Visa Lawyer Blog

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For employers that rely on the H2B Visa to staff workers, 2009 may be the worst year ever. On December 3, 2008, USCIS updated the count of H-2B petitions received and counted towards the H-2B cap on the USCIS website. As of December 1, 2008, 12,371 petitions have been counted towards the 33,000 cap for the second half of FY 2009.

This means that by early January the 33,000 visas reserved for the second part of year will be gone. Employers like Hotels, Constructions Companies, retail season businesses will be affected the most. We urge the government to pass legislation to increase the H2B cap allowing employers to recruit seasonal workers when needed.

The H2B visa is available to employers of foreign workers not working in the agricultural field. This visa is only available for work that is temporary in nature. For H2B purposes, that means:

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As the H1B season is coming up, I wanted to cover another category of this visa based on the Free Trade agreements with Singapore and Chile.

Although Chilean and Singaporan nationals still have available to them the B and L visa categories, the new H-1B1 category is available to “professionals” from these countries under the new FTAs. For purposes of the two trade agreements, a “professional” is defined as “a national of [Chile or Singapore] who is engaged in a specialty occupation requiring (a) theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge; and (b) attainment of a post-secondary degree in the specialty requiring four or more years of study (or the equivalent of such a degree) as a minimum for entry into the occupation.”
In addition, the H-1B1 nonimmigrant classification is available to certain otherwise admissible businesspersons who do not possess a post-secondary degree or its equivalent, but who will engage in the professions of: (1) in the case of Chilean nationals only, Agricultural Managers and Physical Therapists; and (2) in the case of both Chilean and Singaporan nationals–Disaster Relief Claims Adjusters.

Further, in the case of nationals of both countries, certain management consultants who hold a degree in other than their specialty area will be able to seek admission in H-1B1 classification by presenting alternative documentation reflecting experience in the specialty area.

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It seems that in the near future Airline staff will function as semi immigration officers, examining travelers’ visas even before arrival to the US. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that 15,000 airline personnel have now been trained through its Carrier Liaison Program, with 5,665 carrier personnel trained in fiscal year 2008 alone.

CBP has developed a training program specifically for the air carriers which includes a detailed workbook and sample travel document which allows participants to examine dozens of common security features. Benefits include reduced numbers of improperly documented individuals boarding aircraft destined for the U.S., as well as assisting carriers to reduce costs and penalties associated with boarding impostors or improperly documented passengers.

I am curious to see what they will do when a visa fraud case is detected, will they be forced to report CBP and thus create a negative record for the individual. We will keep monitoring this process and report further.

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If you were planning to apply for the Green Card Lottery, but have not taken the time to do so, you had better move fast real fast. The DV-2010 lottery application period expires at noon, Eastern Standard Time, December 1st, that is actually today. You can still apply online without having to pay an attorney by clicking here

The DV-2010 program apportions visa issuance among six geographic regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America (other than Mexico ), Oceania, and South America (including Mexico , Central America and the Caribbean ). The world is divided up into high and low admission regions and each of the six regions is divided into high and low admission states. A greater portion of the visas goes to the low admission regions than to high admissions regions. High admission states are entirely excluded from the lottery (those states are listed above)

and low admission states compete equally with other low admission states in the same region. No single state may receive more than 7% (3,500) of the 50,000 allotted visas.

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The recent drug and illegal alien busts show how the new x-ray machine helps screen for contraband coming from Mexico. Customs and Border Protection officials say its the first machine of its kind at the border.

The xray machine sits at the entrance to San Ysidro’s secondary inspection. That’s where agents send vehicles for extra screening. Agents in secondary, in some cases, would tear cars apart in a sort of Easter Egg hunt for illicit items. Customs agents say they’ve seized more than 3000 pounds of drugs since they began using the machine. More….

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As Thanksgiving festivities end here in the US, we all have heard about horrible tragedy in India the loss of Rabbi and Rebbetzein Holzberg and the hundreds of people there.

Giving up friends, family and ultimately their lives in the service of the Jewish People. Their attack on Chabad was an attack against the free world.

The Holtzbergs arrived in Mumbai in 2003 to serve the small local Jewish community, visiting businesspeople and the throngs of tourists, many of them Israeli, who annually travel to the seaside city.

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I wanted to wish a happy and healthy Thanksgiving to our readers and clients. We hope you will take the time to relax this holiday and spend time with your families.

During this week of Thanksgiving — the most American of holidays — NPR is spending time discussing about what it means to become an American. The answers come from three noted authors — who’ve written about newcomers to the United States.

