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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? Chinese consulates across the United States are strictly enforcing photo specifications for visa applications.
What does the change mean? Visa applicants should be sure to follow proper photo specifications when submitting applications. Those who fail to do so risk having their application rejected or unnecessarily delayed.
Background: BAL has seen an increase in enforcement at Chinese consulates in the U.S., including some cases where applications have been rejected solely because photos do not meet the required specifications.
At U.S. consulates, photos must be in color and taken in the last six months. Digital photos should be between 354 pixels (width) by 472 pixels (height) and 420 pixels (width) by 560 pixels (height). Paper photos should be 33 millimeters by 48 millimeters. The applicant’s face should be centered in the photo with all features clearly visible, and the background should be “white or close to white” with no borders around the edge. Eyeglasses are permitted, but not glasses that are tinted or otherwise obscure the eyes. Head coverings are allowed only for religious purposes and must not obscure the applicant’s face. A complete list of the specifications is available here.
As BAL reported in March, photo specifications vary depending on the country where the foreign national is submitting an application and are likely to be different for applicants applying outside of the U.S.
BAL Analysis: Those with questions about photo specifications should contact BAL or the embassy, consulate or visa center where they are submitting their visa application.
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Cutoff priority dates will be imposed in the China EB-1 and India EB-1 employer-based categories, according to the State Department’s June Visa Bulletin. China EB-2 and India EB-2 and most EB-3 categories will advance modestly.
Key movements:
Additional notes: All EB-1 and EB-2 categories other than India and China will remain current. The imposition of cutoff priority date in China EB-1 and India EB-1, which have been current up to this point this year, is likely being undertaken to control the number of visas issued between now and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, as the number of available immigrant visas runs out. The number of immigrant visas will increase again under the 2018 fiscal year’s annual limits. China EB-1 and India EB-1 will likely become current again when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Application Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:
The State Department also released its Dates for Filing chart for June. Applicants seeking to file for adjustment of status are reminded that the chart does not take effect unless USCIS confirms it via a web posting. BAL will update clients once officials confirm whether the chart can be used in June.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact BerryApplemanLeiden@bal.com.
The Labor Department has posted current processing times as of April 30 for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination requests.
PERM processing: Applications filed in February and earlier are currently being adjudicated, according to the Labor Department. Audit reviews are being conducted on applications filed in October and earlier, and appeals filed in April and earlier are being reviewed for reconsideration.
Average PERM processing times in April:
PWD processing: The National Prevailing Wage Center is currently processing requests filed in February and earlier for H-1B cases and PERM cases. Redeterminations are being considered on appeals filed in February and earlier for H-1B cases and PERM cases. Center Director Reviews are being conducted on appeals filed in March for H-1B and PERM cases.
Average time for issuance of prevailing wage determinations in April:
The Labor Department reports PERM and prevailing wage determination processing timeframes on its iCERT page.
BAL Analysis: BAL’s internal case tracking is mostly consistent with the Labor Department processing times, though BAL has seeing some adjudications on PERM cases filed as recently as mid-March of 2017. BAL is awaiting prevailing wage determinations for requests filed in February 2017.
The European Commission said this week that the EU will not impose a visa requirement on American travelers despite the U.S.’s refusal to include five EU member states in its Visa Waiver Program.
In March, the European Parliament adopted a nonbinding resolution in favor of a visa requirement for the U.S., which mandates visas for nationals of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. The Commission, the EU’s executive branch, declined to do so, however, with officials saying that suspending visa-free access to the EU would be “counterproductive at this moment and would not serve the objective of achieving visa-free travel for all EU citizens.”
Commission officials said that they will report on progress they make working with the U.S. on visa reciprocity before the end of the year.
The Commission also said it would continue visa-free access to the EU for Canadian nationals. Canada provides visa-free access for nationals of all EU member states except Bulgaria and Romania. Beginning May 1, however, Canada implemented a visa exemption for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who have held valid Canadian visitor visas within the last 10 years or currently hold a valid U.S. nonimmigrant visa. A full visa waiver for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals is set to take effect Dec. 1.
“Our goal is and remains to obtain full visa reciprocity with both Canada and the U.S.,” said Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship. “Our continued engagement and patient diplomatic contacts over the past year have brought tangible results already with Canada, and we are committed to proceeding in the same way with the U.S. Dialogue with our strategic partners is the right way forward and we are on the right track.”
BAL Analysis: U.S. and Canadian travelers will continue to be able to travel to EU member states without first obtaining a visa. While the EU’s dispute with Canada appears to be near a resolution, the dispute with the U.S. could continue for months or longer. The EU’s visa-reciprocity rules require countries that are permitted visa-free travel to the EU to reciprocate to all EU member states. The U.S, however, considers each country on its own terms and so far has been unwilling to include Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland or Romania in its Visa Waiver Program. The Commission has made it clear that visa-free travel to the EU for U.S. nationals will, in any case, continue for the time being.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
Beginning Monday, Argentine nationals will be eligible to apply for the Global Entry program, a trusted-traveler program that allows preapproved, low-risk travelers to use automated kiosks when clearing immigration at designated airports rather than having to wait in line.
Argentina will become the 10th country whose nationals will be eligible for Global Entry and will become the second South American country, following Colombia, to join the program.
