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April
Fools!!! Last year April
Fools Day joke took
a serious turn when
a reputed website issued
a press release that
the USCIS reached the
H-1B cap for FY 2007
on the first day of
filing. The prank turned
out to be true this
year, and we at VisaPro
had envisaged this scenario
well in advance.
USCIS announced on April
2nd and April 3rd that
it had received enough
H-1B petitions to meet
the congressionally
mandated cap for fiscal
year 2008 (FY 2008).
Additionally, on May 04, 2007, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions requesting exemptions from the 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. What
is the H-1B and H-2B
Cap, and how does it
affect you? you ask.
See our In
Focus article
this month. It provides
complete information
about the annual cap
count for certain nonimmigrant
visas for the FY 2008.
It also has some brief
notes on various bills
that have been introduced
in Congress to reform
U.S. visa programs for
highly skilled foreign
workers and/or provide
temporary relief from
the H-1B cap.
Both government and
industry experts were
surprised to see the
H-1B visa usage grew
this big. However, it
should not come as that
much of a surprise given
that the cap has been
reached earlier and
earlier each year. Because
the cap was reached
on the first day, and
USCIS received more
than twice the number
of petitions for the
number of visas available,
they had to once again
conduct a computer-generated
random selection of
cap-subject petitions
to determine which cases
they would accept for
processing. The IT industry
has been pushing hard
to increase the number
of visas available,
with Bill Gates being
their knight in shining
armor, making several
appearances before the
U.S. Congress. We will
keep you abreast of
the developments on
this front in our future
issues of Immigration
Monitor.
It is always a great feeling helping clients through their difficult and, very
often, tiring immigration process. We share one such Success
Story Avoiding the H-1B trap about developing alternative options (L-1, L Blanket, H-3 and B-1 visas) for personnel coming to the US, without relying on the H-1B visas.
This month we are also
focusing on the R-1
religious worker
program. As long as
8 years ago the Government
Accountability Office
reported that there
is fraud in the religious
worker program. In more
recent times USCIS has
noted there is a growing
misuse of the category
because of the opportunity
for fraud in the program.
On April 25, 2007, USCIS
published proposed Revisions
for Religious Worker
Visa Classifications
in the Federal Register.
We have summarized the
proposal for you in
our April Industry
Perspective.
USCIS has also made
some policy changes
which allow petitioners
more time to bring foreign
workers with extraordinary
abilities to the United
States. It has clarified
that petitioners can
now file O and P
nonimmigrant petitions
up to one year before
a scheduled event under
normal processing procedures,
making planning and
scheduling much easier.
So if you want to know
more about O
and P
visa options contact
us. To check your
eligibility for O and
P visas click
here.
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Adding
further to our
endeavors in bringing
one-stop global
immigration service
to all our readers,
this month VisaPro
has added immigration
services to two
more European
countries. I invite
our readers to
visit our new
Italy
and France
websites for information
and queries |
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related to immigration
needs for these
countries.
Once again last
month's poll question
generated mixed
reactions from
our readers. The
opinion was fairly
equally divided.
About half of
those taking part
in the poll believe
the new USCIS
regulations for
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US citizens filing an
I-130
for an alien relative
while outside the US
would cause distress,
hence having an adverse
effect. The balance
of you felt the new
regulations would not
have an adverse affect
those US citizens outside
the US when filing an
I-130. This month we
have another interesting
question for you in
our Your Opinion
section. Dont miss the
chance to make your
opinion heard.
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Congratulations
to Janet
Hopkins
for winning last
months Immigration
Quiz and
earning a FREE
online consultation!
A significant
number of participants seemed
to be confused
about what would
happen |
if a person is late
in filing a petition
to Remove
Conditions while
in the U.S. Check out
the correct answer and
see how close you were.
We have another interesting
quiz for you this month
so put your thinking
caps on and get out
the research books.
Give it a try; your
name might be featured
in the next Immigration
Monitor newsletter
as the winner. All the
Best!
Dont forget to add
our address Immigration-Monitor@VisaPro.com
to the list of your
contacts so that you
see the Immigration
Monitor in
your email Inbox every
month and you can keep
up to date on immigration
issues and you will
not miss the latest
immigration activity.
