Articles Posted in Work Visas

USCIS has updated the H1B cap count. As of September 25, 2009, the regular Cap count is 46,700. The advanced-degree cap remains at 20,000.

Since neither cap has been reached at the time of this writing, the USCIS will continue to accept FY2010 H1B cases under the advanced-degree and regular caps.

Hence, employers can still apply for H-1B petitions. However, we caution that even if the cap is open still getting an approval is a hard nut to crack. Please make sure following while applying for fresh H-1B Petitions:

The Cap seem to be moving slowly in the past few months, but something is different with the release of the new count this week.

As of September 18, 2009, approximately 46,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. It seems that some employers are hiring again and willing to file for H1B visas for specialty workers. This is a good sign, but this also means that visas may run out sooner than expected.

USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

I recently came across a posting by fellow lawyer Chris Musillo, he wrote about an interesting point that is often asked by our clients, the Health Care recruiters and Healthcare providers. The question is do H1B workers that are not yet licensed, need to be paid. Here is Chris’ opinion, and I agree:

First a little background. The National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) is not offered overseas. Accordingly, all PTs must enter the US in order to sit for the licensing exam. The USCIS often approves unlicensed PTs for H-1B visa status, and there is ample Guidance to support these decisions.

My client’s approved PTs must then come into the US, sit for the NPTE, and then obtain their state license. Once they obtain the state license, they can begin their PT work.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an updated H-1B cap count of 45,100 as of August 28, 2009. This reflects an increase of 100 cases from the prior count, provided on August 14, 2009. The advanced-degree cap remains at 20,000. The USCIS continues to accept FY2010 H1B cases under the advanced-degree and regular caps.

We suggest to US employers to file H-1B Petitions only if they can able to provide the Client details like Letter from the end-client, Work-orders confirming the placement. If you are having an in-house requirement, provide USCIS with ample proof of your in-house requirements. Considering the flood of H-1B RFEs, we have to be bit cautious in filing works. The standard approach prevailing until last year needs a re-look. Be assured, if you are right on papers and abide the Immigration requirement, you will for sure come with flying colors. We will be happy to help and support you in H-1B and other filings. It is widely believed that the H-1B Cap will be available even after Sept. 30, 2009.

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) issued an August 20, 2009 press release, reporting a decline in offers of admission from U.S. graduate schools to prospective foreign students. This is the first decline in the rate of offers to foreign students since 2004.

While these significant reductions affected the overall decline in foreign student enrollment, the number of offers of admission to students from the People’s Republic of China grew at a rate of 13 percent. The CGS press release indicates that this was the fourth year in a row of double-digit growth in the number of students from China offered admission to U.S. graduate schools.

With the up coming biggest education Expo in China (http://www.phdchina.org/english/index.shtml), the US is the country of Honour at this show. This is a clear sign that Chinese students are looking at the US as the main destination for studies and future opportunities.

As attorneys that work with Hospitals and medical professionals, we always get questions from clients about the H1B visa. Can Nurses really get this visa, and if so how?

The H1B visa program, which has a current allocation of 65,000 visas per year (This year visas are still open and up for grabs), allows foreign professionals to work in the U.S. for a limited duration. In this visa category, a U.S. employer offers a job to a foreign professional that requires a bachelor’s or higher degree, or its equivalent as the minimum entry requirement.

Nevertheless, there is a problem for nurses getting H1B visas. The USCIS applies a different rule for nurses. The USCIS (guided by a determination by the U.S. Department of Labor, as published in the Occupational Outlook Handbook) says that there is no industry-wide standard that a nurse needs a baccalaureate degree to perform the duties of a professional registered nurse. In many states, a nurse can obtain a professional registered nursing license after completion of only a two-year program and successful passage of a state licensing examination. Thus, according to the USCIS, foreign nurses are not eligible for H1B in general RN positions.

The days of considering the H1B visa process a purely administrative process are over. In the not so distant past, H1B cases were just about the forms and the evidence submitted in the case. If the USCIS liked the arguments and supporting documents, an approval was issued.

Things are not so simple today. Recently, the USCIS has begun making visits to the U.S. work sites of companies that sponsor H-1B and L-1 visa holders, including some large U.S.-based financial services companies. USCIS agents come with a checklist of questions designed to confirm the identity of the employer who petitioned for the visa and the visa beneficiary and to verify that both are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the visa. The objective of the unannounced on-site visits is clear: to detect fraud and abuses of the visa program.

Here is the problem, USCIS investigation tactics often exceed what is necessary and reasonable to obtain H-1B application verification information. Unlike the Department of Labor, which has the statutory authority to investigate an employer’s compliance with visa obligations but rarely conducts audits unless there are complaints, the USCIS has no statutory or regulatory authority to enter the workplace of H-1B and L-1 visa holders. So if you get audited, first thing to do is contact your immigration lawyer. A qualified attorney could assist you pass the audit and prevent any illegality on the side of the Government.

The immigration system mirrors the economy, now we know it. H1B visas are still available with more than 15,000 are up for grabs. The numbers are pretty much unchanged since late May.

As of August 14, 2009, approximately 45,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn. We will keep you posted with any changes in this area.

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, has slowed down.

Also due to a large number of rejections of H-1B petitions, this figure of 20,000 vacancies has remained almost the same for the past two months. Past figures indicate that Indian IT professionals have been a major beneficiary of H1B visas. An additional 20,000 H1B can also be issued to those foreign professionals, who have masters or higher degree from the U.S. Though the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 20,000 petitions, it continues to accept applications in this category.

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