Monthly Archives: January 2017

26
January 2017

Know your Rights

Everyone’s Rights During and Immigration (ICE) Raid

Everyone- both documented and undocumented persons- have rights in this country.

Make sure you and others know what to do if approached by ICE officers.

  • Inform your family members (even children), housemates, neighbors, and co-workers, of their right to remain silents and all of these rights if ICE or the police comes to your home.

You have the right to remain silent.

  • You can refuse to speak to an ICE agent. Do not answer any questions, especially about your birth place, immigration status or how you entered the United States.

You have the right to demand a warrant before letting anyone into your home.

  • Do not open your door to authorities without a warrant.Verify that the warrant authorizes them to enter your specific address and property. If officers enter anyway tell them that they do not have your permission to enter. Try to get their names or badge numbers to file a complain letter.

  • If officers have a warrant, they may enter your home but can only search for people or items listed in the warrant.

  • Do not lie to officers. Do not present false documents or lie.

You have the right to speak to a lawyer and the right to make a phone call.

  • Make sure to carry the phone number for an immigration lawyer with you all the time.

You have the right to refuse to sign anything before you talk to a lawyer.

  • Do not sign anything. That could eliminate your right to speak with a lawyer or have a hearing in front of an immigration judge. This may result in you being deported immediately without a hearing.

You have the right to refuse to show any documents before speaking with a lawyer.

If you are arrested, remember

  • You have the right to remain silent and not answer questions.

  • You have the right to ask to speak with your attorney or consulate.

  • Do not sign documents that you do not understand.

It is important to understand your legal options. You should consult with an immigration attorney to consider legal options and find out if you qualify for any other immigration benefit.

 

26
January 2017

Categories of visas affected by the Executive Order “Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs.

 

H-1B Special Occupation Workers

 

The Executive Order (hereinafter “the Order”) only mentions H-1B visas in the following excerpt “[t]he Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider ways to make the process for allocating H-1B visas more efficient and ensure that beneficiaries of the program are the best and the brightest . . . .”

 

Although the Executive Order lacks specificity as to how exactly it will affect H-1B visas, the above excerpt read in conjunction with the overarching policy of the Order (which aims prioritizing the protection of U.S. workers) could affect:

 

  • The issuance process of H-1B visas (e.g. suppressing the lottery system to adopt a “more efficient” system);
  • Heightening the standards of eligibility so as to make it more difficult for applicants to qualify as Special Occupation Workers;
  • Reversing the decision that allows for the spouses of H-1B workers to obtain work authorization.

 

L-1 Intracompany Transferees

 

The Order targets L-1 visa holders by requiring that the Secretary of Homeland Security “start performing site visits at places of employment of L-1 nonimmigrant, including third-party worksites where L-1 workers have been placed by the U.S. employers that petitioned for them.”

 

The provision also calls for the Secretary to “develop a plan to expand the site-visits program within two years to cover all employment-based visa programs.”

 

Although this provision will not affect per say holders of employment-based visa, it calls for a monitoring system to ensure that foreign workers and U.S. employers comply with already existing immigration laws.

 

F-1 Foreign Student

 

Foreign students studying in the U.S. are also directly affected by the Order, which calls for “a regulation that would reform practical training programs for foreign students to prevent the disadvantaging of the U.S. students in the workforce . . .” The Order also calls to “. . . improve monitoring of foreign students.”

 

“[P]ractical training programs” also known as “OPT” or “CPT” allow foreign students who are studying in the U.S. on a F-1 visa to obtain an employment authorization for twelve months upon graduation. This measure particularly concerns F-1 visa holder who graduated from a U.S. University with a science degree and benefit of an extension up to twenty-four months after their initial 12-month employment authorization. Indeed, a “reform” of such practical training programs could get rid of the twenty-four month period for foreign student with a U.S. degree in science.

