April 24, 2009
President Announces Nomination of USCIS Head President Obama announces the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas as Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AILA Doc. No. 09042440.

April 22, 2009
Supreme Court Holds that Traditional Stay Factors Govern Authority to Stay Removal The Supreme Court vacates and remands. Holds that traditional stay factors, not the 8 U. S. C. §1252(f)(2) standard, govern a court of appeals’ authority to stay an alien’s removal pending judicial review. (Nken v. Holder, 4/22/09).

April 22, 2009
Court Issues Tentative Order in Surviving Spouse Class Action Suit

Federal Court issues a Tentative Order regarding plaintiffs' claims. It finds that plaintiffs who reside in the Ninth and Sixth Circuits are entitled to "immediate relative" classification based on their status as surviving spouses of deceased United States citizens. Hootkins v. Chertoff.

April 20, 2009 H-1B Cap Count
On April 20, 2009 USCIS updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the H-1B cap on the USCIS website. As of April 20, 2009, approximately 44,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS continues to accept advanced degree petitions stating that experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable.

April 17, 2009 H-1B Cap Count
On April 17, 2009 USCIS updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the H-1B cap on the USCIS website. As of April 13, 2009, approximately 43,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed.

April 15, 2009
CA9 Finds Possession of Green Card Obtained by False Statement is Prosecutable Offense (.pdf 66 KB) The court reversed, concluding that 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) prohibits the possession of an otherwise authentic document that one knows has been procured by means of a false claim or statement. Dismissed the statute of limitations argument, as the crime was a possession offense rather than a false statement offense. (United States v. Krstic, 3/10/09).

April 14, 2009 Update on CSC Case Liaison
The CSC has terminated operation of the Division XII case inquiry system, and an automated reply to any inquiry sent to a Division XII mailbox directs inquiries to the NCSC (1-800-375-5283). The CSC and USCIS HQ have not been able to clarify what processes are to be used after an unsuccessful NCSC inquiry attempt. Watch InfoNet for further developments.