One of the authors Joseph O’Neill said:

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According to ComputerWorld President-elect Barack Obama’s leading choice to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, has been a strong advocate of increasing H-1B visas — a stance that could turn out to be a major issue during her confirmation.

Napolitano was one of 12 governors who sent a letter in September 2007 to congressional leaders in both parties urging an increase in the visa cap. “Until we are able to address this workforce shortage, we must recognize that foreign talent has a role to play in our ability to keep companies located in our state and country; and therefore, need to ensure the increase availability of temporary H-1B visas and permanent residency visas (green cards),” the governors wrote.

We can only hope that the new administration will take a proactive step towards increasing the H1B cap, a much needed relief at this time.

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Many of our readers ask when comprehensive immigration reform will come up before Congress, Immigration Daily has learnt that it will come to the floor early in 2009 though it is not currently planned for Mr. Obama’s first 100 days.

Sen. Menendez and Rep. Gutierrez are on the warpath for early passage of immigration reform in the 111th Congress. Sen. Menendez had the courage to singlehandedly block a five year extension of E- Verify, and will doubtless push for a significant immigration benefits downpayment before March 6th when E-Verify is set to expire. Rep. Gutierrez and the House Hispanic caucus successfully blocked immigration benefits legislation in the 110th Congress to ensure continued support for immigration reform.

“Immigrants are affected by the economy, the war. . . . But immigration reform is a defining issue,” said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “It was a threshold issue.”

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At the request of our readers, we are providing more information about the above referenced process. Although it may seem to be simple, we suggest you consult a qualified immigration attorney before filing the application to become a permanent resident based on marriage to a US Citizen.

Step 1:

1. U.S. Citizen Petitioner Completes and Signs the Following USCIS Forms:
Form I-130 – Petition for Alien Relative
Form G-325A – Biographic Information
Form I-864 – Affidavit of Support
Lawyer’s Tip:
• Always check USCIS website at www.uscis.gov for the most recent version of the forms or check with our website for the most recent news and updates.

2. Alien Spouse Completes and Signs the Following USCIS Forms:
Form I-485 – Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
Form I-765 – Application for Employment Authorization
Form G-325A – Biographic Information
Form I-131 – Application for Travel Document – Optional
Form I-693 – Medical Examinations of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status
Lawyer’s Tip:
• If the Alien beneficiary overstayed their visas, form I131 can not be used and the Alien must not leave the country until the adjustment of status process is complete.

• Medical examinations can be performed only by approved USCIS doctors, please check our website for a national link to approved USCIS doctors.

3. Gather the documents following the provided checklist
4. Make money orders payable to “Department of Homeland Security” or USCIS.

Lawyer’s Tip:
• You can make one money order for the entire amount. For example a complete case will be $1365.

5. Make a complete photocopy of every form and document that you send to the USCIS for your own records. Do not send original documents to the USCIS (e.g. your passport, I-94, marriage certificate, etc.).

6. Mail or Overnight the package certified return receipt via the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, etc. For Mail, send the complete application to:
USCIS Lockbox Addresses:
For United States Postal Service (USPS) deliveries:
USCIS
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120
For private couriers (non-USPS) deliveries:
USCIS
Attn: FBASI
131 South Dearborn – 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-5517
Step 2:

1. The USCIS will contact you within 2 weeks and will mail you all the case receipts. At that point your status will change and you will be considered adjusting your status to that of a US resident.

2. Next step is your finger prints appointment.

3. You should be getting the work permit in 90 days or so. If the card is not delivered, you can make an inquiry with the local office via infopass appointment.

Advance parole applications or travel permit should be processed in 90 days as well. This will give you permission to re-enter the U.S. after travel abroad.

4. Next step is your Marriage visa interview, they usually notify the applicants 4 weeks to 3 months in the future.

Step 3:

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At the interview, you are to present the forms and documents the USCIS has requested, if any. They will ask you some basic questions (see our interview questions section) and upon approval place the alien spouse in Conditional Permanent Residence Status. The alien spouse will remain in this conditional status for 2 years. Within 90 days of the end of the 2-year period, you may file to have the conditional status removed, provided you are still married. File USCIS Form I-751 Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence. When this is approved (6-12 months) you will be a Permanent Resident of the United States.

Lawyer’s tip:
• Make sure to bring duplicate copies of all important documents, such as tax returns, joint bills, bank accounts, etc. Sometimes the officer would like to keep extra copies.

• If the US citizen sponsor’s income fell below the required guidelines be prepared to provide co sponsor affidavit of support
• In case the officer decides to separate the couple, stay calm and do not argue woth the official
• Come prepared and organized, dress professionally.

Read more about the Marriage Interview here..

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