News Updates

NEW We are introducing a new feature - the ImmInfo Blog. This is a new stand-alone feature that contains immigration related articles before they are published in the Newsletter. You may subscribe for immediate notification of blog updates, or simply wait two weeks and read everything in the ImmInfo Newsletter.

Each month, we present a featured article that deals with an important immigration issue in the news. We also offer helpful tips (at the bottom of this page) monthly.

Featured article:

ImmInfo news updatessWhile comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) is all but dead, Senator Cornyn's SKIL bill has been updated and re-introduced in the House by Rep. John Shadagg of Arizona. The new proposal is almost identical to the bill that passed the Senate in 2005 and would have passed the House and been enacted into law, but for a temper tantrum thrown by Rep. Sensenbrenner, who prevented it from coming up for a vote in the short "lame duck" session that year.

The new legislation has a legitimate chance of passage, likely as an amendment to a spending bill in the lame duck session of Congress that will follow the November elections.

US CapitolThe Federal government has weighed in with a suit in federal court, seeking to enjoin the enforcement of the Arizona law authorizing local police officers to check for lawful immigration status in the context of ordinary police stops. This is very high stakes poker on the part of the administration. If they are unsuccessful, it is likely that many other states will pass their own, similar laws. The hearing on the government's motion should occur before mid-August.

This month's tips:

The U.S. Department of Labor has improved the processing times for both prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) and PERMs. PWDs are now averaging less than 45 days from filing until the issuance of the PWD. PERM processing times have also decreased substantially. This week, we received an approval for a case filed 48 days earlier. This case was an exception, but most are now being adjudicated within four months of filing.

 

 

H1B filings continue to lag behind where they were a year ago, but the last two weeks have seen a marked increase in quota usage. Since the CIS is taking about two months to process non-premium processing H1B petitions, we are seeing an increase that happened two months ago. We have no idea what has happened in the intervening time or what present demand looks like.