What’s New in Immigration
On May 30, 2014, the United States Citizenship and immigration Services announced that effective June 1, 2014 the widely used form I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record must be submitted within one year of completion and signature by the civil surgeon and will be valid for one year after submission. The medical examination form will no longer be required as initial evidence and may be submitted at any time after filing of the accompanying application but prior to adjudication. The CIS also request that if the medical examination form is not filed with the corresponding application, the applicants wait for the USCIS to issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or bring the complete form to the interview.
http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/Updates/20140530-I-693Validity.pdf
On January 31, 2014, the US Department of Labor Office of the Foreign Labor Certification apparently in response to a recent Freedom of Information Request published an internal memo containing the audit guidance for all assigned case analysts. This is not a definite rule as the office wisely reminded that the document is nothing more than what it is i.e. “a guidance” reminding at the same time that the Certifying Officer is empowered to establish any other criteria as “deems it appropriate” to fulfill the general statutory delegation. The document, which is now available online, list eleven “tiers” of heightened scrutiny standards in what it seems no particular order of importance. The document is however priceless as it offers a very rare opportunity of a glimpse into the state of mind of this not-so-easy- approachable unit of the US Department of Labor. It is somewhat striking to realize that de jure vigilance should be applied to cases filed by employers requiring something less than a bachelor’s degree, sponsoring candidates for trade related occupations or guilty of repeated filings.
http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/OFLCAuditPlan.pdf
Vermont Service Center Processing Time Report with updated processing dates as of April 30, 2014.