PLG Immigration NewsFlash
General Release Vol. 124 (May 18, 2011)

Petition Filings Drop Precipitously

There have been far fewer H-1B petition filings early this year than at the same time in recent years. USCIS reported that as of April 8, 2011, it had received approximately 5,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap and approximately 4,500 petitions toward the 20,000 advanced degree cap exemption. At the same time last year, it had received more than 13,500 cap-subject petitions and about 5,600 advanced degree petitions.

Possible causes of the slowdown are the continued sluggishness of the economy, skilled workers seeking work in their home countries and increased visa fees. Some potential H-1B workers have noted that the cost of living is significantly lower in their home countries, where they can also be close to their families, who often have difficulties obtaining visas for visits to the U.S. Critics of the H-1B program in Congress and elsewhere have also contributed to an overall negative climate for hiring H-1B workers.

The latest USCIS announcement is available at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=ebbdb1a97a53f210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b56db6f2cae63110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD.

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USCIS Issues Memo on Procedures for Revocation of a U.S. Passport

USCIS has released procedures for recommending revocation of a U.S. passport to the Department of State (DOS). Reasons include fraud, nonpayment of child support, drug trafficking, non-repayment of a repatriation loan or conviction for sex tourism.

Because USCIS lacks the authority to revoke or confiscate a U.S. passport, it has instructed its employees who doubt a passport's validity not to seize the passport, tell the bearer that there are issues or instruct the bearer to return it to DOS, but rather to request that DOS revoke the passport.

It is unclear whether DOS notifies the bearer directly when a passport is revoked. However, DOS will review the revocation request, reach a determination and notify the referring contact person of the decision.

If the passport is revoked, DOS will send a copy of the revocation letter to USCIS for the bearer's USCIS record. The passport is also marked "revoked" in the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS).

The memo is available at http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2011/April/revocation-us-passport-pm-602-0036.pdf.

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USCIS Releases Final I-140 Extraordinary Ability RFE Template

USCIS has released a final template for requests for evidence (RFEs) on I-140s in the EB-1 (extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics) category. The template outlines the evidence that may be submitted to satisfy the various EB-1 requirements. The template is available at www.immigrationlaw.com.

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Government Agency Links

Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Service Centers and the Department of Labor, or the Department of State's latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers:

• USCIS Service Center processing times online:
  
  https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplay.do
  
  
• Department of Labor PERM processing times:
  
  http://icert.doleta.gov/#fragment-2
  
  
• Department of State Visa Bulletin:
  
  http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html
  
  

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