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| The biggest news
for the month of April,
the news which is topping
the charts is about the
H-1B visa. The H-1B cap
for FY2010 has not yet been
reached, so there is still
time to file. |
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As of April 9, 2009, neither the regular
cap number of 65,000, nor the advanced
degree "exemption" of 20,000,
has been reached. This is the first
time in several years that the USCIS
has not had to resort to a lottery for
H-1Bs based on the initial filing period.
While the USCIS was close to reaching
the 20,000 number for the advance degree
petitions they are still accepting petitions
for that category. Moreover, if you
file under the advance degree exemption,
and your petition does not reach USCIS
before the category is closed, your
petition will automatically be rolled
into the regular H-1B quota.
Last year, the USCIS received more than
the 65,000 cap in the first week of
April. But this year, as many economists
predicted, there is not going to be
the same number of H-1Bs. As
of April 9, 2009, USCIS had only received
42,000 petitions toward the cap.
Those petitions received before the
cap is reached will be processed upon
receipt, and those received on the cap
is reached will be submitted to a mini-lottery.
As per CBO’s estimation, in the short
run ARRA will raise the GDP and increase
employment by adding to the aggregate
demand, thereby boosting the utilization
of labor and capital that would otherwise
remain unused because the economy is
in recession.
It’s
Not Too Late To File For An H-1B Visa
For FY2010
In past years, both H-1B regular and
US Master’s caps were met within the
first days of filing; whereas, this
year, USCIS is still accepting petitions
beyond the initial five (5) business
day filing period. Thus, this presents
a unique opportunity for employers who
opted not to file H-1B petitions for
their key employees because of the potential
for wasted efforts and resources should
the petitions not be selected in the
anticipated lottery.
This is not to say that no such risk
exists; however it appears there
is plenty of availability under the
regular cap, as well as a window
of opportunity under the U.S. master’s
cap if you act promptly. But you may
have to hurry up as one cannot be sure
how long the H-1B visas will be available.
USCIS will stop accepting the H-1B petitions
as soon as it receives adequate number
of petitions required to meet the H-1B
cap for FY2010. Contact
VisaPro immediately to assist you
with the H-1B filing using the fast,
easy and economical online visa processing.
VisaPro has started receiving
H-1B approvals for cases filed on April
1, 2009 for FY2010.
Update
from USCIS About H-1B Filing
- As of April 9, 2009, USCIS had
received 42,000, and an additional
20,000 toward the advance degree
cases.
- If H-1B Quota is not reached
until April 7, 2009, or later, then
USCIS will continue to receive and
accept petitions until the day upon
which USCIS concludes that a sufficient
number of petitions is reached.
- Mini Lottery will be conducted
for those cases received on the
last day (Learn
more about 'Mini Lottery')
Increasing
H-1B Quota = More Tax Income to US?
As it happens every year around the
H-1B filing time several arguments are
being floated to increase the number
of H-1Bs available.
Last year (2008) Bill Gates, founder
of Microsoft, submitted a request to
several US Senators to increase the
limit for H-1B Visas, pointing out that
more than 160,000 applications were
submitted for 65,000 General Cap and
20,000 for Advanced Degree. While the
applications received are down for this
year there are some proposals and bills
that could be introduced in an attempt
to boost the US Economy.
Green
Cards to H-1B Workers
There is a thread in the Immigration
Voice about granting green cards to
current H-1B visa workers, but under
following conditions:
- They should buy a home with a
minimum of a 20% down payment, and
- They should have lived in US
in H-1B status for at least 3 years
or more.
The idea is that this will help many
nonimmigrants in H-1B visa status
who are hesitating to invest in the
US to buy a home. It is estimated
that some 50,000 or more homes can
be sold through this type of program.
More
Tax Revenue to US
Another argument is to increase the
number of H-1B visas to increase the
tax revenues. In the IT industry an
entry level software engineer will
receive a starting salary of $40,000
to $60,000 per year, and each of those
employees pays income taxes. So increasing
number of H-1B visas will increase
tax revenue. But this can be looked
at from two different angles.
