The USCIS Administrative Appeals Office’s May 13, 2008 ruling approved an I-140 third employment-based preference petition as a professional for an Indian citizen who applied based on a combination of a one year BE degree from India following a three-year Indian Bachelor’s degree.

In approving the application, the AAO determined that the combination of those degrees created the foreign educational equivalent of a U.S. 4-year bachelor’s degree. [Read the entire ruling on Indian degrees]

The USCIS has issued a memorandum providing guidance for approving I-130/I-485 petitions submitted by aliens married to or in an abusive relationship with their U.S. citizen spouses. This April 21, 2008 memorandum explains that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) allows battered immigrants to petition for legal status on their own. In addition, victims of abuse may submit an I-360 petition for a special immigrant visa status. It also explains that such petitions may be approved even where the alien entered the U.S. without inspection. It essentially permits illegal aliens who are in such relationships to self-sponsor without relying on Section 245(I). It also explains the steps to take where a petition was previously denied because of illegal entry. [Read The Entire Marriage Visa Guidance For Self-Sponsorship]

United States Department Of Labor - This decision discusses an employer’s responsibility to pay an employee who holds an H-1B visa holder for the period when the employee is in "non productive status" because of factors such as lack of work, lack of a permit or licence or benching. This decision affirms that an employer is required to pay H-1B visa holders during that period unless the employer can prove that it effected a bona fide termination of that employee.

Where the employer can prove that it actually terminated the employee, it will likely escape the backpay liability. To show a bona fide termination, an employer may rely on the fact that it notified the USCIS of the termination of the H-1B holder’s employment. While this represents one of the factors in the determination, the employer is permitted to submit other types of evidence to prove that it actually terminated the H-1B holder’s employment. Such evidence may include a termination letter, removal from the payroll and such other documentary evidence. If unable to prove a bona fide termination, the employer will be required to pay back wages to the H-1B alien. [Read the decision on H-1B Employee Pay During Non-productive period]