It was an eventful year for all those who were impacted by employment immigration in 2009.

One of the most important changes was the introduction of the iCert System for the Labor Certification Application (LCA), which was effective from June 30. This was bound to have a major impact on employers, given that a certified LCAis a pre-requisite for filing an H-1B non-immigrant worker petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

The new system replaced the previous web-based procedure that allowed for same-day LCA approval. In the new system the Department of Labor (DOL) often took a minimum of seven business days to certify the application.

Due to technical glitches in the new system, employers have had to endure a number of delays in obtaining the LCAs. The transfer of data from the old system to the new platform hasn’t been as smooth as expected and the labor department has needed more time to verify the employer’s federal identification numbers. Often requiring a litany of IRS documents for FEIN verification.

The upshot of this was an USCIS announcement in November that it will begin accepting H1B petitions filed with uncertified LCAs for 120 days between November 5, 2009 and March 4, 2010.

This was in response to the complaints about delays in LCA processing. However, the USCIS said it would accept such petitions only if they are filed at least seven calendar days after the LCA is filed with the labor department, which one would need to verify with a confirmation email from the DOL.

The other big news of the year was the lackluster demand for filling of H1B work visas because of the economic slowdown. Though the first 45,000 applicants were received by the middle of May, a month and a half after the April 1 starting date, it took nearly seven months for the final 20,000 slots to be filled up.

It was only on December 21 that the USCIS announced that the cap was reached. This was a complete shift from the last few years when the USCIS had to undertake a computerized draw of lots to decide the successful applicants.