MurthyBulletin
VOL. XIII, no. 47; November 2007, week 4
Posted : Nov 23, 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. Thanksgiving Greetings from Attorney Sheela Murthy 2007
2. December 2007 Visa Bulletin - Summary
3. BALCA Suggests Employer Use Services of Immigration Attorney
4. Second A Numbers for Some Who Filed I-485s Summer 2007
5. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Citizenship 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. Thanksgiving Greetings from Attorney Sheela Murthy 2007
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At this time of year, when our thoughts turn to life's blessings, we at the Murthy Law Firm would like to thank you for placing your trust in us and allowing us to help you and your family with your immigration law needs. I, personally, would like to thank those of you who are our loyal, return clients, as well as those who may be using us for the first time, those who call for a single consultation or who rely on the information in our bulletin and our website - each one of you is a blessing to us due to the fact that you allow us to engage in life. It is through helping others that we are able to connect with other human beings and share our gifts and talents and knowledge to help them reach a place in their lives from which they can turn to help those who come after them.
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Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
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2. December 2007 Visa Bulletin - Summary
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As reported in our late-breaking news item last week, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin has been released for December 2007. The December Visa Bulletin brings significant retrogression in the EB2 category for the India and China chargeability areas. There was slight forward movement in EB3. Categories that were previously current remain current. The latest Visa Bulletin chart is always available on MurthyDotCom. Summarized here are highlights of the December 2007 Visa Bulletin that will be of particular interest to many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.
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Employment-Based First Preference (EB1)
This category remains current for all countries of chargeability.
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Employment-Based Second Preference (EB2)
This category is current for worldwide, Mexico, and the Philippines. The cutoff date for China moved backward by three years, to January 1, 2003. The cutoff date for India moved to January 1, 2002, which is a backward movement in excess of two years.
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Employment-Based Third Preference (EB3)
In EB3, the cutoff date for the worldwide category and the Philippines moved forward by one month to September 1, 2002. India moved forward by a few days, to May 1, 2001. China also moved forward by a few days to October 15, 2001. Mexico remained unchanged at April 22, 2001. "Other workers" has an October 1, 2001 cutoff date for all areas of chargeability.
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Employment-Based Fourth / Fifth / Religious Workers and Targeted Employment (EB 4/5)
The EB4, EB5, religious workers, and the targeted-employment categories are all current.
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Explaining Backward Movement of EB2 - Future Predictions
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The explanation for the backward movement in the cutoff dates for EB2 for India and China is simply based on demand under this category. The Visa Bulletin states that this is the result of heavy demand for visa numbers, particularly caused by the USCIS's requesting immigrant visa numbers for I-485 applicants from these two countries. They also note that further retrogression cannot be ruled out during the second quarter of the fiscal year. The second quarter of the government (including the USCIS) fiscal year runs from January 1, 2008 to March 31, 2008.
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Readers must keep in mind that the movement of visa numbers is nearly impossible to foresee. The DOS had predicted in November 2007 that they may be able to move numbers forward in December 2007. In fact, they moved them slightly forward in the EB3 category, but significantly backward in the EB2 category.
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Summary : Immigrant Visa Numbers & Filing I-485s
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As explained previously, Adjustment of Status (I-485), needs an available immigrant visa number at the time of approval. Without an immigrant visa number, a case cannot be approved or even submitted to the USCIS for adjudication. The December 2007 Visa Bulletin will be in effect during the month of December. The November Visa Bulletin continues to apply through the last day of November. Thus, those for whom the cutoff dates will prevent the possibility of filing in December 2007, should file their I-485 cases under the November Visa Bulletin if they and their families are eligible to file at this time.
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3. BALCA Suggests Employer Use Services of Immigration Attorney
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The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a denial decision on October 15, 2007 in a case in which a self-represented applicant did not comply with advertisement requirements. As many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may know, Labor Certification (LC) is a process that involves specific and sometimes complex requirements. These requirements include proper advertisement and recruitment processes fundamental to the purpose of the LC. Without meeting these requirements, the LC cannot be approved, even if the circumstances of the case are extremely sympathetic, as they were in this BALCA case.
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Self-Represented Applicants Must Meet All LC Requirements
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The BALCA panel of judges recited the facts of the case, which involved a self-represented applicant's proposal to hire a Home Health Care Aide. The Home Health Care Aide was needed to assist the applicant's / employer's elderly wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The LC application, however, indicated there was a Sunday edition of a newspaper of general circulation available, but that no advertisement was run in the Sunday edition. This is contrary to the PERM LC requirements. The application indicated that a single ad had been placed, several years before the filing of the PERM LC. Thus, the recruitment was neither within the proper timeframe, nor was it sufficient.
