Archive for August, 2009

USCIS Adds New Notification Requirement for R-1s

Monday, August 17th, 2009

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the manner in which petitioners for religious workers must notify USCIS regarding their employment of nonimmigrant religious workers in R-1 status. The approved petitioning employer must notify USCIS within 14 days when an R-1 alien is working less than the required number of hours or has been released from, or has otherwise terminated, employment before the expiration of a period of authorized stay.

The petitioner must include the following information in the notification:

  • Reason for the notification or a reason for late notification (if applicable);
  • USCIS receipt number of the approved R-1 petition;
  • Petitioning employer’s information (name, address, telephone number and employer identification number (EIN), if available;
  • R-1 beneficiary information (full name, date of birth, country of birth, last known physical address and phone number).

Employers should provide notification to USCIS via e-mail at:

CSCR-1EarlyTerminationNotif@dhs.gov

Notification to USCIS via e-mail is strongly encouraged; however, paper notification can also be made via mail (before the end of the 14 calendar day reporting window) to:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services California Service Center

Attn: Div X/BCU ACD
P.O. Box 30050
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-3004

We will provide additional information as it becomes available at

www.bashyamspiro.com.

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USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for Certain R1 Cases

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective July 20, 2009, it will resume Premium Processing Service for R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker petitions filed by certain R-1 petitioners.  Only those petitioners who have successfully passed an on-site inspection are eligible to use Premium Processing Service.  The following questions and answers were posted on the USCIS web site to further clarify this new policy of allowing premium processing for certain R-1 cases.

Q1. Who is eligible to request Premium Processing Service for an 1-129 R-1 petition?

A petitioner who has successfully passed a site inspection at the location where the beneficiary will work may request Premium Processing Service for an R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker petition.

Q2. What does “successful completion of a site inspection” mean?

A site inspection conducted at the employment location of the beneficiary which has resulted in satisfactory completion of such inspection.

Q3. Is the petitioner required to submit proof of eligibility to request Premium Processing Service for an 1-129 R-1 petition?

No. USCIS will conduct an up front search in its electronic systems upon receipt of the Form 1-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, associated with the 1-129 R-1 petition to verify whether or not the petitioner has previously had a site inspection and whether or not the petitioner had successfully passed the inspection at the location where the beneficiary will work.

Q4. Will the petitioner be eligible to request premium processing for an 1-129 R-1 petition if the religious organization previously had a site inspection but failed?

No. If USCIS system search reveals that the petitioner previously failed an on-site inspection, the Form 1-907 will be rejected as the petitioner may be required to submit additional factual evidence to establish that the petitioner now has overcome the reason for the previous denial or undergo a new site inspection.

Q5. Will the petitioner be eligible to request premium processing for an 1-129 R-1 petition if a site inspection was conducted at a location other than where the beneficiary will be working?

No. The petitioner must have successfully passed a site inspection conducted at the location of the beneficiary’s proposed employment. If the petitioner’s name and the address of the beneficiary’s intended place of employment do not match USCIS electronic records, the Form 1-907 will be rejected.

Q6. May the petitioner be subject to a site inspection even if a request for Premium Processing Service is accepted by USCIS?

Yes. Although the petitioner must have successfully passed a pre-approval site inspection in order for the premium processing request to be accepted, the successful completion of a prior pre-approval site inspection does not preclude USCIS from conducting another pre-approval site inspection or compliance review (a post-approval site inspection) after the 1-129 R-1 petition has been approved.

Q7. Is Premium Processing Service available for 1-360 special immigrant religious worker petitions?

No. Premium Processing Service is only available for R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker petitions at this time. Such requests are made by religious organizations by filing the Form 1-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker.

Q8. Where can one find information on requirements for the religious worker program?

USCIS published a final rule, 73 Fed. Reg. 72276 (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. pts. 204, 214, 299) for the religious worker visa classification on November 26, 2008. The final rule amended USCIS regulations to improve our ability to detect and deter fraud and other abuses in the religious worker program. The final rule emphasized that USCIS will conduct inspections, evaluations, verifications, and compliance reviews of religious organizations to ensure both the legitimacy of the petitioner and statements made in the petitions. The rule also stipulated that if USCIS decides to conduct a pre-approval inspection, the satisfactory completion of such an inspection will be a condition for approval of any religious worker petition.

As more information becomes available, we will post it on www.bashyamspiro.com.

 

 

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DOL Addresses LCA Denials Based on FEIN

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

One step of the H1B process for professional workers is filing and obtaining a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA).  The Department of Labor (DOL) recently switched the LCA submission and certification process to an new system called iCert.  Recently, the DOL has been denying some LCAs based on its inability to verify an employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).  The Department of Labor (DOL) recently told AILA liaison how to correct a denial of an LCA when DOL states that it cannot verify the FEIN.  Now, LCA denials based on FEIN verification should contain the following instructions for employers. 

REASON FOR DENIAL: Reason for Denial: Section C.12 of this application contains an obvious inaccuracy. The Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) value entered in Section C.12 of the ETA Form 9035E could not be verified by the CNPC as a valid nine-digit FEIN assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In order for the employer to overcome the issue identified on the denial determination for any future LCAs submitted using this exact FEIN, the CNPC will need to obtain the following information:

(1) A copy of this e-mail; and

(2) At least one document from the sample list below that clearly displays the FEIN and the name of the employer associated with the unique identification number:

Documentation from IRS noting assignment of FEIN;

Federal or State tax return (only acceptable with a pre-printed label) or a pre-printed tax coupon;

Documentation from employer’s financial institution showing employer’s FEIN;

Articles of incorporation, business license, or other certifications of business existence;

Secretary of State registration documents;

Official and/or government documents

Other documentation showing the FEIN and name of the employer

In order to expedite the process, you may either fax, email as a PDF attachment, or mail the requested information to the following:

FAX: (312) 886-1688. On the cover page of the fax, please write “LCA Business Verification Team – Proof of Valid FEIN”, or

EMAIL: LCA.Chicago@dol.gov. In the Subject Line, please write “LCA Business Verification Team – Proof of Valid FEIN”, or

MAIL: Attn: LCA Business Verification Team – Proof of Valid FEIN

U.S. Department of Labor

Employment and Training Administration

Office of Foreign Labor Certification

844 N. Rush Street, 12th floor

Chicago, IL 60611

The employer will be notified via email after the requested information has been reviewed. 

DOL has not informed the public how long it will take to correct and certify an LCA.  One hopes these ‘glitches’ in the new iCert system are being addressed quickly since LCAs currently already take over a week to process.  We will keep you posted as additional information becomes available.

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