 

J-1

 

Similarly to the F-1 Student visa program, the Order calls for a reform of the J-1 Exchange Visitors visa “to improve protections of U.S. workers . . .” J-1 visas allow individuals to participate in approved work-and study-based exchange visitor programs. The purpose

 

B-1 “Temporary Business Visitors” and B2 “Tourist”

The provision that concerns B-1 visas calls for the Secretary to “clarify comprehensively what activity is and is not permissible by aliens who enter on business/tourist visas ensuring that the statutory prohibition on the performance of skilled labor in such status is enforced.”

 

While the Immigration Nationality Act (INA) already provides a comprehensive but non-exhaustive lists of permissible activities while on a B-1 visa, the above provision calls for a more defined classifications of what activities will be allowed while on a B1/B2 visa.

 

H-2A Foreign Agricultural Workers

 

An H2A visa is a temporary work visa for foreign agricultural workers with a job offer for seasonal agricultural work in the US.

 

It is still unclear how the Order will affect the H-2A visa program as it merely calls for the Secretary to “submit to the President a list of options for ensuring the efficient processing of petitions for the H-2A nonimmigrants agricultural visa program, while maintain programmatic integrity.”

 

However, this provision read in conjunction with this excerpt: “[t]he unlawful employment of aliens has had a devastating impact on the wages and jobs of American workers, especially low-skilled, teenage, and African-American and Hispanic workers . . .” it appears that the provision may lead to stricter requirements for foreign workers who wish to come to the U.S. for seasonal agricultural work

 

E-2 Investors

The provision concerning E-2 Investors, who are foreign nationals who have invested a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide enterprise in the U.S., calls for a reform of this particular type of visa category “so that activities allowed for such entrepreneurs confirms to the requirements of the immigration laws.”

 

Although unclear in its impact, this provision may limit the ranges of activities that entrepreneur can engage in the U.S. while on a E-2 Investor visa.

26
January 2017

Prosecutorial Discretion Halted?

On June 17, 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton issued a memorandum directing ICE staff to consider declining to put people in removal proceedings, terminating proceedings, or delaying removals in cases where people have longstanding ties to the community, U.S.-citizen family members, or other characteristics.

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/secure-communities/pdf/prosecutorial-discretion-memo.pdf

“Prosecutorial discretion” is the authority of an agency or officer to decide what charges to bring and how to pursue each case. A law-enforcement officer who declines to pursue a case against a person has favorably exercised prosecutorial discretion. The authority to exercise discretion in deciding when to prosecute and when not to prosecute based on a priority system has long been recognized as a critical part of U.S. law. The concept of prosecutorial discretion applies in civil, administrative, and criminal contexts. The Supreme Court has made it clear that “an agency’s decision not to prosecute or enforce, whether through civil or criminal process, is a decision generally committed to an agency’s absolute discretion.” Heckler v. Chaney 470 U.S. 821, 831 (1985).

Prosecutorial discretion may be exercised at any stage of an immigration case. Specifically, prosecutorial discretion may be exercised when deciding whether to: issue a detainer; initiate removal proceedings; focus enforcement resources on particular violations or conduct; stop, question, or arrest a particular person; detain or release someone on bond, supervision, or personal recognizance; settle or dismiss a removal case; stay a final order of removal; pursue an appeal; and/or execute a removal order.

Prosecutorial discretion exists whenever a government official is empowered to decide whether to pursue charges against someone. Consequently, prosecutorial discretion is inherent in our system of laws, regardless of the substantive issue. In the immigration context, research conducted by Shoba Sivraprasad Wadhia shows that immigration agencies and officials have a long and rich history of using prosecutorial discretion to resolve cases involving significant equities, policy calls, or practical resource issues. In 2000, then-INS Commissioner Doris Meissner issued guidance clearly articulating the role of prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement. That guidance remains in operation and has served as the touchstone for a series of other DHS memos on exercising discretion. The Morton Memo on prosecutorial discretion is the most recent of at least thirteen such memos.

In short, prosecutorial discretion is about exercising good judgment.

26
January 2017

Oh, Boy! Is this what Trump is planning? Limiting legal immigration: “Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs”

Limiting legal immigration: “Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs”

On Tuesday, Vox was given six documents that purported to be draft executive orders under consideration by the Trump administration. The source noted that “all of these documents are still going through formal review” in the Executive Office of the President and “have not yet been cleared by the [the Department of Justice or the Office of Legal Counsel].”

