Angelo Paparelli responded to Michael Chertoff’s criticism toward businesses that did not “embrace” the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system – a safeguard to check names and Social Security numbers of workers against government databases to verify document validity. Businesses have conversely criticized Washington for “asking them to match Social Security records” when government databases are rife with errors.

"Chertoff is not wrong for trying to enforce the law, but he's being disingenuous," said Angelo Paparelli, president of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers. "Until they fix and improve the integrity of their own databases and the security of the process that issues documents of identity, they cannot honestly expect employers to comply with the demands that they're making."

Paparelli, whose immigration-law practice is based in California and New York, also blamed Congress for failing to fund either the Real ID program or the repairs to government databases. “Without resources, Chertoff is essentially doing the only thing readily within his power,” Paparelli said. “He's authorizing raids of work sites.”

Read entire Los Angeles Times article here.

Angelo Paparelli asked Author Phillip M. Perry to be a guest blogger on www.nationofimmigrators.com - he accepted. Perry’s article “Hiring Immigrants: Navigating a Changing Legal Landscape” appears in its entirety with related sidebars and Website references. Angelo Paparelli is quoted in the “Safe Harbor Rules” section of the article.

Copyright© 2007 by Phillip M. Perry – used with permission.
www.editorialcalendar.net

See the story also posted on the site of Area Development magazine:
www.area-development.com/laborEducation/nov07/hiringForeign.shtml

Angelo Paparelli was quoted in Workforce Management Magazine on October 22, 2007 in “DHS Rule Blocked” related to a California judge’s preliminary injunction about employers ignoring ‘no-match’ letters.

Excerpts from Article:
“The federal government’s effort to curb illegal immigration by targeting the workplace was dealt a severe blow . . . by a California judge.”
“… The Bush administration . . . will be tied up in court . . . rather than implementing a Department of Homeland Security regulation forcing companies to resolve within 90 days discrepancies between a worker’s name and Social Security number or fire the employee.”
“But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff indicated the government won’t back off the work-site crackdown . . . underway for more than a year.”

Angelo Paparelli Quoted:
Employers should heed that warning, says Angelo Paparelli . . . “I’m fearful that employers will think [the court injunction] is a reprieve when they should be thinking of it as a time to prepare for the next wave of enforcement,” says Paparelli, president of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers.

Mark Schoeff, Jr., “DHS Rule Blocked,” Workforce Management Magazine, October 22, 2007.
Related Article >

Excerpts from article:
There is a program known as the “inventory green card” initiative that offers permanent residence to foreign nationals who invest $500,000 or $1 million in a government-approved new business that creates at least 10 new jobs. Of the 10,000 slots allocated, last year only 400 were filed. Those would-be entrepreneurs who come from wealthy families that would post the investment are denied the opportunity because they overstayed their visas and are deemed illegal, based on a relatively insignificant technicality.

Those who already own successful businesses – some that employ hundreds of American workers – have only two bad options under the law: return to their home countries to begin the process of legalization, while facing a 10-year ban on re-entry into the U.S., or remain in the country illegally. Not even the best immigration lawyers can do anything for them [those remaining illegally] because there is no remedy under existing law except in very rare cases.

Paparelli quoted:
“We just don’t have a logical system that encourages entrepreneurship under our immigration laws right now” says Angelo A. Paparelli, an immigration lawyer who is the current President of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers . . . “And by entrepreneurship, I’m not only talking about people who can invest $500,000 or $1 million under the existing programs. I’m talking about people who have the ability and energy to work very hard and very intelligently to start a new business. The lifeblood of the American economy is not the Fortune 500. It is the small businesses.” Paparelli and other leading immigration lawyers agree. “Our immigration system is in chaos,” Paparelli says. “It defies any kind of logic. Our immigration laws should get some kind of preferential treatment.” At the same time; however, he and others stress the vexing depth of the problem. “if we cannot get enough visas for highly skilled professionals who have been recruited by employers like Microsoft from overseas, to find the best and the brightest,” Paparelli adds, “then where is the political will to help people who are here illegally, even if they are entrepreneurs? Where is the upside in discussing them?” John Buchanan, Journalist, author & screenwriter, “Lost in the Shadows Part II - Why America’s Affluent, successful Illegal Immigrants Deserve our Help,” Aventura Magazine, November 2007. Read PDF of Article here >

