New Updated FAQs for H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Programs

U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Foreign Labor Certification Frequently Asked Questions H - 1B, H - 1B1, and E - 3 Programs

1. In circumstances where the Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics cannot produce leveled wages for a specific geographic area and occupational code due to statistical limitations in the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) wage dat a, the OFLC Online Wage Library displays “N/A” for each wage level and the OFLC Nation al Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC ) assigns a standard default prevailing wage for these occupations (e.g., $90 per hour or $187, 200 per year). Since the NPWC consistently assigns the same default prevailing wage in these circumstances, can the employer be permitted to enter on its own the standard default prevailing wage and cite “OFLC Online Data Center” on the LCA, ETA Form 9035/ 9035E? 

Yes. Where the OFLC Online Wage Li brary displays “N/A” for each leveled wage covering a specific geographic area and occupational code, the employer is permitted, in lieu of obtaining a prevailing wage determination from the NPWC, to enter the following information in Section G of the LCA, ETA Form 9035/ 9035E:

Item Form Item Example Entry on ETA Form 9035/9035E
G.7 § Agency which issued prevailing wage “N/A”
G.7a § Prevailing wage tracking number (if applicable) “N/A”
G.8 * Wage level Mark “N/A” indicating no leveled wages are available
G.9 * Prevailing wage Enter the standard or default prevailing wage (e.g., “ $90 ” or “ $187, 200 ” )
G.10 * Per (choose only one) Mark the appropriate unit of pay (e.g., “ per hour ” or “ per year ” )
G.11 * Prevailing wage source (choose only one) “OES”
G.11a * Year source published Enter the most recent OES data year
G.11b § If “OES” and NPC did not issue prevailing wage OR “Other” in question 11, specify source: “OFLC Online Data Center”

(*) form designation which indicates the field response is required 2
(§) form designation which indicates the field response is conditionally based on a response provided in a required field Posted July 31, 2015

H-2A Processing Statistics for FY 2015 YTD

1 Percent of complete H-2A applications resolved 30 days before the start date of need. A complete H-2A application is defined as one containing all the documentation (e.g., housing inspection report, workers’ compensation, recruitment report) necessary for the OFLC Certifying Officer to issue a final determin

PERM Processing Statistics As Of 06/28/2015

Update for DACA Recipients Who Received 3-Year Work Permits

From USCIS: USCIS has accounted for over 99 percent of the approximately 2,600 identified invalid work permits requiring return.

Twenty-two of the approximately 2,600 recipients failed to return their work permits or certify good cause for not doing so by the deadline of July 30, 2015. As a result, those 22 have been terminated from DACA.

The recall only applied to SOME individuals who received a card after the Feb. 16, 2015, court order. There are approximately 108,000 individuals who have valid 3-year DACA work permits and do not need to return them.

If you were affected by the recall and returned your invalid 3-year work permit, use Case Status Online to verify whether USCIS received your work permit.

Temporary Immigration Relief Measures Available for Individuals Affected by Typhoon Soudelor

From USCIS: On August 2, 2015, Typhoon Soudelor caused extensive damage in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). USCIS reminds customers affected by Typhoon Soudelor that certain U.S. immigration benefits or relief may be available to them. USCIS understands that a natural disaster can affect an individual’s ability to maintain lawful immigration status or obtain certain other immigration benefits.

Eligible individuals may request or apply for temporary relief measures, including:

• A change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even when the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired;
• Extension or re-parole of individuals previously granted parole by USCIS;
• Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications; and
• Assistance to lawful permanent residents (LPR) stranded overseas without immigration or travel documents, such as a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card). USCIS and the Department of State will coordinate on these matters when LPRs are stranded in a place that does not have a local USCIS office.

USCIS may also exercise its discretion to allow for filing delays resulting from the typhoon. This may include, for example:

• Assistance to those who have not appeared for an interview or submitted required forms of evidence. You may show how the typhoon prevented you from appearing or submitting documents as required; or
• Assistance to those who have not been able to respond to a request for evidence (RFE) or notice of intent to deny (NOID). USCIS will extend the deadline for individuals to respond to RFEs or NOIDs by 30 days. This will apply to all RFEs and NOIDs with a deadline of August 2 through September 2, 2015. During this time, USCIS will not issue denials based on abandonment of an application or petition in the CNMI. 

