The DV-2015 Program will begin on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 12:00 noon EDT, and conclude on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 12:00 noon, EDT. Please see the official announcement in the Federal Register [DV_2015_Federal Register notice].
The official DV Lottery entry site is at: www.dvlottery.state.gov.
If you need help or are unsure if you qualify, please contact us.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection wird in den kommenden 30 Tagen ein neues Programm implementieren, womit die weissen Papierformulare I-94 weitgehend eliminiert werden. Zukuenftig werden Reisende an allen Flughaefen und Seehaefen nur noch elektronisch erfasst werden, waehrend Reisende an den Landgrenzen mit Mexiko und Kanada weiterhin die Papierformulare ausfuellen muessen.
Reisende, die einen Ausdruck der erfassten Reisedaten benoetigen, koennen dies zukuenftig unter www.cbp.gov/I94 abrufen.
During the next 30 days, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will implement the new paperless system of capturing the I-94 arrival/departure information from individuals visiting the United States. This system will be implemented at all air and sea ports, while travellers using the land borders, will continue to receive a paper form I-94 to complete.
Please see a press release here.
Travellers who wish to receive a hard copy of their admission data that is electronically captured will be able to access the website www.cbp.gov/I94.
USCIS announced in a press release on 4/8/2013 that the H-1B visa cap has been reached.
Here the text of the announcement:
For the first time since 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2014 within the first week of the filing period. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 7, 2013, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process (commonly known as a “lottery”) to select a sufficient number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption limit. For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing.
The agency conducted the selection process for advanced degree exemption petitions first. All advanced degree petitions not selected were part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.
As announced on March 15, 2013, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its premium processing practice. To facilitate the prioritized data entry of cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases on April 15, 2013. For more information on premium processing for FY 2014 cap-subject petitions, please see the related USCIS Alert.
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will not be counted towards the congressionally-mandated FY 2014 H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:
extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.;
U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields including, but not limited to: scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.
Important for all US employers: USCIS released a revised version of the Form I-9 today and posted the following press release:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today published a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for use. All employers are required to complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.
Improvements to Form I-9 include new fields, reformatting to reduce errors, and clearer instructions to both employees and employers. The Department of Homeland Security has published a Notice in the Federal Register informing employers of the new Form I-9.
Effective 03/08/13:
The revision date of the Form I-9 is printed on the lower left corner of the form. Employers should not complete a new Form I-9 for current employees if a properly completed Form I-9 is already on file.
A Spanish version of Form I-9 (Rev. 03/08/13)N is available on the USCIS website for use in Puerto Rico only. Spanish-speaking employers and employees in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and other U.S. territories may use the Spanish version for reference, but must complete the English version of the form.
The revised forms are available in English and Spanish online at www.uscis.gov. For more information, please call 888-464-4218. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. USCIS maintains a website, I-9 Central, to support Form I-9 users. USCIS has also scheduled free webinars to help employers learn about the new form.
To order forms, call USCIS toll-free at 1-800-870-3676. For downloadable forms and information on USCIS programs, immigration laws, regulations, and procedures, please visit www.uscis.gov. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon.
3/7/2013
AP: Senators Look to Early April for : The Associated Press has reported that the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” might present their immigration reform bill after Congress returns from recess in early April.
update 5/9/2013:
In order to give a current overview over the immigration reform debate and its elements most hotly debated, AILA and AIC have compiled a list of all 300 amendments to the current Senate Bil which you can find here.
Mit den bevorstehenden Etat-Kuerzungen (unter dem Schlagwort “sequestration’ bekannt) werden Antragsteller amerikanischer Visen wesentlich laengere Bearbeitung- und Wartezeiten befuerchten muessen. So hat der Dachverband der amerikanischen Einwanderungsanwaelte bereits davor gewarnt, dass die US Konsulate weltweit Personalkuerzungen vornehmen wird und Visen damit nicht mehr so schnell erhaeltlich sind. Mehr denn je ist es daher anzuraten, sehr fruehzeitig, etwaige USA-Vorhaben zu planen. Bitte beachten Sie dazu die aktuellen Nachrichten sowie die zusaetzlichen Informationen auf unserer englischen Seite.
Natuerlich helfen wir Ihnen auch gerne, Ihre USA-Strategie entsprechend anzupassen.
With the looming deadline before the automatic spending cuts take effect, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has issued the following practice alert:
What will be the impact on visa processing at U.S. consular posts if, as seems likely, the automatic spending cutback (“sequestration”) takes place March 1, 2013, at 11:59 EST?
While the exact impact is unknown, it can be fairly said that sequestration will result in diminished consular services, including visa adjudications. The Department of State has already warned that the number of officers processing visa applications will be reduced. When asked about the impact of sequestration on the visa application process on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, Press Briefing, the Department of State expressed the concern that “we could have major setbacks in really the herculean effort we’ve made to reduce wait times.” And that “one of the areas that there’ll be an impact on, obviously, is our ability provide consular services. And so we’re concerned about that and it took a lot of effort to get us to reduce those wait times, and a lot of new hiring, a lot of new staff.”
On Thursday, the Department added “Sequestration threatens all of our operations because it cuts across the board. And so the point being we’ve had a huge consular surge, it’s been good for the American economy. We estimate that for every 65 visitors to the U.S., that creates one American job. And obviously sequestration has a broader impact on our ability at all of our operations and our posts. And so one of the areas that we’ve particularly had a surge in hiring is on visa adjudicators, and sequestration certainly could have an impact in that regard.”
If the sequester does indeed take effect tonight, we recommend that members alert their clients to the very real possibility of delays in the visa application process. Watch InfoNet for further updates.
AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 13030141 (posted Mar. 1, 2013)
The Supreme Court found that Padilla v. Kentucky, in which the Supreme Court held that counsel must inform noncitizen clients whether a plea carries a risk of deportation, does not apply retroactively.
On October 4, 2012, the Florida Supreme Court clarified that even certain non-immigrants who own property in the State of Florida and whose families live permanently on this property may qualify for ad valorem tax relief (so-called homestead exemption). The Florida Supreme Court held that “the plain language of article VII, section 6(a), [of the Florida Constitution] permits every owner of Florida real property to apply for and receive ad valorem tax relief where it is sufficiently demonstrated that the owner has maintained on that property the permanent residence of another legally or naturally dependent on the owner.”
With this decision, the Florida Supreme Court also held a Florida statute partially unconstitutional which required the property owner himself to establish his legal ability to permanently reside on his property in order to qualify for the homestead exemption.
In the case at hand, Honduran husband and wife E-2 visa holders who owned a residence on Key Biscayne and lived there with their three US citizen children had applied for homestead exemption based on the fact that their children were residing with their parents in this residence. The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser had denied the taxpayers’ application for homestead exemption with the reasoning that the taxpayers themselves had failed to prove that their were legally able to live on the property permanently, since E-2 visas are non-immigrant visas. That decision had been overturned by the Miami-Dade Value Adjustment Board, and the Circuit Court as well as the District Court of Appeal later affirmed that the the taxpayers were indeed entitled to homestead exemption based on the evidence of their children’s permanent residence in this home. The Florida Supreme Court has now finally affirmed this decision. Please see the text of the full decision here.
This case is not limited to E-2 visa holders; in fact it really has nothing to do with the immigration or visa status of the homeowner so long as a legal dependent lives on the property who has the legal ability to make it his or her permanent home. Therefore, children who hold legal permanent residence or US citizenship can thus qualify their parents’ homes in Florida for homestead exemption.
