Visa Lawyer Blog

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It seems like a deal has been reached and the countdown begins for new Immigration Reform.

Key senators in both parties and the White House announced agreement Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border.

The plan would create a temporary worker program to bring new arrivals to the U.S and a separate program to cover agricultural workers. Skills and education-level would for the first time be weighted over family connections in deciding whether future immigrants should get permanent legal status. New high-tech employment verification measures also would be instituted to ensure that workers are here legally.

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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.

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Recently I have been getting numerous inquiries to process K1 Fiancee visa from the Philippines and Thiland? It is typical to get such requests this time of year as the desire to process the visa and marry in the summer is very popular with clients. The K1 Fiancee visa is the only option for an American citizen to bring a fiancee to the US as most of the Asian nationals will be denied entry visas to the US.

There is a local company right here in San Diego that matches such women to older guys all across the US. CNN covered this story recently and you can get an idea in the link below. The Fiancee visa is a great visa to unite loving couples, but can also be a trap for innocent immigrant women.

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Just like I told many of my clients last month, the Visa Bulletin for June 2007 brings good news for many of you. The immigrant visa cutoff dates moved forward significantly in EB2 for China and India, as well as in EB3 for all countries of chargeability. This means that if a person’s priority date is before the cutoff date as shown in the June 2007 Visa Bulletin, s/he has until June 30, 2007 for the I-485 adjustment application to be received at the USCIS. Those categories that had previously been current remain current.

Click here for the most recent visa bulletin.

Let’s hope that this is a sign for more positive changes in the up coming weeks.

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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.

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We all expect an announcement from the USCIS regarding proposed fee increases in the very near future. The USCIS had scheduled a press conference to announce the fee changes for Thursday, May 10, 2007, but has postponed it. No new date has been announced. American Immigration Lawyers Association, which I am a member of, and other groups are aggressively exploring litigation strategies, as well as other ways to address the expected fee increases.

As you can see from the summary below, the fee increase is unrealistic and will impose an extreme hardship on many applicants. We call for an immediate revision of this proposed unreasonable rule.

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I was interviewed on May 7, 2007 for 1170 KCBQ Radio regarding our client’s heart breaking story and the up coming Immigration debate. I shared my opinion on why waivers are required for immigrants that enter the US illegally and later marry US citizens. We also discussed potential immigration reform. The radio show host, Rick Amato who interviewed me was not supportive of the bill but we had a polite and interesting debate.

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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.

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What a day! I attended several Marriage based Greed Card interviews today at our local USCIS office and they all went pretty well. All approved, but my clients were stressed. Being questioned by a government official about your personal life is not the most pleasant experience. Most clients just want to know what questions they may ask at the interview.

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The below referenced questions are actual questions that I have compiled after attending numerous of interviews across the US. This is intended to be an exclusive list, rather, just to give you an idea as to what you might expect at your next interview.

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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.

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