Is it permissible to enroll in school while in B-1/B-2 status?

No, it is not.  The regulations, at 8 CFR 214.2(b)(7), specifically prohibit study in the United States while in B-1 or B-2 status.

Before enrolling in classes, individuals who are in B-1 or B-2 status must first acquire F-1 (academic student) or M-1 (vocational student) status.  Enrolling in classes while in B-1/B-2 status will result in a status violation.  Individuals in B-1 or B-2 status, who have violated their nonimmigrant status by enrolling in classes, are not eligible to extend their B status or change to F-1 or M-1 status. These regulations provide no exceptions.

How can I obtain F-1 or M-1 status?

If you currently hold B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant status and would like to enroll in classes, you may apply for a change of status to F-1 or M-1, as appropriate, if:

• You have not yet enrolled in classes
• Your current status has not expired
• You have not engaged in unauthorized employment

To change your nonimmigrant status from B-1/B-2 to F-1 or M-1, you must file an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539), and include the required fee and documents listed in the filing instructions.

Please Note:

• If you enroll in classes before USCIS approves your Form I-539, you will be ineligible to change your nonimmigrant status from B to F or M.
• If you are applying to extend your B-1/B-2 stay and you have already enrolled in classes, USCIS cannot approve your B-1/B-2 extension because of the status violation.

What if I am not eligible?

If you are not eligible to change your nonimmigrant status to F-1 or M-1, you may apply for an F-1 or M-1 visa at a consular post abroad.  For information about consular processing, please visit the Department of State’s website at www.state.gov/travel.  For information about the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), please visit the SEVP website at:  www.ice.gov/sevis.

We encourage all students and prospective students to work closely with their designated school official (DSO) to coordinate the timing of applying for change of status and enrolling in classes.

Press Release

Newark CA – On August 13, 2010 President Obama signed into law H.R. 6080, an act making emergency supplemental appropriations for border security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes. This law includes an increase of certain H-1B and L-1 application fees.

USCIS conducted a teleconference today and provided additional details on these fee increases. Since this bill was signed into law by the President, the fee increase is effective immediately. Any petition filed as of August 14th or later will be subject to the fee increase provisions. USCIS is working on updating the I-129 form.

Companies with 50 or more US employees also have 50% or more of their employees on H1B or L status are required to pay an additional, non-refundable $2000 for new/change of employer petitions H-1B petitions, and $2250 for L-1 petitions. Extension petitions where the employee is already with the employer are not subject to this fee increase. The 50 employee count only includes US employees, so if a company had 40 US employees working in the US, and 15 employees working abroad, it would not have to pay this additional fee. The 50% count includes the total of all employees on H1B and L status, combined, including those on L2, so, hypothetically, if a company had 50 US employees, and 30 of their employees were in L2 status with work authorization, then any H-1B or L-1 petition would be subject to the additional fee. Finally, the employer is required to pay the additional fee; it may not force the employee to pay.

We anticipate that this fee increase will dramatically change the playing field in the IT consulting world. This creates a disadvantage to large IT consulting companies, and we anticipate that larger IT consulting companies may be more hesitant to file H-1B petitions, thus, creating more opportunities to smaller IT consulting companies to hire foreign national programmers, software engineers, systems analysts, etc.

For More information call 510 742 5887
http://peerallylaw.com

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USCIS Press Release on H1B Fee Increase

On August 13, 2010, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia dismissed with prejudice Broadgate, Inc.,et al v. USCIS, a case challenging the January 8, 2010, Neufeld employer-employee/third-party placement memo. The court concluded that the Memorandum does not constitute final agency action subject to judicial review and the notice and comment requirements under the APA. The court concluded that the Memorandum establishes interpretive guidelines for the implementation of 8 C.F.R. § 214.2 and does not bind USCIS adjudicators in their determination of plaintiff’s H-1B visa applications.

PORTLAND, Ore. – An Oregon resident who served four years in the Zvornik Brigade in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid-1990s was convicted on Aug. 6 by a federal jury on charges of visa fraud and making a false statement to an agency of the United States, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Zeljko Boskovic, 50, of Beaverton, Ore., came to the United States as a refugee in 1998. At that time, he claimed that he did not participate in the Bosnian Civil War, which took place from 1992 to 1996. He claimed he lived outside of Bosnia during those years.

However, evidence presented during trial showed that Boskovic’s claims were false.

Records and other documents showed that he lived in Zvornik, Bosnia, during the war and served in the Zvornik Brigade from July 1992 through at least February 1996. He initially served with the infantry for two years before being transferred to the military police for the remainder of the war.

The Zvornik Brigade participated in the executions of unarmed Bosnian Muslim men and boys captured from the United Nations designated safe-area of Srebrenica in July 1995. Members of the Zvornik Brigade were responsible for atrocities at or near four school sites, including the Orahovac School, which was in close physical proximity to the Zvornik Brigade headquarters.

“Those who knowingly hide their past not only defraud our nation’s immigration system, they hope to avoid taking responsibility for the crimes they have committed,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of HIS in Seattle. “We have made it a priority to use our unique investigative authorities to ensure that human rights violators do not use the United States as a safe haven.”

“Our nation’s refugee programs are among the most generous and compassionate in the world,” said U.S. Attorney Holton. “Refugee applicants who create fraudulent personal histories in order to be admitted to the United States – and to deny affiliation with groups like the Zvornik Brigade – abuse that generosity and compassion. Their misrepresentations cast a pallor of suspicion over all legitimate refugees who played by the rules.”

Trial evidence included military records seized in 1998 from the headquarters of the Zvornik Brigade, Army of the Republika Srpska in 1998. The search was conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Boskovic is scheduled to be back in federal court for sentencing on Oct. 14, 2010. The maximum penalties for visa fraud and false statement are 10 years and five years imprisonment respectively.

U.S. Attorney Holton praised the investigative work of the special agents in ICE HSI who worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Atkinson of the District of Oregon and Trial Attorney Matthew Singer of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section handled the prosecution of the case.

Abused spouses options under immigration laws

There are millions who live in the United States without status. While it is true that there are harsh inadmissibility bars triggered by spending time in the United States without any legal status, there are certain immigration options which are available to those who are in the US without status. If, however, none of the following saving provisions apply to you, then you may be deemed inadmissible and would have to apply for an inadmissibility waiver before you can obtain legal status.

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