Read the draft order here, https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7872567/Protecting_American_Jobs_and_Workers_by_Strengthening_the_Integrity_of_Foreign_Worker_Visa_Programs.0.pdf.

A sweeping proposed order would, essentially, reduce the scope of legal immigration to the United States. It also begins to lay the administrative and policy groundwork for further legislation altering the scope of legal immigration into one that, in the words of the cover memo, “prioritizes the interests of American workers.

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One provision would reverse Obama’s extension of the duration of Optional Practical Training work visas and decision to allow the spouses of H1 guest workers to also have work permits. Another provision would undo relief Obama has granted to people eligible for green cards but unable to apply for them due to what’s known as the “three- and ten-year bars.”

Another provision calls on the Department of Homeland Security to begin “site visits” at places that employ guest workers with L-1 visas and then to expand the site-visit program to cover all employment-based visa programs within two years.

It calls on the Secretary of Labor to commission a report investigating “the extent of any injury to US workers” caused by the employment of foreign workers, on DHS to report regularly on the number of foreigners working in the United States, and to “immediately restart work on regular benefit fraud assessments for all immigration benefits categories.

26
January 2017

For Immigrant’s Families

What Immigrants Families Should Know 
    Talk to an immigration attorney immediately.
  • If you have a green card, find out if you can become a U.S. citizen.
  • If you are here on a visa, find out if you can get a green card.
  • If you do not have immigration status, find out if you may be eligible to get a visa or work permit.
  • Make a child care and family preparedness plan
  • Make sure all information and emergency contacts are up to date at your children’s school(s) including who can and cannot pick up your children.
  • Complete a caregiver’s authorization affidavit so another adult can care for your children temporarily (available in California).
  • Designate and document someone you trust with Power of Attorney to make financial, legal, or child care decisions in your absence.
  • Register you child’s birth with your country’s government if your child was born in the U.S. 
    Figure out which documents you should and should not carry with you
  • At all times, carry with you the telephone number of an immigration lawyer, advocate or nonprofit immigration legal services provider you will call in an emergency.
  • If you have a valid work permit or green card, carry it with you at all time. If you do not have one, generally it is advisable to carry a municipal ID, state ID or driver’s licence if it was issued in the U.S and contains no information at all about your immigration status or your country of origin.
  • Do not carry any documentation of your country of origin.
  • Do not carry any false identity documents or false immigration documents.

 

25
January 2017

PRESS CONFERENCE OPPOSING TRUMP’S ANTI-IMMIGRANT EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Please join the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium and other pro-immigrant and pro-refugee groups TOMORROW (1/26) at 11:30 a.m. at the San Diego County Administrative Building (1600 Pacific Highway, Harbor Blvd. Side).

We will be standing on the side of justice for our Muslim and refugee brothers and sisters in response to the first executive order (halting refugee admissions and temporarily banning legal immigration from certain predominantly Muslim countries.)

We will also be opposing the further militarization of our border community and what will surely be the separation of San Diego families in response to the second executive order.

Please come, bring your colleagues, and pass this information along to friends, neighbors and family members.

24
January 2017

DACA Safe For Now, Administration Indicates

President Donald Trump won’t immediately dismantle the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative that former President Barack Obama instituted via executive action in 2012, the new administration has indicated, despite fiery promises otherwise from the campaign trail.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer at a press briefing on Monday de-emphasized DACA as an action item, dodging a question about when the president might make a change, but saying Trump will “prioritize the areas of dealing with the immigration system — both building the wall and making a priority of deporting criminals.

President Trump may not immediately reverse the Obama Administration policy that protected young immigrants from being deported, his White House signaled on Monday.

“The focus is going to be on people who have done harm to our country,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday.

