Volume Twenty One, Number Eight

SHUSTERMAN’S IMMIGRATION UPDATE is the Web’s most popular e-mail newsletter regarding U.S. immigration laws and procedures with over 60,000 subscribers located in more than 150 countries. It is written by a former INS Trial Attorney (1976-82) with over 40 years of experience practicing immigration law.

Published by the Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, California, 90017. Phone: (213) 623-4592 x0.

Subscribe to our Immigration Newsletter, join the conversation on our Facebook Page, follow our Blog Posts and subscribe to our “How-To” Immigration Videos.

There will be no November 2016 issue of Shusterman’s Immigration Update.

Client Reviews

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Submit Your Application for Adjustment of Status Now!
2. State Department Visa Bulletin for October 2016
3. Immigration Government Processing Times
4. Success Story: Retaining a Priority Date with a Successor-In-Interest Employer
5. Immigration Trivia Quiz: Immigrants in Literature
6. EB-5 Investors: The Future of the Regional Center Program
7. Ask Mr. Shusterman: Support Letters for Your Immigration Petition
8. Shusterman’s Upcoming Immigration Seminars
9. Jobs & Green Cards for RNs & MedTechs: Free Legal Help!
10. Winner of Our September 2016 Immigration Trivia Quiz!

NEWS FLASHES:

• Attorney Carl Shusterman Featured as Super Lawyer 2017 – Attorney Carl Shusterman has been selected to be featured in the Southern California Super Lawyers list for 2017.
• CBP Makes Online I-94 Application and Payment Available to Travelers Arriving at a Land Port of Entry – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced that the I-94 website now allows for travelers to apply and pay for their I-94 online before arriving at a land port of entry. This can help travelers speed up their entry into the US, by being able to provide their biographic and travel information as well as pay for the $6 fee for their online application up to 7 days prior to their entry.
• Employers: Current I-9 Valid to January 21, 2017– USCIS confirmed that the current Form I-9 remains effective after its March 31, 2016 expiration date. Employers may continue to use this version until January 21, 2017. On August 25, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a revised Form I-9. USCIS will publish a revised I-9 form by November 22, 2016.
• Filing Form N-400 Updates – USCIS announced that due to the recent electronic processing of the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, there is no need for applicants to submit 2 passport-style photographs with their applications. Instead, applicant’s photographs will be taken when they appear at the Application Support Center (ASC) for their biometric appointments. Moreover, fingerprints, photographs and signatures of all applicants, regardless of age, will now be collected at a local ASC at the time of their scheduled biometric appointment. Lastly, USCIS will no longer waive the fingerprint requirement for applicants 75 years of age or older
• DHS to Review Use of Privatized Immigration Detention – The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) has been directed to review the DHS’s current policy and practices revolving around the use of private immigration detention. Such review will assess whether or not this practice should continue. The HSAC will provide a written report of their evaluation to DHS Secretary Johnson and the Director of ICE on or before November 30, 2016.
• DV-2018 Green Card Lottery – You can submit your DV Lottery application online at dvlottery.state.gov between Tuesday, October 4 at noon, EDT and Monday, November 7 at noon, EST. The Instructions for 2018 Diversity Immigrant Program are online. You can submit your application without having to hire an attorney.
• Newly Published Report on Access to Counsel in Immigration Courts– On September 28, the American Immigration Council released their report “Access to Counsel in Immigration Court” which focuses on national study of 1.2 million individual removal cases in immigration court between FY 2007- FY 2012. This report states that there is limited access to legal counsel on both a geographic and nationality level, also finding that immigrants with attorney representation are more likely to be released from detention, apply for relief and obtain the relief they seek. The American Immigration Council hopes that these findings will guide our nation into creating a fair and just immigration system that is true to our nation’s commitment to justice and due process of law.
• TPS Extension for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone– DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has extended TPS benefits for beneficiaries under the designations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone for 6 additional months. This extension is intended to facilitate an orderly transition before these designations terminate, effective May 21, 2017. Johnson has determined that these countries no longer support their designations for TPS given that the widespread transmission of Ebola virus that led to the designations has ended. No application nor fee is required from the beneficiaries in order to retain their TPS benefits through May 20, 2017.
• USCIS New Social Media Accounts – USCIS is now on Instagram and Facebook. They will be providing their latest news in both English and Spanish on Instagram. Be sure to follow their English account @uscis and their Spanish one @uscis_es to learn the stories behind their photo posts. Their Facebook page will provide updates on how USCIS is working on improving their services to the public.
• USCIS to Adopt Parole Policy for U Visa Petitioners and Family Members – The The Ombudsman’s recommendation to implement a parole policy for U visa petitioners and their qualifying family members has been accepted by USCIS. The policy is expected to take effect sometime in Fiscal Year 2017.

