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March
is a crucial month in
immigration. With April
1 just around the corner
and everyone gearing
up to file H-1B
cases there is a lot
of excitement in the
air. April 1 marks the
first and only day of
H-1B filing and with
only 65,000 H-1B visas
available H-1B petitioners
are getting anxious.
Some high-powered H-1B
petitioners such as
Bill Gates have been
lobbying the U.S. Congress
for more H-1B visa availability
and more investment
in technical education.
He has accurately portrayed
the current situation
as one that will have
dire consequences for
U.S. economic and technical
leadership in the future.
In addition to Gates,
other voices have also
spoken up, for example
Intel Chairman Craig
Barrett stated that
unless more H-1B visa
numbers are allotted
Intel will have to send
more jobs outside the
U.S. Keep an eye on
any immigration news
developments on our
website and stay informed
about any changes in
the U.S. immigration
laws that may result
from these recent lobbying
efforts. Sadly, due
to the current political
climate any significant
changes are unlikely,
but we can all hope
that Congress will realize
the importance of this
issue and look past
the politics.
VisaPro Launches
a New Exciting Service
VisaPro always takes
pride for staying at
the cutting edge of
the technology and the
offerings that it makes
to its clients and the
immigration public in
general. This month,
VisaPro is proud to
announce a launch of
its brand new VisaPro
Mobile service. Starting
this month you can use
your mobile to not only
make calls to VisaPro
but you can use your
phone browser to also:
- View the current
status of your case(s).
- Read latest immigration
news.
- Learn about important
issues through our
immigration articles
library.
- Subscribe to
VisaPro Immigration
News Alerts & Newsletters.
- Start a consultation.
- Complete a visa
assessment.
- Contact VisaPro
for your immigration
needs.
This is possible
if you type http://mobile.visapro.com
into the web browser
on any Internet-enabled
mobile device. We hope
you will take advantage
of this option and stay
connected with your
immigration case and
any new developments
while on the run.
Developments
in Immigration Law
DHS Signs
VISA Waiver Program
Agreements with Estonia
and Latvia
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Secretary
Michael Chertoff signed
Visa Waiver Program
(VWP) Memoranda of Understanding
(MOU) with Estonian
Minister of Internal
Affairs Juri Pihl in
Tallinn, Estonia, and
with Latvian Minister
of Foreign Affairs Maris
Riekstins in Riga, Latvia.
The agreements outline
security enhancements
that put both countries
on the path toward visa-free
travel to the U.S.,
and possible designation
as VWP members later
this year. VWP membership
is also in the works
for the Czech Republic.
DOL ETA Announces
Planned Changes in Non-Electronic
Filing Locations
The DOL's Employment
and Training Administration
(ETA) recently announced
administrative changes
in the locations where
future non-electronic
applications must be
filed under the permanent
foreign labor certification
program and temporary
foreign labor certification
programs administered
by the ETA's Office
of Foreign Labor Certification
(OFLC). The Atlanta
National Processing
Center (NPC) will receive
all applications for
permanent labor
certification under
the Program Electronic
Review Management (PERM)
System, and the Chicago
NPC will receive all
applications for temporary
labor certification
under the programs as
identified below. These
new addresses will be
effective June 1, 2008
and starting June 16,
2008 applications filed
at a wrong location
will be returned to
the applicant.
I-864 Affidavit
of Support: New Poverty
Guidelines for 2008
USCIS has released the
2008 poverty guidelines
on form I-864P
to be used in calculating
the required income
for Affidavits of Support
(I-864).
These poverty guidelines
will remain in effect
until spring 2009, when
the new guidelines are
released. The 2008 guidelines
reflect changes in the
amount of income that
is now required under
the new guidelines and
generally with each
increase in household
size, the amount of
income has increased.
Biometric Changes
for Re-entry Permits
and Refugee Travel Documents
U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services
(USCIS) issued revised
instructions for USCIS
Form I-131,
Application for Travel
Document. The instructions
include changes, which
will become effective
March 5, 2008, that
require applicants for
re-entry
permits and refugee
travel documents
to provide biometrics
(e.g., fingerprints
and photographs) at
a USCIS Application
Support Centers (ASC)
for background and security
checks and requirements
for secure travel and
entry documents containing
biometric identifiers.
As indicated in the
instructions, when the
biometrics requirement
becomes effective, USCIS
will notify applicants
of their appointment
at the designated ASC
after submission of
the I-131 application.
USCIS Extends
Validity of Expiring
Medical Certifications
I-693
In a recent memorandum,
USCIS has once again
renewed their policy
to extend the validity
of the civil surgeon's
endorsement on Form
I-693
for cases that have
been pending for longer
than a year. Generally,
the endorsement on Form
I-693 is valid for one
year and this form is
concurrently filed with
Adjustment
of Status applications.
However due to various
backlog issues, some
of these applications
remain pending for longer
than the one year period.