Noted Immigration lawyer and author Angelo A. Paparelli replaces Stephen Yale-Loehr as an immigration law columnist for the New York Law Journal. Yale-Loehr, a prominent immigration lawyer and adjunct professor at Cornell University Law School who has co-authored the column for the past 10 years, nominated Paparelli, and the NYLJ confirmed the selection.

On October 22, 2007, the NYLJ published Paparelli’s first article, “Despite Court Setback on No-Match Rule, Homeland Security’s Outsourcing of Immigration Enforcement Gains Momentum.” He shares authorship with current NYLJ immigration columnist and well-respected immigration attorney Ted Chiappari, a partner at Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP in New York City. Yale-Loehr will continue as co-author of the 20-volume treatise Immigration Law and Procedure, published by LexisNexis Matthew Bender, and with his teaching responsibilities and immigration practice.

The column will be written in even months by both Paparelli and Chiappari and in odd months by another noted immigration attorney in New York. With a column word count of 1750-2000 words, this should give Paparelli & Partners LLP, through Paparelli’s literary voice, an opportunity to help businesses keep apprised of current business immigration issues that affect their hiring of well-qualified International employees.

Please stay tuned for future article links for the New York Law Journal Immigration Column co-authored by Angelo Paparelli and Ted Chiappari.

To view written article click here.
To view PDF of NYLJ published article click here.

Reprinted with permission from the October 22, 2007 edition of the New York Law Journal ©2007 ALM Properties Inc. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. The authors thank the Journal for permission to reprint this article.

“As a crucial hearing looms on a planned government crackdown on illegal immigrants in the workplace, many businesses are scrambling to figure out how they will cope with an expected loss of illegal labor.”

“A U.S. district court in San Francisco could decide as early as October 1, 2007 whether the Social Security Administration can send out thousands of "no match" letters to employers whose workers' names don’t jibe with their Social Security numbers. The notices would be accompanied by letters from the Department of Homeland Security outlining new penalties for hiring undocumented workers.”

Angelo Paparelli quoted:

Social Security has been mailing no-match letters for decades, but employers haven't been held accountable for workers who failed to address discrepancies. In fact, employers have been advised not to take any adverse action against an employee based exclusively on the letter. "There has been no definitive legal obligation to take action," says Angelo Paparelli, an immigration lawyer with offices in New York and Irvine, Calif., who is advising several concerned businesses.

Angelo Paparelli was interviewed in a lively exchange with reporters David G. Savage and Nicole Gaouette, staff writers with the Los Angeles Times, about the striking down of a Pennsylvania city ordinance "that sought to punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and employers who hire them, ruling that immigration law is the province of the federal government alone."

Paparelli was quoted on the ruling:

Irvine immigration lawyer Angelo Paparelli - president of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers, which says it advocates "enlightened business immigration reform" - said the ruling could cool local illegal immigration campaigns.

"I think the cities and states will be given a handy justification for not taking action," he said, "and I hope the pressure will be redirected back at Congress, where it belongs."

David G. Savage and Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writers, "Hazleton immigration law is rejected A city cannot take such a national issue into its own hands, a judge rules in Pennsylvania," Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007. Full article available at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-hazleton27jul27,1,4961607.story

Angelo Paparelli was interviewed by the Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal for his opinion on the recent federal judge's decision to strike down a local anti-immigrant law in Hazelton, Pennsylvania that was ruled "unconstitutional" because it is "pre-empted by federal immigration law and violated the Fifth Amendments" Due Process Clause.

Excerpt from Article:

The decision voided a controversial 2006 ordinance, known as the Illegal Immigration Relief Act. Immigrant and civil rights groups took city officials to federal court, and a nine-day trial took place earlier in March. The Hazleton ordinance imposed fines on landlords who rented to illegal immigrants and denied permits to businesses that hired illegal workers. U.S. District Judge James Munley found the Hazelton law interfered with federal immigration law. Federal immigration law requires that employers check people's eligibility to work. The Hazleton law required employers to consult with city officials, who would contact the federal government.

