Effective January 18, 2012, CIC is reporting its fastest processing times in years, taking an average of 15-16 days to adjudicate applications filed online, and only 30-46 days to adjudicate applications filed by mail.

This comes as very welcome news for many temporary residents currently seeking to extend their status in Canada. It does, however, bear some implications on those workers seeking to extend permits that rely on an approved Labour Market Opinion (LMO). LMO applications across the country are still taking very long to process, with processing times in Ontario, for example, most recently being reported at approximately 12 weeks. As work permit extensions will not be approved before an LMO is issued, timing is critical for these types of applications and advance planning even more vital.

For further information on Canadian work permits, visitor records, or study permits and the extension process, please contact the Bomza Law Group!

The H-2A and H-2B programs establish a means for U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs and temporary nonagricultural jobs. USCIS generally may only approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for foreign nationals of countries the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs. Alternatively, USCIS may approve the petitions for foreign nationals whose countries are not listed in the Federal Register if it is determined that it is in the U.S. interest to bring the foreign national in to the United States.

The following nationals for the following countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs:

Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nauru, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu.

Although this notice does not affect the status of nationals who currently hold valid H-2A or H-2B status, it may affect those seeking extension or change of status under the H-2 category at the time of this notice.

If you require additional information regarding the H-2A or H-2B nonimmigrant worker program, please feel free to schedule a consultation with one of our U.S. immigration specialists.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will, nonetheless, continue to accept extensions on current H-1B visas and petitions that request the change of terms of employment for current H-1B nonimmigrant workers and to allow current H-1B workers to obtain second H-1B positions.

U.S. companies, who require their workers to obtain H-1B visas, are encouraged to prepare H-1B petitions ahead of time in order to avoid being subject to the annual quota cap. The filing period for fiscal year 2013 will begin on April 1, 2012.

For additional information about the H-1B visa process, please feel free to contact one of our U.S. immigration attorneys.

At the end of June 2012 Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be finalizing the implementation of its new refugee regulations. Canada’s refugee assessment system has already undergone significant changes. When additional revisions come into effect later this year, it is anticipated that the increase in refusals and removals of failed refugee claimants will create an unanticipated burden on U.S. Immigration officials as failed claimants look south for additional immigration options. Canada and the USA, however, have signed a Third Safe Country Agreement, which bars claims for protection if a prior claim was made in either of the two countries. Some exceptions do apply to the agreement, such as being the family member of a person with legal status in the country in which protection is being sought. For further information in this regard contact the Bomza Law Group at 1-800-993-9971.

The current regulations only permit the waiver application to be filed in the foreign national’s home country. This proposed change will now allow spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for a waiver of unlawful presence while remaining in the U.S., which will keep families together. Under the proposed system, once the foreign national is granted the waiver, he or she will leave the U.S. and apply for his or her immigrant visa abroad, which will ultimately shorten the time of separation between loved ones.

For more details on immigrant waivers, please contact one of our attorneys at the Bomza Law Group.

Under this new directive the Department has refused to provide accommodation to allow individuals who must remove their face covering while taking the citizenship oath to do so in private and before a female official. The response from National Headquarters to the National Immigration Law Section Chair on December 13^th, 2011 was:

“…there are no options for private oath taking or oath taking with a female official as all candidates for citizenship are to repeat the oath together with the presiding official.”

There are Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at stake with the position currently being taken by the government which will have to be tested and balanced by the courts.

The complaint filed by DOJ seeks to prohibit future discrimination by the medical clinic, monetary damages to those who were affected, and civil penalties.

• Individuals requesting Braille or large print format.
• Individuals who self identify as all of the following:
• do not have access to the internet or who do not have a printer;
• do not have family members or friends who can assist them; and
• unable to access application kits via an organization or business due to a mobility disability.
• Individuals who reside in remote areas where internet access is unavailable. This can be verified on the Industry Canada website at: www.ic.gc.ca/app/sitt/bbmap/hm.html?lng=eng.
• Individuals requesting one of the following CIC forms:
• Handling of Public Money payment receipt (IMM 5401);
• Insufficient fee receipt (IMM 5412);
• Supplementary Identification form (IMM 5455) for the Permanent Resident Card; or
• Privately sponsored refugees requesting the Application for Permanent Residence in Canada: Convention refugees abroad and humanitarian-protected persons abroad (IMM 6000) [for missions only].