1. Submit Your Application for Adjustment of Status Now!

October 2016 is the best month for immigrants seeking green cards in many years.

First, on September 29, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, a stop-gap funding bill which extends the following immigration programs until December 9:

1) The Conrad 30 Waiver Program for Physicians
2) The EB-5 Regional Center Program
3) E-Verify for Employers
4) Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker Program
5) Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI)

These programs were all set to expire on September 30, 2016. Now, it is all but certain that these programs will be continued after December 9 with the exception of the EB-5 Regional Center Program which we discuss in Topic 6 in this newsletter.

Second, the USCIS announced in September that the agency will accept applications for adjustment of status in accordance with the State Department’s filing date Visa Bulletin for October.

This is a huge opportunity for persons applying for green cards in the employment-based (EB) categories. All of the worldwide EB filing date categories in October are Current.

This means that if you have an approved PERM application and your EB category is current, you should make sure that both an I-140 and an I-485 are filed on your behalf (and an I-485 is filed for each of your family members) before the end of October.

It is also an opportunity for persons who do not require a PERM application to file I-140s and I-485s in October. This applies to:

1) EB-1 Persons of Extraordinary Ability
2) EB-1 Outstanding Researchers and Professors
3) EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers
4) EB-2 National Interest Waivers
5) Registered Nurses
6) Physical Therapists

Talk with your attorney immediately to see if you are eligible. For many persons, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

2. State Department Visa Bulletin for October 2016

The USCIS announced in September that the agency will accept applications for adjustment of status in accordance with the State Department’s filing date Visa Bulletin for October.

EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES

The EB-1 category for persons born in India and China will again be current (no backlogs).

The worldwide EB-2 category will again be current and will advance an average of 2 years for India and China.

The worldwide EB-3 category will advance 1 month. China EB-3 will jump forward over 3 years, Philippines by 5 months and India by only 2 weeks.

The worldwide EB-4 category will remain current, with a huge leap forward for various Central American countries.

Worldwide EB-5 also will remain current. China EB-5 will inch forward by 1 week.

The following chart tells the story of the EB numbers in detail:

A. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

	World	China	El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras	India	Mexico	Philippines
1st	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
2nd	Current	2-15-12	Current	1-15-07	Current	Current
3rd	6-01-16	1-22-13	6-01-16	3-01-05	6-01-16	12-01-10
Unskilled	6-01-16	1-05-05	6-01-16	3-01-05	6-01-16	12-01-10
4th	Current	Current	6-15-15	Current	Current	Current
5th	Current	2-15-14	Current	Current	Current	Current

B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS– These dates indicate when immigrant applicants can send adjustment of status applications without having to wait for their priority dates to become current.

	World	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
1st	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
2nd	Current	3-01-13	4-22-09	Current	Current
3rd	Current	5-01-14	7-01-05	Current	9-01-13
Unskilled	Current	8-01-09	7-01-05	Current	9-01-13
4th	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
5th	Current	2-22-14	Current	Current	Current

FAMILY-BASED CATEGORIES

The family-based categories in the visa bulletin are as follows:

• F-1 Unmarried Adult Sons & Daughters of US Citizens
• F-2A Spouses & Children of LPRs
• F-2B Unmarried Adult Sons & Daughters of LPRs
• F-3 Married Sons & Daughters of US citizens
• F-4 Brothers & Sisters of US Citizens

An applicant’s priority date is the day that the government received the I-130 Petition. For more on family-based visas and how you can shorten your application time, see Attorney Shusterman’s video near the top of this page.

VISA BULLETIN – FAMILY

The forward movement in the family-based categories will remain slow. The worldwide categories will advance between 1 and 6 weeks.

However, there are a few notable exceptions.

Mexico F2A will advance by 3 months, China F4 by 4 months and India F4 by almost 2 years.

