USCIS Begins Accepting Copies of Negative O Visa Consultations From Labor Unions
United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin accepting copies of negative consultation letters directly from labor unions relating to a current or future O nonimmigrant visa petition request, effective immediately. O-1 and O-2 nonimmigrant visas exist to aid individuals who have documented extraordinary ability in science, business, education, athletics, or the arts, as well as those with extraordinary accomplishments in the motion picture or television industry, and certain essential support personnel. Generally, petitions in the O visa classification require a consultation letter from a U.S. peer group, labor organization, and/or management organization, and this consultation letter is generally submitted along with the petition. USCIS director L. Francis Cissna consulted with numerous labor unions discussing concerns related to the consultation process for O visa petitions, specifically the potential for falsification of these letters by petitioners who submit them to USCIS as no-objections or favorable consultations when they are in fact negative. The labor unions are now permitted to send a copy of a negative consultation letter to USCIS for comparison with the consultation letter which the petitioner submitted.
For more information, view the USCIS announcement.
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USCIS Both Expands and Delays Premium Processing Suspension for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions
Beginning September 11, 2018, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it would extend the premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions and plans on extending this temporary extension to include specific additional H-1B petitions. During this premium processing suspension, USICS will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service filed with an affected Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. If, when submitting the payment check, the petitioner combines both fees for the Form I-907 and Form I-129 onto one check, USCIS will reject both forms.
The temporary suspension has been expanded to include all H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and California Service Centers. The previous suspension for all cap-subject petitions was to last until September 10, 2018, with the current extension going through an estimated date of February 19, 2019. USCIS will continue premium processing Form I-129 H-1B petitions that are not currently suspended as long as the petitioner properly filed the associated Form I-907 prior to September 11, 2018. The premium processing fee will be refunded, therefore, as long as the petitioner filed the Form I-907 prior to September 11, 2018, and USCIS has no adjudicative case within the 15-calendar-day processing period.
The suspension in not applicable to cap-exempt petitions filed exclusively at the California Service Center because the employer is cap exempt or because the beneficiary will be employed at a qualifying cap exempt institution, entity, or organization. Also exempt form the suspension are petitions filed exclusively at the Nebraska Service Center by an employer requesting a “Continuation of previously approved employment without change with the same employer” with a concurrent request to do one of the following:
- Notify the office in Part 4 so each beneficiary can obtain a visa or be admitted (Box on Part 2, Question 4 of the current Form I-129); or
- Extend the stay of each beneficiary because the beneficiary now holds this status (Box c. on Part 2, Question 4, Page 2 of the current Form I-129).
No other nonimmigrant classifications filed on Form I-129 are subject to this temporary suspension of premium processing.
Expedited processing is still a possibility for petitioners who submit a request and demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following Expedite Criteria listed on USCIS’ webpage:
- Severe financial loss to company or person;
- Emergency situation;
- Humanitarian reasons;
- Nonprofit organization whose request is in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States;
- Department of Defense or national interest situation (These particular expedite requests must come from an official U.S. government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to the government.);
- USCIS error; or
- Compelling interest of USCIS.
Such requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of office leadership.
For more information, view the USCIS announcement.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.