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News
KRA Immigration Law Group Now
Offering Saturday Appointments
(Current as of May 19, 2008)
KRA would like to announce that
our attorneys are now offering Saturday appointments on a limited basis. Please contact our office for more
information about this exciting change.
New Border Crossing Procedures
Effective January 31, 2008 for Land and Sea Travel
(Current as of January 22,
2008)
Effective
January 31, 2008, United States and Canadian citizens ages nineteen and older
will no longer be able to prove identity and citizenship by relying on oral
declarations alone. Instead,
individuals will be asked to present certain documentations from the
specified lists below when entering the United States at land or sea ports of
entry.
For
more information on this issue, please refer to the memorandum written by one
of our Associate Attorneys, Manuela D. Policicchio. You may also refer to the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative Update.
USCIS Announces Revised I-9
Form Requirement Date
(Current as of December 1,
2007)
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that all employers
will be required to use the revised Employment Eligibility Verification
Form (I-9 - Rev. 06/05/07) by no later than December 26, 2007. Employers who fail
to use the revised I-9 form after this date will be subject to applicable
penalties. Please note, this new Form I-9
prominently displays a nondiscrimination statement and makes significant changes
to the kinds of documents a new employee must provide to prove his/her
identity and employment eligibility.
USCIS Announces New I-9 Form
(Current as of November 8,
2007)
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has released
a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, as well as
the M-274, Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form
I-9. USCIS encourages use of the
new
form immediately, but indicates that it will not be required until
notice is published in the Federal Register.
Federal Judge Bars
Implementation of “No-Match” Program
(Current as of October 10,
2007)
On
October 10, 2007, a federal judge in San Francisco, California barred the
“No-Match” program put forth by the Social Security Administration and the
Department of Homeland Security.
The judge ruled that the new program would impose hardships on
businesses and their workers.
The ruling blocks the implementation of the “No-Match” plan until the
matter is handled or his decision is overturned.
For
more information about the “No-Match” program, please refer to the article
written by our Managing Partner, Meghan Kennedy Riordan.
Registration Opens for the
2009 Diversity Visa Lottery Program
(Current as of October 3,
2007)
The
U.S. Department of State has announced that applications will now be accepted
for the 2009 Diversity Lottery (DV) Program. Applications will be accepted electronically between Wednesday,
October 3, 2007 and Sunday, December 2, 2007. Interested applicants may want to view the complete announcement
before completing the application.
For
more information, please refer to the Diversity Immigrants section of our website.
KRA Immigration Law Hires New
Staff Member and Forms New Law Unit
(Current as of October 1,
2007)
KRA
would like to welcome a new addition to our team, Ms. Manuela D.
Policicchio. Ms. Policicchio
will be working as a law clerk while she awaits her Michigan Bar Examination
results. Upon receipt of her
results, Ms. Policicchio will begin working as an Associate Attorney in our
new Family and Litigation Unit which will handle many types of immigration
cases, including removal, asylum, inadmissibility criminal issues, adoption,
and specialty relief including U-Visa interim relief.
USCIS Announces New
Naturalization Test
(Current as of September 27,
2007)
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the 100 questions
and answers that will make up the civics portion of the new naturalization
test, which will be administered to applicants beginning in October 2008. The new test was formed from the 142
questions on the pilot test, which was administered to over 6,000 volunteers
in 10 cities over a 4-month period.
The new questions were selected by USCIS, a panel of history and government
scholars, and a panel of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. For further information about
Naturalization and a copy of the test guide, please visit our Naturalization
page.
Projection for October 2007
Employment-Based Immigration Visa Cutoff Dates
(Current as of August 20,
2007)
On
August 20, 2007, the Chief of Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting at the
State Department discussed informal projections on employment-based visa
availability for October with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Visa availability for the First and
Second Preference categories is expected to closely match that of the September 2007 Bulletin. Visa
availability for the Third Preference category is expected to resemble that
of the January 2007 Bulletin. The Other
Workers category is expected to have a visa availability cut-off date of
10/01/2001. Finally, the Fifth
Preference category is expected to go current for all countries. The State Department does not have
enough information to predict the Fourth Preference category at this time. All the visa numbers available under
the Fiscal Year 2007 Employment Annual Numerical Limit will be utilized.
USCIS Update on Service Center
and Lockbox Receipting
(Current as of August 3,
2007)
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will prioritize
data entry for specific form-types because an increase in the number of
applications filed has resulted in a front log of cases awaiting data
entry. Delays in data entry and
fee receipting will not affect Change of Status or Extension of Stay eligibility,
assuming all other eligibility requirements are satisfied. USCIS also assured that requests for
Premium Processing Service will continue to be processed within 15 days,
consistent with existing policies and procedures. The actual received date will be honored and recorded on
the receipt notice. This date
will appear in the “Received Date” box on From I-797, Notice of Action.
USCIS Update on the Temporary
Suspension of Premium Processing Service for Form I-140
(Current as of July 24,
2007)
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the temporary
suspension of Premium Processing Service for Form I-140 will continue until
further notice. The suspension
is due to the fact that USCIS anticipates the volume of Form I-140 petitions
filed with Premium Processing Service will exceed USCIS’ capacity to provide
the Service according to the program’s guidelines. USCIS will continue to evaluate whether it is able to
process these cases within 15 calendar days of receipt. If so, Premium Processing Service
will once again be made available for Form I-140 petitions.
Immigration Service Confirms
H-1B Cap Reached on April 2nd
(Current as of April 3,
2007)
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced it has received
enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated cap for fiscal
year 2008. After Tuesday April 3rd, USCIS will not accept any new H-1B
petitions that are subject to the FY 2008 annual cap. In keeping with its
regulations, the USCIS will subject H-1B petitions received on April 2nd
and April 3rd, 2007 to a computer-generated random selection process.
USCIS will reject and return along with the filing fee(s) all cap-subject
H-1B petitions that are not randomly selected. Only the first 20,000 H-1B petitions
filed on behalf of aliens with U.S. earned master's or higher degrees are
exempt from any fiscal year cap on available visas. In light of the large
volume of filings, USCIS will not be able to conduct the random selection for
several weeks! KRA will contact clients as soon as any information is
received on individual cases.
Archived News
KRA
Immigration Law Group
12763 Stark Road, Suite 201
Livonia, Michigan 48150, USA
Phone: (734) 762-7260
Fax: (734) 762-7606
Email: Questions@cis-immigration.com
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