Articles Posted in Work Visas

USCIS has updated following on July 2, 2010 about the H-1B Cap Count

Cap Type – H-1B Regular Cap

Cap Amount – 65,000

As am Immigration Attorney that processed many H2A farm worker visas, I am happy to present the Take our Jobs initiative.

There are two issues facing our nation–high unemployment and undocumented people in the workforce–that many Americans believe are related.

Missing from the debate on both issues is an honest recognition that the food we all eat – at home, in restaurants and workplace cafeterias (including those in the Capitol) – comes to us from the labor of undocumented farm workers.

The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA), imposes annual reporting requirements on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) concerning the countries of origin and occupations of, educational levels attained by, and compensation paid to, aliens who were issued visas or otherwise provided nonimmigrant status under H1B Visas during the previous fiscal year.

Here are some highlights from the report submitted by USCIS earlier this year:

• The number of H-l B petitions filed decreased 15 percent from 288,764 in Fiscal Year

Seems like Nebraska is following in the steps of Arizona. Voters in eastern Nebraska will decide today whether to ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants. The vote will be the culmination of a two-year fight that saw proponents collect enough signatures to put the question to a public vote. If the ordinance is approved, the community of 25,000 people could face a long and costly court battle. Either way, the emotions stirred up won’t settle quickly.The vote will be the culmination of a two-year fight that saw proponents collect enough signatures to put the question to a public vote. If the ordinance is approved, the community of 25,000 people could face a long and costly court battle. Either way, the emotions stirred up won’t settle quickly.

From about 165 Hispanics — both legal and illegal — living in Fremont in 1990, the total surged to 1,085 in 2000, according to census expert David Drozd at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He said an estimated 2,060 Hispanics lived there last year. In May, Fremont recorded just 4.9 percent unemployment, in line with the statewide rate and significantly lower than the national average of 9.7 percent.

If approved, the measure will require potential renters to apply for a license to rent. The application process will force Fremont officials to check if the renters are in the country legally. If they are found to be illegal, they will not be issued a license allowing them to rent.

A great tip from AILA to share with our readers regarding the H1B visa. It seems that H-1B petitions for Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) and similar related occupations are being closely monitored to ensure that accurate job duties are being identified to confirm CGFNS (Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools) certification requirements.

There are multiple progressive occupations within the Speech Language Pathology career field including, Teachers of Speech and Hearing Handicapped (TSHH), Teachers of Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLC), Speech Language Pathologist Assistants (SLPA) and Clinical Fellows (CFY), and Speech Language Pathologists (SLP).

While all of these positions require a state license, only SLPs who are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) may provide direct patient care without supervision, and thus, only certified SLPs require CGFNS certification.

As PERM processing becomes faster in recent months, icert problems continue though. DOL has reported that the incorrect error message that pops up upon entering a date for the prevailing wage source is the result of recent system edit. The glitch will not affect useability, i.e., users can bypass the error message and submit LCAs for processing. In addition, a fix is in development and will likely be in place today or tomorrow. Common recent problem is receiving an inappropriate system warning when entering the Prevailing Wage source. We hope these problem will be fixed soon as the PERM process becoming rather annoying. We will keep our readers posted.

As the Hospitality business was booming in the US, more and more Hospitality professionals in Europe came to the US and started their own businesses via the E2 visa investment. The same happened to Dean and Laura Franks, a British couple who opened the restaurant in 2000 in the state of Maine.

They used the E2 visa, the nonimmigrant investor visa. It is a temporary category that is granted in two-year to five year increments with no limits on the number of extensions. Now they found that after nine years of running their business, they could not renew their visa, forcing them to shutter the restaurant and leave the country. They are not alone. In the past few months we have seen numerous, E2 and L1A visas get denied for no valid reason. Is the US government turning investors away, are they denying cases intentionally? If so why now?

In denying the Franks’ renewal application last year, immigration officials said their restaurant had become a marginal business. The government sets no specific dollar amount, but it defines a marginal enterprise as one that “does not have the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to provide a minimal living” for the visa holder and his family.

Here is the latest on the H1B visa numbers. May 21, 2010 H-2B Cap Count

As of 05/21/10, USCIS receipted 26,422 H-2B petitions, towards the 47,000 beneficiaries target for the second half of the fiscal year.* This count includes 25,178 approved and 1,244 pending petitions.

With all the hype, hysteria and hot air generated around the H1-B visa program issue during the past several years, one fundamental truism remains: the current annual level of H-1B visas being utilized in the United States is about the same level as in 1990.

As the H1B season still in full force, we would like to share this great tip from AILA. This post discuss where to file H-1B extensions for beneficiaries working for petitioners, which are not cap exempt, but who are “employed at” cap exempt facilities.

The VSC (Vermont Service Center) refers to the September 10, 2009, USCIS Guidance regarding the direct filing address for I-129 petitions, noting that H-1B employers filing petitions which are cap exempt must file such petitions exclusively with the California Service Center.

VSC notes that in this instance, the term “cap exempt” refers only to those petitioners who are exempt from the numerical limitations identified in 8 CFR 214.2 (h)(8)(i)(A). “Cap exempt” petitioners are those described in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(iii), and include:

As of May 14, 2010, approximately 19,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were received. Additionally, USCIS has received 8,100 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

What organizations are cap exempt for example?

Nonprofit Organizations “Affiliated” with Institutions of Higher Education Are Cap Exempt