"By interposing the city official, it created a blockage that the federal law never contemplated or tolerates," said Angelo Paparelli, of Paparelli & Partners, an Irvine-based national immigration law firm. "The problem is it would inevitably disrupt the timing of employment."

Sandra Hernandez, "U.S. Judge Tosses City's Anti-Immigrant Law, Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal," Friday, July 27, 2007.

In an interview with E-Commerce Times, Angelo Paparelli, Managing Partner of immigration law firm Paparelli & Partners LLP and president of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers charged that inflexible U.S. immigration quotas have forced American companies to set up operations abroad. He cited as an example, Microsoft's opening of a new software development center by the end of 2007 -- a move that will enable the software giant to hire more foreign workers without the limitations of U.S. immigration law.

While the Microsoft move makes solid business sense without regard to immigration constraints, U.S. businesses are clearly being forced to evaluate their options, said Paparelli "The U.S. is simply becoming inhospitable to immigration by qualified workers," Paparelli told E-Commerce Times. "What American businesses want from an immigration system is for it to be orderly, predictable and for there to be a reasonable supply of worker visas. I see a wide variety of multinationals based in the U.S. evaluating their options now."

Paparelli cited an incident earlier in the week in which two agencies that share responsibility for overseeing legal immigration openly feuded over a batch of visa applications, leaving thousands of high-achieving workers and students in a state of limbo as a result.

The H-1B program and other pathways for workers to stay in the states have been caught up in the larger debate. "Legal and illegal immigration definitely have become interwoven," Paparelli added.

Keith Regan, "Microsoft Steps Across Border to Sidestep Immigration Rules," E-Commerce Times, July 06, 2007. Full article available here.

Angelo Paparelli served as discussion leader with Paul Virtue, former INS General Counsel, and Richard Rulon a Philadelphia-based immigration lawyer for a panel presentation entitled "Immigration Implications of Complex Corporate Changes." Rather than presenting a talking-heads panel discussion on the immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions, Angelo scripted a humorous but still very substantive circus-style performance discussing the immigration issues arising from the hypothetical merger of Tingling Brothers Circus and Cirque du Soul-Play. The panelists, along with Lily Hensel of Paparelli & Partners LLP and Cheryl Geiser, an attorney in private practice from Maryland, provided the audience with both legal education and entertainment at the early hour of 8:30 a.m. on June 15.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/washington/14immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Angelo Paparelli was interviewed on April 14, 2007 for an article in the New York Times about immigration authorities conducting a lottery for the first time to determine which petitions for work visas from highly educated or skilled foreigners will be considered.

In the article, corporate executives and lawyers said that employers seeking visas for immigrants must demonstrate to the Department of Labor that no American workers are available.

"There are penalties, and the Department of Labor really is enforcing these rules," said Angelo A. Paparelli, an immigration lawyer. "So where's the harm?"

Julia Preston, "Lottery Used to Narrow Work Visa Petitions," New York Times, April 14, 2007. Full article available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/washington/14immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogi

On Saturday, March 24, 2007, Angelo Paparelli of Paparelli & Partners LLP was quoted in The Guardian (UK) in "Town's Immigration Law in Judge's Hands" by Michael Rubinkam.

Angelo Paparelli commented later in this story on the Hazleton law: ". . . Angelo Paparelli, president of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers and a critic of the Hazleton law, noted a federal judge struck down a 1994 California ballot measure that sought to deny public services to illegal immigrants because it conflicted with federal immigration law."

Full article available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6505449,00.html

Angelo Paparelli was quoted in the article "Don't Get Caught with a 1.0 in a 5.0 World" in their May 2007 edition.

An excerpt from the article:

In fact, one lawyer, immigration attorney Angelo Paparelli, says that he was compelled to leave his big-firm practice because the firm's technology capabilities were so antiquated. "The process of decision-making in the acquisition of technology was a very big factor in my leaving a very large firm," says Paparelli, now the managing partner of Paparelli & Partners, which has offices in New York City and Irvine, CA.

