Articles Posted in Work Visas

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memo dated January 8, 2010 that has great importance for the IT consulting industry and H1B filers in general. This memo specifies how USCIS personnel should determine the existence of the required employer-employee relationship when adjudicating H1B petitions. The memo, issued by Associate Director of Service Center Operations, Donald Neufeld, provides guidance regarding the type of evidence that sufficiently confirms the existence of an employer-employee relationship between an H1B-petitioning employer and the beneficiary. We have posted an article on this issue in the past, click here for more details.

In this post we will focus on H-1B Entrepreneurs/Job Creators. The Neufeld Memo contains additional language that completely undermines a business owner’s ability to be an H-1B beneficiary. This thrust against owner-beneficiaries can foreclose opportunities, not only for the potential new businesses that could be created by H-1B entrepreneurs, but also for the numbers of U.S. workers who would otherwise be employed by those businesses.

No matter how many others are employed by an entrepreneur’s enterprise, the owner of such a business will not be eligible for an H-1B visa even if (1) a viable corporation is established; (2) there is no third-party placement; (3) the corporate petitioner pays the beneficiary; (4) the corporate petitioner claims the beneficiary for tax purposes, and (5) the beneficiary produces goods or services tied directly to the petitioner’s business.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2011 is 65,000. Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.

USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap. If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.

Great tip from AILA for our H1B filers trying to beat the rush. Because you cannot submit an LCA earlier than six months prior to the beginning date of the period of intended employment (20 CFR § 655.730(b)), if you want your LCA in hand before April 1, then set your employment start date on the LCA for a date in September, and set the expiration date for a date no more than three years hence. File the I-129 with a start date of October 1, but with an expiration date that coincides with the expiration date of the LCA. You will lose a couple of days on the back end of the petition by doing this, but you will get the LCA filed and back before April 1.

Example:

LCA start date: 9/1/10

Since the recent Memo from USCIS re Employer Employee relationship, our office has been receiving anxious calls from employers and clients alike. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued in Janauary updated guidance to adjudication officers to clarify what constitutes a valid employer-employee relationship to qualify for the H-1B ‘specialty occupation’ classification. The memorandum clarifies such relationships, particularly as it pertains to independent contractors, self-employed beneficiaries, and beneficiaries placed at third-party worksites. The memorandum is titled: “Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions, Including Third-Party Site Placements.

The memo make it more difficult for staffing companies who hire professionals to work at third-party work locations to obtain H-1B visas on their behalf. The memo states that staffing companies must demonstrate that they “control” their employee’s daily tasks.

Moreover, the memo prevents corporations owned by a future H-1B beneficiary from submitting an H-1B petition on behalf of the beneficiary. The grounds for denial would be that the beneficiary rather than the petitioning company will be controlling the beneficiary’s work.

The Department of Labor announced Public Briefings on the Changes to the Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States. Members of our office will attend the briefings tomorrow in San Diego.

On February 12, 2010, the Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) amended the H-2A regulations at 20 CFR part 655 governing the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural employment. See, Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States, Final Rule, 75 FR 6884, Feb. 12, 2010 (the Final Rule). The Department’s Final Rule also amended the regulations at 29 CFR part 501 to provide for enhanced enforcement under the H-2A program requirements when employers fail to meet their obligations under the H-2A program. The Department has also made changes to the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, ETA Form 9142.

The Final Rule will become effective on March 15, 2010. All H-2A program users will be required to file their applications under the new regulations, and to comply with all applicable program requirements.

The Labor Department published in the Feb. 12 edition of the Federal Register, a final rule governing the labor certification process and enforcement mechanisms for the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.

The H-2A nonimmigrant visa classification applies to foreign workers coming to or already in the U.S. to perform agricultural work of a temporary or seasonal nature. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may not approve an H-2A visa petition unless the Department of Labor, through its Employment and Training Administration, certifies that there are not sufficient U.S. workers qualified and available to perform the labor involved in the petition and that the employment of the foreign worker will not have an adverse effect on the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

What are the major Features of the Final Rule:

From time to time we can provide most up to date information from different Consular Posts across the globe. The following update is from the US Embassy in Istanbul Turkey and is provided by our AILA liaison committee. Here are the questions and answers:

What are the scheduling/interview waiting period for NIV appts (Turks)? Scheduling waiting period for NIV appts (Iranians)? Times of year that waiting generally increases?

Current wait time for an NIV appt. is approx. 15 days for Turkish nationals. Ankara is

I was recently interviewed by the Latin America News Dispatch about the current situation in Mexico and our work with E2 investors fleeing from that country.

One option available to wealthy Mexicans who flee the violence in their country is to apply for an E-2 or Investor’s Visa. Since 1994, Mexico has been a so-called Treaty Country, making its residents eligible for E-2 visas. While the State Department only says that the investment needed must be “substantial,” based on our experience a recommended investment varies between 50,000 to 100,000 dollars.

According to the article, not many of these visas are granted every year. In 2009, the U.S. granted Mexico only 2,499 treaty investor and treaty trader visas. This is a small number compared to the 7,598 student visas and 6,020 exchange visitor visas approved for Mexicans in 2009, according to State Department statistics. Yet we feel that demand for such visas is only increasing. We will continue to provide guidance to our clients in this complex area of Immigration Law.

In recent weeks our East Coast H1B and L clients reported problems at the Newark port of entry. Problems were reported by applicants from India coming back from vacation or travel for Business. In 2 cases, workers were sent back home, visa revoked by the officer. What is going on?
The AILA U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Liaison Committee received reports from AILA members that CBP inspectors at the Newark, New Jersey airport port of entry were apparently assisting in an investigation involving certain H-1B nonimmigrants from India and certain H-1B petitioner companies. The inspectors’ questions focused on who the individuals worked for, how their pay was computed, who paid their salary, their job duties, and what they were paid. In some cases, the individuals were subjected to expedited removal and visa cancellation.

After inquiring with CBP headquarters (“HQ”) about these incidents, the CBP Liaison Committee was advised by HQ that several of these cases involved companies under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and/or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) for ongoing fraud. CBP HQ noted that they use as much advance information as possible to target specific individuals who warrant additional inspection. HQ also noted that recent enforcement cases reviewed ranged from simple documentary deficiency to visa/petition fraud. Upon an inadmissibility finding, the determination to either allow the applicant to withdraw his or her application for admission or to subject the applicant to expedited removal is based on “the totality of the circumstances and reviewed on a case by case basis.”
Individuals with pending I-751 petitions returning to the United States via the Newark airport port of entry, who have a I-751 filing receipt documenting that an I-751 has been properly filed or an ADIT Legal Permanent Resident stamp, will be sent to secondary inspection for further interview to verify the validity of the I-751 Petition. It is unclear if CBP will undertake a substantive review of the I-751 Petition.

Best Advice

Applicants should thoroughly prepare for their trip to the United States and their inspection upon application for admission by reviewing all pertinent documents to their petition and to consider carrying evidence to support the assertions made in the petition filed on their behalf by their employer.

Similarly, employers must be prepared for telephone inquiries from CBP officers at ports of entry to confirm the assertions made in any nonimmigrant petition and supporting documentation. Finally, employers must be advised that the government may review information in any public venues such as websites and other media for consistency with petition content. Thus, keeping such public information accurate and current is essential.

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