See you
next month with a lot
more noise from the
Immigration World! Till
then CIAO!!
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USCIS reaches H-1B Exemption CAP for FY 2008
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions requesting exemptions from the 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 H-1B petitions is April 30, 2007. USCIS will be rejecting petitions requesting a FY 2008 cap exemption for "workers with a master's or higher degree earned from a U.S. institution of higher education" that are received on or after May 1, 2007 unless the petition is otherwise eligible for a separate cap exemption.
USCIS
Proposes Revisions for Religious
Worker Visa Classifications
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U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) propose
to amend existing regulations
pertaining to special
immigrant and nonimmigrant
religious worker visa
classifications. The
proposed rule focuses
on how the integrity
of the religious worker
program by eliminating
opportunities for fraud
in the program while,
at the same time, streamlining
the process for lawful
petitioners.
USCIS introduces the
Citizen's Almanac
U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services
(USCIS) have released
The Citizen's Almanac,
a publication particularly
developed for new citizens.
The Citizen's Almanac
is a collection of America's
most esteemed symbols
of freedom and right.
The Almanac links our
newest citizens with
the rich civic history
we all share as Americans.
To enhance the naturalization
process for the more
than 700,000 new citizens
the United States welcomes
each year, The Citizen's
Almanac will be distributed
by USCIS at all naturalization
ceremonies starting
this month.
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What is the H-1B and H-2B Cap, and how does it affect you?
U.S.
businesses utilize the H-1B
program to employ foreign
workers in specialty occupations
that require a body of theoretical
knowledge and/or technical
expertise in specialized fields,
such as scientists, engineers,
or computer programmers. Congress
has limited the number of
new individuals that can enter
the US in the H-1B category
to 65,000 per year.
Embark
on a religious journey to
U.S. through R-1 visa
It may soon
become harder to get an R
visa as a religious worker.
Over the past few years the
Government Accountability
Office (GAO), the US Consulates
overseas, and the USCIS has
determined that the R visa
category is susceptible to
fraud. The first report on
the potential for fraud in
the program was issued by
the GAO in March 1999, over
8 years ago. USCIS, through
the Fraud Detection and National
Security (FDNS) Office, continued
to review the program to look
for weaknesses. In fact FDNS
has found that as many as
one-third of the cases filed
under the R visa category
are fraudulent.
US citizen marrying a foreign
national: Issues involved
Each year,
thousands of U.S. citizens
marry foreign-born persons
and file for their permanent
residence process in the United
States. The immigration process
for green card through marriage
depends upon whether you intend
to marry the foreign national
in the U.S. or outside the
U.S. Each situation has its
own distinct requirements
and procedures and thus, requires
different planning.
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| QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS |
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Can
it be possible
to transfer the
H1B,
I left the petitioner,
joined the new
company in India.
I never traveled
on H-1B and currently
working in India.
Yes, H-1B transfer
is possible if
you have the approval
notice from your
previous employer;
your new employer
has to file the
petition for H-1B
transfer with
USCIS. You are
not required to
come under the
Cap and you can
start working
as soon as your
H-1B gets transferred.
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| 2. |
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My
husband has an
L1-A
visa and I am
on a J1
visa. My visa
expires in June
2007. What is
the benefit of
changing my visa
from J-1 to L-2?
I am traveling
to my home country
in May 2007 and
will be back at
the end of May.
My current visa
expires in June
2007. Is it possible
to obtain an L-2
visa after I come
back in May 2007?
What will happen
if my husband
changes his employment
and will no longer
have an L1-A?
If your J-1 is
subject to the
2 year foreign
residence
requirement, you
must either satisfy
the requirement
or obtain a waiver
of the requirement
before you can
either obtain
an L visa or change
your status to
L, a L-2 can |
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| GOT
A
QUESTION? |
If
you
have
a
short,
simple
query
on
immigration
to
the
U.S.,
send
your
questions
to
us.
We
will
select
and
answer
a
few
of
the
queries
in
every
issue.
Note:
Responses
posted
in
this
section
provide
only
general
information.
