The USCIS has announced that they intend to implement a new process in connection with their requests for evidence. The Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) is the latest additional hurdle they plan to throw up in front of businesses. Under this plan, CIS adjudicators will supposedly check on line records to verify the validity of a business before issuing their customary burdensome RFEs that ask for all documents pertaining to the company's existence since inception. While this might be a welcome development if they planned to rely on it, there is no evidence to suggest that they will regard the information found in the VIBE system as valid refrain from asking for the same burdensome load of documents. 

The USCIS announced late Thursday evening that the FY2011 H1B cap had been reached earlier the previous day, Wednesday, January 26th. Why they waited more than a day to notify the public is not known. 

In that PERM processing times were so bad for so long, many people are not aware of the fact that PERM processing times have been reduced significantly in the last six months. For most cases, total start to finish PERM processing is now less than four months. The actual DOL processing of the application is closer to three weeks.