MurthyBulletin
VOL. XIII, no. 05; Feb 2007, week 1
Posted : Feb 02, 2007
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"We know your immigration matters!" SM
The MurthyBulletin is the eNewsletter on immigration from the Murthy Law Firm. This bulletin is not sent unsolicited. The information provided is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Murthy Law Firm. Full Disclaimer available.
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TOPICS in this Edition of the MurthyBulletin :
1. President Remains Supportive of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
2. President Supports More H1B Numbers
3. USCIS Answers Questions on Online AR-11
4. New Petitioner Rules for Family Based-I-130 Petition and "K" Cases
5. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Family Section?
6. Important Processing Times and Dates
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Engaging the Murthy Law Firm : Our office can conveniently and efficiently represent clients located anywhere in the United States or abroad on U.S. immigration matters.
Consultations with attorneys at the Murthy Law Firm : You may contact our office to schedule a one-time paid consultation with no further obligation. A scheduled consultation with an attorney at the Murthy Law Firm provides you with details and recommendations based on the specific facts of your case. This will help you with making the right decisions based on the legal options and strategies available.
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1. President Remains Supportive of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
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In his State of the Union address on January 23, 2007, President George W. Bush again emphasized his support for comprehensive immigration reform. The full text of the State of the Union address is available on the White House WebSite. The President supports the concept of securing the borders while permitting levels of immigration sufficient to meet the needs of the U.S. economy. He, like many others who support a realistic immigration policy, recognizes that "we cannot fully secure the border unless we take the pressure off the border."
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The President also stated that "extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America." The United States should have a system that allows for sufficient numbers of highly-skilled workers and the nonprofessional workers needed to sustain our thriving economy and to meet the needs of U.S. employers.
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It should be emphasized that statements made in the State of the Union address are not binding and do not become law. The President has long been a supporter of immigration reform, but has not been able to garner enough support to realize his goals in this area. In order for any change to occur, both houses of Congress would have to pass a bill for the President to sign into law. It is encouraging, however, that the President remains committed to a fair and open immigration system to allow sufficient workers to keep our economy strong.
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2. President Supports More H1B Numbers
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In addition to President George W. Bush's ongoing support of comprehensive immigration reform, reinforced in his recent State of the Union Address, the President also is calling for increases in the H1B quota. (Further coverage of the President's State of the Union address may be found in our article, President Remains Supportive of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, article #1 in today's MurthyBulletin.)
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President Bush spoke with DuPont employees in late January 2007 and voiced his support for more H1Bs. He stated that he is urging Congress to expand the H1B numbers. The President was quoted as saying that, "I understand that we need to make sure that when a smart person from overseas wants to come and work…it's in our interest to allow him or her to do so."
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We are pleased that the President recognizes the value of bringing the educated, highly-skilled workers into the United States for positions that are not being filled by U.S. workers. Such statements only show presidential support; they do not mean that the H1B numbers will be increased, however.
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The 65,000 annual H1B quota (also referred to as the cap) is simply not enough. For the time being this limit remains. There are an additional 20,000 exemptions for persons with U.S. masters' degrees or higher level degrees. Therefore, those individuals who need to change to H1B status, and those employers who need their services, will need to strategically plan filing for H1Bs in the attempt to obtain one of the H1B cap numbers. The key is to prepare in advance and file the case as one of the first 65,000. The numbers are allocated based upon the date of filing. We remind MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers who are in need of H1B approval under this year's cap to start their cases as early as possible to avoid the "March Madness" of getting petitions ready to file on or as soon after April 1, 2007 as possible.
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3. USCIS Answers Questions on Online AR-11
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Questions surrounding the new online Form AR-11 (Change of Address) were addressed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on January 24, 2007. It was confirmed that updating addresses online for pending applications and petitions eliminates the need to use the USCIS's 1.800 number for address updates. The one exception to this is for N-400 citizenship cases. It should be noted that the online AR-11 alone does not update the address connected to a particular pending application or petition. There is another step for connecting the address to the pending form. The online system provides clear instructions. The new online address system was previously reported in our January 19, 2007 MurthyBulletin article, USCIS Announces Online Address Change Notification System, available on MurthyDotCom.
