Visa Lawyer BlogThe effective date of the new I-9 form has been delayed for 60 days, until April 3, 2009. It was originally scheduled to take effect on February 2. The comment period on the new form now runs until March 4, 2009.
Immigration Reform in 2009 – ?
Pro-immigrant advocates believe the Obama administration will have a window of opportunity between this September and March 2010 to shepherd a comprehensive immigration package that will provide a path to legalization for an estimated 12 million undocumented residents, strengthen border security and help the ailing economy.
Part of their optimism is attributed to the large Latino vote that broke for Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio in key states like Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.
Delayed Implementation of E-Verify Regulation – Update
Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ EVerify system starting May 21, 2009, to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States. The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council amended the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to reflect this change.
The new rule implements Executive Order 12989, as amended by President George W. Bush on June 6, 2008, directing federal agencies to require that federal contractors agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees.
Read more
San Diego Immigration Attorney featured in the American Bar Journal on H2A visas
It is nice to be recognized by the media from time to time. The American Bar Journal is taking an interest in Immigration law, in the February issue they feature our office and the unique H2A practice we operate.
H-2As are used by seasonal agricultural workers, who must prove that (a) they have residences in other countries they have no intention of abandoning, and that (b) they will be in the United States no longer than eight months. The ABA Journal is read by half of the nation’s 1 million lawyers every month. It covers the trends, people and finances of the legal profession from Wall Street to Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue. We are honored.
How to win the H1B Visa Lottery?
Most employers know that they can submit H-1B petitions on behalf of foreign born professionals six months before October 1st , the first day of the federal fiscal year. First day of filing, April 1st is always very stressful. So following all of the instructions, day before April 1st, we law firm submit numerous of H-1B petitions for foreign born professionals, knowing that these would reach the government by, April 1st, the government’s official processing start date. If an H-1B petition is approved, foreign professionals can begin working on October 1.
What no one could have guessed was that in the past 2 years the government would receive over 140,000 such petitions, way too many for them all to be approved. In an event that sent shock waves through the immigration community, twice the available quota of H-1B visas was received by the Immigration Service on the very first day (or first 5 days under last year changes) it accepted petitions.
How does the government decide which employers get their workers on October 1st? Guess what, the answer is by a lottery. The first 65,000 foreign professionals to be randomly chosen get to work in the U.S. The rest get their petitions back in the mail and checks returned as well.
Of course, if these professionals are still interested in returning to the U.S., employers can petition for them again in April of 2010. If they don’t make the cut in 2009, they can try again in 2010, and so on year after year.
So how can one beat the lottery for H1B visas?
There are a few things that prospective H-1B employers and H-1B employees can do to improve the likelihood that the H-1B will be accepted by the USCIS. First, be sure that all of the appropriate documentation is contained in the H-1B petition. Second, be sure that the H-1B is submitted to the USCIS in a timely manner. Third, be sure that the H-1B is sent to the proper USCIS Service Center for adjudication.
Most importantly, H-1B petitioners should consider the possibility of utilizing filing multiple H-1B petitions. Be advised that the USCIS issued guidance concerning multiple H-1Bs. Filing a master’s H-1B and bachelor’s H-1B is not considered a multiple H-1B filing. Many organizations have layers and layers of subsidiaries and affiliates (different organizations with different Employer Identification Numbers) and there appears to be nothing yet in the regulations to preclude the use of those organizations as vehicles for additional H-1Bs. With each H-1B submitted, there is a statistically higher chance of one of the H-1Bs being able to “win” the lottery.
Hillary Clinton reaffirms support for more H-1B visas
We are in the midst of the H1B season filing period. Employers and workers are getting ready to fight for visas and survive the lottery. Here is what Hillary had to say about H1B’s
EB2 moving forward – February 2009 Visa Bulletin
February 2009 Visa Bulletin shows about six months of forward movement in EB2 for India and China. There is a bit of forward movement in some of the EB3 chargeability areas.In the EB2 section China’s moved forward by almost the same amount. The cutoff date for India moved to January 1, 2004. China reflects a cutoff date of January 1, 2005.
In EB3, The cutoff date for countries under the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed,” as well as for the Philippines, is stagnant, at May 1, 2005. India also remained unchanged, at October 15, 2001. The cutoff date for Mexico advanced by almost five months, to April 1, 2003. China also progressed to October 1, 2002.
New I-9 form to take effect February 2, 2009
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a new edition of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The new form will take effect on February 2, 2009 and should not be used before that date. Until February 2, employers should continue to use the June 5, 2007 edition of the form. Both editions of the form are available at http://www.uscis.gov/i-9.
Revised Document List
The I-9 form was changed to reflect new employment eligibility verification requirements set forth in a recent regulation that will also take effect on February 2. The regulation revises the list of documents that employers may accept to establish a worker’s identity and employment authorization, known as List A documents. The following documents have been added to List A on the new edition of Form I-9:
New Hope for America!!
President Obama began his first full day in office by reading the note left by former President Bush. We hope that new President will take a different path in his presidency. We know the economy is important, the war must be addressed, but Immigration reform must be a priority. Can Obama push for Immigration reform?
Even though the U.S. president is considered to be one of the most powerful leaders of the world, no U.S. president can legislate or pass a law (except in emergency circumstances as an interim measure). Enacting law is the task of the legislature, or the U.S. Congress. The president can make his viewpoint known and members of his party in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives may support his position, introducing bills that are often hotly debated. Once the the bill is passed by both the Senate and the House, the president then can sign the bill into law. What Obama can do, is make sure that Immigration reform will remain a key priority until such reform actually is passed. Good Luck President!!!
Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States and US Immigration Policy
A national poll suggests that President-elect Barack Obama is more popular than ever despite recent speed bumps on the road to hi s inauguration. Eighty-four percent of those surveyed say they approve of how Obama is handling the presidential transition.
There have been no specific pronouncements of President-Elect Obama’s immigration law and policy position in any major speech. One can try to glean his thought process and his bent of mind from his voting record on immigration matters. A brief summary of the immigration policy and the track record of President-Elect Obama might be encapsulated as follows.
He voted for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) in July 2007, which attempted to eliminate the labor certification system and provide relief to undocumented workers, who could get in line to become U.S. immigrants, by creating a new Z class of visas. This was not an amnesty or blanket forgiveness. It was a slow process, requiring payment of hefty fines and get behind others waiting for years to obtain permanent U.S. immigration benefits.