While noting that he has the highest regard for his former firm, he says that he "was representing a very large, well-known company, and that company had expectations, which were entirely reasonable, that I would communicate with them in a way that was compatible with their particular products, and I was not able to do that. "It became an embarrassment," Paparelli continues. "I began to make noises. I was in a branch office. The IT people decided that they would adopt the [needed] technology after all, but it would be phased in, and I was about eight months away."

Lori Tripoli, "Don't Get Caught with a 1.0 in a 5.0 World," Of Counsel, May 2007 Issue. View PDF

Angelo A. Paparelli, who represents high-tech companies and is president of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on May 18, 2007. Commenting on the new immigration deal between the White House and certain Senators that, among other things, includes mandatory work authorization verification against a federal database, Mr. Paparelli predicted that "[w]e will have a harrowing period of pressure on employers with the risk of criminal prosecution and discrimination lawsuits."

Angelo Paparelli's bio can be found at: www.abil.com/lawyers-paparelli.htm

Angelo Paparelli was interviewed on Bloomberg Television by Evening News Host Mike Schneider in a seven minute segment on May 18, 2007 at 6:40pm (ET) and 3:40pm (PT). The interview was focused on the politically controversial "Immigration Bill." Paparelli offered his thoughts on the legal ramifications of the latest immigration reform attempt by Congress and the Administration.
Link unavailable.

Fighting Crime: A Workshop for Immigration Lawyers
http://www.ilw.com/workshops/march2007crimes.shtm

Immigration lawyers today, no matter the focus of their practice, increasingly are coming face-to-face with the dreaded word "CRIME." A valued client has been charged with a crime, or worse yet, a shamefaced client belatedly "remembers" that a criminal conviction rests in the closet. More and more often, federal authorities dismiss the option of a civil violation in favor of criminal prosecution. Immigration attorneys dread the word "crime" - not just because it may waylay even the best nonimmigrant or green-card strategy and mean escalated consequences for their clients. They dread it because it signifies work outside the immigration comfort zone, or perhaps beyond the lawyer's level of competence. So they face a painful dilemma: Refer the client and a lucrative matter to a more-experienced practitioner or jump into the deep water without a life vest. It doesn't matter if their practice is white- or blue-collar, family- or employment-based, immigration-court focused or service-center centric, most lawyers simply dread the "crime" word. They may have attended past seminars on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, but then Congress, the agencies and the courts keep changing the rules and interpretations. What worked before, now may be foreclosed or ineffective.
Order the DVD today >

Solving Complex Immigration Challenges While Super-Charging Your Career and Your Law Firm
http://www.ilw.com/workshops/march2007challenges.shtm

Immigration-law representation and practice management have never been more difficult. The ever-changing law is mind-bogglingly complex, agency regulations are either indecipherable or nonexistent, and the bureaucratic response is typically confused, nonsensical or unforgiving.

Media bloviators befuddle, inflame and frighten the public about America's "Broken Borders". ICE conducts unannounced raids of employers and sweeps of the hapless alien parents of U.S. citizen children. USCIS launches a new website that spits out more error messages than answers. CBP snares both overstays and legitimate travelers alike who apply for admission at ports of entry. The DOL's buggy PERM program perplexes long-time and new practitioners. DOS and DHS are hamstrung by delays in FBI security clearances. The AAO rubber-stamps USCIS denials while pretending to be impartial. The State Department reports monthly quota backlogs that move at a chelonian pace. Future H-1B hopefuls are stuck like insects in amber while awaiting April 1 and October 1. A newly reconstituted, Democrat-controlled Congress is set to attempt a grand resolution on comprehensive immigration reform legislation with Pres. Bush.

Meantime, today's clients are more demanding and panic-stricken than ever because the stakes for them have never been greater.