There is an argument that people who
have lost jobs in this market are
not going to like the idea of increasing
the number of H-1B visas until all
US workers have gone back to work.
When you have a family and have lost
your job, only then do you realize
how difficult it is to survive. For
someone living paycheck to paycheck
life is going to be very hard. Both
sides of this argument are valid.
This is as far as we can take this
argument this month. Readers can decide
and pen down the thoughts.
Other
Developments in Immigration Law
USCIS Issues New I-9 Form
The USCIS recently issued a reminder
that effective April 3, 2009; all U.S.
employers are required to use the revised
Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
This form has a revision date of (Rev.
02/02/09), which is found in the lower
right-hand corner of the form. The interim
final rule on I-9s, published in the
Federal Register on Dec.17, 2008, made
significant revisions to the list of
documents acceptable for the Employment
Eligibility Verification (Form I-9)
process. Previous versions of Form I-9
may no longer be used.
Cap Gap Rules for F-1 to H-1B
in Effect for FY2010 Filings
On April 1, 2009, USCIS issued a Q&A
for Extension of Post Completion Practical
Training and F-1 Status for Eligible
Students under the Cap Gap Regulations.
The Q&A points out that, current regulations
allow certain students with pending
or approved H-1B petitions to remain
in F-1 status during the period of time
where an F-1 student's status and work
authorization would otherwise expire,
and up to the start of their approved
H-1B employment period. This is referred
to as filling the "cap gap", meaning
the regulations provide a way of filling
the "gap" between F-1 and H-1B status
that might otherwise occur if F-1 status
was not extended for qualifying students.
To qualify H-1B petitions must be timely
filed on behalf of an eligible F-1 student.
"Timely filed" means that the H-1B petition
(indicating change of status rather
than consular processing) was filed
during the H-1B acceptance period, while
the student's authorized duration of
status (D/S) admission was still in
effect (including any period of time
during the academic course of study,
any authorized periods of post-completion
OPT, and the 60-day departure preparation
period, commonly known as the "grace
period.")
Immigration
Articles and Other Fun Stuff
Now for the regulars – this month's
Immigration Article
entitled ‘Crime and Criminal
Activities – How Can They Affect
Your Status in the US?’ is
a must read to know how adversely can
a crime or criminal activity can affect
your status in the US. This article
discusses some of the potential immigration
consequences of criminal activity by
a foreign national and also lists some
measures you can take to protect your
status and your long term plans to settle
in the US. Also check out our In
Focus section for this month,
which provides you a basic introduction
to the grounds of inadmissibility and
deportability.
Every month we introduce a new and interesting
question for our opinion poll. Last
month’s poll results indicate
that 75% of the respondents
believe that it is beneficial to design
a program to give illegal immigrants
living in the United States the right
to live legally if they pay a fine and
meet other requirements. We appreciate
that people take interest in the opinion
question and cast their vote to give
us their feedback. Keep it up! And continue
to cast your vote to express Your
Opinion.
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We
congratulate Karin
for winning last month's Immigration
Quiz. Again, we received
a significant number of responses
from our readers, who talked about
various solutions to support their
position, but Karin
gave the correct answer and won
a free online consultation to
discuss the concerned |
Immigration issues. So it’s time to
get ready for this month's quiz. If
you know the correct answer your name
might be featured in next month's newsletter.
All the Best!!!
To ensure you receive your Immigration
Newsletter, please add 
to your address book or safe list.
See you next month with
a lot more noise from the Immigration
World!
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Are
you planning to enter, live, work, study,
invest or retire in the U.S.? If your answer
is YES, then you will want to read VisaPro’s
exclusive Immigration Reports. Click
here to download and read VisaPro’s
exclusive Immigration Reports. |
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Wanted
to take part in our immigration
events, but missed your chance?
Check out the informative
library of immigration law
videos from past conferences.