The following charts tell the story in detail:

A. APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCE CASES–

	World	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
1st	9-22-09	9-22-09	9-22-09	4-01-95	8-01-05
2A	12-22-14	12-22-14	12-22-14	12-01-14	12-22-14
2B	3-15-10	3-15-10	3-15-10	10-01-95	1-01-06
3rd	12-22-04	12-22-04	12-22-04	11-22-94	7-08-94
4th	11-01-03	5-01-03	12-01-02	5-01-97	4-15-93

B. DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED VISA APPLICATIONS– These dates indicate when immigrant applicants can send adjustment of status applications without having to wait for their priority dates to become current.

	World	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
1st	1-01-11	1-01-11	1-01-11	6-01-95	5-01-06
2A	11-22-15	11-22-15	11-22-15	11-22-15	11-22-15
2B	2-8-11	2-8-11	2-8-11	6-01-96	2-01-07
3rd	8-22-05	8-22-05	8-22-05	5-01-95	1-01-95
4th	7-01-04	7-01-04	5-01-04	12-01-97	4-01-94

DOS Predictions for the Near Future

The State Department predicts that India EB-2 will continue to advance up to 4 months each Visa Bulletin and that China EB-2 will move forward by 3 months.

The demand for EB-3 numbers could slow down the forward worldwide movement in the coming fiscal year. India will continue to inch forward by only one week per month (Time to get rid of per-country quotas!). However, China will advance by 3 months at a time and EB-3 Philippines could also see significant advances.

The family-based categories are all severely backlogged and any forward movement will be incremental.

3. Immigration Government Processing Times

We have included a link to various tables where you can access the immigration waiting times

• USCIS Service Centers
• National Benefits Center
• EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Office
• USCIS’ 83 Field Offices

Search the Field Offices for the USCIS’ 83 District Offices and Sub-offices to look up the processing times for (1) Applications for Adjustment of Status (I-485) (2) Work Authorization (I-765); (3) Advance Parole (I-131); (4) Naturalization (N-400) and other types of applications. To access your immigration waiting time, what you need to know are:

• The office where your petition has been filed or transferred to
• The type of application or petition
• The date on which the petition was filed

This information can all be found on the Notice of Receipt that was mailed to you by the USCIS. To begin, simply click on the Field Office or Service Center that interests you and click “Submit Query” and you will be directed to the current USCIS processing time table.

If your petition/application is on appeal, you can access the processing times of the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO).

If your PERM case or other type of application is pending at the DOL, we link to the Department of Labor Processing Times.

If you are applying for a visa abroad, we link to Visa Appointment and Processing Times at 100+ US Embassies and Consulates around the world.

If you have requested a copy of your file from the USCIS, you can check the status of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

If you are applying for affirmative asylum you can check how the Asylum Division has prioritized applications for interview scheduling.

Warning: Immigration waiting times may appear faster on the official lists than they are in reality.

4. Success Story: Retaining a Priority Date with a Successor-In-Interest Employer

Mr. Gupta, a long time H-1B employee of a computer company had to return to India because of a family emergency. After he did so, the division of the company for which he worked was sold to a newly-created company. The newly-created company retained our law firm to represent them.

After his family member recovered, Mr. Gupta contacted us and inquired about the possibility of obtaining an H-1B visa through the new company. We advised him to contact the recruiting department and his former manager to see if they had an employment opportunity for him. Fortunately, the new company immediately offered him a position and we prepared and obtained the approval of an H-1B petition on his behalf. After obtaining a new H-1B visa, he returned to the US with his family and began working for the new company.

Mr. Gupta then asked if it would be possible for him to utilize his previously approved I-140 for the green card process with the new employer. This requires that the new company be considered a “successor-in-interest” employer.

The following factors determine whether a company qualifies as a successor-in-interest employer in order to submit an I-140 visa petition with the USCIS:

1. The job opportunity offered by the successor-in-interest employer must be the same as the job opportunity originally offered on the PERM application;

2. The successor-in-interest employer bears the burden of proof of establishing eligibility in all respects, including the provision of required evidence from the predecessor entity, such as evidence of the predecessor’s ability to pay the proffered wage as of the date of filing the PERM application; and,

3. The visa petition must fully describe and document the transfer and assumption of the ownership of the predecessor by the successor employer.

In this case, the new company met each of the requirements to be considered a successor-in-interest employer. This enabled us to prepare a new I-140 visa petition and retain Mr. Gupta’s original priority date without the need to start the green card process over again from the very beginning.

We were able to file the amended I-140 and present a compelling and well-documented narrative detailing the purchase of the division from the previous company and the creation of the new company to show that the new employer was a successor-in-interest employer and that the employment was in the same geographic area of employment.