1. With all that is riding on the work of today's immigration lawyers, are you and your law firm ready for the minefields and IEDs that lie ahead?
2. Are you drowning in tedium, paperwork, red tape and online inanity, finding it hard to make an honest buck, and feeling unloved and undervalued?
3. Is your immigration practice where it should or could be?
4. Is it time to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone and ramp up your immigration career and your law firm to a higher level?

If you answered "yes" to even one of these questions, then you should request the DVD of this one-day groundbreaking seminar presented by world-class immigration lawyer, Angelo Paparelli, and other handpicked crème de la crème experts.
Order the DVD >

On Monday, April 9, 2007, CNBC’s Jim Goldman reported on the debate over whether we should allow more skilled worker in the country. Angelo Paparelli appeared on the segment to discuss the problems associated with the H-1B cap, which was exhausted on the first day of filing this year. Mr. Paparelli explained:

“This is a problem for the entire economy because these workers create jobs, create innovations and improve our standard of living. And so, do we want to become a second-rate economy behind other countries where they welcome immigration and they use it wisely?”

The full segment is available at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=247791196.

On April 9, 2007, the USCIS announced that the 15-day premium processing period for H-1B cap petitions will begin after the random selection process. The USCIS received 133,000 packages containing H-1B petitions on April 2nd and 3rd of this year. Some of the packages contained multiple petitions and thus the final count will not be known until the USCIS has opened and sorted all the packages. If more than 20,000 petitions were received for those with U.S. Masters or higher degrees, the USCIS will first run a random selection process for those petitions. This cap-exempt random selection must take place before the regular H-1B random selection process because any rejected cap-exempt petition will be considered in the regular H-1B random selection process.

The USCIS has projected that the random selection process will not take place for several weeks. As a result, H-1B petitions filed by premium processing will not be adjudicated until many weeks, perhaps months, after the date of filing.

Click here to view the USCIS announcement.

April 2, 2007, marked the start and end of the annual H-1B rush. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 3 that it had received many more than enough H-1B petitions to fill the annual quota on the very first filing day of the year. The USCIS will conduct a random selection process for all H-1B petitions accepted on April 2 and April 3, 2007. The random selection process will not be conducted for several weeks. The USCIS also may have received enough petitions for the additional 20,000 H-1Bs available for those with U.S. Masters or higher degrees, but the final receipt date has not yet been officially announced. The USCIS announcement is at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/H1BFY08Cap040307.pdf.

Angelo Paparelli was interviewed for an article in the San Jose Metro about proposed fee increases by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A spokeswoman for the USCIS stated that fee increases are necessary for the agency to "keep up."

"But Angelo Paparelli, an active immigration blogger, California Certified Specialist in Immigration Law, and [President of the Academy of Business Immigration Lawyers], doesn't believe the USCIS has measured costs accurately. He says that before the proposal is approved, the USCIS needs to be held accountable at a congressional oversight hearing where it shows proof of its cost analyses and funding needs.

'Otherwise, it sounds either like an illusory campaign for technological improvement, or a tax on wanting to become a citizen,' he says. 'And isn't citizenship something we encourage?'"

Matt Stroud, "Land of the Fee," San Jose Metro, March 7, 2007. Full article available at http://www.metroactive.com/metro/03.07.07/immigration-fee-0710.html.

A March 12, 2007 article on SmartMoney.com addressed the difficult situation facing undocumented business owners at tax time. Explaining that many of these individuals do, in fact, pay taxes, Mr. Paparelli stated:

"'A very large number of entrepreneurs are not, in my experience, the type who are going to cross the border in the dead of night,' says Angelo A. Paparelli, an immigration attorney. 'Most people come here in a lawful status, and then in one way or another - by design or by unwitting behavior or by failure to act - fall out of status. That is not an easy situation for people.'

But the stakes are high. Triggering scrutiny could ruin a business. 'They may have hired U.S. workers, they may have signed a lease on a building,' Paparelli says. 'All of that gets thrown into a situation of jeopardy.'"

Colleen DeBaise, "For Illegal-Alien Entrepreneurs, Tax Time is Tricky," SmartMoney.com, March 12, 2007. Full article available at: http://www.smartmoney.com/tax/filing/index.cfm?story=ia.

