The H1B visa program is unlikely to reach its cap of 65,000 before the start of the 2010 fiscal with nearly 20,000 vacancies amid the economic downturn. This has happened for the first time in several years that the demand for the visas, which is mostly availed by Indian professionals,…
The Center for Trade Policy Studies, published a recent report about the economics of a possible Immigration reform. By the latest estimates, 8.3 million workers in the United States are illegal immigrants. Proposed policy responses range from more restrictive border and workplace enforcement to legalization of workers who are already…
As the prospects for Immigration reform are becoming more of a reality, so does the debate about illegal Immigration is more real than ever. A story just came in from CNN an Arizona man caught leaving water bottles in the desert for illegal immigrants has been sentenced to 300 hours…
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is transitioning to a fully web-based nonimmigrant visa form. This form, DS-160, eventually will replace the forms currently used to apply for nonimmigrant visas at the U.S. consulates. The new form is currently being used at twelve consular posts around the world. The new…
New proposed Immigration Legislation which is currently pending in the United States Senate may cause India-based IT companies to step up their operations in Mexico. The bill, by Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley, would impose a new limit on the proportion of foreign workers who would be allowed to…
For the first time in several years the H1B visa system, is unlikely to reach its cap of 65,000 before the start of the 2010 fiscal with nearly 18,000 slots lying vacant thanks to the US economy. As of August 8, 2009, approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been received…
Recently AILA shared some information about a “new” benefit fraud assessment program in which USCIS is beginning to use the millions of dollars it has received over the last decade from the “fraud fee” in the H-1B program. This new program involves the hiring of a private contractor to send…
U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued instructions on making inquiries with the agency’s four Service Centers. Customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups should follow this guidance when inquiring about case related issues. This new process standardizes customer service and streamlines processing of customer inquiries at USCIS Service…
There is not a dull moment this summer for us immigration lawyers, all thanks to good old USCIS. On 8/6/09 USCIS announced that it has reopened the fiscal year 2009 H-2B petition filing period and will immediately accept petitions. This is after closing the cap in January this year. How…
President Obama promised during the election campaign that Immigration reform will be high on his list once elected president. Speaking to Hispanic reporters at the White House, Obama said last week he hopes a bill for comprehensive immigration reform will be drafted by the end of this year. Obama tapped…