Serotte Reich, LLP – Immigration Law

In connection with the notification that all employment-based visas had been allocated for FY2009, Charles Oppenheim, Chief, Immigrant Control and Reporting Division Visa Services Office, provided the following background explaining how the Department of State allocates visas through its Immigrant Visa Allocation Management System (IVAMS): USCIS submits requests for visa authorizations if all required case […]Read More >

On April 15, 2009, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the iCERT Portal system. This created a new electronic system for the submission of Labor Condition Applications (LCAs). The new iCERT system has caused serious problems and delays with LCA processing. Normal LCA processing can now take 5-7 business days. If the DOL cannot verify […]Read More >

On August 19, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed to rescind the amendments promulgated on August 15, 2007, and October 28, 2008, relating to procedures that employers may take to acquire a safe harbor from receipt of no-match letters. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California had enjoined implementation of […]Read More >

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced a new nationwide audit initiative targeted at U.S. employers. ICE issued 652 Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses across the country. This represents 100 more NOIs than ICE issued in all of fiscal year 2008. Each NOI notifies the employer that they are subject to an ICE […]Read More >

As SRW reported a few months ago, CIS has announced that effective June 29, 2009, it will resume its premium processing service for I-140 petitions. The return to premium processing is a result of CIS clearing most of its I-140 backlog from the summer of 2007. Premium processing is available for EB-1 Extraordinary Ability, EB-1 […]Read More >