Archive for August 9th, 2010

Central Intake Office Revises Federal Skilled Worker Document Checklist

Henry Chang | August 9, 2010 in Canadian Immigration | Comments (0)

I previously reported that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) had published Ministerial Instructions, which affected the Federal Skilled Worker Class. These Ministerial Instructions imposed a mandatory language proficiency assessment on all Federal Skilled Worker cases, even those submitted by native English or French speakers and even where they did not require language points to qualify.

Following the issuance of these Ministerial Instructions, CIC also revised its IMM 5612 Document Checklist, which is used for the initial filing of Federal Skilled Worker applications with the Central Intake Office (“CIO”). The language proficiency assessment was an expected addition to IMM 5612. However, what was not expected is the requirement that applicants also submit all documents listed on the specific visa office document checklist applicable to the consular post where the application will be processed.

Prior to this change, the CIO did not require supporting documentation with the initial filing. Instead, applicants submitted a simplified application consisting primarily of relevant forms and the filing fee, without any supporting documentation. Once the CIO had screened the application and forwarded the case to the consular post, the applicant would be expected to provide any relevant supporting documentation to the post directly.

Based on the current IMM 5612, the applicant must now submit a complete application, including all supporting documentation at the time of the initial filing with the CIO. This can cause considerable delays since documents such as police clearance certificates can take months to obtain from certain countries.

Another more serious question is whether the CIO will forward the supporting documents to the consular post after it has done the initial screening. Prior to this change, the CIO did not forward the application forms to the consular post. It simply entered information contained in the forms into CIC’s database. If all supporting documentation must now be filed initially with the CIO, it is uncertain whether these documents will now be forwarded to the consular post once CIO has screened the application.


DHHS Publishes Updated Poverty Guidelines for the Balance of 2010

Henry Chang | in United States Immigration | Comments (0)

On August 3, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) published poverty guidelines for the remainder of 2010, and until the 2011 poverty guidelines are published, which is expected to occur in late January 2011. HHS issued the delayed update due to recent legislation that prohibited the Secretary of DHHS from publishing 2010 poverty guidelines before May 31, 2010, and required that the 2009 poverty guidelines remain in effect until the Secretary of DHHS published updated guidelines.

The DHHS poverty guidelines are relevant when calculating the minimum income requirements for family-based permanent residence cases.  In connection with such cases, sponsors are required to provide a Form I-864 affidavit of support, which confirms their ability to support the sponsored immigrant at 125% of the federal poverty guideline.  However, sponsors on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces who are petitioning for their spouse or child are only required to show the ability to support their family at an annual income equal to 100% of the federal poverty guideline.

The updated DHHS poverty guidelines appear below:

2010 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE
48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Persons in family Poverty
guideline
1 ………………………………………… $10,830
2 ………………………………………… 14,570
3 ………………………………………… 18,310
4 ………………………………………… 22,050
5 ………………………………………… 25,790
6 ………………………………………… 29,530
7 ………………………………………… 33,270
8 ………………………………………… 37,010

For families with more than 8
persons, add $3,740 for each additional
person.

2010 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR
ALASKA
Persons in family Poverty
guideline
1 ………………………………………… $13,530
2 ………………………………………… 18,210
3 ………………………………………… 22,890
4 ………………………………………… 27,570
5 ………………………………………… 32,250
6 ………………………………………… 36,930
7 ………………………………………… 41,610
8 ………………………………………… 46,290

For families with more than 8
persons, add $4,680 for each additional
person.

2010 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR
HAWAII
Persons in family Poverty
guideline
1 ………………………………………… $12,460
2 ………………………………………… 16,760
3 ………………………………………… 21,060
4 ………………………………………… 25,360
5 ………………………………………… 29,660
6 ………………………………………… 33,960
7 ………………………………………… 38,260
8 ………………………………………… 42,560

For families with more than 8
persons, add $4,300 for each additional
person.


DHS Expands EAD Eligibility for Dependents of A and G Nonimmigrants

Henry Chang | in United States Immigration | Comments (0)

On August 9, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a final rule amending its regulations relating to employment authorization eligibility for dependents of foreign officials classified as A-1, A-2, G-1, G-3, and G-4 nonimmigrants. This rule expands the list of dependents who are eligible for employment authorization from spouses, children, and qualifying sons and daughters of A or G foreign officials to include any other immediate family member who falls within a category of aliens designated by the Department of State as qualifying. This change to DHS regulations provides the Department of State with greater flexibility when entering into bilateral agreements and arrangements with other countries that would extend employment authorization to immediate family members who are recognized as such by the Department of State. The rule became effective on August 9, 2010.


DHS/USCBP Announce Interim Final Rule Implementing Increased ESTA Fee

Henry Chang | in United States Immigration | Comments (0)

On August 6, 2010, United States Customs & Border Protection (“USCBP”) announced an interim final rule that amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to require travelers from Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”) countries to pay operational and travel promotion fees when applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) registration.

The VWP allows citizens of certain low risk countries to enter the United States as visitors for a period of 90 days or less. As of January 12, 2009, all VWP applicants were required to obtain approval through ESTA prior to traveling to the United States. ESTA is a web-based system, initially launched in August 2008, that determines the preliminary eligibility of visitors to travel under the VWP prior to boarding a carrier to the United States.

The additional fees become effective on September 8, 2010. A fee of $4.00USD will recover the costs incurred by USCBP of providing and administering the ESTA system and is in addition to the mandatory $10.00USD travel promotion fee established by the Travel Promotion Act of 2009, enacted as Section 9 of Public Law 111-145, the United States Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act of 2009. The total fee for a new or renewed ESTA will be $14.00USD.


USCIS Updates H-2B Cap Count as of July 30, 2010

Henry Chang | in United States Immigration | Comments (0)

As of July 30, 2010, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has receipted 3,116 petitions, toward the 33,000 H-2B cap amount for the first half of the fiscal year. This count includes 1,677 approved and 1,439 pending petitions.

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number aliens who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-2B status (including through a change of status) during a fiscal year.

Currently, the H-2B cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be made available for use by employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. There is no “carry over” of unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year to the next.

Generally, an H-2B worker who extends his/her stay in H-2B status will not be counted again against the H-2B cap. Similarly, the spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are not counted against this cap. Additionally petitions for the following types of workers are exempt the H-2B cap:

  1. Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing
  2. From November 28, 2009 until December 31, 2014, workers performing labor or services in the
    Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and/or Guam.

Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS may only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt from the H-2B cap.


USCIS Updates H-1B Cap Count as of July 30, 2010

Henry Chang | in United States Immigration | Comments (0)

As of July 30, 2010, approximately 27,300 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has receipted 11,600 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. However, some petitions are exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption provided to the first 20,000 petitions filed for a beneficiary who has obtained a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Others are completely exempt from the numerical limits.

Please note that up to 6,800 H-1B numbers may be set aside from the cap of 65,000 during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Unused numbers in this pool are made available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year.

For further information regarding the H-1B category, please review our H-1B article, which is available here.


Citizens of Denmark Eligible for E-2 Visas After All

Henry Chang | in United States Immigration | Comments (0)

The Department of State (“DOS”) has recently confirmed that citizens of Denmark are eligible for both E-1 treaty trader and E-2 treaty investor visas, since the E-2 treaty for Denmark became effective on December 10, 2008. Confusion was caused by the DOS Reciprocity Schedule, which stated there was “no treaty” in the E-2 category for Denmark, even though the list of treaties contained in the Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 41.51 Exhibit I) indicated that both E-1 and E-2 visas were available.