DACA recipients are a small subset of the total undocumented population. Consider the requirements: They entered the United States before their 16th birthday, were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012, physically present in the country on that date, and present also at the time of their application. Under the terms of the executive order, they are all high school graduates, GED holders, or persons honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces. They have lived continuously in the United States since June 15, 2007, and none has ever been convicted of a felony or even a significant misdemeanor. At the time of their receipt of temporary legal status, all were judged to pose no threat to national security or public safety by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Like other children who grew up in the United States at the same time, DACA recipients made their way through U.S. schools, earned a high school degree or equivalent, and stayed out of trouble with the law. Their primary language is English; most are either in college or employed. The only thing that distinguishes these young people from U.S. citizens of the same age is that — for some part of their childhood — DACA recipients were undocumented, which of course constitutes a civil infraction and not a criminal offense.

Moreover, by definition all DACA recipients entered into undocumented status as a result of actions taken by their parents or adult guardians. They did not make the decision to violate U.S. immigration law themselves, and by any reasonable standard of justice they are not to blame for ending up in undocumented status. It is a basic principle of law and ethics that children should not be punished for the transgressions of their elders.

 

 

17
January 2017

DHS Publishes Final International Entrepreneur Rule

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today published a final rule to improve the ability of certain promising start-up founders to begin growing their companies within the United States and help improve our nation’s economy through increased capital spending, innovation and job creation.


Under this final rule, DHS may use its “parole” authority to grant a period of authorized stay, on a case-by-case basis, to foreign entrepreneurs who demonstrate that their stay in the United States would provide a significant public benefit through the potential for rapid business growth and job creation. The new rule is effective July 17, 2017, which is 180 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

DHS estimates that 2,940 entrepreneurs will be eligible under this rule annually. Eligible entrepreneurs may be granted a stay of up to 30 months, with the possibility to extend the period by up to 30 additional months if they meet certain criteria, in the discretion of DHS.

Under this final rule, eligibility may be extended to up to three entrepreneurs per start-up entity, as well as spouses and children. Entrepreneurs granted stays will be eligible to work only for their start-up business. Their spouses may apply for work authorization in the United States, but their children will not be eligible.

An applicant would need to demonstrate that he or she meets the following criteria to be considered under this rule:

  • The applicant possesses a substantial ownership interest in a start-up entity created within the past five years in the United States that has substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.
  • The applicant has a central and active role in the start-up entity such that the applicant is well-positioned to substantially assist with the growth and success of the business.
  • The applicant can prove that his or her stay will provide a significant public benefit to the United States based on the applicant’s role as an entrepreneur of the start-up entity by:
    • Showing that the start-up entity has received a significant investment of capital from certain qualified U.S. investors with established records of successful investments;
    • Showing that the start-up entity has received significant awards or grants for economic development, research and development, or job creation (or other types of grants or awards typically given to start-up entities) from federal, state or local government entities that regularly provide such awards or grants to start-up entities; or
    • Showing that they partially meet either or both of the previous two requirements and providing additional reliable and compelling evidence of the start-up entity’s substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.

10
January 2017

Visa Bulletin for February 2017

Please do not hesitate to contact us if our office can help you take advantage of this (very time-sensitive for some) opportunity to file I-485 applications. We are also happy to provide a free quote for preparing and filing your I-485 application.

We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about the February 2017 Visa Bulletin.

 

Visa Bulletin For February 2017

Number 2
Volume X
Washington, D.C

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during February for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo, individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in the Department of Homeland Security must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications. When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.

1. Procedures for determining dates. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; USCIS reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by January 9th. If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. If it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a final action date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new final action date announced in this bulletin. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.

2. Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.

3. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa demand exceeds the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: CHINA-mainland born, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.

4. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:

A. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR FAMILY-SPONSORED
PREFERENCE CASES

On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); “C” means current, i.e., numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants; and “U” means unauthorized, i.e., numbers are not authorized for issuance. (NOTE: Numbers are authorized for issuance only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the final action date listed below.)