October 2015 Visa Bulletin Predictions

For September 2015 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2015/08/september-2015-visa-bulletin.html

Please see October 2015 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Quick Summary:

• EB1, EB4, EB 5: Current
• EB2 Rest Of World: Current
  EB2 China: 0-3+ months
  EB2 India: 0-2 months. Please see article 1. Also see article 2.
• EB3 (ROW, Mexico): Either Current or around 4 weeks. Please see article.
  EB3 China: 0-2+ months
  EB3 India: 1-2 weeks
  EB3 Philippines: 2-6+ weeks. Please see article.
• FB categories: 1 to 12 weeks Please see article.
• F2A: 3-6 weeks. Please see article.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15JAN08	15JAN08	15JAN08	01DEC94	01DEC00
F2A	08APR14	08APR14	08APR14	08FEB14	08APR14
F2B	22JAN09	22JAN09	22JAN09	15AUG95	08OCT04
F3	22MAY04	22MAY04	22MAY04	08JUN94	01OCT93
F4	22FEB03	22FEB03	22FEB03	01APR97	01APR92

Employment Based:

September 2015 Visa Bulletin Analysis

For September 2015 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2015/08/september-2015-visa-bulletin.html

Please see below analysis of September 2015 Visa Bulletin:

EB1: All EB1 categories are current and should continue to remain current for fiscal year. Demand continues to be around 1050 every month (per the latest pending inventory released few days ago).

EB2 ROW: This category continues to remain current. Per the latest report, demand in EB2ROW has increased significantly (11,000+ for year 2014 alone). However, since it can get spillover from EB4/EB5 and EB1 categories, this category is expected to remain current for FY 2016.

EB2 China: EB2 China had a large retrogression in this visa bulletin. It retrogressed by nearly 8 years in this visa bulletin after moving 2.5 months in the last visa bulletin. It is likely to continue to move forward in the next few months.

EB2 India: As mentioned in earlier blog post, demand in EB2 ROW has increased significantly. This directly impacts the amount of spillover visa available to EB2 India category. Due to increase demand in EB2 ROW, the total supply has decreased significantly in this category. Because of this, this, DOS had to retrogress EB2 India by nearly 3 years.

In addition, there are applicants in EB2 who have not yet filed their application as well as applicants who will be porting from EB3 India to EB2 India.

September 2015 Visa Bulletin

For August 2015 Visa Bulletin, please click here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2015/07/august-2015-visa-bulletin.html

September 2015 Visa Bulletin has been released (valid from September 1 to September 30 only). Please see below for more details.

Family Based:

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15DEC07	15DEC07	15DEC07	15NOV94	22OCT00
F2A	01MAR14	01MAR14	01MAR14	01FEB14	01MAR14
F2B	22DEC08	22DEC08	22DEC08	15JUL95	08SEP04
F3	08MAY04	08MAY04	08MAY04	22MAY94	15SEP93
F4	15JAN03	15JAN03	15JAN03	15MAR97	01MAR92

Employment Based:

USCIS Seeks Comments on Proposed Expansion of Eligibility for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers

From USCIS: USCIS is seeking public comments on a proposed rule that would expand eligibility for provisional waivers of inadmissibility based on the accrual of unlawful presence. The proposed rule would expand eligibility to all foreign nationals who are statutorily eligible for an immigrant visa and for a waiver of inadmissibility based on unlawful presence.

Read the notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on July 22, 2015. The public has 60 days, until Sept. 21, 2015, to comment. To submit comments, follow the instructions in the notice.

The changes, proposed in the interests of family unity and to enhance customer service, would take effect on the date indicated in the final rule when the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
Currently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allows certain immediate relatives – specifically certain parents, spouses and children of U.S. citizens -- who are in the United States to request a provisional unlawful presence waiver before departing for consular processing of their immigrant visas.

The waiver currently is only available to those immediate relatives whose sole ground of inadmissibility would be unlawful presence under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and who can demonstrate that the denial of the waiver would result in extreme hardship to their U.S. citizen spouse or parent.