JUNE & JULY IMMIGRATION NEWSLETTER

"SKIL BILL" INTRODUCED IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership or "SKIL" Bill was recently introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill, which was introduced by John Shadegg (R-AZ) and co-sponsored by several other Republicans, would lead to an increase in the H-1B and Employment-Based visa caps. If passed, the bill would also extend the period in which certain foreign students may work after graduation from 12 to 24 months.

In light of the House's resistance to immigration reforms which would expand benefits, the SKIL Bill is seen as an encouraging sign. It is not clear if the bill will pass, however, or whether it could be applied to this year's H-1B cap, which was exhausted on May 26, 2006.

COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM UPDATE

Despite the House introduction of the SKIL Bill, the Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill has had some recent setbacks.

As explained previously, House and Senate committees will meet to resolve the enforcement-only immigration bill passed by the House and the Senate legislation, which includes both enforcement and increased benefits such as the opportunity for undocumented workers to legalize their immigration status.

Rather than proceed directly to meetings, however, the House has decided to hold hearings about immigration throughout the country. Last week's House hearings were in Laredo, Texas, San Diego and Washington. Senators held a hearing last week in Philadelphia and this week is in Miami. Seven new House hearings are scheduled, all but one in Washington, From July 1st to July 27th. Some analysts believe that the hearings are being used to stall momentum for the Senate bill, rather than an opportunity to truly gauge public opinion on the matter. In response to the House, the Senate has been conducting its own hearings.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently spoke at a Senate hearing in Philadelphia. The Mayor voiced his support for giving undocumented workers the opportunity to obtain legal status.

In other developments, Representative Pence from Indiana announced his intention to introduce a bill with what he calls "no amnesty immigration reform" as a compromise between the Senate and the House. The Pence bill would contain all of the enforcement provisions of the earlier House legislation, and add a limited guest worker program with significantly fewer benefits than under the Senate bill.

Under the Pence plan, the guest worker program would not begin for two years, allowing DHS time to further secure the border. Once the program is implemented participating foreign nationals would have to leave the U.S. for privately run facilities where their visa would be processed, theoretically within one week. The guest worker program visas would be renewable for up to six years, and there would be some opportunity for guest workers to ultimately apply for citizenship.

President Bush recently called the Pence program "intriguing" and seemed to at least somewhat support the plan. Previously, President Bush had given full support to the Senate bill which would provide almost immediate implementation of a program allowing many people to apply for legal immigration status without leaving the country.

FY 2007 H-1B NUMBERS FOR U.S. ADVANCED DEGREE HOLDERS NEAR 15,000

USCIS updated the current cap count as of July 6th. USCIS announced that 14,249 of the available 20,000 exempted petitions for U.S. Advanced Degree holders have been used. Note, however, that there were an additional 700 U.S. Advanced Degree exemption petitions received but not yet data-entered.

We should expect to see a steady increase in submissions now that will continue until the cap for Advanced Degree exemption petitions is reached.

USCIS IMPLEMENTS THE SECOND PHASE OF BI-SPECIALIZATION

USCIS plans to implement the second phase starting July 24, 2006. Bi-specialization is the USCIS initiative to implement centralized filing and bi-specialized adjudications among its four service centers. The second phase will affect filing and adjudication procedures for employment-based Form I-485 and related applications.

USCIS had announced its first phase of bi-specialization on April 1, 2006, which affected Form I-129 and related, concurrent applications.

STILL NO DATE SET FOR INCREASED PREMIUM PROCESSING AVAILABILITY

As announced earlier, USCIS will be greatly expanding its Premium Processing program to include a number of new petitions and application such as employment-based immigrant visa petitions (I-140s) and certain applications for work authorization. As of today, however, there has been no effective date announced for these changes.

BACKLOG ELIMINATION CENTER UPDATE

The Department of Labor ("DOL") has announced that by July 21, 2006, it will have completed issuing "45 Day Letters" for all pending applications for labor certification filed prior to the institution of the current PERM application system. Please keep in mind that the issuance of a 45 Day Letter does not mean that a pending application will be adjudicated within a certain amount of time.

If you have a pending application for labor certification filed prior to March, 2005, under the RIR or traditional processes, and have NOT received a 45 Day Letter as of July 21, 2006, please notify our office promptly.

Additionally, the Department of Labor has apparently changed its policy regarding the adjudication of Reduction in Recruitment ("RIR") labor certification applications. In some cases they may begin requiring some applications to follow the more lengthy "traditional" approach prior to adjudication requiring further advertising. Please remember, however, that not every RIR application will be required to undergo the traditional process, and we will notify clients individually if they are required to take any further steps.

COMMERCE SECRETRAY URGES GUEST WORKER PROGRAM

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has urged Congress to enact legislation in support of a guest worker program to guarantee that American companies are able to meet their labor needs. He testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and said that 500 of the nation's top economists recently sent a letter to the Bush administration stating that immigration had been a net gain for the U.S.

U.S. CONSULATE DELAYS

We have received reports that most U.S. Consulates are experiencing significant delays in scheduling nonimmigrant visa application interviews. For example, H-1B visa interview requests are now being scheduled for the end of December in Mumbai, India.