Beginning January 4, 2010, applicants for visas or greencards will no longer be considered inadmissible for being HIV positive. Early last month, the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) removed HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) from the definition of a “communicable disease of public health significance.” This marks a major success…
No, not the Michael Jackson, This is It. This is it for FY 2009 H-1B season. USCIS states that as of December 15, approximately 64,200 cases have been filed. That leaves about 800 slots left for H-1B applicants and perhaps several hundred on top of that since USCIS will need…
The H-1B quota is slowing reaching its limit. The so-called advanced degree cap is now full and approximately 53,800 cases have been counted against the 65,000 allocated to the regular cap. USCIS has advised that those wishing to be counted against this year’s cap should submit their applications as soon…
On 14 October 2009, Congressman Luis Gutíerrez of Illinois released a set of principles which he hopes will be incorporated into any Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) package. As advocates for immigrants, the attorneys at the Los Angeles-based immigration Romben Law, APC, we watch closely any progress on CIR. Central to…
PERM cases are backlogged now to December 2008. So if you have a PERM case pending that was submitted more than a year ago, DOL may entertain an email inquiry from you. But if your case was submitted in October 2008 or after, you still have a long wait ahead…
The H-1B quota has now reached approximately 46,700 and although the USCIS has announced that they’ve received approximately 20,000 advanced degree applications, it still continues to accept advanced degree cases. I have been fielding a lot of questions about whether a person is still “in H-1B status” even if they…
The Bush Administration, in its final days, implemented rules to make it easier for farmers to hire temporary foreign laborers. These rules also arguably cause the reduction of wages and the proliferation of poor working conditions for all farmworkers, foreign and domestic. Although Romben Law, APC is in Los Angeles,…
Because the debates about Health Care Reform are taking so much of the Congress’ energy, the Obama Administration believes that Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) will not be considered by the Congress until the beginning of 2010. Romben Law, APC has many clients in Los Angeles, CA and throughout the nation…
H-1B quota update…what’s going on with the H-1B cap? Just updated today, the USCIS now reports that as of August 14, 2009, about 45,000 cap-subject cases have been received. So that’s about 100 more than what USCIS reported a week ago. Based on what USCIS has reported in the last…
As a direct result of the Ruiz-Diaz religious worker litigation, the USCIS announced this week that religious workers should file their I-485 applications for adjustment of status by the end of this month. The USCIS issued this statement to remind religious workers to file for adjustment of status if they…