Family-
Sponsored 		All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed		 CHINA-mainland
born		 INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
F1 22FEB10 22FEB10 22FEB10 08MAY95 01DEC05
F2A 15APR15 15APR15 15APR15 01APR15 15APR15
F2B 08JUL10 08JUL10 08JUL10 08NOV95 08APR06
F3 22MAR05 22MAR05 22MAR05 15DEC94 08SEP94
F4 08FEB04 22JAN04 15JUN03 22MAY97 22JUN93
22MAR05
22MAR05

*NOTE: For February, F2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are authorized for issuance to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 01APR15. F2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are authorized for issuance to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 01APR15 and earlier than 15APR15. All F2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit.

B. DATES FOR FILING FAMILY-SPONSORED
VISA APPLICATIONS

The chart below reflects dates for filing visa applications within a timeframe justifying immediate action in the application process. Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the application date in the chart below may assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions. The application date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an immigrant visa. If a category is designated “current,” all applicants in the relevant category may file applications, regardless of priority date.

The “C” listing indicates that the category is current, and that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant’s priority date. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date which is earlier than the listed date may file their application.

Visit www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo for information on whether USCIS has determined that this chart can be used (in lieu of the chart in paragraph 4.A.) this month for filing applications for adjustment of status with USCIS.

Family-
Sponsored 		All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed		 CHINA-
mainland
born		 INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
F1 01JAN11 01JAN11 01JAN11 01JUN95 01MAY06
F2A 22NOV15 22NOV15 22NOV15 22NOV15 22NOV15
F2B 08FEB11 08FEB11 08FEB11 01JUN96 01FEB07
F3 22AUG05 22AUG05 22AUG05 01MAY95 01JAN95
F4 01JUL04 01JUL04 01MAY04 01DEC97 01APR94

5. Section 203(b) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Employment-based immigrant visas as follows:

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES

First: Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Second: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Third: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to “*Other Workers”.

Fourth: Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.

Fifth: Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.

A. FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED
PREFERENCE CASES

On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); “C” means current, i.e., numbers are authorized for issuance to all qualified applicants; and “U” means unauthorized, i.e., numbers are not authorized for issuance. (NOTE: Numbers are authorized for issuance only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the final action date listed below.)

Employ-
ment
based		 All Charge-
ability
Areas Except
Those Listed		 CHINA-
mainland
born		 EL SALVADOR
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS		 INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
1st C C C C C C
2nd C 15NOV12 C 15APR08 C C
3rd 01OCT16 01OCT13 01OCT16 22MAR05 01OCT16 15OCT11
Other Workers 01OCT16 01DEC05 01OCT16 22MAR05 01OCT16 15OCT11
4th C C 15JUL15 C 15JUL15 C
Certain Religious Workers C C 15JUL15 C 15JUL15 C
5th
Non-Regional
Center
(C5 and T5)		 C 15APR14 C C C C
5th
Regional
Center
(I5 and R5)		 C 15APR14 C C C C

*Employment Third Preference Other Workers Category: Section 203(e) of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997, as amended by Section 1(e) of Pub. L. 105-139, provides that once the Employment Third Preference Other Worker (EW) cut-off date has reached the priority date of the latest EW petition approved prior to November 19, 1997, the 10,000 EW numbers available for a fiscal year are to be reduced by up to 5,000 annually beginning in the following fiscal year. This reduction is to be made for as long as necessary to offset adjustments under the NACARA program. Since the EW cut-off date reached November 19, 1997 during Fiscal Year 2001, the reduction in the EW annual limit to 5,000 began in Fiscal Year 2002.

B. DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED
VISA APPLICATIONS

The chart below reflects dates for filing visa applications within a timeframe justifying immediate action in the application process. Applicants for immigrant visas who have a priority date earlier than the application date in the chart may assemble and submit required documents to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, following receipt of notification from the National Visa Center containing detailed instructions. The application date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who cannot submit documentation to the National Visa Center for an immigrant visa. If a category is designated “current,” all applicants in the relevant category may file, regardless of priority date.

The “C” listing indicates that the category is current, and that applications may be filed regardless of the applicant’s priority date. The listing of a date for any category indicates that only applicants with a priority date which is earlier than the listed date may file their application.

Visit www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo for information on whether USCIS has determined that this chart can be used (in lieu of the chart in paragraph 5.A.) this month for filing applications for adjustment of status with USCIS.

Employment-
based		 All Chargeability
Areas Except
Those Listed		 CHINA-
mainland
born		 INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES
1st C C C C C
2nd C 01MAR13 22APR09 C C
3rd C 01MAY14 01JUL05 C 01SEP13
Other Workers C 01AUG09 01JUL05 C 01SEP13
4th C C C C C
Certain Religious Workers C C C C C
5th
Non-Regional
Center
(C5 and T5)		 C 15JUN14 C C C
5th
Regional
Center
(I5 and R5)		 C 15JUN14 C C C

6. The Department of State has a recorded message with the cut-off date information for Final Application Action which can be heard at: (202) 485-7699. This recording is updated on or about the tenth of each month with information on final action dates for the following month.

B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY FOR THE MONTH
OF FEBRUARY

Section 203(c) of the INA provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit additional immigration opportunities for persons from countries with low admissions during the previous five years. The NACARA stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. This resulted in reduction of the DV-2017 annual limit to 50,000. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.

For February, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2017 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

Region All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
AFRICA 28,700 Except:
Egypt: 16,000
Ethiopia: 17,500
ASIA 4,700 Except:
Iran: 3,950
Nepal: 3,150
EUROPE 18,000
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) 6
OCEANIA 725
SOUTH AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN		 825

Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is selected in the lottery. The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2017 program ends as of September 30, 2017. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2017 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2017 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2017. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2017 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30.

C. THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS
WHICH WILL APPLY IN MARCH

For March, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2017 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

Region All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately
AFRICA 28,700 Except:
Egypt: 18,800
Ethiopia: 19,200
ASIA 4,700 Except:
Iran: 4,600
Nepal: 3,850
EUROPE 19,300
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) 7
OCEANIA 800
SOUTH AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN

09
January 2017

Admission Issues for Canadian Visitors

When entering by air, Canadians, like all travelers, are issued electronic I-94 cards. To determine the duration of the authorized period, check the CBP I-94 website. At land ports of entry, I-94 cards are not typically issued. Many Canadian visitors do not know they have been issued an I-94, or they assume that they have been admitted for six months and do not check their I-94 or the CBP website to verify their period of admission.

Please download your I-94 form on every new entry to the U.S. https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/recent-search. There is an extremely high rate of error on these admissions and the I-94 governs your lawful stay in the U.S. (not your passport, not your visa, not your prior petition approval).

Situations have occurred, where, subsequent to the issuance of a 6-month electronic I-94 at an airport, a Canadian citizen returned to Canada and then reentered the U.S. at a land border crossing during the original I-94 validity period. In this scenario, it is common practice for CBP at the land border to “revalidate” the existing I-94 and original period of admission rather than create a new I-94 record with a new period of admission. For example, a Canadian citizen enters the U.S. by air on June 1 and is given a 6-month period of admission, through December 1. When he departs the U.S. in August and seeks readmission in September, he may only be readmitted until December 1, without any explicit notice from CBP. The Canadian would not necessarily know that he was admitted pursuant to a pre-existing I-94 unless he checks the CBP website. As a result, Canadians who frequently travel to the United States may unknowingly overstay and may only find out upon a later attempt to reenter.

The lack of notice given to Canadian visitors is problematic, and the practice of revalidation, at least for B-2 entrants, also appears to violate 8 CFR §214.2(b)(2), which states:

Minimum six month admissions. Any B-2 visitor who is found otherwise admissible and is issued a Form I-94 (see §1.4), will be admitted for a minimum period of six months, regardless of whether less time is requested, provided, that any required passport is valid as specified in section 212(a)(26) of the Act. Exceptions to the minimum six month admission may be made only in individual cases upon the specific approval of the district director for good cause.

Since a revalidated I-94 for a B-2 visitor is less than 6 months and is typically issued at primary inspection without supervisory approval, this practice appears to violate the regulations.