USCIS has determined that the "final receipt date" is August 10, 2005. Any petitions received on this date would be subject to a random selection process while those received after this date would be rejected.

Petitions for current H-1B workers do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Further, as directed by the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions reflecting an alien beneficiary with a U.S. earned master's degree or higher degree are exempt from the cap. For FY 2005 and 2006, USCIS has received approximately 10,000 and 8,000 of such petitions, respectively.

PILOT PROJECT IN SAN DIEGO

The San Diego USCIS district has instituted a new Pilot Program whereby applicants are not issued Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) until an applicant's adjustment interview, which is supposed to be within 90 days of the filing the application at the Lockbox. If at the interview there is a problem, the EAD is approved and the card is mailed to the client within 10 days. Otherwise, no EAD is issued because the client adjusts. If the adjustment interview is scheduled beyond the first 90 days, the applicant can make an InfoPass appointment to get an interim EAD. To date, there have been no cases yet where scheduling did not occur within 90 day period.

US-VISIT BEGINS TESTING RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE BORDER SECURITY AND TRAVEL

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun testing the next phase of the US-VISIT Program, which uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to more efficiently record the entries and exits of visitors who are currently issued an I-94 card at land borders.

The testing will evaluate the ability of US-VISIT equipment to read information from RFID tags embedded in forms I-94A. The RFID tags will contain unique serial numbers which are linked to the visitor's biographic record. RFID technology reads the tag and records the visitor's entry and exit by securely transmitting the tag's serial number to the US-VISIT reader and database.

Five U.S. borders, namely Nogales East and Nogales West in Arizona; Alexandria Bay in New York; and Pacific Highway and Peace Arch in Washington state, will test the RFID technology from August 4, 2005 through early summer of 2006.

USCIS EXTENDS TPS DESIGNATION FOR SOMALIA AND LIBERIA

The USCIS has extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Designation for both Somalia and Liberia. The TPS designation for Somalia will expire on September 17, 2005 while that for Liberia will expire on October 1, 2005. Both have been extended for an additional year.

The re-registration deadline for nationals of Somalia is September 27, 2005. The 60-day re-registration for Liberian nationals begins August 16, 2005 and will remain in effect until October 17, 2005.

DOL TO PROPOSE ELIMINATION OF SUBSTITUTION/IMPOSITION OF 45-DAY DEADLINE FOR FILING I-140s

In effort to reduce the incentives and opportunities for fraud, the Department of Labor has proposed to eliminate the current practice of allowing the substitution of alien beneficiaries on applications and approved labor certifications. It is likewise proposing a 45-day deadline for employers to file immigrant petitions (I-140s) on the basis of approved permanent labor certifications with the Department of Homeland Security. The proposed rule would also prohibit sale, barter or purchase of permanent labor certifications or applications.

The proposed amendments would apply to both RIR and PERM applications.

DOL ISSUES ADDITIONAL FAQs ON PERM

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued additional FAQs and PERM. Among the issues discussed and addressed are multiple filings for the same beneficiary and what an employer should do if multiple applications are on file for the same person.

According to the DOL, an employer may not have more than one labor certification application actively in process for the same alien at any given time. Once an application for a particular alien is certified, all other applications for that alien filed under PERM would be denied. If an application by the same employer for the same alien is pending before the Backlog Reduction Center (BEC), a Notice of Finding would be issued. Similarly, if an application is certified by the BEC, any pending PERM application would be denied.

If an application is pending under PERM, the employer may not file a new application until the prior one is withdrawn or the employer is notified in writing that the previous application is denied.

As of August 31, 2005, if multiple applications from an employer for the same alien are pending, the last application filed will be processed and all other applications will be denied.

Further, an employer may not file a new application while a request fir review is pending with the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals.

RULING RESTORES LOST BENEFITS TO IMMIGRANTS

The State Supreme Court of Manhattan recently ruled that New York State cannot give disabled legal immigrants less benefit money solely on the basis that they are not citizens. The decision restored higher aid payments to thousands of disabled legal immigrants who were facing eviction after being cut off from federal and state disability benefits because they had not become U.S citizens within the seven-year period set by Congress.

The decision makes New York State liable for additional aid to disabled legal immigrants who are now considered for only the lowest level of public assistance, typically $352.00 a month. A citizen would qualify for $666.00.

According to the decision, the $314.00 difference, based only the fact of non-citizenship, violated both the federal Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and the state Constitution's requirement that the state help the needy.

As a result of this decision, New York State will owe less than $1.5 million in retroactive payments to 487 refugees cut off during the last two years, and as much as $3 million a year for 2,000 refugees likely to reach the cutoff during the next 6-7 years.