Headlines: 1. Labor Cert News: Atlanta NPC No Longer Forwarding to BALCA All PERM Requests for Reconsideration; Statistical Updates for FY 2014 Q4; H-1B Legacy Docs No Longer Available – The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) recently announced news on several topics. 2. U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit Reverses District Court in […]
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has introduced “Express Entry,” a new permanent residence immigration process modeled on New Zealand’s and Australia’s permanent residence immigration processes. As of January 2015, applicants for Canadian permanent residence under certain economic programs who will be residing outside of the Province of Québec must apply for permanent residence via Express […]
Headlines: 1. SEC Charges Immigration Attorneys With Defrauding Investors Seeking U.S. Residence; SEC-USCIS Issue Joint Alert – SEC and USCIS caution potential EB-5 investors about phony regional centers posing as legitimate investment opportunities. 2. Justice Dept. Settles Lawsuit Against Texas Bus Company for Discrimination – The lawsuit alleged that the company discriminated against U.S. workers by preferring to hire […]
Headlines: 1. State Dept. Releases Instructions on Applying for DV-2016 Program – Entries for the DV-2016 DV program must be submitted electronically by noon EST (GMT-5), Monday, November 3, 2014. 2. USCIS Announces New Secure Blue Ink for Many Stamps – USCIS said employers should be aware of this recent change in secure ink color when examining acceptable documents […]
The Department of State’s Visa Office announced that the China employment-based fifth (EB-5) category became unavailable on August 23, 2014, and will remain unavailable for the remainder of fiscal year 2014. The category will again become current on October 1, 2014. The Department noted that all China EB-5 applicants who have been scheduled for an […]
As of September 1, 2014, immigration procedures have been simplified for (1) a request for permanent residence in Brazil for a family reunion based on Brazilian children, marriage to a Brazilian citizen, or a common-law partnership; (2) a change from temporary to permanent residence based on the Mercosul Agreement; and (3) the issuance of an […]
Headlines: 1. Practitioners Warn About Immigration Scams – Scammers use a variety of methods. A call demanding money and threatening negative immigration consequences if it’s not coughed up immediately is a scam, and those receiving such calls should hang up immediately and not provide any information. 2. China EB-5 Category Unavailable Through September; Current in October – The China […]
On August 27, 2014, the Québec Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) announced new intake rules for the Québec Investor Program, which will reopen for a limited time from January 5–30, 2015, with a limit (quota) of 1,750 applications. The 1,750 quota will include a sub-quota of 1,200 applications from candidates from the People’s […]
On August 29, 2014, Normative Resolution No. 112 was published, amending Article 4 of Normative Resolution No. 98 of November 14, 2012. Normative Resolution 112/2014 provides that the temporary visa “item V” can be granted to foreign nationals who will enter Brazil to work exclusively in the preparation, organization, planning, and execution of the 2016 […]
Headlines: 1. DOS Announces Major Developments in Availability of China EB-5 Visa Numbers – Effective immediately, the EB-5 category is “unavailable” for investors born in China. Visa numbers will become available again when the new federal fiscal year starts on October 1, 2014. 2. DOS Changes Fees for Visa and Citizenship Services – DOS is amending the Schedule of […]