USCIS accepted our evidence and we were able to obtain an I-140 approval with the new employer for Mr. Gupta and also retain his 2010 priority date. We look forward to filing applications for adjustment of status for Mr. Gupta and his family as soon as his 2010 priority date becomes current.

5. Immigration Trivia Quiz: Immigrants in Literature

This month’s Immigration Trivia Quiz is entitled:

Immigrants in Literature

The first person to correctly answer our quiz (and supply their biographical information) wins a free legal consultation with one of our attorneys before the end of October.

6. EB-5 Investors: The Future of the Regional Center Program

On September 29, Congress passed and President Obama signed a temporary spending bill which extends the Regional Center portion of EB-5 investor program, as is, until December 9, 2016.

But what happens after that?

Recent events in the Senate and the House of Representatives indicate that there is bipartisan support for a massive restructuring of the Regional Center Program.

On September 8, both the Chair and the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senators Charles Grassley (R-IO) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) wrote a strongly-worded letter to both the Majority and the Minority Leaders of the Senate which stated that “the program has become plagued with fraud and abuse, and if not reformed it should be allowed to expire on September 30th.”

Then, on September 12, Senator Grassley wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Johnson detailing some of the abuses of the Regional Center Program. He mentioned the “gerrymandered” boundaries of the Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) and states that “foreign corporations and foreign governments are increasingly taking advantage of the EB-5 regional center program…”

On September 22, Senator Grassley spoke before the Senate about the expiration of the Regional Center Program. He listed over 20 problems with the current program.

Senator Leahy spoke before the Senate on the same day. He also opposed extending the EB-5 Regional Center Program without reforms. Senator Leahy stated that

“The EB-5 program of today is mired in fraud and abuse. It has strayed from its important policy goals. The incentives that Congress created to direct investment to underserved areas—the very reason why I supported this program—have been rendered meaningless. The program has become an unintended boon for the wealthiest business districts in the country.”

Key members of the House of Representatives are also determined to reform the EB-5 Regional Center Program.

Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chair and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) of the House Judiciary Committee co-sponsored H.R. 5992 on September 12. On September 26, the bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

The bill would extend the program for 5 years and make dozens of significant changes. It would increase the minimum investment amount to $800,000 and would make sure that these investments are located in rural and urban poverty areas. Non-TEA minimum investments would increase to $1,200,000.

Although, it is still too early to predict what the fate of EB-5 Regional Center Program will be, the bipartisan support for reform indicates that there will be major changes to the existing program.

7. Ask Mr. Shusterman: Support Letters for Your Immigration Petition

There are a number of employment-based temporary and permanent visa categories which require you to submit supporting letters to demonstrate that you are “outstanding”, “exceptional” , “extraordinary” and the like.
Among these are temporary H-1B (for those who are of “distinguished merit and ability”), O and P visas. On the permanent side, there are “Persons of Extraordinary Ability”, “Outstanding Professors and Researchers”, persons seeking “National Interest Waivers” and “Persons of Exceptional Ability”.
For clients seeking benefits in any of these categories, we recommend that they obtain support letters from at least half a dozen recognized experts in their field.

We provide our clients with sample letters that we have used in the past (with the names blocked out) to give them an idea as to how the letter should be structured.

Here is the basic structure of a support letter:

Part One: A support letter should never start by discussing how great you are. Put yourself in the shoes of the immigration examiner who is reading your application. She/he expects that the letter writer is going to say wonderful things about you. Otherwise, you would not be submitting the letter with your petition.

The examiner wants to know why the opinion of the person writing the letter should be respected. Is the writer an authority in the field of endeavor? The letter writer should not be shy about listing his awards, publications, etc. If he is from a major university or research center, he should say so, and use the center’s letterhead if possible.

Be careful not to rely solely on recommendations from your fellow employees or persons of your particular nationality. The USCIS examiner may intuit that these folks are simply doing you a favor.

Part Two: The letter should discuss how the writer knows about you and your work.

If the writer has known about you for years, cited your work in one or more of his papers or heard you speak at a national or international conference, this is great.

On the other hand, if the only reason that he knows about you is that you have asked him for a support letter, forget it.

Part Three: Now is the time for the writer to discuss your “outstanding”, “exceptional” and “extraordinary” work. It is not necessary for him to use the exact terminology of your immigration category.