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H-1B
Cap for FY2010 Has Not Been Reached
Yet
USCIS did not receive enough H-1B
petitions required to meet the H-1B
cap for FY2010. Thus, USCIS continues
to accept the H-1B petitions to meet
the H-1B cap of 65,000.
USCIS
Continues to Accept H-1B Petitions:
Apply Today!
USCIS, April 8, 2009, announced that
it continues to accept H-1B nonimmigrant
visa petitions subject to the fiscal
year 2010 (FY 2010) cap. USCIS so
far have not revived sufficient H-1B
petitions to meet the H-1B cap for
FY2010. The USCIS will continue to
monitor the number of H-1B petitions
received for both the 65,000 regular
cap and the 20,000 U.S. master’s
degree or higher educational exemption
cap.
H-1Bs
Reflect the Economic Conditions
USCIS informed
that, during the initial filing window
for H-1Bs for fiscal year 2010, it
has not received even half the number
of petitions to reach the 65,000 cap.
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Do
You Know that Deportability and Inadmissibility
Can Obstruct Your Path to US Citizenship?
The purpose of this article is to provide
a basic introduction to the grounds of inadmissibility
and deportability. A foreign national who
has been convicted of a crime (anywhere in
the world) may be deportable, inadmissible,
or both. Non-citizens in the United States,
including lawful permanent residents (green
card holders) are subject to the grounds of
inadmissibility and deportability. This means
that they may be denied admission into the
United States or denied a visa or permanent
residence based on the grounds of inadmissibility
or deported from the U.S. based on the grounds
of deportability. The grounds of inadmissibility
are generally broader than the grounds of
deportation. Therefore, you ought to be aware
of the causes that may render you either inadmissible
or deportable especially if you have long
term plans in the US.
Crime
and Criminal Activities – How Can They
Affect Your Status in the US?
This article discusses some of the potential
immigration consequences of criminal activity
by a foreign national and also lists some
measures you can take to protect your status
and your long term plans to settle in the
US. Criminal activities can adversely affect
your immigration status in the US. In general,
the immigration consequences of criminal activity
are very severe. Commission of a single offense
may make a foreign national inadmissible and/or
deportable on multiple grounds.
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QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
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I have an English fiancé who is considering moving to America. He is filing bankruptcy in England. Does this affect our ability to get him a green card for him to immigrate to America? If so, what are our other options? I would think that marriage would "override" other scenarios, but I'd like to clear this up for him.
Your fiancée filing for bankruptcy in the UK will not affect his ability to get a green card through you for the US. The USCIS will be looking only at whether you as the US citizen sponsor have the ability to meet 125% of the poverty level for the affidavit of support -- they do not look at the foreign national’s income. As long as your income (and assets if necessary) meets the poverty guidelines this will not be an issue. In fact, unless it is a crime in the UK (there are some countries where bankruptcy is considered a crime) it does not even have to be disclosed to the USCIS. |
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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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| 2. |
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I would like to know if there is any possibilities for me and my family to come to the united states. My mother is a US citizen and she applied for the Immigrant Petition for Relative back in November of 2004, we still have not heard anything from them. I would like to know if there is any chance for us to be reunited with my mother. My mother and my two brothers both live in the United States. |
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The petition that your mother filed on your behalf is still in the process. Because you are married you are in the family-based 4th preference category (FB4). This unfortunately has the longest waiting period of all the family-based categories. The State Department, who controls the visa issuance, is currently issuing immigrant visas in the FB4 category for petitions that were filed on or before November 1, 1996. This means that, without a change in the law, a visa number will not be available for you for another 8 years.
Depending on your education and work experience you may be able to come to the US quicker using the employment-based category. This would require that you have an employer in the US that would be willing to sponsor you for a job, and is able to show that there are no US workers ready, willing, and able to fill the position (depending on the position it is not as difficult as it sounds). |
"I got my H-3 visa
and I'm back in New York.
I want to thank you for
being very professional
thru' out this long process.
I will definitely recommend
visapro to others in the
future."
All the best!
Emil Nilsson
Denmark
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