IMMIGRATION AND POLICY BY NYC BUSINESS IMMIGRATION LAWYER - Phone (212) 564-1589: 2015 SEPTEMBER BULLETIN VISA UPDATE

IMMIGRATION AND POLICY BY NYC BUSINESS IMMIGRATION LAWYER - Phone (212) 564-1589: 2015 SEPTEMBER BULLETIN VISA UPDATE: LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL BLOG 11 Broadway, Suite 615 New York, NY 10004 Tel. (212)564-1589 / (973)621-9300 Website www.law...

2015 SEPTEMBER BULLETIN VISA UPDATE

LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL BLOG

11 Broadway, Suite 615

New York, NY 10004

Tel. (212)564-1589 / (973)621-9300

Website www.lawschell.com 

Here is a summary of the availability of immigrant visas during the September 2015 released by the U.S. Department of State.


FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

Family-Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	15DEC07	15DEC07	15DEC07	15NOV94	22OCT00
F2A	01MAR14	01MAR14	01MAR14	01FEB14	01MAR14
F2B	22DEC08	22DEC08	22DEC08	15JUL95	08SEP04
F3	08MAY04	08MAY04	08MAY04	22MAY94	15SEP93
F4	15JAN03	15JAN03	15JAN03	15MAR97	01MAR92

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA - mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN06	01JAN06	C	C
3rd	15AUG15	22DEC04	22DEC04	15AUG15	22DEC04
Other Workers	15AUG15	01JAN04	22DEC04	15AUG15	22DEC04
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	22SEP13	C	C	C

LAW OFFICES OF NORKA M. SCHELL BLOG

11 Broadway, Suite 615

New York, NY 10004

Tel. (212)564-1589 / (973)621-9300

Website www.lawschell.com 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia significantly curtailed        immigration benefits for foreign students in the United States on F-1 visas. In her opinion in the case Washington Alliance of Technology Workers vs. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Hovelled        invalidated USCIS’s 2008 17-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension rule. DHS argued that it had good cause to publish the regulation in 2008 as an emergency rule because thousands of highly skilled individual educated at U.S.

colleges and universities would otherwise have been forced to leave the U.S.  Judge Hovelled held that DHS failed to show it faced an emergency situation in 2008 that exempted it from carrying out the notice and comment requirement, 

thus making DHS’ rule invalid.

Judge Hovelled stayed her decision until February 12, 2016 because the “immediate vacatur of the 2008 Rule would be seriously disruptive” and “would force ‘thousands of foreign students with work authorizations . . . to scramble to depart the United States.’” 

Unless DHS passes a new rule this decision will adversely affect three key areas of business immigration:

1.  F-1 STEM work authorizations will stop being valid on February 12, 2016. This will affect both F-1 students who currently hold STEM OPT as well as individuals who would be eligible for STEM OPT as of February 12, 2016.

2.  H-1B/F-1 cap gap will no longer be automatic.  DHS will have to formally announce that the H-1B cap is met and then publish a notice in the federal register. This will result in uncertainty for both employers and F-1 students, as “cap Gap” protections will no longer be automatic but will instead depend on affirmative action by DHS.

3.  F-1 students will only be permitted to apply for work authorization while still in school; post- graduation applications will be no longer available.

The litigation continues and hopefully, STEM OPT will not be interrupted.