Form I-140 Immigration Petition for Alien Worker is used to petition USCIS to classify an alien beneficiary as eligible for an immigrant visa (green-card) based on employment.  We link to the instructions

For those of you who are not aware, AILA is the abbreviation for the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association.

We will be reporting the next few days on some of the highlights and pertinent information from the NV AILA Conference.

…How about the return of Premium Processing (expedite service) for I-140’s:  EB-1for outstanding professors and researchers ONLY; EB-2 (does not include National Interest Waivers) and EB-3.  No exact date was offered, but it was stated that this would be implemented toward the end of the summer 2009.  Please remember to discuss this thoroughly with an expert attorney in immigration law to determine if this is a viable option for you.

Acting USCIS Deputy Director, Michael Aytes, recently responded to questions about employment-based visa wait times in a recent Leadership Journal article that’s been posted on the DHS website.  You’ll all be glad to hear that USCIS has set a 4-month processing goal for I-140 petitions with an estimate of September 2009 for meeting that goal.  In recent months, we have noted faster case approval.

In late 2007 and 2008, employers filed more than 234,000 I-140 petitions.  The USCIS acknowledges the frustrations felt by many.  To address this, they are working toward making case volume information available online – but not sure when this might become available.