Author: tancincowp

President Obama has made an official declaration to authorize the
admission of up to 70,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal
Year 2013, when justified by humanitarian concerns or otherwise in the
national interest. According to the published memorandum, this total
number shall be allocated among refugees of special humanitarian concern
to the U.S. in accordance with specified regional allocations.

Africa: 12,000
East Asia: 17,000
Europe and Central Asia: 2,000
Latin America/Caribbean: 5,000
Near East/South Asia: 31,000

An additional 3,000 refugee numbers have been unallocated and shall be allocated to regional limits, as needed.

On October 1, 2012, USCIS began accepting Forms I-129, the Petition for
Nonimmigrant Worker, that were filed on behalf of Canadian citizens who
are currently outside the United States and seek to be classified as TN
nonimmigrants. USCIS currently only accepts Forms I-129 in connection
with requests to extend a TN nonimmigrant’s period of stay or change his
or her status to TN.

Canadian citizens will continue to be given the option of applying to
the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for TN classification with an
application for TN admission to the United States. Learn more about processes for TN (NAFTA) professionals online.

In a recent communication with Representative Pelosi (D-CA), Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, clarified how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will define “family relationships” when considering whether or not to make enforcement decisions. ICE personnel, according to Napolitano, are given the ability to exercise prosecutorial discretion as appropriate when apprehending, detaining and removing aliens. ICE personnel, according to Napolitano, should consider the “totality of circumstances presented in individual cases, including whether an individual has close family ties to the United States.”

In her letter to Representative Pelosi, Napolitano states that she has directed ICE to disseminate written guidance to its field agents that the phrase “family relationships” should include long-term, same-sex partners. “Family Relationships”, Napolitano asserts, is a factor that is weighed on an individual basis when choosing the best prosecutorial strategy for the individual under consideration.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced that it
will implement electronic filing for the submission of temporary labor
certification applications that are part of the H-2A and H-2B visa
programs through the iCERT Visa Portal System. This new electronic
filing system, run by the Department of Labor, will enhance the
accessibility and quality fo labor certification services and reduce the
reporting burden on small employers, commented the Department of Labor.

Employers or their authorized representatives will be able to submit
H-2B applications electronically starting October 15, 2012 and H-2A
applications starting December 10, 2012, at http://icert.doleta.gov.
Employers who choose to not use this electronic filing option are
guided to continue to file their H-2A and H-2B applications using the
standard paper-based filing method.

A bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Leahy (D-VT) in May 2012 to
extend the EB-5 Regional Center program, the E-Verify electronic
employee eligibility verification program, the R Special Immigrant
Nonminister Religious Worker program and the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa
Waiver program. The bill was passed by the Senate on August 2, 2012,
with unanimous consent. It was extended in the Senate to include a
3-year extension of the four immigrant programs.

On September 13, 2012, the House passed the bill as well by a vote of
412 to 3. President Obama signed the bill into law on September 28, 2012

The Department of State has published a media note stating that the 2014 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2014) will open at noon, EST, Tuesday, October 2, 2012. The program will close at noon, EST, Saturday, November 3, 2012. The Department of State is encouraging applicants to not wait until the last week of the program period to apply, since heavy demands during that week may result in delays.

Applicants interested in applying for DV-2014 are required to submit their entries electronically using the electronic DV entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries are not accepted. Congress has set aside 55,000 diversity visas for FY 2014. These visas are available to people from countries with lower rates of immigration to the United States who meet certain, simple requirements. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is informing foreign visitors coming to the U.S. who are required to prove their legal visitor status to plan ahead. Foreign visitors may need information in addition to Form I-94, the Arrival/Departure Record that they received from CBP, when proving their legal visitor status to employers, schools, universities and governmental organizations. Currently CBP is experiencing delays in processing foreign visitors’ travel information into their I-94 database.

CBP is currently looking into automating the I-94 form to allow for electronic management of arrival and departure data. This would streamline the arrival and inspection process for travelers. Because the I-94 has been a long-standing form of proof of status for foreign travelers, CBP will keep the public updated of any changes to the process. Please note, though, that the current delays in processing do not affect most foreign travelers visiting for business or leisure and do not affect any visitor’s record of departure. 

The Department of Homeland Security has approved its first wave of
applications from young illegal immigrants seeking to avoid deportation
and apply for official work permits. The federal department is notifying
its first set of applicants this week that they have been approved to
remain in the U.S. for a two-year period as part of the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

USCIS first started accepting applications for the DACA program three
weeks ago. According to news sources, over 70,000 people have applied
for the program. Background checks and fingerprinting are being
conducted on each person applying for DACA consideration. The average
wait time, according to the Department of Homeland Security is between
four and six months. Applicants must have first come to the U.S. before
they were 16 years old, be age 30 or younger and be high school
graduates, in college or have served in the military.

On September 7, 2012, USCIS provided an update of the amount of
cap-subject H-2B visas received and approved by the federal agency for
the second half of Fiscal Year 2012. According to USCIS, a total of
28,092 beneficiaries have been approved for the second half of Fiscal
Year 2012, with an additional 1,235 petitions pending. USCIS is
targeting a total of 51,000 cap-subject H-2B petitions for the second
half of Fiscal Year 2012.

Congressionally-based legislation limits the amount of H-2B visas
provided per fiscal year to a total of 66,000, with 33,000 allocated for
employment for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 allocated
for employment for the second half of the fiscal year. Unused numbers
from the first half of the fiscal year are made available for use by
employers seeking H-2B workers during the second half of the year. These
numbers do not, however, carry over from one fiscal year to another. A
total of 36,609 beneficiaries were approved for the first half of Fiscal
Year 2012. USCIS was targeting 45,000 beneficiaries for that time
period.