Visa Lawyer BlogOne 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.
Articles Posted in Work Visas
LC Substitution Elimination Rule Effective July 16, 2007
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.
H1B Visa – Not paying your employee, think again!
We often receive calls from frustrated employees on H1B visas complaining that employers are not paying them the required wages. Many are about to loose their jobs and want to learn more abot their rights.
The DOL’s Administrative Review Board recently addressed what circumstances constitute termination of employment for purposes of the employer’s H-1B obligations.
In its analysis of the case, Amtel Group of Florida v. Yongmahapakorn, the Board ruled that the employer had not effected a bona fide termination of its H-1B employee, because there was “no evidence that employer notified the USCIS that it had terminated (the H-1B employee) and that employer provided (the H-1B employee) with payment for her transportation home.”
As a result, the Board decided that the employer was not justified in withholding the salary otherwise due to the employee. The Board then ordered the employer to pay the prevailing wage for the employee until the expiration of the authorized period of stay for H-1B employment. This is an important precedent for employers to keep in mind when considering termination of H-1B workers. H1B workers are just like any other worker and deserve to be treated fairly.
H-1B Master’s Degree Cap Reached Today – The End!
Just like I predicated in previous posts, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions requesting exemptions from the fiscal year 2008 (FY 2008) H-1B cap for “foreign workers who have earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education” to meet the congressionally mandated exemption limit of 20,000. USCIS has determined that the “final receipt date” for these exempt H1B Petitions is April 30, 2007.
Immigration Success Story: H1B Without a Degree – “It never hurts to try”
Our law firm represents numerous hotels and restaurants across the U.S. Over the past several years, we have established ourselves as leaders in hospitality immigration, helping all levels of hospitality professionals. Sometimes their cases are straightforward. Other times, their stories are full of twists and turns.
Our client, a leading luxury hotel in California, was employing Mr. G. as a Banquet manager on a J1 visa. The J1 visa unfortunately allows the employer to keep the employee for a period of 18 months and not more. The hotel was impressed with Mr. G’s work and senior management expressed desire to keep him beyond the J1 term. We presented a few options, first the H2B visa for a short duration employment of up to 10 months. The problem is that H2B visas<a href= ran out in early March and that was not an option. We were left with the H1B visa that would allow Mr. G. to work up to six years. However, we discovered that he did not have a Bachelor's degree in the field of employment, a minimum requirement for the H1B Visa. Mr. G. was not qualified for the H1B visa at the time. His position was also one that did not require a Bachelor's degree.
H-2B Visa: DOL Updates H-2B Labor Certification Procedures
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published a notice of an update for procedures for State Workforce Agencies (“SWA”) and ETA National Processing Centers to process H-2B labor certification applications in non-agricultural occupations. The H-2B nonimmigrant classification allows temporary non-agricultural workers to come to the U.S. to meet seasonal, intermittent or peak-load needs of an employer where there are no U.S. workers who are able, willing and qualified to accept the temporary position(s).
The H-2B nonimmigrant visa classification may work as an alternative for the H- 1B. The earliest that H2B Labor Certifications can be filed for October 2007 starting date is June 1, 2007, employers must file early, please call or email me if you need more info..
You can read the update here
H1B Cases filed – Why did I get two receipts?
Clients are calling my office in the past week or so, reporting receipt of H1B receipts. A few days later same clients report getting same receipts for the same case. Other clients report receipts issued on the 5th or 6th of April, what is going on here?
The USCIS announced on April 16, 2007, that some of the regular H1B cases subject to the cap will be issued two receipt notices. The reason for this is that the USCIS issued receipts for some (but not all) cap-subject cases filed on April 2nd and 3rd. They changed the procedure before they issued receipts for all cases. Under the new procedure, the USCIS stopped issuing preliminary receipt notices once they realized that the H1B cap had been met on the first day these cases were accepted. The USCIS conducted a random, computer-generated lottery on April 12, 2007 to select the H1B cases that would receive the limited cap numbers.
We are in the process of receiveing receipts for cases that were selected, I assume that if no receipts are received by our office, by early next week clients should assume that the cases were not selected.
20,000 H1B Masters may be gone this week
Are you stressed enough with the H1B craziness, well here is another update.
I just learned today that 20,000 H1B numbers reserved for person’s with advanced degrees may be gone by the end of this week, more or less by Thursday afternoon. As you know the 65,000 general cap was reached on April 2, 2007.
There is currently legislation pending in Congress that may help increase the cap and provide relief for the thousands of workers ready to come and work in the US. Many readers ask us what they can do to help. Click here to find out
USCIS Announces Completion of FY 2008 H-1B Lottery
So what is the update with the H1B Lottery? We have received advance notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that on April 12, 2007 it conducted the computer-generated random selection process to determine which H-1B petitions, subject to the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for the 2008 fiscal year (FY 2008), would continue to final processing.
The agency has confirmed that it received a total of 123,480 cap-subject petitions on April 2 and 3. These petitions were labeled with unique numerical identifiers, and a sufficient number of petitions to reach the annual H-1B cap was then selected randomly by computer. The chosen numerical identifiers were then transmitted to the appropriate Service Center for further processing.
Within the next four weeks, a receipt notice will be generated for each petition that was selected by lottery for adjudication. Those that were not chosen will be sent back to the petitioner or authorized representative along with the fee(s).
For cases that were initially filed with requests for premium processing, the 15-day premium processing period begins on April 12, which is the date petitions were chosen through the random selection process.
Take Action: Urge Your Senators to Move Forward with Comprehensive Immigration Reform!
When the Senate returned from the spring recess on April 10, 2007, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) welcomed his colleagues back with remarks that highlighted the pressing need for comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately, and despite commitment from leaders in both parties to make immigration a priority, the Senate has yet to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Time is growing short – urge your senators to put aside partisan politics and move forward with much-needed policy reform now!
Here is what you can do to help:
Use this email service to write your senators : Click Here
Find your Senator’s Phone numbers here – Click this link