On March 5, 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it will soon require Forms I-129 (including H-1B petitions) and I-539 to be filed directly at either the California Service Center or the Vermont Service Center. Effective April 2, 2007, the forms are to be filed with the service center covering the place of employment or place of residence. The USCIS will not reject forms filed in accordance with previous filing instructions until April 17, 2007. Forms filed on or after April 17, 2007 at the incorrect service center will be rejected and returned to the petitioner or applicant. Filing charts that include the jurisdiction of each service center are available at: http://tinyurl.com/2kqlwj.

Paparelli & Partners advises graduating students and their employers to contact us now to help them identify potential H-1B candidates and prepare H-1B paperwork. H-1B applications to be filed under the fiscal year 2008 cap will be accepted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) no earlier than April 2, 2007, and the cap is expected to be met quickly.

It is possible that a gap will occur between H-1B workers' employment authorization granted under Optional Practical Training (OPT) and their H-1B work start date. The 60-day grace period at the end of OPT allowing the student to remain in the U.S. does not include H-1B work that may not start before October 1, the beginning of the 2008 fiscal year. Employers are encouraged to contact us for advice in specific situations, and to contact their representatives in Congress to address the problem and the shortage of skilled professionals.

For H-1B filings not subject to the annual cap, it is still possible to obtain H-1B status with an immediate start date for new employees who currently maintain H-1B status with another employer or have been in H-1B status in the past six years and subsequently have been absent from the U.S. for less than one year. In addition, institutions of higher education, nonprofits related or affiliated to such institutions, and nonprofit or governmental research organizations are exempt from the cap and may continue to obtain H-1B status for new employees.

USCIS also will continue to process H-1B petitions filed to: (1) extend the period of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.; (2) change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; (3) allow current H-1B workers to change employers; or (4) allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

On February 21, 2007, the USCIS introduced a revised Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization. The new form, with the revision date February 8, 2007, should be used immediately. Although the USCIS website indicates that prior versions of the form will be accepted until March 30, 2007, the USCIS press release announcing the new form state that prior versions would not be accepted unless filed prior to February 22, 2007. The new Form I-765 is available at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-765.pdf.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the addition of three categories to the premium processing service, which allows U.S. businesses to pay a $1,000 fee in exchange for 15-day processing of the case. On September 25, 2006, USCIS began accepting premium processing requests for the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) for the EB-1 (outstanding professors and researchers); EB-2 (members of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability not seeking a national interest waiver); and EB-3 (workers other than skilled workers and professionals, including unskilled labor requiring less than two years of training or experience) immigrant visa categories.

For more information on premium processing for the three added EB immigrant visa categories, see here.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of August 28, 2006, it has begun accepting premium processing requests for EB-3 professional and EB-3 skilled worker petitions. EB-3 professionals include immigrant workers with bachelor's degrees who are members of the professions; EB-3 skilled workers include immigrant workers capable of performing skilled labor requiring at least two years of education, training, or experience.

Under premium processing, USCIS guarantees a petitioner that it will issue an approval notice, a notice of intent to deny, or a request for evidence, or that it will open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within 15 calendar days of receipt. If the petition is not processed within 15 calendar days, USCIS will refund the fee and continue to process the request on an expedited basis. The fee for premium processing is $1,000. Employers may file for both categories using the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140). A new Request for Premium Processing Services (Form I-907) has been issued and, as of August 28, 2006, previous versions of the form are no longer being accepted.

In addition to faster processing, participating petitioners may use a dedicated telephone number and e-mail address to check on the status of their petitions or ask questions. Since 2001, premium processing has been available for several classifications using the Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129), including E treaty traders and investors, H-1B specialty occupation workers, H-2B temporary workers performing agricultural services, H-3 trainees, L intracompany transferees, O aliens of extraordinary ability and those performing essential support services, P performers and athletes and those performing essential services, Q international cultural exchange visitors, R religious workers, and NAFTA professionals from Canada and Mexico. I-129 petitions for these nonimmigrant worker classifications will continue to be eligible for premium processing service unless the filing period has closed (for example, when the annual numerical limit for a specific category has been reached).

