Here is a commonly encountered situation for AOS applicants (I-485 pending) from our clients-only extranet:
The following statistics released by USDOS note the percentage of B visas that were refused by US consulates world-wide.
Afghanistan 56.0%
Albania 37.7%
Algeria 21.9%
Andorra 100.0%
Angola 21.4%
Antigua and Barbuda 19.7%
Argentina 3.1%
Armenia 51.4%
Australia 23.7%
Austria 11.5%
Azerbaijan 13.5%
Bahrain 4.1%
Bangladesh 36.4%
Barbados 10.2%
Belarus 19.7%
Belgium 13.2%
Belize 33.4%
Benin 39.7%
Bhutan 64.1%
Bolivia 23.8%
Bosnia-Herzegovina 9.7%
Botswana 13.9%
Brazil 5.2%
State Department has published the following press release.
Press Releases 2010
U.S. ambassador announces more convenient U.S. visa application process
November 18, 2010
At the October 28, 2010, stakeholder meeting with the U.S. Department of Labor, DOL discussed their increased staffing capability and a corresponding increased scrutiny of cases where the employer fails to respond to an Audit Notification letter or submits an incomplete response to such a letter. Where DOL identifies a substantial failure by the employer to provide required documentation in response to an Audit Notification letter, DOL indicated that we can expect to see more debarment and/or revocation proceedings.
Some folks are predicting that H-1 quota may last a lot longer than just April.
Remember also, if there is a lottery, ALL cases received by and including 5 April will be included in the lottery. As the regulation 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(ii)(B) states:
My I-140 was filed in February 2004. The National Visa Centre, in its letter dated 24th June 2010, informed that they had completed processing of my petition seeking immigration to the USA and had forwarded it to the American Embassy/Consulate at New Delhi. I was informed that an immigrant visa interview had been scheduled at the US Consulate, New Delhi on the 9th of August, 2010 at 10.45 am.
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions to Begin April 15, 2013
Released: March 15, 2013
WASHINGTON: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.