1. THE IMMIGRANT VISA INTERVIEW

By Thomas J. Joy, Esq.

You have waited for what seems like forever for this day to arrive. It is the day that the immigrant visa interview appointment is scheduled at the United States embassy or consulate for you and your family.   You have followed the consul's advice and you have not yet quit your job, sold your property or purchased nonrefundable airline tickets to the United States. There will be plenty of time to do those things after the immigrant visa is safely in your hands.  

The United States immigration laws require that each applicant complete a medical exam by one of the doctors authorized by the consul. The exam will consist of a blood test for HIV, a chest x-ray for tuberculosis and vaccinations against certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Proof of prior vaccinations should be shown to the doctor. The medical exam is generally scheduled a few days before the visa interview appointment.  

The best advice that you can be given on the day of the visa interview appointment is to relax. While United States embassies and consulates can seem intimidating, the personnel who process your case really want to help you succeed. While it is not necessary to dress formally for the appointment, dress in business-casual clothing. Dress comfortably because there may be substantial waiting time. Check the policy of the consul regarding whether small children are required to be present.   Generally, brief cases, cell phones, computers, cameras and similar electronic devices are not allowed in the building for security reasons.  

When your name is called for your interview, approach the consul with a smile and always use courtesy. Listen to the questions carefully and answer only the question, no more and no less. The questions you may be asked include questions about your job offer in the United States, your qualifications and any other information that appears on your application forms and documents. As a result, it is critical that you be thoroughly familiar with all of the documents in your application package. Never argue with the consul. Speak up with confidence and look the consul directly in the eye when addressing the consul.  

If your immigrant visa application is approved, the immigrant visa will be placed in each applicant's passport and each applicant will be provided with a large sealed envelope containing the application and supporting documents. The immigrant visa is generally valid for 6 months to immigrate to the United States.  

It is most important to note that the issuance of the immigrant visa by the consul at the time of the interview at the embassy or consulate is no guarantee of admission into the United States. At your port of entry into the United Sates you will present the visa and the sealed envelope to the officer who will then make the final decision regarding your admission to the United States as an immigrant. If admitted to the United States, you become a permanent resident of the United States as of the date of entry. The actual permanent resident card ("green card") will be sent to you by mail very soon after your entry.      

When the card arrives - what to do next? – Go Celebrate, you’ve earned it!

2. Centralized Labor Certification Processing Begins on June 1

Starting on June 1, only the Atlanta Center will work with PERM, while the Chicago Center will work only with H-2A's and H-2B's. The H-2A program is for agricultural temporary workers, including unskilled persons while the H-2B program is for general workers in all other industries.

This centralized approach will require employers to make some changes to the internal posting notices required for the PERM program. If the commencement of the posting notice takes place after June 1, 2008, the notice must list the Atlanta NPC. However, if the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Chicago NPC and will be submitted to Atlanta on or after 6/1/08, the Dept of Labor will accept either the Chicago or Atlanta address on the posting. It is recommended, however, that employers use both addresses for these transitional cases,

All PERM cases physically present in Chicago will be transferred to Atlanta on June 1, and all applications mailed in must be sent to Atlanta starting on June 1.  

Responses to audits and motions for reconsideration must be filed with Atlanta if the audit or determination was made after April 15.  

For more information on the certification processing:
Read this from the OFLC

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3. Proposed Rule Would Make Changes to H-2B Program

The Dept of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has proposed a series of changes to the H-2B program. The proposed rule would change the process in which employers requested entry into the US for temporary nonagricultural-based workers under the program. The rule would re-engineer the application filing and review process by centralizing processing and by letting employers conduct pre-filing US worker recruitment activities. The proposed rule would enhance the integrity of the program by introducing post-adjudication audits and penalizations for employers who fail to meet the requirements of the program.  

The rule would additionally implement technical changes to the H-1B and PERM regulations. While the DOL does not have authority to enforce the following of H-2B regulations, there is the feasibility that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DOL could work out an agreement by which DHS could allow for DOL to enforce certain portions of the H-2B program.

For more information on the ruling:
Read this press release from the DOL  

4. USCIS to Revise Filing Instruction for Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will soon be revising the filing instructions for the Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence ( Form I-751 ) to require filing at the California or Vermont Service Centers, where all Forms I-751 are currently adjudicated.

For more information on the USCIS Update:
Read this press release from USCIS

5. Form I-102 Clarification

USCIS has informed that Form I-102 should be used to replace lost I-94 cards, regardless of whether they were issued by the USCIS (with an extension or change of status) or by   the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a U.S. Port of Entry. The form is confusing because it is not clear whether or not it can be used for a correction of an I-94 determination made by CBP - but it can.

