Articles Posted in Work Visas

I previously reported on changes to the H2B visa program. This is a notice on the identification of foreign countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and the H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs. The notice becomes effective when it is published in the Federal Register on 1/18/11.

Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may approve petitions for H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant status only for nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has designated by notice published in the Federal Register. That notice must be renewed each year. This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is identifying 53 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year.

Nationals from the following countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs:

Yes we still have H1B visas available. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of December 31, 2010, it has received 57,300 H-1B petitions counting toward the congressionally-mandated 65,000 limit.

Congress has established an annual fiscal year limitation of 65,000 on the number of available H-1B visas, commonly referred to as the “H-1B cap.” Under the terms of the legislation implementing the United States-Chile and United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreements, 6,800 of the 65,000 available H-1B visas are set aside for the Chile/Singapore H-1B1 program. However, USCIS adds back to the H-1B cap the projected number of unused Chile/Singapore H-1B1 visas, which for this fiscal year is 6,350. This means that, of the approximately 64,550 H-1B visas available this year, around 7,250 remained as of December 31, 2010.

USCIS previously confirmed that it has received 20,000 H-1B petitions for employees with advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities, thus reaching the annual limit on H-1B petitions in the advanced degree category. Accordingly, additional H-1B petitions received in this category will be adjudicated under the general 65,000 cap.

As Lawyers specializing in Investment visas we often get questions from clients about the amount of investment needed for an E2 visa and what money can be used to invest. The source of the funds is a key determination for any successful E2 case.

The E2 visa is a special non-immigrant visa available to nationals of treaty countries entering the US to do the following:

a.) Develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which they have invested, or are actively in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital;

We recently learned that USCIS is planning to publish proposed rule to establish a mandatory, Internet-based, electronic registration process for U.S. employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for workers that are subject to either the 65,000 or 20,000 annual numerical limitations.

This rule proposes an electronic registration program for petitions subject to numerical limitations contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Initially, the program would be for the H-1B nonimmigrant classification; however, other nonimmigrant classifications will be added as needed.

This action is necessary because the demand for H-1B specialty occupation workers by U.S. companies generally exceeds the numerical limitation. This rule is intended to allow USCIS to more efficiently manage the intake and lottery process for these H-1B petitions. We are concerned that large H1B filers may find a way to abuse the registration system, leaving smaller employers at a risk of loosing visas.

In light of the increase in RFEs focused on the employer-employee relationship, right to control, and availability of “qualifying employment” at third-party worksites, here are some suggestions in order to maximize the likelihood of securing a three-year H-1B extension for petitions involving placement at third-party worksites:

1. Submit a certified labor condition application (LCA) that lists multiple work locations, including the Petitioner’s home office address, as well as the third-party worksite location(s);

2. Document “qualifying employment” for the Beneficiary at the third-party worksite through End-Client letters confirming a project duration of longer than a year, preferably for the entire three years if the requested validity is three years;

H-1B Cap Count for FY 2011 as on Dec. 17, 2010

Cap Type – H-1B Regular Cap

Cap Amount – 65,000

As many readers may know for I-129 that is used for H, L and O Petition has been revised. On December 20, 2010, USCIS informed stakeholders that it will accept previous editions of Form I-129 that are postmarked on or before December 22, 2010. Petitions postmarked on or after December 23, 2010, must include the new Form-129 with a November 23, 2010, revision date or else they will be rejected. This contradicts earlier guidance stating that the last day USCIS could accept previous editions of the form was December 22, 2010.

We hope that this update clarifies some of the confusion regarding the last date the old form can still be used.

A couple of years ago BusinessWeek published an article about Visas and the Challenges of graduates facing the job market. This post is a quick summary for our readers.

For foreign MBAs, PHD’s and other students in the US, most commonly heard immigration term on school campuses these days is H-1B, as in H1-B visa, for graduates who want to continue to work in the U.S. after finishing school. It refers to the visa that applies to a non-U.S. citizen who will be temporarily employed in a specialty occupation, according to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). There used to be shortage of these visas, which is why international MBA students often start asking about these visas midway through their programs. Now, as a result of the recession, the problem is finding work and not always the shortage of the visas.

But the H-1B is only the beginning of the alphabet soup of forms and work visas that a business-school student can encounter. Indeed, a non-U.S. student needs to acquire a whole new vocabulary that most Americans do not speak. Here is a starter glossary:

Here is the latest on H1B visa numbers, they now passed the 50K mark. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has now received approximately 48,977 H-1B petitions counting toward the congressionally-mandated 65,000 limit. USCIS also confirmed that it has received approximately 17,836 H-1B petitions for employees with advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities. The annual limit on H-1B petitions in the advanced degree category is 20,000.

Accordingly, USCIS is still accepting H-1B petitions under both the general cap and the advanced degree cap. We also continue to process H1B cases, but time is running out so in order to secure visas for this season employers must act now.

Here is a quick update from the California Service Center regarding this new fee. The additional filing fees of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L- 1A and L-1B petitions is applicable to petitioning employers who employ 50 or more employees in the United States and 50% of the petitioner’s employees are in H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status. The PL 111-230 fees do not apply to petitions requesting an extension of H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status with the same employer (only for initial filings for a new beneficiary).

When the fee is not required, it is critical that the petitioner explicitly acknowledge this and explain why it is not required in the I-129 filing. If this is not done, USCIS will likely issue a Request for Evidence asking for a statement from the petitioner, causing unnecessary delays in processing.

The Service Center previously stated: