USCIS Completes H2B Lottery Under One-Time Expansion of FY-2018 Cap

On May 31, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began receiving H2B petitions under the temporary final rule that increased the numerical H2B cap through the end of the current fiscal year (FY-2018) by only 15,000. We discussed this one-time expansion of the H2B cap in a separate post [see blog]. On June 11, 2018, the USCIS announced that it had received H2B petitions for more than 15,000 beneficiaries within five days of allowing filing under the extension [PDF version]. Thus, the USCIS used a random lottery to select enough petitions to meet the H2B cap for FY-2018. The H2B lottery was completed on June 7, 2018. The USCIS began issuing notifications to petitioners that were selected in this H2B lottery on June 11, 2018.

In its news release, the USCIS explained that it will reject and return with filing fees H2B petitions that were unselected in the H2B lottery and H2B cap-subject petitions that were filed after June 6, 2018.

H2B petitions that were selected in the H2B lottery and accepted for processing will have a receipt date of June 11, 2018. Accordingly, premium processing service for those petitions begins on June 11, 2018. Please see our article on the premium processing service for the Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, to learn more about this subject [see article]. The USCIS added that only petitioners whose petitions were selected will receive receipt notices.

The USCIS explained that “[a] petition may be denied if [it] discovers, after a petition has been filed, that an original approved temporary labor certification was not submitted with the petition in accordance with the Form I-129 instructions, or if a petitioner requests more workers than were certified on the [temporary labor certification].” The USCIS will not refund fees for Form I-129 petitions that are denied due to the petitioner not having submitted an original approved temporary labor certification with the petition.

The USCIS continues to accept H2B petitions that are exempt from, or otherwise not counted toward, the H2B cap. Thus, these petitions are not affected by the foregoing points. H2B petitions that are not subject to, or otherwise exempt from, or not counted toward the H2B cap include:

• Current H2B workers seeking to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
• Fish roe producers, fish roe technicians, or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
• Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam, until December 31, 2019.

The H2B nonimmigrant visa program is a visa program that allows employers to employ foreign workers for temporary non-agricultural jobs, in accordance with the program rules and requirements. The H2A nonimmigrant visa program is a separate program for employing foreign workers for temporary agricultural jobs. We cover both of these programs and other nonimmigrant work visa programs in a full section on our website [see category].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

USCIS to Establish New Office to Investigate and Refer Denaturalization Cases

On June 11, 2018, the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), L. Francis Cissna, told the Associated Press in an interview that the USCIS is preparing to launch an office to pursue denaturalization cases [link].[1]

Director Cissna stated that the USCIS is hiring several dozen new lawyers and immigration officers to staff its new office. These lawyers and officers will review cases of individuals who were previously deported and subsequently used fake identities to procure Green Cards and, subsequently, naturalization.

Where the USCIS finds evidence that an individual procured naturalization through fraud, it will refer the case to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which can pursue denaturalization in federal court. Furthermore, the DOJ may also pursue criminal charges (including criminal denaturalization) where applicable.

Director Cissna explained that the USCIS has pursued denaturalization cases in the past. However, such efforts were not coordinated.

Director Cissna stated that he hoped the new office, which will be in Los Angeles, will be running by 2019. Although he did not state how much the new office would cost, he stated that it would be covered by the USCIS's existing budget. The USCIS's budget is funded through application fees.

The Associated Press report explains that the government began closely scrutinizing potentially fraudulent naturalization cases about a decade ago, “when a border officer detected about 200 people had used different identities to get green cards and citizenship after they were previously issued deportation orders.” The story then referenced the USCIS's “Operation Janus,” which had investigated 315,000 cases where fingerprint data was missing. We discussed the background of Operation Janus in a prior post [see blog]. In a follow up post, we discussed the first successful denaturalization that came as a result of Operation Janus [see blog]. Prior to Operation Janus, the article explained, most denaturalization efforts “focused largely on suspected war criminals who lied on their immigration paperwork…”

The article recounted that, since 1990, the DOJ has instigated 305 civil denaturalization cases. Regarding the new office, Director Cissna stated that the USCIS was “potentially [looking at] a few thousand cases.” However, he made clear that the goal of the new initiative is to target individuals who were “ordered removed under a different identity and [] intentionally lied about it when they applied for citizenship later on.” He stated that the USCIS is not interested in cases where there are minor discrepancies, but only in those cases where individuals deliberately used false identities to procure immigration benefits.

The goal of the new office for denaturalization cases appears to be to examine cases where individuals obtained naturalization by deliberately using false identities. Please see our growing collection of articles on Denaturalization to learn more about the denaturalization criteria [see category]. We will update the website with more information as it becomes available.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

1. Taxin, Amy. “US launches bid to find citizenship cheaters.” Associated Press. Jun. 11, 2018. https://apnews.com/1da389a535684a5f9d0da74081c242f3

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

DOS Strongly Advises Against Adoptions from Democratic Republic of the Congo For Time Being

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of State issued an adoption alert strongly recommending against the adoption of children at this time from the Democratic Republic of the Congo [PDF version].

According to the notice, adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents have been contacted by individuals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo encouraging adoption service providers to resume processing intercountry adoptions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the DOS reports that Democratic Republic of the Congo adoption authorities have confirmed to it “that the suspension on issuing exit permit[s] in adoption cases has not been lifted.” Thus, the DOS “strongly recommends against initiating an adoption in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] at this time.” Additionally, the DOS continues to ask that adoption service providers not refer new Congolese adoption cases to U.S. prospective adoptive parents at this time.

Furthermore, the DOS confirmed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not require post-adoption reports by U.S. parents for children previously adopted from that the country. However, parents in certain states or with certain adoption service providers may be obligated to provide reports to those authorities.

Prospective U.S. adoptive parents should work closely with a reputable adoption service provider and an immigration attorney who is experienced in the area of international adoption when seeking to initiate and complete an intercountry adoption. It is important to stay abreast of updates and developments regarding adoption from the country in question, as highlighted by the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To learn more about international adoption, please see our growing selection of articles on site [see category].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

USCIS Assists in Criminal Asylum Fraud Case

On June 7, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a story about its assisting the Department of Justice (DOJ) in obtaining a conviction in an asylum fraud case [PDF version].

In the case, Ali Vahdani Pour, a citizen and national of Iran, pled guilty to lying under oath in an immigration matter. Pour admitted in the plea agreement that he had lied on his asylum application by falsely denying having served in the Iranian military and having received asylum status in Italy prior to seeking such status in the United States. As a result of the conviction for lying under oath, Pour was sentenced to 137 days in prison.

The case highlights that lying on an asylum application may carry criminal consequences as well as immigration consequences. When seeking immigration protection or other benefits, lying under oath is prohibited by both civil and criminal law. Those who commit asylum fraud may be permanently barred from receiving any benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act in the future.

When seeking asylum or any other form of benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an individual should consult with an experienced immigration attorney and honestly present the facts of his or her case and situation. It is important that this honesty extend to any dealings with the Government. We discuss asylum and refugee protection and civil penalties for asylum fraud in our full section on the subject on site [see category].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com