Visa Lawyer Blog

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Due to the economic downturn, I get many emails from current H1B visa holders that are interested in starting their own companies. They are either worried about loosing the current H1B job or are in the process of being laid off. It can be really difficult for start up and small companies to file for and get H-1B visas.

Last April many Immigration lawyers received very similar requests for evidence focusing on few very particular issues. USCIS were looking for small companies filing for H1B’s or for job shop employers. Truly, if people are being hired outside the U.S. Normally USCIS will want you to prove the following:

1. Employer is capable of paying wages;

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We have been reporting about the changes to the H2A Visa program in the past few weeks. One of the issues discussed is limiting the participation in the program to certain countries only.

Under the final rule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will only approve petitions for H-2A nonimmigrant status for nationals of countries designated by means of the list or by means of the special procedure allowing petitioners to request approval for particular beneficiaries if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that it is in the U.S. interest. Pursuant to the final rule, the notice designates those countries the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has found to be eligible to participate in the H-2A program.

According to the rule nationals from the following countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A visa program: Argentina; Australia; Belize; Brazil; Bulgaria; Canada; Chile; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Japan; Mexico; Moldova; New Zealand; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Romania; South Africa; South Korea; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom.

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Immigration law is important and that is all that we cover most of the time. But our immigrant readers, may be facing other legal challenges from time to time. So we rely on our lawyer friends from across the country, to provide guest articles and reports. This week we are proud to feature Attorney Charles Ward’s Family Law expertise. Charles is an experienced Family lawyer that often assists me with Family Immigration matters. I am grateful for his contribution to the Blog.

Although no one enters into a marriage expecting it to end, about 50 percent of all married couples in California eventually separate. With a prenup you can protect yourself in the event of a dissolution of marriage (divorce).

The prenuptial agreement is a legal device designed to remove some of the concerns and liabilities foisted upon a married couple. A properly crafted prenup can solve disagreements before they happen, whether involving personal business involvement, individually held real estate and property, credit hangups and debt, the disposition of finances, or any monetary arrangements left over from life before marriage. It’s also a useful tool for post-marriage arrangements. Support payments, income arrangements and property rights can all be sorted out in advance, to the satisfaction of both parties.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) announced that it has submitted to the Federal Register an Interim Final Rule that will streamline the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process.

The Interim Final Rule narrows the list of acceptable identity documents and further specifies that expired documents are not considered acceptable forms of identification. An expansive document list makes it more difficult for employers to verify valid and acceptable forms and to single out false documents compromising the effectiveness and security of the Form I-9 process. The changes included in the Interim Final Rule will significantly improve the security of the employment eligibility verification process.

The Rule eliminates Forms I-688, I-688A, and I-688B (Temporary Resident Card and older versions of the Employment Authorization Card/Document) from List A. CIS no longer issues these cards, and those that were in circulation have expired. The Rule also adds to List A of the Form I-9 foreign passports containing specially-marked machine-readable visas and documentation for certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (“FSM”) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (“RMI”). The Rule makes other, technical changes to update the list of acceptable documents. The revised Form I-9 includes additional changes, such as revisions to the employee attestation section, and the addition of the new U.S. Passport Card to List A.

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The nursing shortage in the United States is becoming increasingly problematic and may adversely affect the health care industry. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 2007 study, the United States will require 1.2 million new Registered Nurses (RNs) by 2014 to meet the nursing demand: approximately 500,000 RNs to replace nurses leaving the field, and “an additional 700,000 to meet growing demand for nursing services.”

In meetings with nursing organizations and stakeholders, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman heard concerns about the time it takes for a foreign nurse to be admitted to the United States to work. We link t a recent USCIS memo that addresses some of the current problems with Nurse Immigration and possible solutions for the new future.

The linked report, while specifically providing recommendations for improving the processing of Schedule A nurse cases, should also be required reading for all persons active in the field of recruiting foreign nurses to the United States.

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I wanted to wish a happy and healthy Thanksgiving to our readers and clients. We hope you will take the time to relax this holiday and spend time with your families.

During this week of Thanksgiving — the most American of holidays — NPR is spending time discussing about what it means to become an American. The answers come from three noted authors — who’ve written about newcomers to the United States.

One of the authors Joseph O’Neill said:

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According to ComputerWorld President-elect Barack Obama’s leading choice to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, has been a strong advocate of increasing H-1B visas — a stance that could turn out to be a major issue during her confirmation.

Napolitano was one of 12 governors who sent a letter in September 2007 to congressional leaders in both parties urging an increase in the visa cap. “Until we are able to address this workforce shortage, we must recognize that foreign talent has a role to play in our ability to keep companies located in our state and country; and therefore, need to ensure the increase availability of temporary H-1B visas and permanent residency visas (green cards),” the governors wrote.

We can only hope that the new administration will take a proactive step towards increasing the H1B cap, a much needed relief at this time.

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The American Immigration lawyers Association requested an update on USCIS plans to test and issue a combined EAD/Advance Parole (AP) document. AILA understands that USCIS believes a combined EAD/AP document may help further the agency’s goal of increased efficiency and workload reduction. The concern is that the use of such a document by certain individuals will make them subject to the three- and ten-year bars to inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I) and (II).

The current stand-alone AP document contains warnings on travel by those individuals who may trigger the bars upon departure from the United States. If USCIS moves forward with the issuance of a combined EAD/AP document we strongly urge USCIS to include such warnings on the new combined document. In addition to ensuring that the appropriate warnings are included on any combined EAD/AP document, please find the following additional questions from AILA:

Would an applicant be able to affirmatively request or to opt-out of a combined document and retain the ability to request a stand-alone EAD and AP?

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