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The applicant argued that newspaper advertisement was not needed, since the foreign national had been working for him for over three years. Of course, those familiar with the LC processes know that, as set out in the decision, this demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of the purpose of the labor certification. The labor certification is intended to ensure that there are no qualified U.S. workers available and willing to fill the offered position. Therefore, despite the urgent and undisputed need for a Home Health Care Aide, the LC case was denied by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which was reaffirmed by BALCA.
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Assistance of Counsel Advisable
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The BALCA judges, although sympathetic to the extenuating circumstances of the case before them, nevertheless found that they were unable to overturn the LC denial. They specifically noted that "PERM is an exacting process, and unforgiving of mistakes in filling out the application or misunderstandings about the regulatory requirements." They further stated that, in light of "the legal requirements of the labor certification process," an applicant "might consider engaging an immigration attorney to assist …in understanding and complying with the regulations."
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Conclusion
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Individuals who find they are struggling to understand the legal requirements for a specific procedure often find it advantageous to hire legal counsel. It is not uncommon for those who are unfamiliar with the immigration process to underestimate its complexity. The existence of a form-driven process sometimes leads them to think that it is all a simple matter of entering data onto forms. This is not the case any more than tax law is a simple matter of filling out some forms. Generally, it is safer to consult and hire a professional before wasting time and money and, most critically, opportunities.
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4. Second A Numbers for Some Who Filed I-485s During Summer 2007
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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided answers to questions raised at the national stakeholder meeting on October 30, 2007. A key topic, important to many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, was the issuance of multiple "A" numbers (Alien numbers) to persons who filed Application for Adjustment of Status (AOS), I-485, cases between July 2 and August 17, 2007.
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I-485 Applicants May Receive Second A Number
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We at the Murthy Law Firm noticed that the USCIS issued second A numbers to some of the AOS applicants who filed their employment-based adjustment applications based on the July 2007 Visa Bulletin. This raised questions because, normally, only one A number is assigned to each I-485 applicant. Multiple A numbers can create confusion since the A number is a specific, identifying number issued to a particular foreign national. The USCIS has provided an explanation and has made it clear that these multiple A numbers were not issued in error.
©MurthyDotCom
The multiple A numbers were issued to I-485 applicants who already had A numbers assigned to them prior to submitting their adjustment applications. For many, the A numbers are issued with their I-140 approvals. Readers are reminded that an A number is usually issued to a foreign national who files an immigrant petition or a "green card" application. A foreign national in a nonimmigrant status, such as an H1B, generally is not issued an A number.
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Applies to Cases Filed July 2-Aug 17, 2007 : USCIS to Reconcile
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An applicant who filed her/his employment-based I-485 application between July 2nd and August 17th, who had an A number at the time of filing, was issued a different A number as part of the receipt process. This temporary receipt process allowed the USCIS to issue receipt notices for the high volume of adjustment applications received during the summer of 2007. The USCIS has indicated that it plans to reconcile the second A number for each I-485 applicant with the previously-issued A number. All temporary numbers will also appear on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
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Conclusion
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We at the Murthy Law Firm appreciate the USCIS's helpful clarification on this matter. There were concerns that the multiple A numbers were in error and potentially could cause confusion in the I-485 cases filed during the 2007 summer rush of filings. It is good to know that the USCIS will reconcile the two A numbers, so that there will not be any delays in processing these I-485 cases for applicants with multiple A numbers.
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5. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Citizenship Section?
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Many visitors to MurthyDotCom have the ultimate goal of living the American dream as citizens of the United States. To help them realize this dream we provide information on the naturalization process, namely, what one needs to do to acquire U.S. citizenship. This section of our WebSite includes the basic requirements to file for U.S. citizenship and 100 sample questions that could be asked on the requisite civics examination that must be passed for U.S. citizenship eligibility. Answers to all the sample questions are provided. We at MurthyDotCom are pleased to provide our readers with this help on our Citizenship section.
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The next session of the MurthyChat will be Monday, Nov 26, 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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MurthyDotCom - MurthyBulletin - MurthyChat - and MurthyForum - Your ultimate U.S. immigration resources on the Internet all start with MURTHY!
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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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