Brian D. Lerner Immigration Attorney & Deportation Lawyer Blog

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USCIS announced on April 7 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption.

USCIS received about 172,500 H-1B petitions during the filing period which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 10, 2014, USCIS completed a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption. For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing.

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http://ow.ly/vEpkv Under the law of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the offense of attempted possession of a stolen vehicle in violation of sections 193.330 and 205.273 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, which requires only a mental state of “reason to believe,” is not categorically an aggravated felony “theft offense (including receipt of stolen property)” under sections 101(a)(43)(G) and (U) of the Immigration and Nationality Ac

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http://ow.ly/vx9wD BIA on §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver Eligibility
In an unpublished decision, the BIA agreed with the IJ that the respondent was statutorily eligible for a waiver of deportability under §237(a)(1)(H) as a matter of discretion, even though he failed to disclose his time in the Serbian Army on his refugee application.

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http://ow.ly/vEmEz An alien whose status has been adjusted from asylee to lawful permanent resident cannot subsequently readjust status under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1159(b) (2012).

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http://ow.ly/vx9nj Preliminary Settlement Agreement in Duran-Gonzales v. DHS
The U.S. district court in Washington granted preliminary approval of a settlement agreement in Duran-Gonzales v. DHS. This class action lawsuit challenged DHS’s contention that individuals who were removed or deported are not eligible to apply for adjustment of status under INA §245(i) with an accompanying I-212 waiver. The settlement agreement would allow certain qualifying class members to request that USCIS reopen their Forms I-212 and I-485 on service motion.

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http://ow.ly/vwYLl USCIS will begin transferring responsibility for adjudicating Forms I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, from service centers to USCIS international field offices. The first phase begins today and only involves cases with beneficiaries residing in China. USCIS will send a transfer notice when a case is sent abroad and the USCIS international field office will provide further processing information.

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