Articles Posted in Work Visas

Recently the Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on the H-2B seasonal worker visa program.

As I have previously reported, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 (SOS Act) created a cap exemption for “returning workers,” defined as those workers who were counted against the 66,000 annual H-2B cap during any one of the three fiscal years preceding the fiscal year of the requested employment start date. The returning worker provisions of the SOS Act, which originally expired on September 30, 2006, were reauthorized by Congress for one additional year, through Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, which ended on September 30, 2007. This provision was never extended resulting is major hardship to employers in the Hospitality and Constructions industries as well as other employers.

We link to a testimony of R. D. Musser, III President of the famous Grand Hotel explaining the impact of the H2B crisis on his Hotel and the industry. He calls for immediate reform.

Good news for the aspiring self employed H1B workers. An AAO non-precedent decision finds that a corporation has a separate legal identity from its owner, even if it is owned and operated by a single person. Also finds that the proffered position is a specialty occupation, despite the fact that the beneficiary may undertake administrative tasks as the sole proprietor.

Although we never recommend for H1B workers to form companies that sponsor them , in certain cases it is very possible.

Read the decision here Download file

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today conducted

the computer-generated random selection processes on H-1B petitions, to select which H- 1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009) would continue to full adjudication. If

approved these H-1B petitions will be eligible to receive an H-1B visa number.

Well the numbers are out, I lost my bet. I predicted 200,000 visa applications to be received. The actual numbers are lower. This reflects the low confidence employers put in this system.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a preliminary

number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree category.

Talk about H1B filing nightmare. American Immigration Lawyers Association has received reports that Federal Express forwarded a number of H-1B packages to the service centers without entering the individual package into the tracking system. AILA and USCIS are discussing how to handle the situation, and USCIS is talking to Federal Express.USCIS urges filers NOT to submit duplicates of packages that are missing tracking numbers, as that could result in both applications being denied as multiple filings under the new rules.

We sent ALL our cases via FEDEX but we were able to track all of them. Let’s hope this problem will be resolved very soon. We will keep you posted.

Our Blog is being read by thousands of Media outlets across the Globe. I was happy to be quoted by ComputerWorld about the recent H1B filing madness. For 40 years, Computerworld has been the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide. Computerworld’s award-winning Web site (Computerworld.com), weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research form the hub of the world’s largest global IT media network.

The article covers the issues as to why is the demand for foreign workers, including skilled software developers and other IT professionals, still rising as economic conditions grow steadily worse? I have commented on the most recent changes to the H1B program and filing strategies to consider.

Click here to read the article

Yes, the big day has arrived, March 31, 2008!!! We are very excited (and exhausted), but all our cases are ready to go via FEDEX to the Vermont or Califronia Service Centers dpending on the locations of the employers. We carefully marked all the envelopes with bright markers to indicate Premium and Regular processing cases. We also rubbed each envelope with a special H1B magic potion to make sure they will be selected in the lottery-…(just kidding, April fools is tomorrow!!!)
We just learned, that USCIS indicated that only H1B petitions selected in the lottery will be issued receipt notices. Last year it was madness, some H1B petitions were issued receipts before the lottery and without consideration for whether or not they were accepted for processing. This created significant confusion and anxiety. Some petitioners who were issued the receipt notice assumed that their filings were accepted for processing when, in fact, they were refused later through the lottery. To avoid this confusion this year, the USCIS will conduct the H1B lottery before issuing receipts for H1B petitions accepted for processing for FY2009. In anticipation of the rush of cap-subject H1B filings that will begin April 1, 2008, the USCIS has alerted the U.S. Postal Service and the courier services to the increased volume of mail expected.

We wish best of luck to all the H1B visa filers this year, and we will keep you posted….

Yes the pressure is on and we are less than 7 days before the H1B filing date. Our office is open longer hours and dedicated staff members are trying to put together the cases in the most perfect order, according to the tips issued by USCIS The goal is to file on March 31, 2008 by close of business.

Here are some useful Q and A on the new rules:
What is the H-1B visa program?
The H-1B visa program is used by U.S. businesses to employ foreign workers in occupations that
require theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree
or higher (or its equivalent), such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.

What is the purpose of the new rule?
The overall goal of the new rule is to promote equal opportunity for prospective petitioners seeking
visas for H-1B workers.

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As we are struggling to finish processing our H1B cases and get them ready for the March 31 filing date (look I am working on Saturday night!!!), new bills were introduced that may provide relief from the Cap. Here are the bills:
Strengthening United States Technology And Innovation Now Act (H.R.5642) – (March 14, 2008)
– Would Raise H-1B Cap in Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009 to 195,000 Annually
Innovation Employment Act (H.R.5630) – (March 13, 2008)
– Would Raise H-1B Cap in Fiscal Year 2008 to 130,000
With Possible Increases Up to 180,000 in Future Years
New American Innovators Act (H.R.5634) – (March 13, 2008)

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According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, DHS/USCIS announced on a conference call on 3/19/08 that it has transmitted to the Federal Register an interim final rule regarding H-1B filing that would:

Change from 2 days to 5 days the period of time during which cap-subject H-1Bs can be received to be included in any “lottery” that would occur if, as expected, the number of petitions exceeds the quota.

Prohibit multiple filings from the same employer for the same employee, even if the filings are for different jobs. The one exception would be that related employers could file separate petitions for the same employee.