If USCIS did not provide
this extension then
petitioners would be
forced to undergo another
examination and submit
a new Form I-693 to
USCIS after the already
submitted medical examination
form expires after one
year.
Immigration
Articles and Other Fun
Stuff
This month's Immigration
Article will
discuss some of the
logistics issues faced
by companies looking
to open an office in
the U.S. using an L-1
New Office petition.
Check out our In
Focus section
to complete reading
our attorneys' travelogue
during this year's successful
seminar and training
workshop tour of India.
In addition to the article
we also posted photos
and videos from the
immigration events and
we invite you to take
some time peruse the
photos,
watch the videos
and have fun learning
more about U.S. immigration
law.
Finally, please make
sure to also participate
in our monthly poll.
Last month 84% of the
respondents felt that
the proposed interim
final regulation prohibiting
employers from filing
more than one H-1B petition
on behalf of a single
foreign national would
have an effect on the
number of petitions
filed under the H-1B
cap. This month's poll
question deals with
the effectiveness of
lobbying efforts by
the tech industry on
U.S. immigration policy.
Cast your vote to express
Your Opinion.
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Traci
Kingery
won last month's
Immigration
Quiz.
We received a
handful of answers,
but Ms. Kingery's
was the most complete
and as a result
she wins a free
online consultation
to discuss her
Immigration issues with one of |
our attorneys.
So get ready
for this month's quiz.
Your name might be featured
in next month's newsletter.
Good luck!!!
To ensure you receive
your Immigration Newsletter,
please add Immigration-Monitor@VisaPro.com
to your address book
or safe list.
See you next
month with a lot more
noise from the Immigration
World!
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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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USCIS
Offers Helpful Hints
for Filing a FY 2009
H-1B Cap Case
U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services
(USCIS), anticipates
that April 1, 2008 will
see a repeat of the
mass filings from last
year. With this expectation
USCIS has published
this list of measures
the petitioner can take
to ensure that their
petition is correctly
filed.
Common
H-1B Errors Leading
to Rejections and Denials
U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services
(USCIS) released a statement
showing the common errors
leading to petition
rejections or denials.
This is a list of the
most frequently seen
and easily cured mistakes.
DOL
ETA Announces Planned
Changes in Non-Electronic
Filing Locations
The
DOL's Employment and
Training Administration
(ETA) recently announced
administrative changes
in the locations where
future non-electronic
applications must be
filed under the permanent
foreign labor certification
program and temporary
foreign labor certification
programs administered
by the ETA's Office
of Foreign Labor Certification
(OFLC). The Atlanta
National Processing
Center (NPC) will receive
all applications for
permanent labor certification
under the Program Electronic
Review Management (PERM)
System, and the Chicago
NPC will receive all
applications for temporary
labor certification
under the programs as
identified below. These
new addresses will be
effective June 1, 2008
and starting June 16,
2008 applications filed
at a wrong location
will be returned to
the applicant.
I-864
Affidavit of Support:
New Poverty Guidelines
for 2008
USCIS
has released the 2008
poverty guidelines on
form I-864P to be used
in calculating the required
income for Affidavits
of Support (I-864).
These poverty guidelines
will remain in effect
until spring 2009, when
the new guidelines are
released. The 2008 guidelines
reflect changes in the
amount of income that
is now required under
the new guidelines and
generally with each
increase in household
size, the amount of
income has increased.
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A
Rendezvous with India: The
journey continues
This month
we finalize our attorneys'
travelogue describing their
journey through India that
we started in last month's
newsletter. As you probably
already know, during these
events, the VisaPro legal
team traveled to five different
cities in India to present
substantive and comprehensive
information on business immigration
issues to a wide-ranging audience.
Opening a New Office in the
U.S. Using an L-1 Visa
U.S. has long
been considered a country
of opportunities - a place
that encourages entrepreneurship
with a highly dynamic economy
and a large wealthy consumer
base. For these reasons, many
successful companies consider
starting operations in the
United States after their
success in the home country.
For companies looking to expand
to the U.S., one viable option
is the use of a New Office
L-1 visa to start their operations
and move key personnel to
the U.S. regulations define
New Office as an organization
which has been doing business
in the United States through
a parent, branch, affiliate,
or subsidiary for less than
one year. Since the new office
needs to be "doing business"
the "mere presence of
an agent or office" is
not enough to satisfy even
the new office requirement
for an L-1.
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| QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS |
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I
have contacted
two employers
in the US who
are keen on filing
H-1B petitions
for me. Am I legally
permitted to file
two H-1Bs through
two different
companies? What
will happen if
both the petitions
get selected in
the lottery? When
can I choose the
employer I wish
to work for?
In theory, it
is legally permissible
from an immigration
law point of view
to file multiple
H-1B
petitions. However,
if you get counted
twice under the
lottery system
and both your
H-1B petitions
get approved,
there is also
the concern of
breach of contract
by promising to
work for two employers
on a full time | | | | | | | |
