PL 111 -230

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

The total number of H-1B and L-1 petitions filed since August 13, 2010 that were subject to the additional filing fees mandated by P.L. 111-230, and the total dollar amount of fees collected since August 13, 2010 pursuant to P.L. 111-230

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Richard Solomon

This is a follow up to your letter of October 4, denying a request for waiver of fees claiming that it has not been demonstrated that the disclosure of the requested information would substantially benefit the public interest, and that the request is not primarily for a commercial purpose.

The request is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government. PL 111-230 increased the filing fee and fraud prevention and detection fee by $2,000 for H-1B visas and by $2,250 for L-1 visas for employers that employ 50 or more employees in the United States and more than 50 percent of the employees are in H-1B or L-1 status. The money from the fees goes into the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. Senator Charles Schumer (NY-D), who introduced the amendment to include the higher fees in the legislation, explicitly stated that the purpose of the fees is to restrict the availability of L-1 and H-1B visas. Congress’ overall intent was reducing the visas’ availability. It is in the public interest to know the number of cases filed subject to this fee and whether the law has met its specific intent to restrict availability of visas, as well as the actual amount of funds USCIS has deposited to the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. It is noted that USCIS Form I-129DC and I-129L Supplement asks petitioners questions to ascertain whether they are subject to the fee, and as the funds collected under PL 111-230 are supposed to be segregated from USCIS operating funds and deposited directly with the Treasury, data should be readily available for public dissemination.

Finally, there is no commercial interest in disclosure of is not of any commercial interest to the requester. It is simply to ascertain governmental activities with respect to stated Congressional purpose for implementation of fees and the amount of fees deposited with the U.S. Treasury.

Ms. Greenwood:

Kindly provide your phone number. Thank you.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 28, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #COW2014000005.

Thank you for your help.

Dear Ms. Umoru:

This request has been resolved through Ms. Greenwood and may be closed at this time. Thank you.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 28, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #COW2014000005.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 28, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #COW2014000005.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 28, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #COW2014000005.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 28, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #COW2014000005.

Thank you for your help.