As 2009 ends, we celebrate one more year of our time together. We welcome 2010 with the determination to continue to provide you fast, easy and economical immigration services on the web. We are delighted to be connected to you and we wholeheartedly thank you for your continuous and consistent support. The whole VisaPro team wishes you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year – 2010. Check this exclusive greeting card we made for you.
The year 2009 has seen many ups and downs, but in 2010 we believe things will fall into place. In a sense, things actually started falling in place in December 2009 … after months of slow movement, the H-1B demand increased in November and the cap was reached in about 4 weeks. This is a sign that the U.S. economy is improving and employers have restarted hiring foreign nationals to meet their employment needs.
Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope President Obama will pass meaningful immigration reform this year. With the introduction of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP) in December we are moving in the right direction. We will keep you advised on where this important legislation goes next.
This year prospective employers are eagerly waiting for the H-1B filing period to file H-1B petitions for prospective employees for fiscal year 2011 employment. Immigration experts believe that H-1Bs for fiscal year 2011 will be gone within a very short time, unlike fiscal year 2010. As the economy starts to improve and employers increase their hiring, we do not expect that next year’s H-1B numbers will remain available for long, certainly not the 8 months they did in 2009. Therefore, we urge employers and employees to prepare and file most or all of their H-1B petitions on or about April 1, 2010, the first day for FY 2011 filings. This will ensure that their petitions have the greatest chance to be included in the quota.
Here is the VisaPro suggested timeline for H-1B petitions. It has been designed to maximize your efforts and ensure timely and successful filing of your H-1B petition.
| ASAP: | Identify your H-1B needs, discuss the strategy with your VisaPro immigration attorney and finalize the applicants list; Develop detailed job descriptions; Obtain prevailing wage determination. |
| Early February: | File LCA with DOL; Begin gathering supporting documentation |
| Early March: | Prepare all H-1B forms, support letter and other required supporting documentation |
| Mid March: | File LCA with DOL. |
| March 31: | Mail the petition to USCIS for delivery on April 1, 2010. |
Contact VisaPro immediately to assist you with the H-1B filing using the fast, easy and economical online visa processing.
Other Developments in Immigration Law:
USCIS Grants One-Time Accommodation for Sheepherders in H-2A Status
USCIS, on December 31, 2009 announced that it would allow H-2A workers in the sheepherding industry more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation of stay requirements under the USCIS’ final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009. USCIS is making the one-time accommodation in deference to the industry’s prior exemption from the 3-year limitation. This exemption does not impact other H-2A categories.
DOS Proposed Rule on Exchange Visitor Program Secondary School Students
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued a proposed rule to amend the Exchange Visitor Program regulations to amend existing regulations regarding the screening, selection, school enrollment, orientation, and monitoring of overall quality assurance on behalf of student participants; and the screening, selection, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of host families. DOS will accept comments from the public until February 22, 2010.
Immigration Articles and Other Fun Stuff:
Now for the regulars – this month’s Immigration Article entitled “Grab Your Opportunity to File an H1B Visa With VisaPro’s H-1B Timeline” is an interesting and informative article, which will help an employer in sponsoring an H-1B worker by planning ahead and filing the nonimmigrant visa petition in a timely manner. Also check out our In Focus section for this month where we discuss the most common myths attached to H-1B visa and learn the true facts.
Every month we introduce a new and interesting question for our opinion poll. Last month’s poll results indicate that 93.33% of the respondents believed and liked Ms. Nancy Fichtner’s idea to allow the veterans leaving VA hospitals to take home the medicine they’ve been using instead of it being thrown away when they’re discharged? 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.
We congratulate Shahana Javed 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 Shahana Javed gave the correct answer and won 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!!!
See you next month with a lot more noise from the Immigration World!
