new pic
MVP Law Group
News You Can Use
October 2016

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

"Immigration is not just a link to America's past; it's also a bridge to America's future." -- President, George W. Bush

Here we are, 10 days before the next Presidential Election and STILL we wait for something/someone to act on Immigration. We've been promised a WALL between the United States and Mexico by Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform within the first 100 days, if Hillary Clinton is elected President.  It has been FAR TOO LONG without action. It is our hope that you are knowledgeable about where each candidate stands with regards to Immigration and the need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
 
- The legal line for family based immigration stretches across decades depending upon what country the beneficiary is from, for instance, a U.S. Citizen who sponsors his biological brother from Mexico will have to wait over 19 years to be reunited with his brother in the U.S.
 
- If a foreign national graduates from a U.S. University with a Master's degree and then gets accepted under the H1B CAP and begins working for a U.S. technology company, who then after seeing the applicant's work ethic and knowledge in the field, decides to initiate the Green Card process, that applicant will more than likely have to wait anywhere from 5-11 years for an immigrant visa number depending upon what country they are from. As of the November 2016 Visa Bulletin, released October 2016, the Employment Based Preference Category for Foreign Nationals with an Advanced Degree from India has retrogressed to November 1, 2007. What this means is that the Department of State is only adjudicating those cases with priority dates on or earlier than November 1, 2007. The Priority Date attaches the day you submit the Labor Application to the Department of Labor. So, in our example above, if the foreign national student files the Labor Application in Year 2016, it is likely that he will not receive his Green Card until 2025, if not longer. All the while, his U.S. employer will have to file H1B extension after H1B extension in order to keep him work authorized in the United States while awaiting the Green Card.
 
- There are only a few ways in which to obtain a Green Card - Employment Based Sponsorship, Family/Marriage Based Sponsorship, Asylees and Refugees, VAWA, U Visas, T Visas,  and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
 
- The IRS provides ITIN numbers for those that are not able to obtain Social Security Numbers. Accordingly, an undocumented individual may apply for and receive an ITIN from the IRS. Yet, the ITIN document itself is not an acceptable document for Form I-9, Employment Verification Purposes. So...our current systems will allow undocumented immigrants to apply for ITIN's, receive them, obtain work illegally and pay taxes, but if they get caught, or the U.S. employer gets raided - it's a problem and they could face deportation.
 
- There are more than 11 million undocumented individuals living in the United States...what is the problem of providing them with some type of work authorization so that they may contribute to the economy and make a life for themselves in the United States without hiding in the shadows in fear of deportation. Voluntary deportation is not an option, if you think we experienced a severe economic depression, it would be much worse if we required all 11 million or even the majority of them to voluntarily depart the United States. There is no path, no legal line for the undocumented to get in - we need to create one!


What's been happening in Immigration?

- October 26, 2016 - Temporary Protected Status Extended for Nepal. As of June 2015, eligible nationals of Nepal were allowed to request Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after the earthquake that nearly devastated the region in April 2015. The initial grant of TPS is effective until 12/24/16 only. Applicants who have previously received TPS during the initial registration period of June 2015 through December 21, 2015, will need to re-register for TPS within the 10/26/16 - 12/27/16 time period. Additionally, as a result of the backlog in the adjudication of Employment Authorization Document (EAD) requests, the USCIS has automatically extended the validity of the existing EADs issued to TPS recipients from Nepal for an additional six months, until June 24, 2017. 

- October 24, 2016 -  USCIS Announces Final Rule Adjusting Immigration Benefit Application and Petition Fees.
The USCIS will be increasing certain USCIS filing fees as of December 23, 2016. The USCIS has not increased filing fees in the past 6 years. The agency is dependent upon users' fees to operate. Therefore, these changes are necessary to ensure that they can continue to serve their customers effectively. The USCIS will also offer a reduced filing fee for certain naturalization applicants with limited means. Examples: Form I-129 carries a USCIS filing fee of $325.00, beginning 12/23/16, Form I-129 will carry a USCIS filing fee of $460.00; Form I-526 carries a USCIS filing fee of $1,500.00, beginning 12/23/16, Form I-526 will carry a USCIS filing fee of $3,675.00.
 
- October 21, 2016 - USCIS Reaches CW-1 Cap for Fiscal Year 2017! USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the numerical limit of 12,998 workers who may be issued CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visas or otherwise provided with CW-1 status for fiscal year 2017. 
 
- October 12, 2016 - SAVE CaseCheck Now in Spanish. Benefit applicants can now view their case status in Spanish through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE) CaseCheck website.
 
- October 11, 2016 - USCIS Alerts Customers Affected by Hurricane Matthew to Available Immigration Relief. Certain immigration relief may be available to those impacted by Hurricane Matthew (i.e., COS petitions, expedited processing of Advance Parole requests and Employment Authorization, etc.) Eligible applicants will need to submit a request to the USCIS and the USCIS will evaluate each request on a case-by-case basis. Please note that each request will need to include an explanation as to how the impacts of Hurricane Matthew created a need for the requested relief.
 
- October 5, 2016 - USCIS Increases Validity of Work Permits to Two Years for Asylum Applicants. Prior to 10/05/16, Asylum applicants were only provided an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-765) for a one (1) year validity period. All category (c)(8) Asylum EAD petitions pending as of 10/05/16 and filed on or after 10/05/16 will be issued an EAD valid for a period of two (2) years.
  

In other immigration news, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for November 2016 is now available. The cutoff date movement is consistent with earlier predictions. The cutoff date for the EB2 category for India moved from 1/15/07 to 11/1/07 and EB3 moved from 3/1/05 to 3/8/05. The cutoff date for the EB2 category for Chinese Nationals moved from 2/15/12 to 7/15/12 and the cutoff date for the EB3 category for Chinese Nationals moved from 1/22/13 to 4/15/13.
 
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 Immigration Filing Fees to Increase

 

USCIS has raised its immigration filing fees effective December 23, 2016. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after December 23, 2016, must include these new fees. Please note that USCIS will reject your submission if the fees are no correct!

 

New USCIS' fees effective December 23, 2016

Read more

Statement by Secretary Johnson on Southwest Border Security


On October 17, 2016, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Jeh Johnson released a statement on Southwest Border Security. He states that in Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016) the total apprehensions by Border Patrol on the U.S.'s southwest border was 408,870. This total represents an increase over FY2015's number but is lower than FY2014 and FY2013. DHS feels that border apprehensions are an indicator of total attempts to cross the border illegally. The data indicates that the demographics of illegal migration using the U.S.'s southern border have changed with fewer Mexican Nationals and single adults attempting to illegally cross the border and more Central America families and unaccompanied children fleeing poverty and violence.

 

Southwest Border Apprehensions - FY2013 - FY2016 

Read more
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 

 

Keep In Touch With Us!

Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Visit our blog 

 

PERM Processing Priority Dates

(As of 10/31/16)

 

PROCESSING AREA

MONTH

CALENDAR YEAR

Analyst Reviews

July      

2016

Audits

Feb.   

   

2016

Requests for
Reconsideration

August    

2016

Gov't Error Appeals

Current

n/a

NOV. 2016 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 - Advance Parole (AP)

If my Advance Parole is about to expire and I don't plan to travel outside of the US within the next year, do I have to renew it?

Answer #1
No; however, it may be a good idea to renew it - just in case, as you never know when things may happen that require you to travel abroad with short notice.
 

Question #2 - H1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa

My 6 year limit has expired on my H-1B visa. How long do I have to remain out of the US before I can apply again?

Answer #2
Read more