Immigration News Briefs
DOL investigating TCS and Infosys
According to The New York Times on June 12, 2015, the
Department of Labor (DOL) has opened an investigation
against Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys for
"possible violations of rules for visas for foreign technology
workers under contracts they held with an electric utility
company Southern California Edison."
The move by the DOL comes days after The New York Times reported that hundreds of employees at entertainment giant Walt Disney were laid off and replaced with Indians holding H1-B visas, brought in by an Indian outsourcing firm. Many of those laid off at both Disney and Edison complained of having to train the new workers to do their jobs.
Stocks of both TCS and Infosys fell over 2 per cent intraday when the news broke. There are concerns that visa quotas for these companies may be affected if violations are established during investigations. It may also lead to rise in legal costs for the Indian companies.
Delays in US Visa Stamps and Passport Processing
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is experiencing technical
problems that are causing delays in issuance of U.S.
visa stamps, as well as some U.S. passports. These delays
are the result of a June 9th hardware failure that impacts
security checks. The problems are not country specific or
related to a certain visa category.
Individuals who applied for visas at a U.S. consular post on or after June 9th may face delays in visa processing. The DOS does not have an exact timeframe of when this problem will be resolved. More information will be available on travel.state.gov.
Class Action Lawsuit Filed over EAD Delays
Three immigrants and two immigration service providers
have filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for unlawfully
delaying the adjudication of their applications for employment
authorization. By regulation, USCIS must either
adjudicate EAD applications within a fixed time period
or issue interim employment authorization. Yet, USCIS
regularly fails to do either, leaving immigrants in a precarious
position, unable to work legally and at risk of
losing their jobs, related benefits and, in some states, their
driver’s licenses. Filed by the American Immigration
Council, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP),
and other law firms, the complaint alleges that this
failure by USCIS violates the governing regulations and
the Administrative Procedure Act.
At a recent meeting with AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) members, USCIS representatives indicated that “USCIS no longer produces interim EADs.”
The plaintiffs have requested that the court grant them class certification so that they would be deemed representatives of all noncitizens who have filed or will file EAD applications that were not, or will not be, adjudicated within the regulatory timeframe. The plaintiffs are asking that the court order USCIS to comply with its regulations and to issue interim employment authorization in cases where the regulatory time period has elapsed.
VISA PREFERENCE NUMBERS FOR July 2015
|
FAMILY |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
01Oct07 |
01Oct07 |
|
2A |
08Nov13 |
08Nov13 |
|
2B |
15Oct08 |
15Oct08 |
|
3rd |
15Mar04 |
15Mar04 |
|
4th |
22Oct02 |
22Oct02 |
|
EMPLOYMENT |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
Current |
Current |
|
2nd |
01Oct08 |
Current |
|
3rd |
01Feb04 |
01Apr15 |
|
Other |
01Feb04 |
01Apr15 |
|
4th |
Current |
Current |
|
5th |
Current |
Current1B |
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