JUN15 01MAR09  22JUN17

Table B: Dates for Filing -- The DOS may work on applications with these dates. But the Visa cannot be approved until the date is current per Table A.

EB  Class	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHIL'PNES
EB-1	01JUN18	01OCT17	01OCT17	01JUN18
EB-2	C	08SEP15	22MAY09	C
EB-3	C	01JAN16	01JAN10	01AUG17

MU Law Analysis (all references are to Table A unless noted)

All Other, Mexico: As we expected, the EB-1 category again moved several months. We expect continued steady movement in this category for All Other. We do not see any retrogression in the future for EB2 or EB3, other than the usual retrogression at the end of the Fiscal Year.

China: Likewise, the China EB-1 category progressed several months. This category may not move as fast as All Other in the next few Visa Bulletins. China EB-2 moved two months,
EB-3 did not advance, reflecting high demand. Still, we expect EB-3 to slightly outpace EB-2 in the next few Visa Bulletins.

India: India EB-2 and EB-3 did not move. We expect the slow/no progress to be standard for EB-2 in the first part of FY 2019. We are slightly more optimistic about India EB-3.

Philippines: The EB-3 date again also only moved up by week, which is slower than we would have liked to have seen. While over the course of FY2019, we should eventually see the EB-3 priority date extend into FY2018, we do not expect too much movement in the next few Visa Bulletins.

TWO PROPOSED H-1B CAP MODIFICATIONS

The USCIS has published two proposed rules that will change H-1B cap processes.  While the USCIS hopes that these two rules are finalized in time for the April 2019 H-1B cap, the USCIS has not yet committed to a timeline.  The public may comment on the two proposed rules until January 2, 2019.

The two rules are:

1. Electronic pre-registration for the H-1B cap.  This is a proposed rule that has been considered by USCIS since 2011.  Under the proposal, all H-1B lottery petitions will need to be electronically pre-registered during the H-1B pre-registration period from April 1-7.  After the pre-registration period has concluded, USCIS will run the H-1B lottery.  All H-1B lottery winners will then have 60 days to submit the actual H-1B petition.  If implemented properly, this should save petitioners and the industry significant expense.

2. H-1B Masters Cap Allocation Preference.  USCIS will technically reengineer the way that it conducts the H-1B lottery.  The result of the reengineering should mean that a slightly greater number of H-1B petitions will be approved for US Masters Degree H-1B Beneficiaries than under the current H-1B lottery.

US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL) RELEASES NEW LABOR CONDITION APPLICATION (LCA)

 Effective Monday, November 19, 2018, the DOL released a new LCA (Form ETA-9035) which must be used on all immigration filings going forward. A certified LCA must be included in immigration filings for H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 status.  The DOL generally certifies an LCA approximately 7-10 days after submission of the LCA to the DOL.    

Certified and date-valid LCAs in the old format can still be used in immigration filings, provided the LCAs have unused slots in the appropriate filing category, e.g. new employment, continuation of employment without change, etc. 

For all immigration filings, the new LCA requires the legal business name of the end-client(s) as well as the street address of the worksite(s) where the employee will physically work.

For H-1B masters cap petitions, the new LCA requires:

o   The name of the institution that awarded the employee’s master’s degree;

o   The field of study in which the employee’s master’s degree was awarded;

o   The date on which the employee’s master’s degree was awarded; and

o   Documentation substantiating the employee’s master’s degree information.

MU’s employer checklists for H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 filings have been updated to request this information from employers at case initiation. 

USCIS WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT PPS FOR H-1Bs EXCEPT EXTENSIONS, CAP EXEMPT INSTITUTIONS

In an unexpected move (although all-too-common for an increasingly erratic agency), the USCIS will no longer accept Premium Processing Service (PPS) for all H-1Bs, except for H-1B extensions with the same employer or H-1Bs for cap-exempt institutions, such as Universities or research organizations.

Effective September 11, 2018, PPS will not be available for H-1B cap petitions and H-1B amendments.  The ban on PPS will continue until February 19, 2019. 

The justification for the ban on PPS is to reduce overall H-1B processing times.  

If you are asking yourself how eliminating a fee-based premium processing service will reduce processing times, you are not alone.  The PPS is supposed to pay for itself.  This is yet another example of an agency that cannot get out of its own way.

USCIS BACKTRACKS: STEM OPT EMPLOYMENT AT THIRD-PARTY WORK-SITES IS NOW PERMITTED

USCIS has updated its Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) webpage indicating STEM OPT participants may engage in training experience at third party worksites as long as the all of the training obligations are met.  The employer must maintain a bona fide employer/employee relationship with the student.  Previously the USCIS had said that STEM OPTs could not work at third-party locations.

