The U.S. government is in a state of partial shutdown as of October 1, 2013 due to an inability to obtain congressional agreement on appropriations. As of October 1st, the Department of Labor iCert system is unavailable. This system is used for both PERM labor...
If the U.S. Congress cannot reach an agreement on a funding extension before midnight tonight, there will be what is commonly referred to as a government shutdown, effective October 1, 2013. In such a situation, government services are not completely eliminated. However, government operations are...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has confirmed earlier rumors that the employment-based (EB) visa numbers available for fiscal year 2013 (FY13) been exhausted. This is not uncommon, as FY13 ends on September 30. Thus, DOS seeks to allocate visa numbers in a manner that...
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) recently addressed questions related to efforts to verify the employment authorization of contractors. The issue is whether it is appropriate for a general contractor to request employment authorization documentation from...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a warning advising of a telephone scam intended to victimize foreign nationals. The new twist in this particular scam is the use of technology to falsify caller ID information and, thus, make the foreign national believe...
Individuals attending immigration interviews at local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) district field offices are now required to submit to biographic verification of their identity. The USCIS began using a Customer Identity Verification (CIV) tool as of September 9, 2013. This is an anti-fraud...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for October 2013 is the first visa bulletin for fiscal year 2014 (FY14). Under this bulletin, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category retrogresses in October, while the employment- based (EB) categories are largely stagnant. Visa Bulletin Summary Family-Based,...
As predicted, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category for spouses and children of lawful permanent residents (LPRs, or "green card" holders), will retrogress in October. This category became current in August 2013 and remains current through September 30, 2013. The U.S. Department of State...
It can be difficult to obtain advance parole (AP) on an emergency basis. For this reason, those eligible to apply for AP are reminded to do so far in advance of travel, whenever possible. However, for those who must apply for this immigration benefit on...
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival's program (DACA) marked its one-year anniversary on August 15, 2013. Although the program has obviously not resolved many of the problems this nation faces regarding its population of undocumented foreign nationals, DACA has at least provided substantial benefits to...
