1. On November 23, 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") announced that it had received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2012. USCIS notified the public that November 22, 2011, was the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date in FY 2012. Any filings subsequent to November 22, 2011, will be rejected.[1]
2. On December 12, 2011, the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, held that the Board of Immigration Appeal's comparable grounds rule, as applied to applications for relief under former section §212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("Act") in deportation proceedings, is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The importance of the decision is that aliens in removal proceedings no longer have to demonstrate that the ground of removal has a comparable ground of inadmissibility when applying for relief under former section 212(c) of the Act.[2]
3. The Department of State announced that as of January 1, 2012, U.S. Consulate Chennai will no longer process immigrant visa ("IV") petitions. U.S. Embassy New Delhi and U.S. Consulate Mumbai are now the only acceptance centers for IVs in India.[3]
4. On January 9, 2012, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it intends to change its current process for filing and adjudication of certain applications for waivers of inadmissibility filed in connection with an immediate relative immigrant visa application. Specifically, USCIS is considering regulatory changes that will allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to request provisional waivers under section 212(a)(9)(B)(v) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (INA or Act), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)(v), prior to departing the United States for consular processing of their immigrant visa applications. However, please note that no regulations have been changed at this time.[4]
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6. On January 11, 2012, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the Secretary of Homeland Security ("Secretary") has extended the designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status ("TPS") for 18 months from its current expiration date of March 9, 2012 through September 9, 2013. The Secretary has determined that an extension is warranted because the conditions in El Salvador that prompted the TPS designation continue to be met.[5]
[1] See AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 11112369.
[2] See AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 11121239.
[3] See AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12010568.
[4] See AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12010660.
[5] See AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12011165.
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