USCIS's announcement is available here.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 28, 2006, that it has met the exemption limit of 20,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2007 for H-1B petitions requesting foreign workers who have earned a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education. Petitions received on July 26, 2006 are being subjected to a random selection process, described below, and USCIS will reject petitions requesting such a worker that are received after that date unless the petition is otherwise eligible for a separate cap exemption. USCIS has implemented the following procedure for FY 2007 H-1B filings:

• If USCIS determines that the numerical limits have been exceeded, the agency will identify those H-1B petitions seeking a FY 2007 number that were received on that date.
• USCIS will then conduct a computer-generated random selection of the petitions received on that date to allocate any remaining FY 2007 H-1B numbers.
• After random selection, any remaining H-1B petitions that do not receive a FY 2007 number and are not otherwise exempt will be rejected and returned.
• Returned petitions will be accompanied by the filing fee.
• Petitioners may resubmit their petitions when H-1B visa numbers become available for FY 2008.
• The earliest date a petitioner may file a petition requesting FY 2008 H-1B employment with an employment start date of October 1, 2007, would be April 1, 2007.

Petitions for current H-1B workers do not count toward the H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S., change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers, allow current H-1B workers to change employers, or allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position. USCIS also noted that petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the worker will be employed at an institution of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, or at a nonprofit research organization or governmental research organization. The USCIS announcement is available at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/H1BMasters072806PR.pdf.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that as of May 26, 2006, all of the "regular" H-1B visa numbers for start dates effective October 1, 2006, have been used up. The H-1B cap for FY 2007 was 58,200; the agency also added back 6,100 unused FY 2006 H-1B1 visa numbers, for a total of 64,300.

Any additional petitions subject to the fiscal year 2007 H-1B annual cap received after May 26, 2006, will be rejected and returned along with the filing fee. Petitions that were received on May 26, 2006, are being subjected to a computer-generated random selection process to enable USCIS to apply the remaining number of H-1B visas available on that date to those petitions. Petitioners may resubmit their petitions when H-1B visas become available for FY 2008. The earliest date for filing an H-1B petition subject to the FY 2008 cap, with an employment start date of October 1, 2007, is April 1, 2007.

The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of those with U.S.-earned master's or higher degrees are exempt from the fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas. The advanced degree cap could be met in September 2006, however. USCIS reports that it has received approximately 5,830 exempt petitions in that category so far. For that reason, any such person who is eligible to file for H-1B status should do so immediately.

It is still possible to obtain H-1B status with an immediate start date for "new" employees who currently maintain H-1B status with another employer, or who previously have been in H-1B status in the past six years and subsequently have been absent from the U.S. for less than one year. Institutions of higher education, nonprofits related or affiliated to such institutions, and nonprofit or governmental research organizations are exempt from the cap and may continue to obtain H-1B status for new employees.

USCIS also will continue to process petitions filed to: (1) extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.; (2) change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; (3) allow current H-1B workers to change employers; or (4) allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

The USCIS's press release is at
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/FY07H1Bcap_060106PR.pdf.
Additional information regarding the specific number of H-1B petitions processed is at: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm.

The USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register on May 23, 2006 that opens the agency's premium processing service to nearly all Form I-140 employment-based immigrant worker petitions. The agency is also extending premium processing to certain Form I-539 applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status, as well as to Form I-765 applications to renew employment authorization for foreign nationals with pending employment-based applications for adjustment of status. In addition, USCIS will permit concurrent filing of Forms I-539 and I-765 for certain nonimmigrant classifications. The USCIS will specify the beginning dates for acceptance of these petitions for premium processing via the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov).

USCIS's premium processing program allows petitioners and applicants to request expected adjudication of certain cases. Upon payment of a $1,000 fee, designated applications and petitions are slated for adjudication within 15 calendar days of filing. If the agency does not act on the case within the stated period - by issuing an approval, a denial or a request for evidence in the case - the $1,000 fee is refunded. The USCIS premium processing notice is available HERE