•  Global Entry Program Available at Detroit Airport
  
  Global Entry is a pilot program managed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection which allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers expedited clearance through an automated kiosk upon arrival into the United States. (Available at www.cbp.gov) 
   
• INA §221(g) Notices Should Be Disclosed as Visa Denials
  
  All §221(g) notices that Visa Waiver Program Applicants receive, including those for "administrative processing" should be disclosed as "visa denials" in their ESTA Applications. (AILA, CBP Practice Alert: INA §221(g) Notices Including Those for "Administrative Processing" Should be Disclosed as "Visa Denials" for ESTA Registration, Posted 11/05/09)
   
• Diversity Visa Lottery Applications Due
  
  The US Department of State will be accepting applications for the 2011 Diversity Visa Lottery until November 30^th, 2009 noon Eastern Standard Time. (Available at  www.dvlottery.state.gov)
   
• November 2009 Visa Bulletin
  
  The US Department of State has published its November Visa Bulletin. (Available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html)
   
• USCIS Increases Work Site Visits
  
  USCIS has increased surprise visits to work sites where H-1B and L visa holders work.  The reason for such increase is that a recent study has shown that at least 21% of H-1B visa holders have violated the terms of their visa. The site visits are aimed to verify that the visa holder's information, salary, job duties and compliance in general are still the same as the ones provided in their petitions.  (Bloomberg Law Reports; Vol. 2 No.11, November 2009)
  
• Nebraska Passes New Federal Contractor Law
  
  Starting October 1, 2009 new legislation enacted in Nebraska [Bill 403 (LB 403)] requires all private employers seeking contracts with public employers and all public contractors and their subcontractors to verify the legal work status of new employees using the USCIS E-Verify System for employment verification. (Available at http://www.dol.nebraska.gov)
   
• USCIS Revises Form I-601
  
  USCIS revised Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, to allow an applicant to choose   grounds of inadmissibility from a list or describe the reason they believe they are inadmissible. (Available at www.uscis.gov)
   
• USCIS Updates H-1B Count
  
  USCIS announced that as of October 30, 2009, it received all of the masters' degree petitions available under the 20,000 cap and approximately 4400 petitions under the regular cap remain for Fiscal Year 2010. (Available at www.uscis.gov)

• ALJ Decision Against Employer - Back-Pay for H-1B Employee
  
  The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), found an employer of an H-1B employee liable for back wages for periods when the worker did not have a Social Security number (SSN). The ALJ held that the employee did not have to have a SSN to start working and had only provided evidence that he made application for a SSN. The court held that the employer would have been justified in withholding wages only if one of the following three exceptions applied: (1) if the employee is nonproductive due to circumstances unrelated to work; (2) if the H-1B employee is made incapable of working; and (3) if the H-1B employee has been properly terminated. The ALJ found that none of the above applied since it concluded that the "incapable of work" exception does not include lack of a SSN.  [AILA, ALJ Finds "Benched" H-1B Employee Entitled to Unpaid Wages; Administrator, Wage and Hour Division v. Itek Consulting, Inc., 2008-LCA-00046 (5/6/09).]
  
  
• AAO Decision for Employer - H-1B Employee
  
  A biomedical company sought to employ a senior biologies manager who had resided in the US in H-1B status since 2001 and sought an extension through 2008 under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC 21).  AAO upheld the appeal of the rejection of the adjudication center since an extension past the initial maximum term of 6 years is permissible for certain H-1 B workers whose applications for labor certification remain pending due to lengthy adjudication delays. [86 IR 2557; October 12, 2009; Matter of [name withheld], File No. EAC 07 247 50829, 2009 WL3065412 (AAO June 3, 2009).]
  
   
• District Court  Decision Against Employer - Full-time Position
  
  Employer filed an application for labor certification for the position of groundkeeper but the application was as a part-time position. The employer argued that the alien was offered a full-time job during the summer and a part-time job during the winter. The Court held that the denial was not arbitrary or capricious since it was based on the finding that the job offered was not full-time year around.  [14 BIB 1298; October 15, 2009; Rankin Landscaping, Inc. v. Chao, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57394 (E.D. Va. Feb. 3, 2009).]

IR-Interpreter Releases; IB-Bender’s Immigration Bulletin; American Immigration Lawyers Association Monthly Journal; AILA - American Immigration Lawyer’s Association