Articles Posted in Work Visas

I read an interesting article on Informationweek.com regarding the Tech Skill shortage in the US. The fact is that we do have a shortage of qualified skilled tech workers whether you like it or not. How do I know that for a fact? Well maybe due to the fact that more than 300,000 skilled workers filed for H1B visas last year, competing for a mere 65,000 slots. Or maybe the numerous calls that we and thousands of other Immigration lawyers across the country get from worried employers concerned about what is going to happen this year.

Well last year the H1B quota was filled in the first day applications were received. In fact, so oversubscribed was it that the USCIS had a lottery to decide which of the almost 300,000 applicants will be fortunate enough to receive a Visa.

The unsuccessful applicants got their applications returned, together with their filing fees. We all expected that the visa numbers will be increased, but this never happened. Several large companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Dell have been lobbying hard for such an increase, but that has not produced any results so far.

We just received breaking news from USCIS that the H2B CAP for the second half of 2008 has been reached. USCIS is hereby notifying the public that January 2, 2008 is the “final receipt date” for new H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates prior to October 1, 2008.

The news hit us all hard, both lawyers and employers will need to struggle to keep workers on the job and the business going. I urge employers to write to their elected officials to take action and save our economy before it is too late.

Read the press release here Download file

To stress the problems that high–tech workers face getting green cards and work visas like the H1B visa, all members of Congress now have “blue cards.” The Compete America coalition has been distributing the cards to lawmakers during meetings, one of several industry lobbying efforts on competitiveness issues in the last few weeks of the year.

Read more here…

The California Service Center has informed AILA-CSC Liaison that it has changed its policy with respect to certain forms of concurrent H-1B employment.

In the past, the CSC would approve an H-1B petition for concurrent employment that is cap-subject if the alien was the beneficiary of an approved H-1B petition submitted by a cap-exempt employer, applying a literal reading of INA § 214(g)(6).

CSC has advised that they will start denying concurrent H-1B petitions filed by cap-subject petitioners (such employers that didn’t obtain H1B approval this year) notwithstanding the fact that the alien is already working for a cap-exempt institution. The matter is being taken up by out organization AILA and we will update readers of this Blog.

California farmers wait for comprehensive immigration reform and prepare for work in the fields. The Associated Press reported that some Oregon farmers contend the U.S. government’s decision to place National Guard troops along the Mexican border is contributing to a shortage of workers to pick their ripe fruit.

The stepped up efforts to crack down on illegal immigration is having an unwanted effect on American farmers. Some claim recent raids and threats to prosecute companies that hire undocumented workers have resulted in a severe labor shortage that could force some farms out of business and lead to higher food prices.

We are hoping for an immediate reform with respect to the H2A visa system, currently the only guest worker like system to hire farm workers. The system itself is very complicated and I am not surprised why not so many employers are actually trying to comply.

Recently the Department of Labor announced that the permanent foreign labor certification program’s backlog has been eliminated, with nearly 95 percent of cases completed and the rest awaiting responses from employers. The BECs have begun a transition and shutdown phase that will continue through December.

I can say that this is excellent news for many of our applicants that were waiting for so long for the DOL to get the files out with certifications. I am just hoping that we the free time on the DOL’s hands they might just expedite PERM processing and handling to make it really an online experience.

Every year I hear the same complaints from our farmer clients, there are just not enough workers in this country to keep with the demand. What choice do they have but to hire illegal workers.

According to the Department of Labor’s National Agricultural Workers Survey, 53 percent of the hired crop labor force lacked authorization to work in the U.S. in 2004-05. Worker advocates and grower associations agree the actual figure is probably closer to 80 percent.

Three-quarters of the hired farm work force in the U.S. was born in Mexico. And more than 40 percent of crop workers were migrants, meaning they had traveled at least 75 miles in the previous year to get a farm job, the survey showed.

Now a growing immigration raids is making life more difficult for everybody. flurry of immigration raids has some farmers in upstate New York worried about their ability to harvest all of their fruits and vegetables.

The farmers blame a growing immigrant farm labor shortage on a dramatic rise in immigration enforcement at a time when national security restrictions have already sharply curtailed attempts by foreign workers to gain lawful seasonal employment in the United States.

Continue reading

Visa issues have seemingly become the No. 1 reason for overseas artists to stop their tours lately. The Wall Street Journal took a look at the increasingly difficult process they have to go through to get their paperwork in order. This fall, Immigration restrictions are stopping some popular United Kingdom acts from reaching U.S. borders. At least three anticipated tours by British artists scheduled for this month alone have been called off or pushed back because of musicians’ visa problems.

It seems that processing artist visas like the P’s and the O’s is becoming more and more difficult in the age of the internet. I see this in my practice representing young artists coming to perform in America. YouTube and myspace evidence is what I use, but it is not always easy to convince the USCIS adjudicators not familiar with these popular mediums.

Here is an example, Last fall, the British band Klaxons landed a spot at the CMJ music festival in New York, an annual showcase of new talent. But its visa request was delayed when immigration officials said they needed more evidence of the band’s longevity. About a week before its scheduled trip to the U.S., the band pulled the plug on the tour. The group waited another seven months to enter the U.S. Can you blame them!

Continue reading

One industry that has seen a rise of available jobs is the hospitality industry in the US, primarily hotels and Restaurants. Although many Hospitality workers wait months or even years for permission to live and work in the US legally, a small but growing number have found a legal path that is relatively simple and fast: come with LOTS OF MONEY to buy businesses here. As the Hospitality business is booming in the US, more and more Hospitality professionals in Europe are coming to the US and starting their own businesses via the E2 visa investment.

Continue reading

Advance copy of final rule, scheduled for publication on 5/17, regarding prohibition of substitution of aliens on labor certification applications, limited validity period for labor certifications, and payment of costs of obtaining the certification.

So what is in the regulations:

1. The regulation prohibits the practice of substituting beneficiaries in labor certification cases. This prohibition will not affect any substitutions that are approved either by the DOL or the USCIS prior to the effective date of the regulation (July 16, 2007). Additionally, the explanation of the regulation states that the prohibition does not apply to substitution requests that are in progress as of July 16, 2007.