Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Cluster of L-1 Petitions Approved by AAO in August-September 2015
Recent Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decisions in recent months have shown a noticeable shift in decisions regarding L-1B Specialized Knowledge Intracompany Transfers. This occurs during the same period that USCIS issued its Aug. 17, 2015 L-1B Memorandum (Link).
However, it must be noted that the facts of each case are different, and this cluster of approvals may have been coincidental. Moreover, it may not be financially prudent to file to the AAO, in particular because of the delayed time it takes for them to make a decision for many cases.
Please contact the JQK Law Firm for more information
Recently approved appeals:
3) (Refers to an L-1A case, but then discusses Specialized Knowledge) http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/err/D7%20-%20Intracompany%20Transferees%20(L-1A%20and%20L-1B)/Decisions_Issued_in_2015/AUG282015_01D7101.pdf
Monday, October 5, 2015
Additional Fees for L-1 & L-1B Petitions Expires
Public Law 111-230 H-1B, L-1 Additional Fees Expire
H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after Oct. 1, 2015, should not include the additional fee that was previously required by Section 402 of Public Law 111-230, as amended by Public Law 111-347, for certain H-1B and L-1 petitions. The additional fee required by Public Law 111-230, as amended, expired on Sept. 30, 2015.
All other H-1B and L-1 fees, including the Base fee, Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, and American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) Fee when applicable, are still required. Petitions with incorrect fees may be rejected. Petitioners are reminded that USCIS prefers separate checks for each filing fee.
Public Law 111-230, enacted on Aug. 13, 2010, required an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions postmarked on or after Aug. 14, 2010. Public Law 111-347, enacted on Jan. 2, 2011, extended the fees through Sept. 30, 2015. For more information, visit the H-1B Visa or L-1 Visa pages or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.
From: USCIS
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Friday, October 2, 2015
EB-5 Program Extended
The 1992 EB-5 Immigrant Investment Pilot Program (the “Regional Center
Program”), a subset of the original 1990 EB-5 regulations (the “EB-5 Program”),
should be permitted to expire on September 30, 2015. The original premise
of the EB-5 Program in 1990 was that each immigrant investor must create at
least 10 real, full-time jobs for U.S. citizens and/or permanent residents that
were at least 35 hours a week at or above the minimum wage level.
However, in 1992, Congress enacted the Regional Center Program attempting to
popularize it in the hopes of meeting the 10,000 immigrant investor visa limit
allocated to the EB-5 immigration category. Under the Regional Center
approach, developers were afforded the right to count indirect and induced jobs
towards the total 10 job requirement. The United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (“USCIS”) defines indirect jobs as those held by persons
who work outside the newly established commercial enterprise. However, in most
cases, indirect jobs are not actual jobs but are subjectively derived from
forecasted economic impact studies effectively reducing the 10 jobs requirement
by 50 percent to 5 real jobs, or even less.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
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