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Two Confirmation Numbers, if Forms are Pending
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The USCIS also indicated that the confirmation number issued at the end of the AR-11 online completion process may be used as legal evidence that the customer provided a change of address to the USCIS, as legally required by law. A separate confirmation number is given, however, after one also chooses to update his/her address in connection with a pending case. As mentioned, the AR-11 address update and the pending case address update are two separate steps, both performed through the same USCIS online system. Both confirmation pages must be printed and kept with the individual's other immigration documents to be able to show both compliance with the AR-11 requirement and that the USCIS was provided with the correct address for any pending cases.
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The process is not designed to delete the attorney of record. Documents sent to a "care of" (c/o) address that is changed, however, may not go to the care of address once it has been updated.
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NSEERS Follows Different Process
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This online AR-11 is not to be used by special registrants, who still must use the AR-11SR that is on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) WebSite. This does not seem to mean, however, that such individuals cannot update the address connected with their pending cases through the online system.
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Conclusion
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We appreciate this updated information and remind MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers to keep confirmation of their reported address changes. It should also be noted that, while the updated address information is given to USCIS, it is not provided to any attorney involved in the case. Therefore, readers are reminded also to inform their attorneys when they move, change telephone numbers, or change eMail addresses.
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4. New Petitioner Rules for Family Based-I-130 Petition and "K" Cases
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As part of a 2006 law know as the "Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act" (Adam Walsh Act), there are some U.S. citizen and permanent resident petitioners who will be ineligible to bring relatives to the United States. The ineligible petitioners are those who committed certain criminal offences against minors. This will impact the cases for which the following forms are filed: Form I-130 (Petition for Relative), Form I-129F (Petition for Fiancée), and Form I-600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative). The petitioners must now be screened for compliance with the new law. Additionally, all such forms must be cleared through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before the consulates can issue these visas. This later portion, included in a Department of State (DOS) cable released in late January 2007, impacts a limited group of I-130s, as consular posts are not permitted to accept or adjudicate any I-130 that was not filed and adjudicated by an appropriate USCIS office. Thus, all I-130 cases must go through the USCIS prior to action by the consulate.
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Purpose and Scope
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The Adam Walsh Act provisions are aimed at preventing certain child-predators from bringing relatives, fiancées, or adopted children to the U.S. Ineligible petitioners include those convicted of any of a variety of offenses against children, including non-parental kidnapping, non-parental false imprisonment, sexual solicitation, solicitation for prostitution, various child pornography offenses, criminal sexual conduct involving a minor, and any conduct that by its nature is a sex offense against a minor.
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There is a possible exception to this bar if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determines that the petitioner does not pose a risk to the beneficiary. Presumably, this would be appropriate in cases where the beneficiaries were adult relatives without children.
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Impact at U.S. Consulates Worldwide
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The immediate impact of this change is upon certain cases filed at consulates. Since the consulates cannot access information regarding the criminal histories of petitioners, they cannot perform the necessary screening. Thus, consular officers can take no action on unadjudicated I-130 petitions under any circumstances, whereas this was previously permitted in certain limited circumstances. Any I-130s petitions accepted by the consulate that were not adjudicated by the USCIS will be forwarded to the proper USCIS office for processing.
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Uncertainty and Delays Likely
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The DOS is obtaining from the USCIS clarification on petitions that were approved before the Adam Walsh Act went into effect, but for which the foreign national relative has not yet received the immigrant visa. Since this new law requires additional screening of petitioners, it is unclear whether it will cause further delays in the affected petitions. This is likely in some cases, however, given the history of security delays in immigration cases generally.
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5. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Family Section?
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At MurthyDotCom we provide visitors with a section specifically devoted to matters surrounding your dependants and other family members. Whether you are wondering about the aging out of a child or what the implications of a change in law are for a nonimmigrant spouse (H-4, L-2, etc) or about your eligibility to sponsor certain family members for visitors' or immigrant visas, our Family section is an excellent place to begin your search for information.
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The next session MurthyChat will be Monday, February 05, 2007, 9:00pm Eastern Time (U.S.). Please check the chat page for any necessary changes to the schedule. Meanwhile, search the chat transcripts for answers to your questions.
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6. Important Processing Times and Dates
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Processing Times : For links to processing times for the USCIS Service Centers, district (or local) processing times, the Administrative Appeals Office, Department of State visa bulletin, and Department of Labor dates for the processing of labor certification applications.
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