So why are we so stressed out in the past week or so, H1B time is on us. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, as of November 14, 2011, it has received approximately 56,800 H-1B petitions counting towards the congressionally-mandated 65,000 limit. USCIS also confirmed that it has…
To qualify for an H-1B visa foreign nationals must have the a U.S. Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in their specialty and, in fields that require licensing, such as teaching or pharmacy, a full unrestricted license to practice in the U.S. You must also have a U.S. employer to sponsor…
We have been reporting on the increase in unjust H1B denials for weeks. In many cases applicants and their lawyers are left with the option to appeal or refile. But when the media gets involved, USCIS are forced to change course. Earlier this week “World News” shared the story of…
So the race for H1b Visas is on. As of October 28, 2011, USCIS received approximately 49,200 H-1B petitions counting towards the congressionally mandated 65,000 limit. USCIS also confirmed that it has received approximately 20,000 H-1B petitions for employees with advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities. The annual limit…
Can you own your company as an H1B Holder? Attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office has prepared the summary of the updates regarding establishing employer-employee relationship for H-1B purposes in cases where the beneficiary owns 100% of the petitioning company. Since the issuance of Neufeld Memorandum “Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for…
As lawyers specializing in the H2B visa process, we wanted to share the following update. The Department of Labor (DOL) is now issuing two prevailing wage determinations (PWD) for H-2B cases. Since last week we have received new PWDs with the following message attached: On January 19, 2011, the Department…
In the past several months we have received numerous lengthy Requests for Evidence regarding L1B visa cases. We are not alone, many lawyers across the country report similar requests in L1B cases. The L1B visa is designed for individuals from foreign countries who plan to come to the United States…
Attorney Ekaterina Powell spearheaded this remarkable victory. Camille is a citizen of the Philippines. She came to the U.S. in August 2007 on a J-1 visa to train in the hospitality operations of a restaurant. The restaurant subsequently hired Camille to work for them under H-1B visa in the position…
In this article, attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office provides a summary of the key issues and analyzes the best practices for employers to follow in their immigration compliance efforts. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the Department of Justice protects the rights…
We all share the frustration of dealing with VIBE (Validation Instrument for Business Enterprise) requests for evidence. At this point many employers are wondering if this system is really that beneficial to accomplish the Government’s goal to verify employers. Some argue it is time to get rid of this program…