Immigration Inbox: Immigration News You Can Use - June 2009

Outlook on Immigrant Visa Availability Grim for India, China Employment-Based Categories– The July cut-off date for the India and China EB-2 categories is January 1, 2000; both could become unavailable in August or September and remain unavailable indefinitely.
E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule Delayed Until September 8, 2009– The effective date to require federal contractors to use the E-Verify system to confirm the work authorization of new hires has been delayed again.
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for Most Employment-Based I-140 Immigrant Petitions– Effective June 29, 2009 , USCIS will again accept Premium Processing requests for immigrant petitions in certain categories.
USCIS Ombudsman Reports on Denials of Adjustment of Status Applications Following a Change of Employment– The USCIS Ombudsman has received inquiries stating that the agency is not issuing Notices of Intent to Deny following a change of jobs, as required.
Court Orders USCIS To Accept Concurrently Filed Religious Worker, Adjustment Applications– The court ordered USCIS to begin accepting concurrently filed special immigrant religious worker petitions and adjustment of status applications, along with related employment authorization applications.
DHS Proposes To Expand E-Verify Monitoring and Compliance Efforts– USCIS Verification Division has created a Monitoring and Compliance (M&C) Branch.
SEVP Posts New Information on Upcoming SEVIS II– The Student-Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) of U.S. Customs & Immigration Enforcement has announced that it is moving to a second-generation database to track students (F-1 and M-1) and exchange visitors (J-1). SEVP will retire the original SEVIS (Student-Exchange Visitor Information System) when it deploys SEVIS II. The new system will involve data entry by the F-1, M-1 and J-1 visa holders directly rather than through universities and schools.
DOS Proposes Electronic Submission of SEVIS Annual Reports– Annual reports from designated program sponsors assist the U.S. Department of State (DOS) in oversight and administration of the J-1 visa program.
DHS Begins Exit Pilot Test of Fingerprint Collections at Two Airports– The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun collecting digital fingerprints from non-U.S. citizens leaving the United States from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport .
DHS Establishes Interim Relief for Widows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens– DHS has granted deferred action for two years to surviving spouses of U.S. citizens, and their unmarried children under 21 years old, who reside in the United States and were married for less than two years before their spouse’s death.
ABIL Global: EU Adopts Blue Card for Highly Skilled Foreign Workers– The Council of the European Union has created a fast-track procedure for third-country citizens in highly qualified employment.