Updates in Immigration

• Registration for the 2011 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Now Open
  The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is an annual program run by the Department of State whereby 55,000 Diversity Visas (Dvs) are made available each fiscal year to persons from countries with a low rate of immigration to the U.S. Submissions must be made via an electronic registration system.
  
  

  The online entry registration period for the DV-2011 Diversity Visa lottery is between noon (EDT), Friday, October 2, 2009, and noon (EST), Monday, November 30, 2009. Entrants apply on Form DS-5501, Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form available only during the DV open registration period.
  
  

  Click here for the DV-2011 Lottery Instructions.

  
  
• Resumption of Premium Processing Service for R-1 Non-Immigrant Religious Worker Classification
  U.S. CIS announced that effective July 20, 2009, Premium Processing will resume for R-1 non-immigrant religious worker petitions filed by certain R-1 petitioners. The Premium Processing Service will only be available for those petitioners who have successfully passed a site inspection at the location where the beneficiary will work.
  
  
• Foreign Residence Requirement: Certain Countries No Longer on Skills List
  It has been announced that the following countries are no longer on the Skills List:
  
  

  Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Samoa, and Zimbabwe.
  
  

  The DOS Waiver Review Division has confirmed that citizens of the countries that have been removed from the Skills List are no longer subject to the two-year home residence requirement if they were subject based on the list. However, the removal of an individual skill, as opposed to the entire country, does not relieve someone from the two-year home residence requirement.
  
  

• ICE announces new audit initiative
  On July 1, 2009, ICE launched a new audit initiative by issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses across the U.S. The notice alerts businesses that ICE will be inspecting hiring records to determine whether employers are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations. Employers are required to complete and retain Form I-9 for all their employees in the U.S. These audits will result in the inspection of I-9 records to ensure compliance. In 2008, ICE issued 503 similar notices.
  
  
• USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Service for Form I-140
  Effective June 29, 2009, CIS resumed Premium Processing for I-140 petitions involving EB-1, Aliens of Extraordinary Ability, EB-1, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, EB-2, Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability (not seeking a National Interest Waiver), EB-3 Professionals, EB-3 Skilled Workers, and EB-3 Workers other than Skilled Workers and Professionals. The service is not available for I-140 petitions for EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers and EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability seeking a National Interest Waiver.
  
  

  Premium Processing is a service that guarantees petitioners an adjudication (approval, notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence, or opening of an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation), within 15 calendar days of receipt of the petition, for a fee of $1000.
  
  For more information, click here.
  
  

• Victory for Religious Workers
  Until recently, an I-360 petition for special immigrant religious workers could not be filed concurrently with an application for permanent residence (I-485). On June 11, 2009, the Washington District Court in Ruiz-Diaz v. United States found that the regulation on concurrent filing was invalid and unenforceable as applied to religious workers. The district court has ordered USCIS to accept properly filed Forms I-360, Forms I-485 and Forms I-765 for employment authorization from certain religious workers who have been affected by CIS’s implementation of the concurrent filing regulation.
  
  
• I-485 Denials Upon I-140 Denial
  USCIS Headquarters has recently instructed the Service Center to deny pending I-485 applications upon denial of the underlying I-140 petition. In the past, some Centers would keep the I-485 open for thirty days in case the I-140 petition denial was challenged. However, now both Texas Service Center and Nebraska Service Center will deny I-485 applications when they deny an I-140 petition.

Updated November 2, 2009