In 2007, we and our clients witnessed tremendous changes. Perhaps most impressive about year 2007’s changes was the wide variety of case types that were influenced: H-1B, I-485, EB-1, NIW, PERM, and others. From beginning to end, 2007 was packed full of important events that will continue to influence immigration policy for years to come.

We at Zhang & Associates also experienced our own changes, as our firm continued to develop and grow.

Following is a series of brief summaries of the major events that affected our clients in 2007, in chronological order.

Fee Increases

In February, USCIS published its planned fee increases for a wide range of immigration petitions and applications. These fee increases resulted from the increased costs associated with security and other enhancements to the immigrant visa application process. The new fee schedule took effect on July 30, 2007.

The average increase in the affected fees was about 66%. Most prominently, the fee for an I-140 petition increased from $195 to $475, and the fee for an I-485 rose from $325 to $1,010 for adults and $600 for children under 14.

Zhang & Associates responded to this increase by working with many of our clients to file their I-140 and I-485 petitions before July 30.

The H-1B Cap

The big immigration news item this April was the huge number of H-1B petitions USCIS received, reaching the annual H-1B cap on the very first day of accepting petitions.

The yearly cap for H-1B petitions is 65,000, with an extra 20,000 spaces allotted for applicants with master’s degrees or higher obtained in the United States.

USCIS received approximately 150,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions on April 2, its first day of accepting them. Of these petitions, about 13,000 were eligible for the additional advanced-degree cap.

Among the remainder of the petitions received on April 2, USCIS randomly selected 65,000 to approve. The advanced-degree cap remained open until April 30.

This huge number of H-1B applications received substantial media coverage, with intense reactions from both sides of the H-1B debate. It remains to be seen whether the H-1B cap will be increased in the future.

PERM: New Rules, Controversy, and Backlog Elimination

There were a few noteworthy changes and issues related to PERM in 2007.

First, on May 17, the Department of Labor (DOL) decided to terminate the practice of substituting beneficiaries in labor certification cases submitted from July 17 onward. This change was unfavorable to labor certification applicants.

A month later, controversy erupted when the Pittsburgh-based law firm Cohen & Grigsby released a seminar about PERM applications on the video-sharing site YouTube. The video described the firm’s strategies for getting labor certification applications approved, including their statement that their goal with PERM applications is not to find an available U.S. worker. Despite criticism from certain media outlets and other groups, the firm said it stands by its methods, which are, in fact, legal.

Finally, the DOL announced in October that it had met its goal of eliminating the labor certification backlog by September 30. This will be advantageous to our clients who have PERM applications pending or who file them in the future.

Senate Immigration Reform Bill

A major news item in May was the comprehensive immigration reform bill that was being debated in the Senate. The eventual bipartisan agreement included a focus on border enforcement and security, the creation of a temporary worker program, and a refusal to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

However, the bill suffered setbacks in June and was subsequently withdrawn. Still, immigration remains a major focus in American politics, including the 2008 presidential campaign, and the Senate will probably return to this issue in the near future.

Visa Numbers and the July Fiasco

At the beginning of year 2007, things were looking grim for aliens waiting for green cards. For four consecutive months, from February to May, there was no progress in cutoff dates for China- and India-born EB-2 and EB-3 aliens.

However, the June Visa Bulletin, released in May, showed significant movement in the cutoff dates, and the July Visa Bulletin, released in June, was even better, with the cutoff dates listed as “current” for almost all categories.

This, in combination with the planned fee increases, led to a big rush in I-140 and I-485 applications. In fact, the rush made Zhang & Associates so busy that we had to suspend case intake twice over the summer, since we were operating at full capacity.

On July 2, USCIS announced that due to the volume of I-485 applications it had received, visa numbers would become unavailable on July 2 and would remain so until October 1, when numbers for the new fiscal year would become available.

We at Zhang & Associates were dismayed to hear this news. Our firm had filed approximately 100 I-485 applications on July 2, and USCIS had initially announced that these cases would all be returned. Our staff and our clients were equally frustrated at this, believing that their hard work had been for naught.

Fortunately, on July 17, USCIS announced that the July Visa Bulletin remained valid, and it would continue to accept I-485s until August 17. Thus, our staff’s hard work had not been wasted, and our clients’ cases were filed as planned.

Because of the huge number of I-485s filed over the summer, we expected to see major retrogression in the fall. The December Visa Bulletin, released in November, fulfilled this prediction, showing major retrogression for China- and India-born aliens.

The most recent visa bulletin, for January 2008, shows no progress for China-born EB-2 aliens and another setback for India-born EB-2 aliens. We hope that this situation will improve in the near future.

Z&A’s Lobbying Efforts

In September, representatives from Zhang & Associates traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and participate in Immigration Voice’s immigration rally.

Zhang & Associates’ representatives spoke with Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and other lawmakers about issues such as the H-1B quota, visa retrogression, and the FBI name-check process, with altogether positive results.

Our representatives also participated in Immigration Voice’s rally on September 18, in which hundreds of participants from around the country marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. The rally drew the attention of various media, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Z&A’s Green Initiative and Community Outreach

In 2007, Zhang & Associates decided to start doing more for its community and the environment. The firm’s green initiative, launched in 2007, includes a greater effort to recycle in our firm’s branch offices and a series of incentives for employees who lead more sustainable lifestyles.

Zhang & Associates also became a sponsor for Houston’s public radio station, KUHF, and began to participate in the Adopt-a-Block program, organized by the nonprofit organization Keep Houston Beautiful.

Zhang & Associates hopes that even our small efforts will help make a difference in our environment and community. We look forward to more related efforts in the future.

Z&A’s New Branch Office

Zhang & Associates also opened a new office in 2007 in Austin, Texas. We hope that our new office will helps us serve faculty and staff from the University of Texas, high-tech workers in the Silicon Hills, and any other Austinites with immigration-related needs.

Our Austin office is currently open on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We plan to expand its size and hours of operation in the future.

What’s in Store for 2008?

We at Zhang & Associates expect to see more developments along these lines in 2008. We certainly hope to see progress on the issues that affect our clients the most—including the H-1B quota, the FBI name-check process, and visa retrogression. We also expect to see more attention given to immigration reform, both in Congress and by the American public as a result of the 2008 presidential election.

Furthermore, we predict that the H-1B quota will remain a serious issue, and that the quota will be filled within the first several days of USCIS accepting petitions in April 2008. Therefore, we suggest that our clients submit their H-1B petitions as soon as the filing window opens.

Of course, we hope that 2008’s developments will be beneficial to our clients. Whatever happens, we will keep up with the changes and provide the best possible service to our clients, as we have done in 2007 and will continue to do in years to come.