Any material changes in the student’s employment must be reported to the Designated School Official (DSO) within 5-10 business days.  These changes include any modifications to the training listed on the I-983, a change in the employer’s name or address, and termination of the student’s employment.

The USCIS’ backtracking was likely a result of a lawsuit filed in federal court.  That lawsuit, ITServe Alliance v. Nielsen, was filed by Attorney Jon Wasden.  Jon, who is a friend of MU Law, previously worked for the USCIS’ AAO Office.  He has filed several lawsuits on behalf of H-1B employees and H-1B employers.  If you have an egregious denial decision and would like to have Jon review your case, please contact him or contact MU and we an put you in touch with him.

CAN STEM OPTs WORK AT THIRD PARTY WORKSITES?

Because of two recent USCIS interpretive changes, Musillo Unkenholt LLC (MU Law) advises that STEM OPT workers do not work at third-party worksites under their SETM OPT work authorization until the USCIS issues better and clearer guidance on the issue. 

Working and training at third-party worksites is probably legal.  However, by working at the third-party worksite the STEM OPT trainee puts himself at risk for enormous negative immigration consequences, including a ten-year bar from entering or living in the United States.

USCIS’ APPARENT THIRD-PARTY WORKSITE PROHIBITION

Earlier this year, and without any warning or notice, the USCIS changed its webpage to include this key change:

the training experience may not take place at the place of business or worksite of the employer’s clients or customers because ICE would lack authority to visit such sites.

The USCIS’ justification for the third-party worksite prohibition is, apparently, because ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) would lack the authority to investigate at the third-party worksite. 

Curiously, ICE has not produced any guidance on this point.  ICE likely would be surprised to learn that they do not have the authority to investigate a worksite where it believed immigration fraud was being committed.

The website change alone is probably not good law.  There has been no regulatory change.  There has been no notice and comment period, something required for regulatory change.  The “ICE lacks investigative authority” justification for the prohibition against third-party worksites is weak.

If the only thing that USCIS had done was updated their webpage, then MU Law’s position might be that STEM workers could continue to work at third-party worksites, provided that the other qualifications of the program were being met, however, this is not the only change for F-1 students.

F-1 STUDENTS NOW ACCRUE UNLAWFUL PRESENCE FOR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN STATUS

A brand new USCIS policy, effective August 9, 2018, says that F-1 students including STEM OPTs will now accrue “unlawful presence” “the day after he or she engages in an unauthorized activity.”  Accordingly, after August 9, 2018, the USCIS is expected to find that STEM OPTs working at third-party worksites are engaging in “unauthorized activity” and are therefore “unlawfully present”.

Even worse, a USCIS official can retroactively find that an F-1 student engaged in “unauthorized activity”.  A number of leading university administrators have made this point directly to USCIS Director James Cissna.

This is a massive change in long-standing USCIS policy.  Under the prior interpretation, an F-1 student or OPT did not accrue unlawful presence until an immigration judge said so.  Engaging in “unauthorized activity” meant that an F-1 worker “failed to maintain status,” which is a lesser finding.

The distinction between “failing to maintain status” and “unlawful presence” is enormous:

• When someone fails to “maintain status” they must immediately leave the US but can ordinarily immediately reenter the US. 
• When someone is “unlawfully present” for more than 180 days, they must immediately leave the US and are barred from reentering the US for 3 years.  When someone is “unlawfully present” for more than 365 days, they must immediately leave the US and are barred from reentering the US for 10 years. 

Consider this hypothetical scenario:

August 9, 2018 – STEM OPT continues to work at a third-party worksite

April 1, 2019 – STEM OPT worker files an H-1B cap petition

May 1, 2019 – STEM OPT worker’s H-1B cap cases is selected in the H-1B lottery

August 10, 2019 – STEM OPT worker receives an RFE from USCIS asking for proof that he has only engaged in authorized activity.

September 20, 2019 -  H-1B is denied.  USCIS finds that STEM OPT worker’s third-party work was “unauthorized activity”.  USCIS also finds that the STEM OPT worker was “unlawfully present” from August 9, 2018 until September 20, 2019, a period of more than 365 days.  Consequently, the STEM OPT worker must immediately leave the US and cannot reenter the US for 10 years.

CONCLUSION

At this time, MU Law recommends that STEM OPT workers are not placed at third party worksites unless comprehensive analysis is done regarding the viability of the assignment.  STEM OPT workers at third party worksites run the risk of 3 and 10 year bars from reentry into the US.  It is our hope that USCIS provides greatly clarity on these points and engages the public on the issue, rather than creating law by fiat.