This is a great article by our Attorney Ekaterina Powell, Esq., she has been very involved in H1B DOL audits in the past few months as we defend our employer clients. The number of Labor Condition Application compliance investigations of the H-1B employers by the Department of Labor (DOL) is…
Another blow to the H1B program. According to Computer World, the cables being released by WikiLeaks are shedding some light on fraud in the H-1B visa application process in countries that don’t get much attention for it — Mexico, Libya and Iceland. The reports so far are a collection of…
The H1B cap count was always an indication how our economy is doing. While we see recovery, it is a slow one. Same goes for H1B numbers usage. As of April 15, 2011, approximately 7,100 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 5,100 H-1B petitions for aliens with…
American Immigration Council (AIC) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) argued recently in an amicus brief—the government may not arrest H-1B employees for whom timely-filed extension applications remain pending. The decision in El Badrawi v. United States, by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall, correctly recognized that a federal…
Whenever you hear about H-1B visa, you hear the term “specialty occupation”. So, what does “specialty occupation” mean? Why is it important to prove that the proposed position is a “specialty occupation” in order to qualify for the H-1B? What role does the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) published by the…
In an effort to fight fraud and abuse in the L1 and H1B programs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing a program known as Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE). VIBE is a web-based tool that will allow the USCIS to corroborate certain basic information about a company…
It has been 5 days now since the H1B season started and there is no indication whether the H1B Cap was reached on the first day or not. The stakes are higher this year as the economy rebounds. According to computer world, some law makers think that the cap should…
As the H1B filing deadline approaches, lawyers and employers are scrambling to get the cases ready for filing on April 1. Our office sure is in a state of war as stacks of H1B files are moving between the copy machines into organized FEDEX envelopes. This is a last minute…
This was expected and here is the latest update. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and its Wage and Hour Division today announced the publication of a proposed rule that seeks to improve the H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program. The proposed rule, to be published in the…
As we are gearing up towards H1B filing season, recent update from USCIS. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today, in response to recent stakeholder feedback, that it is currently reviewing its policy on H-1B cap exemptions for non-profit entities that are related to or affiliated with an institution…