The I-102 can be used to also correct mistakes made either by the applicant or the USCIS. The filing fee must accompany the Form if requesting correction of an applicant's mistake.

6. Update on Retrogression and Related Issues

By Thomas J. Joy, Esq.

As we noted last month, the EB-3 immigrant visa quota cutoff date had been advancing more rapidly than usual due to the State Department projections of future demand on the limited quotas. The EB-3 quota is the quota category that presently limits the number of nurses who can immigrate to the United States each year. In addition, we warned that this recent progress could slow or retrogress as in the past.

The Visa Bulletin for June 2008 reflects EB-3 cutoff dates as follows:
 
China: March 22, 2003
India: November 1, 2001
Mexico: July 1, 2002
Philippines: March 1, 2006
All other Countries: March 1, 2006

We point out a comment made later in the June 2008 Visa Bulletin as follows:
 
"Demand for numbers, primarily by Citizenship and Immigration Services Offices for adjustment of status cases, is expected to bring the Employment Third preference category very close to the annual numerical limit in June. As a result, this category is likely to experience retrogressions or visa unavailability beginning in July. Such action would only be temporary, however, and a complete recovery of the cut-off dates would occur in October, the first month of the fiscal year."
 
We are pleased to see Congress' attempt to fix legal immigration in a piecemeal manner since the failure of comprehensive immigration reform last year. On the legislative front, it is important to recognize that the bills that were put forth in April and May are bi-partisan bills that would remedy many aspects of the present immigration system.  
 
We discussed 2 of these bills last month in our newsletter: HR 5924 which would address the shortages of certain healthcare workers and offer significant solutions, and HR 5882 that would recapture employment-based immigrant visas lost to bureaucratic delays. This bill would permit approximately 225,000 immigrant visas to be recaptured and would amend the law so that green-card numbers lost at the end of the fiscal year could be used in succeeding years. In addition, HR 5921 would eliminate the per country quota for employment-based immigrants and end the spill-over of unused immigrant visa numbers between employment and family-sponsored classifications. Efforts continue behind the scenes in Washington DC to gather support for these legislative proposals, and we are very encouraged to see Congress finally recognizing the urgency of passing legislative reform.

On May 30, 2008, a national teleconference was held by the USCIS Ombudsman on the subject of Visas for Nurses . The public was invited to call in and voice concerns. We heard from healthcare facilities, staffing agencies, attorneys and individual nurses. While many of the suggestions made to improve the system would require legislation, most callers clearly made the point that the current delays in bringing healthcare workers to the United States are unacceptable and can lead to serious consequences. The USCIS Ombudsman indicated that all comments would be considered in an effort to improve the system, and that answers to the questions posed will be made public. We will, of course, post these to our Blog and our In Focus newsletter as soon as they are available.

7. Bloomberg: Immigrants are America's Greatest Economic, Cultural Assets

During his commencement speech to the University of Pennsylvania graduates, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued that the key to innovation in America is immigration.

"Our nation's greatest historic strength is that we've always welcomed the best and brightest from every corner of the globe. And yet every year, Congress shuts the door to hundreds of thousands of doctors, scientists, engineers and artists from around the world who want to work here," Bloomberg said during his speech.  " It's the greatest case of national self-sabotage and attempted suicide I can imagine. If our country's future is going to be as great as our past, we have to start realizing that immigrants have always been - and always will be - one of our greatest economic and cultural assets."

For more information on the commencement address:
Read this article from The Philadelphia Inquirer

8. Manpower, Inc. Releases Global Talent Shortage Survey

Manpower, Inc. released the results of its 3 rd annual talent shortage survey, revealing that 31% of employers globally are finding it increasingly more difficult to fill jobs, with talent shortages extremely prevalent in Romania (73%), Japan (63%), Hong Kong (61%), Singapore (57%) and Australia (52%).   Of all the countries surveyed, the study indicates that Hong Kong reported the largest increase in employers struggling to fill jobs compared to 2007.  

For more information on the survey:
Read this from Recruting Trends 

9. AHA and ASHHRA Support Emergency Nurse Supply Relief Act

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) have written a letter that strongly supports the new proposed RN Bill, H.R. 5924.

With the RN shortage projected to reach close to 1 million by 2020, the newly proposed bill would allow 20,000 RNs and PTs to immigrate to the U.S. annually, and charge hospitals a $1,500 surcharge to help fund domestic RN education.

For more information on the letter and proposed bill:
Read the bill from The Library of Congress

Read the letter from AHA, ASHHRA