Visa Lawyer Blog

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Our Blog is being read by thousands of Media outlets across the Globe. I was happy to be quoted by ComputerWorld about the recent H1B filing madness. For 40 years, Computerworld has been the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide. Computerworld’s award-winning Web site (Computerworld.com), weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research form the hub of the world’s largest global IT media network.

The article covers the issues as to why is the demand for foreign workers, including skilled software developers and other IT professionals, still rising as economic conditions grow steadily worse? I have commented on the most recent changes to the H1B program and filing strategies to consider.

Click here to read the article

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Yes, the big day has arrived, March 31, 2008!!! We are very excited (and exhausted), but all our cases are ready to go via FEDEX to the Vermont or Califronia Service Centers dpending on the locations of the employers. We carefully marked all the envelopes with bright markers to indicate Premium and Regular processing cases. We also rubbed each envelope with a special H1B magic potion to make sure they will be selected in the lottery-…(just kidding, April fools is tomorrow!!!)
We just learned, that USCIS indicated that only H1B petitions selected in the lottery will be issued receipt notices. Last year it was madness, some H1B petitions were issued receipts before the lottery and without consideration for whether or not they were accepted for processing. This created significant confusion and anxiety. Some petitioners who were issued the receipt notice assumed that their filings were accepted for processing when, in fact, they were refused later through the lottery. To avoid this confusion this year, the USCIS will conduct the H1B lottery before issuing receipts for H1B petitions accepted for processing for FY2009. In anticipation of the rush of cap-subject H1B filings that will begin April 1, 2008, the USCIS has alerted the U.S. Postal Service and the courier services to the increased volume of mail expected.

We wish best of luck to all the H1B visa filers this year, and we will keep you posted….

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Yes the pressure is on and we are less than 7 days before the H1B filing date. Our office is open longer hours and dedicated staff members are trying to put together the cases in the most perfect order, according to the tips issued by USCIS The goal is to file on March 31, 2008 by close of business.

Here are some useful Q and A on the new rules:
What is the H-1B visa program?
The H-1B visa program is used by U.S. businesses to employ foreign workers in occupations that
require theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree
or higher (or its equivalent), such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.

What is the purpose of the new rule?
The overall goal of the new rule is to promote equal opportunity for prospective petitioners seeking
visas for H-1B workers.

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I recently posted an article about what is actually happening at a Marriage based adjustment interview Read here But it seems that from time to time, innocent immigrants may face unethical, criminally motivated immigration agents that take advantage of their position to exploit immigrants. We as lawyers make sure to follow our clients’ cases from early document preparation stages to the final interview and beyond. We make sure that stories like the one you are about to read will never happen.

This is a story of a bad agent pursuing a young immigrant after her marriage interview with the spouse. The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives. He called her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price — not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.

“I want sex,” he said on the recording. “One or two times. That’s all.

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As we are struggling to finish processing our H1B cases and get them ready for the March 31 filing date (look I am working on Saturday night!!!), new bills were introduced that may provide relief from the Cap. Here are the bills:
Strengthening United States Technology And Innovation Now Act (H.R.5642) – (March 14, 2008)
– Would Raise H-1B Cap in Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009 to 195,000 Annually
Innovation Employment Act (H.R.5630) – (March 13, 2008)
– Would Raise H-1B Cap in Fiscal Year 2008 to 130,000
With Possible Increases Up to 180,000 in Future Years
New American Innovators Act (H.R.5634) – (March 13, 2008)

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According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, DHS/USCIS announced on a conference call on 3/19/08 that it has transmitted to the Federal Register an interim final rule regarding H-1B filing that would:

Change from 2 days to 5 days the period of time during which cap-subject H-1Bs can be received to be included in any “lottery” that would occur if, as expected, the number of petitions exceeds the quota.

Prohibit multiple filings from the same employer for the same employee, even if the filings are for different jobs. The one exception would be that related employers could file separate petitions for the same employee.

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With only a few weeks left for filing H1B visas, we are so busy at the office with last minute filings. In the next few weeks, we will be finalizing all the cases currently open and will be accepting new cases that have a chance to be filed before the April 1 deadline. Our biggest problem is cases with foreign degrees, such degrees must be evaluated before filing, and the later we receive the degrees, the harder it will be for us to file.

Still the biggest question that clients are asking, will the Government increase visa numbers before April 1 or in the near future.

Major corporations praised a bill introduced in the U.S. Congress that would double the number of immigrant worker visas available each year under the H-1B program.

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If you hold a green card and know in advance that you must be outside the United States for more than one year, it’s worth applying to USCIS for a reentry permit. This lets you to stay away for up to two years. You should send in your application before leaving. Reentry permits cannot be renewed and can be applied for only inside the United States. If you want to stay away for more than two years, you must return briefly and apply for another reentry permit.

The USCIS has recently changed the system and procedure for processing reentry permits and refugee travel documents. These applications are made on Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. Under the new procedures, effective March 6, 2008, applicants for reentry permits and refugee travel documents must provide biometrics information before leaving the United States. This is done via an appointment at an Application Support Center, scheduled after the filing of Form I-131by USCIS. The new procedures do not pertain to the advance parole, as they only pertain to the reentry permit and refugee travel document.

The new procedures apply to individuals between the ages of 14 and 79 who are applying for reentry permits and refugee travel documents. They are advised to apply well in advance of their need to travel and, with limited exception, the fingerprinting and photographing must occur before departure. The USCIS indicates that the filing receipt and notice of appointment at the ASC are mailed to the applicant shortly after the I-131 is filed. There is an option for providing the USCIS with pre-paid express mailers, for transmitting the receipt and appointment notices as well as the reentry permit more quickly. However, this apparently requires a specific request for expedited processing and justification for that request. Such cases will be reviewed on a cases by cases basis.

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According to ICE and other government enforcement agencies, a recurrent issue encountered in worksite enforcement investigations today is the abuse of the Social Security card by individuals seeking to satisfy the work authorization requirements mandated by federal law. The Social Security card has long been a favorite of fraudulent document vendors.

The advisory issued by ICE is alerting employers to beware of a new trend in false documents presented by unauthorized foreign workers. ICE describes a commonly found ‘three pack’ that includes a false Social Security card, state driver’s license or identity card, and a work authorization document (or EAD card). Typically, an unauthorized worker also assumes the identity of a foreign national who is authorized to work, using that individual’s documents with a photograph fraudulently added.

Employers can no longer hide behind claims that they did not know of unauthorized workers, if it can be shown that the employer should have known about a violation. Employers should be aware of their responsibilities and rights under the law.

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