USCIS on H1Bs and Refunds of Premium Fees
Posted Jun 29, 2007
©MurthyDotCom
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently released information from two teleconferences with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - one with the Vermont Service Center (VSC) on May 30, 2007 and the other one with the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) on May 31, 2007. The questions asked at these teleconferences and answers provided by the USCIS should be useful to many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers. Items discussed include Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 H1B cap cases to be processed by August 1, 2007, evidence acceptable to file an H1B petition, with respect to the completion of the degree, and refunds of premium processing fees, particularly in I-140 cases.
©MurthyDotCom
H1B Cap Cases by August 1, 2007
©MurthyDotCom
All H1B cases subject to the annual cap with the employment start date of October 1, 2007, which have been received at the VSC, are going to be reviewed by August 1, 2007. At that time, the VSC should issue an approval notice, a Request for Evidence (RFE), or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). If the VSC follows this timeline, it will be a major improvement over last year, when it took the USCIS six to seven months to process H1B cap-subject cases. Because of this delay in adjudication, some cases were decided after the October 1st start date, which required some employers to pay the additional $1000 fee for premium processing.
©MurthyDotCom
If the VSC indicates that it is unable to meet the August 1st deadline, and it needs more time to adjudicate cap-subject H1B cases, we at the Murthy Law Firm will alert our readers. The goal of the VSC at this time is to complete all cases before August 1, 2007.
©MurthyDotCom
H1B Degree Completion Evidence
©MurthyDotCom
Because they had not yet graduated, a number of people were unable to file H1B petitions on April 2 or 3, 2007, the only dates available this year for submission of cap-subject H1B petitions. In most cases, their projected graduation dates were in May or June 2007. In response to a question posed by AILA with regard to acceptable documentation evidencing graduation, the VSC provided the following examples:
-
a copy of the diploma showing that the degree has been awarded
-
a letter from a registrar or dean of the college, stating that the beneficiary has met all requirements for the degree (A letter simply stating that the candidate is expected to graduate in the spring or summer is NOT acceptable as evidence of the degree.)
No other document,
including a letter from a registrar or other official within a school
authorized to speak on behalf of the school, would be considered sufficient,
unless it confirms that all degree requirements have been met. The letter is
used when one has completed all requirements, but does not yet have the
actual, physical diploma.
©MurthyDotCom
Refunds of Premium Processing Fees
©MurthyDotCom
AILA has received reports that cases (mostly I-140s) filed via premium
processing are not being adjudicated within the statutory 15 days and that
no reimbursement of the $1000 filing fee has been forthcoming. According to
the NSC, refunds of premium processing fees are not made until both the
15-day processing time has lapsed with no final decision and a determination
has been made that there was no fraud or misrepresentation in the filing. A
determination regarding fraud and/or misrepresentation cannot be made until
all security check procedures are completed. Because most applications and
petitions are subject to security checks, the USCIS will not make a decision
within the 15-day processing time and will not refund the premium processing
filing fee until all security checks are cleared.
©MurthyDotCom
Conclusion
©MurthyDotCom
We at the Murthy Law Firm
appreciate confirmation from the VSC that the FY2008 H1B cap cases will be
reviewed by August 1, 2007. On the other other matter, we are concerned. The
USCIS policy of not refunding the premium processing fees, possibly for
years due to delays in security checks, could adversely affect thousands of
individuals each year.
Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW
FIRM. All Rights Reserved
Copyright : Documents from this site may be printed for personal use as long as the copyright notices are included on the print-outs and the documents are not modified or altered.