According to "Times of India" :
The US government plans to punish Indian outsourcing giant Infosys with the largest immigration fine ever for seeking visas fraudulently for workers at big clients in America, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Infosys is accused of putting workers on visitor visas rather than work visas. The former are much easier and cheaper to obtain than the latter. The fine is expected to be about $35 million, the paper said, quoting people close to the matter.
OFLC appreciates the challenges the regulated community has experienced as a result of the lapse in appropriations, which resulted in the cessation of the operation of OFLC's electronic systems, and further resulted in a backlog of documents submitted to OFLC during that period by mail, hand-delivery, or email. As a result of the government shutdown, OFLC is implementing the following temporary changes to its standard procedures related to document timeliness:
The NPWC uses the Prevailing Wage Determination Policy Guidance in issuing wage determinations for the Nonagricultural Immigration Programs. The Department updated the guidance in November 2009 following the publication of the H-2B regulation and the corresponding changes to PERM, H-1B, H-1B1, H-1C and E-3 regulations that affected the prevailing wage determination process. To read the updated Prevailing Wage guidance, pleaseclick here.
Below are Fact Sheets for 4th Quarter of FY 2013 (07/01/2013-09/30/2013)
On October 17, 2013, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a change in the schedule for the release of certain reports due to the lapse in Federal appropriations resulting in the Government shutdown. Among the affected reports is the Farm Labor Survey (FLS) report upon which the Department relies in order to establish the Adverse Effect Wage Rates in the H-2A program. The new release date for the FLS report will be December 5, 2013.
The processing times has been updated for PERM and NPWC. Please check the links below.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently began transferring some extension of stay casework from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center to balance workloads. The affected casework includes the following form:
How You Will Be Affected
FY 2013 Third Quarter for PERM,H-1B, H-2B and H-2A as of 06/15/1013
Currently, the LCR displays all certified H-1B1 and E-3 Labor Condition Applications (LCA) and Permanent labor certifications, dating back to April 15, 2009. However, the Department is experiencing technical difficulties with the display of approved H-1B LCAs. In addition, due to the historical paper-based filings of H-2A and H-2B applications, these labor certification documents must be manually redacted and uploaded to the LCR and, therefore, only a limited number of records covering Fiscal Year 2013 are currently available.
Release Date: March 25, 2014
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions to Begin by April 28, 2014
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2015 cap on April 1, 2014. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition with the correct fee. USCIS will not rely on the date that the petition is postmarked.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS policy memo provides guidance on Adjudication Of H-1B Petitions For Nursing Occupations. For detail please click on attached document
OFLC updates YTD statistics on H-1Bs number of LCAs received, top occupations, states, and employers, as well as the number of certified, denied, and withdrawn LCAs, number of positions requested and certified, and percentage of applications timely processed.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance on the trainees (H-3) nonimmigrant visa category.
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification has posted updated program factsheets containing the FY 2014 Q4 TD selected statistics for the Permanent Labor Certification Program, Prevailing Wage Determination Program, H-1B Temporary Visa Program,
|
Processing Queue |
Request Date |
Status* |
|
H-1B H-2B |
September - 2014 September - 2014 |
Current Current |
|
PERM |
August - 2014 |
On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, has added the Czech Republic, Denmark, Madagascar, Portugal, and Sweden to the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs for the coming year. The notice listing the 68 eligible countries published on Dec. 16, 2014 in the Federal Register.