Since
immigration
law
is
a
complex
matter,
please
consult
an
immigration
attorney
before
acting
upon
any
responses
provided. |
| Ask
Your
Question |
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obtain employment
authorization that
is not restricted
to a particular employer
or job. If you are
otherwise qualified
and not restricted
as discussed above,
you may be able to
obtain an L-2 after
you return to the
US on your J visa
in May. Your L-2 is
dependent on your
husband being in L-1
status. Your L-2 will
no longer be valid
if your husband is
no longer an L-1.
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Avoiding
the H-1B trap:
Strategies
for managing your
immigration issues
without relying
on the H-1B
Company D first
contacted VisaPro
in late 2004 about
how to bring their
employees to the
US for training
and work. The
company has its
headquarters in
the US, and a
development office
overseas. For
the past couple
of years the company
had been a member
of the BEP
program and
had been sending
their personnel
to the US using
B-1
(business visitor)
visas. In the
fall of 2004 the
company was notified
by the US consulate
where they did
most of their
visa processing
that the consulate
was going to audit
their use of the
BEP program and
B-1 visas to be
sure that they
were making proper
use of it.
Being just a bit
worried about
what an audit
would mean, Company
D came to VisaPro
for advice. After
reviewing their
company structure,
immigration needs,
and their current
practices, it
was our opinion
that Company D
was making proper
use of the B-1
visa program.
At their request
we sent a letter
to the consulate
which laid out
our findings and
conclusions. The
consulates audit
agreed with our
conclusions and
Company Ds BEP
standing was not
affected. However,
that is just the
beginning of our
involvement with
Company D.
As part of our
review of their
current practices
the Human Resources
Director asked
us to provide
them with additional
strategies for
moving personnel
between the overseas
development office
and US headquarters.
Based on the parent-subsidiary
structure of the
companies, and
the proposed use
of foreign personnel
in the US, especially
in light of the
limited number
of H-1B
visas available,
we advised Company
D that they should
consider using
the L-1
visa for intra-company
transferees.
After reviewing
the qualifications
of the personnel
that Company
D wanted to
bring to the
US in the spring
of 2005 we selected
the best four,
prepared and
submitted L-1
petitions for
them. All four
were approved
in short order,
and the consulate
issued the visas.
Throughout 2005
we submitted
several more
L-1 petitions
(both for executives/managers
and specialized
knowledge personnel),
all of which
were approved.
Once the first
10 L-1 petitions
had been approved
for Company D
we prepared and
submitted an L-1
Blanket petition
on their behalf.
The Blanket petition
was approved and
Company D began
filing manager
and specialized
knowledge professional
L-1 petitions
directly with
the consulate.
This cut the processing
times considerably
for those employees
that qualified
for blanket treatment.
Company D does
much of their
in-house training
on proprietary
products at their
headquarters in
the US so our
next step
was to establish
a formal training
program for them
with USCIS. This
allows them to
bring individuals
for their various
training programs,
usually lasting
9-12 months each,
using the H-3
training visa.
By putting the
H-3 program in
place Company
D no longer had
to rely on the
B-1 business visitor
visa, and the
potential that
a consular officer
would think the
proposed stay
in the US was
for too long of
a period, for
those employees
being sent to
the US for the
longer training
periods.
Company D now
has three clear
options for
personnel coming
to the US, without
having to worry
about the availability
of H-1B visas:
- L-1 intra-company
transferee
visa for executives,
managers,
and specialized
knowledge
personnel
(available
for up to
5 or 7 years);
- H-3 training
visa (good
for up to
24 months
in the training
program);
and
- B-1 business
visitor for
short term
assignments
(usually lasting
less than
6 months).
It takes time
to understand
the business and
develop successful
immigration strategies,
but the added
effort produces
solid results.
Company D received
approvals for
every one of the
50 personnel whose
application was
filed by VisaPro
under L-1, L Blanket
and H-3 visas
2 year period – what more could
any Company ask from their immigration attorney?
Our attorneys
have the experience
to review and
analyze different
scenarios and
formulate strategies
for success. Contact
VisaPro to
review your situation
and discuss your
options.
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| "Immigration
Monitor" is published
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and events related to US Immigration. |
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