Visa Lawyer Blog

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According to a recent USCIS guidance an employer may not hire an H-1B worker prior to USCIS approving the H-1B petition unless the employee (i) is currently in H-1B status, or (ii) is the beneficiary of a timely filed H-1B extension of status petition. If the employee is in another nonimmigrant status, such as F-1 (student) or L-1 (intracompany transfer), the employer must wait until USCIS approves the H-1B petition before hiring the foreign worker.

Under section 214(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a worker who “was previously issued a visa or otherwise provided [H-1B] nonimmigrant status” is authorized to begin working upon the filing of an H-1B petition by his or her new employer. This provision is often referred to as H-1B portability. Congress passed the law to allow employers to hire H-1B workers without having to wait for the government to adjudicate the H-1B petitions, a process that can often take several months.

The issue was raised to the USCIS Verification Division after employers received nonconfirmations from the E-Verify system when they hired H-1B workers under H-1B portability and the workers were not, at the time of hire, in H-1B status, or were not the beneficiaries of H-1B extension petitions. In the exchange, the USCIS Verification Division stated that the agency does not consider those employees to be work authorized. Please contact our office for further information.

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This is an important update for all Religious Workers filing for Permanent Residency. On October 13, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a mandate overturning the permanent injunction ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington allowing special immigrant religious workers to file their Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, concurrently with the organizations’ Form I-360.

Effects on Religious Workers

As of November 8, 2010, USCIS will no longer accept any I-485 applications, as well as Applications for Employment Authorization (Form I-765), and/or Applications for Travel Document (Form I-131), filed concurrently with or filed based on pending I-360 petitions from individuals seeking classification as special immigrant religious workers.

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USCIS announced the launch of a redesigned Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) with new security features that will reduce fraud—part of USCIS’ ongoing efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration system. USCIS began using redesigned certificates at all offices last week, and the agency anticipates that over 600,000 new citizens will receive the enhanced certificate over the next year.

I attended my wife’s Naturalization ceremony last week and the new Certificate is really striking. The redesigned certificate features the naturalization candidate’s digitized photo and signature embedded into the document. The background also features a color-shifting ink pattern that is difficult to reproduce. USCIS is now using a more secure printing process that renders the certificate more tamper-proof.

For more info and see the new features click here

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it has begun issuing a redesigned, more secure Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration system. The agency anticipates that over 600,000 new citizens will receive the enhanced certificate over the next year.

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Our clients, participants of J-1 exchange visitor programs, are often confused as to the nature of this rule and its applicability. Below is a summary on what this rule means and when it applies.

Certain J-1 exchange visitors are subject to two-year foreign residence requirement, also known as a “two-year rule” (see Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act). Exchange visitors who are subject to the two-year rule cannot change their status to that of H, L, K, or immigrant lawful permanent resident until they have returned to their home countries for at least two-years or received a waiver of that requirement. Please note that you do not have to reside in your home country for uninterrupted two years. If you reside in your home country for ten months and then depart, you are still subject to the rule. When you come back to your home country, you will need to reside there for fourteen more months to satisfy the requirement.

The exchange visitor is subject to the two-year home country physical presence requirement if the following conditions exist:

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The US Embassy in Slovakia stated in an announcement that its country’s visa regime works according to the principle of reciprocity and noted that after several years of negotiations, the Slovak government has failed to modify the visa validity for Americans working in Slovakia beyond the current limit of two years.

Currently, Slovaks working temporarily in the United States in the H, L, O, P, and R categories receive visas valid for five years. Based on this lack of reciprocity, the US government has reduced the validity of the H, L, O, P, and R non-immigrant visa categories for Slovaks from the current 60 months with multiple entries, to 24 months with multiple entries, effective immediately.

A $60 reciprocity fee, payable at the US Embassy at the time of the interview for a US visa, will also be added, the embassy wrote, in order to bring the two countries’ fees into a more reciprocal relationship.

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Arizona’s Toughest Sheriff Joe Arpaio brings his round-’em-up-and-deport-’em politics to Las Vegas on latest stop of Tea Party Express. In a packed saloon on the edges of town last night, the Tea Party Express battle bus rolled in and fired up a crowd of about 2,000 supporters with lurid tales of the war against the illegal hordes.

The headline speaker was “America’s Toughest Sheriff”, Joe Arpaio, from Maricopa County in Arizona, which covers the state’s capital city, Phoenix. He has lit the fuse of the immigration debate in America with his hardcore round-’em-up-and-deport-’em politics.

As he came on stage the crowd gave a huge roar of approval, and a Tea Party band sang: “We stand with you Arizona / The rule of law in this land / What part of ‘illegal’ don’t they understand.” “It’s very simple,” Arpaio began. “I have the solution, but nobody wants to listen to me.” The crowd booed.

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When times get tough, Immigration fraud is on the rise. Pretty disturbing news. A Brazilian husband and wife were sentenced Thursday for their involvement in a $55 million visa fraud scheme, following an investigation led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Wilson, 63, and Valeria Barbugli, 57, were sentenced to 18 and 24 months in federal prison, respectively, by U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven, Middle District of Florida. The couple was convicted of conspiracy, visa fraud and alien smuggling as part of an elaborate scheme which allowed illegal aliens to work at jobs that normally would have been filled by U.S. citizens.

As part of their sentence, the court also imposed a money judgment in the amount of $55 million, which represents the illegal proceeds generated during the course of the conspiracy.

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The Immigration Act 2009 comes into effect from 29 November 2010. Until then the Immigration Act 1987 applies. The key changes factsheet is a good place to start. It gives an overview of what’s happening, and gives an introduction to the other factsheets, which include:

* New terminology and concepts – outlines, for example, how we will no longer use the word ‘permit’ and instead use the word ‘visa’, and that the terms ‘residence permits’, ‘residence visas’ and ‘returning resident’s visas will be replaced by ‘resident visas’ and ‘permanent resident visas’ – but there is no change to existing categories for people wishing to settle in New Zealand.

* Residence – explains how people granted residence in New Zealand will be granted ‘resident visas’ with ‘travel conditions’, or ‘permanent resident visas’, and what these things mean.

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