Thomas Bassett & Associates Consultations.  Consultation appointments can be scheduled by calling 248-827-4110 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Before scheduling a consultation, please carefully review the information in our website to determine if a consultation is likely to benefit you.  (January 2005)

 USCIS Announces H-1B Cap as of May 26, 2006. The USCIS Press Release issued announced that USCIS has now received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated cap for fiscal year 2006. No further petitions subject to the H-1B cap will be accepted until April 1, 2007. The filings submitted on or after April 1, 2007 must involve employment starting on or after October 1, 2007. Employers and prospective H-1B employees who feel they are impacted by this development may wish to obtain legal counsel through an Immigration attorney regarding any options available under current law and regulations. This incredibility early exhaustion of the 65,000 H-1B numbers for FY 2006 by the first day of the fiscal year confirmed the need for legislative action to assure that the H-1B program remains a viable source for temporary professional services needed by America's businesses. See item above regarding the changes that Congress has made adding 20,000 numbers.

Immigration Legislation. Legal and Illegal immigration is a heated topic in our government and society in general. Please note however that no legislation has passed our Congress and there is NO NEW IMMIGRATION LAW. Currently, the US House of Representatives and the US Senate are negotiating the bills they passed separately. The House bill is an enforcement only bill and does not provide immigration benefits to illegal or legal immigrants. The Senate bill provides for a guest worker program and increases visa numbers for legal immigration. We encourage our clients and friends to contact their local Congressperson and Senator and express their views about immigration reform. This can be done quickly through the American Immigration Lawyers Association , www.aila.org, website.
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Visa Bulletin. Current visa numbers for family and employment based immigration.  http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2943.html