Pauly P.A. – German-American Law Firm

Category: Visa Information

  • Technical Problems with DOS Passport/Visa System

    Notice on the U.S. Department of State website:

    Important Notice: The Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our passport and visa system. We are operational, but currently issuing documents at a reduced capacity. This issue is worldwide and is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category. We apologize to applicants who are experiencing delays or are unable to obtain a passport, Report of Birth Abroad, or visa at this time. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect our system to be fully operational again soon. Routine passport services are not affected at this time. We will be posting updates to Travel.State.Gov as more information becomes available.

    Update from July 31, 2014, at 4pm ET on the U.S. Department of State website:

    The CCD is still performing below its normal operational capacity. However, to give you an idea of the progress we have made, from the start of the operational issues on July 20 through July 28, we issued more than 220,000 nonimmigrant visas globally. Based on our average production figures, we would have anticipated issuing closer to 425,000 nonimmigrant visas in that time period, indicating we have been able to print nonimmigrant visas for about half of all approved travelers. It will take some weeks before we are back to normal turnaround times on issued visas. We continue to prioritize immigrant visas, adoption cases, and emergency nonimmigrant visa cases. We are printing visas for these cases with very few delays.

     

  • New H-1B visa “season” begins

    Today USCIS started accepting new H-1B visa petitions again for a starting date of the employment on the first day of the next fiscal year, October 1, 2014. Just like in the previous years, we expect that the available H-1B visa will all be used up before long so that potentially interested employers and employees need to immediately contact an immigration practitioner to evaluate their options.

  • 2015 DV lottery registration to open on October 1, 2013

    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.

  • CBP will Begin Rollout of Automated I-94 Arrival/Departure Record

    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.

  • Immigration Reform

    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.

  • Supreme Court holds Padilla Does Not Apply Retroactively

    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.

  • Florida Supreme Court Confirms Constitutional Homestead Rights of Certain Homeowners

    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.

  • H-1B cap reached for FY2013

    USCIS announces that the annual limit for H-1B filings was reached as of 6/11/12. Any cap-subject applications received after that date will be rejected.

    AILA Infonet Doc. No. 12061242 (posted June 12, 2012).

    Cap-Subject H-1B Filing Pace Accelerates

    As any AILA member who files H-1Bs can tell you, the pace of filing cap-subject petitions increases as USCIS closes in on reaching the cap. The week of May 7, it was receiving an average of 840 per day . The next week it was 1060, the next week 1280, and the week of May 28 it was 1800 per day.

    As of June 1, USCIS reported that 55,600 non-advanced degree cap-subject filings had been received. So, if the most recent week’s “burn rate” continued, USCIS would reach 65,000 by early next week.

    However, it is not that simple. Each year, USCIS accepts more than the 65,000 before it starts rejecting petitions, since it must account for a certain percentage of withdrawals and denials. However, the agency has stopped publishing what that number (previously known as the target number) is, so the actual number it will receive before the gate comes down is unknown.

    AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12060551 (posted Jun. 5, 2012)

    —

    USCIS updated its count of FY2013 cap-subject H-1B petitions & advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 5/18/12, nearly 42,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 16,000 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

    AILA Infonet Doc. No. 12040939 (posted May 18, 2012)

    —–

    USCIS updated its count of FY2013 cap-subject H-1B petitions & advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 4/20/12, nearly 25,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 10,900 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

    AILA Infonet Doc. No. 12040939 (posted April 24, 2012)

    —-

    As of April 13, 2012, approximately 20,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 9,700 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

    AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12040939 (posted Apr. 19, 2012)

  • DOS Confirms China-Mainland Born and India EB-2 Cut-offs

    Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of Visa Control at the State Department, has confirmed that, effective March 23, 2012, no further EB-2 visas will be authorized for China-mainland born and India applicants with priority dates of August 15, 2007, or later. Visa applicants processing in April at consulates abroad will still receive visas, as those numbers were allocated before the cut-off date was established. Mr. Oppenheim understands that USCIS will continue to accept applications for adjustment of status for aliens with priority dates prior to the date established in the April 2012 Visa Bulletin. Those cases with priority dates of August 15, 2007, or later, will be processed by USCIS to the point of approval (pre-adjudicated) and a request for a visa number will be forwarded Visa Control at DOS to be held in a “pending” file until new visas are available beginning with FY2013 on October 1, 2012. Mr. Oppenheim advises that an item in the May Visa Bulletin will address the EB-2 movement.
    AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12040447 (posted Apr. 4, 2012)

  • As of 4/4/2012, USCIS has already received 22,323 H-1B visa application received

    AILA Liaison learned at a CSC/VSC stakeholder engagement on 4/5/2012 that USCIS has received 22,323 cap-subject H-1B petitions as of 4/4/2012. Approximately 25% of the cases are for U.S. advanced degrees.

    AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12040553 (posted Apr. 5, 2012)