However, it is important that he discusses your contributions to your area of expertise, whether it is papers that you have written, prizes which have been awarded to you, membership in elite societies, etc.

Caveat: Although support letters are an important component of your petition, they are not substitutes for actual achievements. The USCIS examiner and your attorney may not be experts in “immunotherapy” or whatever your field of specialization is, but they are not idiots. Before I start a consultation with a potential client who seeks to qualify for a particular immigration status which requires a certain level of expertise, I google his name. You should expect that the USCIS examiner will do the same.

8. Shusterman’s Upcoming Immigration Seminars

• UCLA: Free Immigration Consultations
  Student Legal Services: Murphy Hall
  October 17, 2016
  Time: 9:30 am
• Global Mobility in the Age of Terrorism
  Omni Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
  November 4, 2016
  Time: TBD
• How to Sponsor a Foreign-Born Nurse
  Healthcare Human Resources Management Association
  Webinar
  November 8, 2016
  Time: TBD
• Legal Ethics in Practice Seminar
  UCLA School of Law
  Los Angeles, CA
  January 26, 2017
  Time: TBD

9. Jobs & Green Cards for RNs & MedTechs
Free Legal Help!

Are you a Registered Nurse or a Medical Technologist who is looking for a job in the US?

What if you could find a job, a work visa and green cards for you and your family in the US? And what if the cost to you for all of this was zero?

Hard to believe? Let me explain:

Our law firm represents over 100 hospitals across the country. And the nurse shortage is coming back.

Our hospitals are in need of hundreds of RNs as well as Medical Technologists and other healthcare professionals. They are looking for both US and foreign-born RNs, and they will pay all of our attorneys’ fees, USCIS filing fees and more!

We have a video and a web page for those who are interested in applying for employment and sponsorship.

If you are a foreign nurse or a medical technologist and need a job in the US and the job requires a work visa and/or green card, please do the following:

Send an e-mail message to [email protected]

In your message, please provide the following information:

1. Have you passed the NCLEX exam?
2. Do you have a current RN license in the US? If so, from what state(s)?
3. Have you taken and passed the IELTS or TOEFL exam?
4. Do you have a valid VisaScreen certificate?
5. Do you have any immediate family members accompanying you to the United States (spouse and children)?
6. Have you ever been petitioned by any US sponsor and hold an old priority date? If so, what is your priority date?
7. If you are present in the US, what is your current immigration status?
8. What is your RN background (area of expertise)?
9. What is your country of birth?
10. What is your country of citizenship?
11. What is your phone number?

If you are a CLS, please amend the above questions accordingly.

We will forward your response to our hospitals, and if they are interested, they will contact you. Please do not contact our law firm until after you hear from one of our hospitals.

We look forward to helping you!

10. Winner of Our September 2016 Immigration Trivia Quiz!

August’s Immigration Trivia Quiz was entitled: Famous Companies.

Below is the message we received from the winner:

1. Colgate; Founder William Colgate; 1806; From Kent, U.K.
2. Kohls; Founder Maxwell Kohl; 1962; From Poland
3. Nordstrom; Founder John W. Nordstrom; 1901; From Sweden
4. P&G; Founders William Procter James Gamble from U.K.

“My name is Leoriza Nillasca from Philippines and
currently residing here in Chicago
I entered the US since 2000.
I am not an immigrant yet.

I used to work as a Marketing Assistant in one of the biggest garment manufacturing companies in Northern Marianas Island, Hong Kong, China, etc.
I am currently unemployed but I am taking care of my relative who has Dementia/Alzheimer.

I like working in the computer. Yoga. learning some other languages.

I was able to get the answers by browsing in the internet.

I have been a subscriber since 2005 or 2006 thru a friend who used to be a Paralegal but now a Law graduate here in Chicago. We used to work together in the office.

I hope I can be the lucky one on this trivia quiz.”
 

 
Congratulations, Leoriza!

Carl Shusterman

Certified Specialist in Immigration Law, State Bar of California
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Attorney (1976-82)
Member of AILA Board of Governors (1988-97)
Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1550
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 623-4592 x0, Fax: (213) 623-3720

“Only two percent of those who applied for relief succeeded without an attorney. This dismal statistic reveals just how rare it is for immigrants without counsel to present and win their claims in immigration court.”

– Report: Access to Counsel in Immigration Court
September 2016

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October 2, 2016

The post Shusterman’s Immigration Update
October 2016 appeared first on Shusterman Law.