Key points:
Background: Global Entry members bypass manned immigration inspection queues at entry points and undergo automated clearance at 52 U.S. airports and 15 preclearance locations, significantly reducing wait times upon arrival. Argentina joins Colombia, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom among countries that have Global Entry arrangements with the U.S.. Canadian nationals and those enrolled in NEXUS are also permitted to use Global Entry kiosks. Additional details are available on this CBP website.
BAL Analysis: Argentine nationals who are frequent travelers will benefit from the program, as their entry clearance will be expedited at dozens of airports. Global Entry members may also benefit from TSA security prescreening at designated international airports before boarding a flight to the U.S. Travelers are reminded that Global Entry does not ensure admission and they must still secure an appropriate visa before travel.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact BerryApplemanLeiden@bal.com.
The State Department has published a list of questions it would like to pose to “a subset of visa applicants,” as officials seek to implement President Donald Trump’s “extreme vetting” visa policies.
The list was published Thursday, and the State Department has asked the Office of Management and Budget for emergency review and approval by May 18. If granted, the emergency approval would be valid for 180 days. The administration could separately seek permanent approval of the questions.
Applicants subject to the new provisions would be required to provide the following information:
The questions are part of the administration’s new vetting policy as called for in Trump’s March 6 Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States. They were first proposed in a State Department cable issued March 15, but a subsequent cable suspended those requirements pending OMB approval, presumably because of the legal requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
The State Department said applicants would be selected for additional screening based on “individual circumstances” that “lead U.S. consular officers at posts around the world to conclude the applicant warrants enhanced screening that takes into account” information from the additional questions listed above.
BAL Analysis: The additional screening requirements could result in increased administrative processing delays for some applicants and may exacerbate interview appointment backlogs since the requirements may lead to longer interviews. Applicants who may be flagged for additional screening should be prepared to provide the additional information described above and should plan for the possibility of increased delays in their visa application process.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that it has completed data entry for H-1B cap petitions for fiscal year 2018 that were chosen in the lottery and will begin returning petitions that were not selected.
BAL Analysis: Employers and individuals are reminded that premium processing for all H-1B petitions remains suspended, which may delay receipts. They should expect returns of unselected petitions to continue for the next few months. The agency will notify petitioners whose cases are transferred from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center, as all future correspondence will go to the location handling the case.
Continued high demand for H-1B visas and higher levels of scrutiny of some petitions continue to make obtaining an H-1B visa a challenging prospect. Employers are encouraged to consider alternatives for individuals who will not obtain an H-1B visa this cap season.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received 199,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions this year. That number was down more than 15 percent compared with last year’s total, but still well above the H-1B cap of 65,000 visas plus the additional 20,000 for individuals holding a U.S. master’s degree or higher. On top of that, President Donald Trump’s administration has said it will tighten criteria for certain H-1B workers and no longer honor a longstanding presumption that computer programming qualifies as a specialty occupation.
Alternative visa routes may be available, depending on the worker’s particular circumstance. Some common alternative routes for temporary foreign workers include:
A lawsuit challenging the regulation was recently dismissed. And while the Trump administration has signaled an intention to limit work authorization for foreign students, so far it has not taken any steps to limit students’ abilities to pursue OPT.
Companies should anticipate some tightening of rules on L visas, including greater oversight. Earlier this month, the USCIS appeals panel ruled that companies whose L-1B employees remain on foreign payroll must meet U.S. minimum-wage requirements under both federal and state laws. Companies are encouraged to consult with their BAL professional for advice on individual cases.
President Trump said this week that he intended to renegotiate NAFTA with Canada and Mexico, and has signaled that he may withdraw from the agreement if he is unable to achieve his goals in negotiations. A BAL Analysis of what a withdrawal from NAFTA would mean for high-skilled immigration is available here.
“BILOH.” The B-1 in lieu of H-1B, or BILOH, is an option in limited circumstances. The B-1 is a visitor visa and the BILOH is being closely scrutinized for misuse, so companies should consult with their BAL attorney before considering this route.
BAL Analysis: Employers are encouraged to work with their BAL attorney to explore alternatives for current candidates and to map out long-term strategies for their workforce.
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering notifying Canada and Mexico that he intends to withdraw the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Though the treaty is primarily a trade agreement, it contains numerous immigration provisions and a U.S. withdrawal would potentially affect hundreds of thousands of workers admitted under these provisions.
BAL’s Government Affairs team has prepared an analysis of the immigration consequences for multinational companies and foreign high-skilled workers should the U.S. withdraw from NAFTA. Read the full analysis here.
Diversity Visa lottery results for fiscal year 2018 will be available Tuesday on the State Department’s Entrant Status Check webpage.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program allots 50,000 green cards per year to individuals from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the U.S. Entries for fiscal 2018 were accepted from Oct. 4, 2016 to Nov. 7, 2016.
Key dates and procedures:
BAL Analysis: Individuals who participate in the lottery are reminded that the State Department’s Entrant Status Check webpage is the only official source where results are posted. They must use the official website to find out if they have been selected in the lottery and, if selected, to check for the date of their immigrant visa appointment, as the U.S. government does not directly notify winners. The State Department also instructs individuals to retain their confirmation number until at least Sept. 30, 2018.