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The Business Immigration Monthly
is Hammond Law Group’s latest news eZine, directed at
international workers and employers seeking the most up-to-date news
on U.S. immigration issues, specifically those that impact workers
on H, L, E, and O visas and workers seeking permanent residency.
MAY VISA
BULLETIN RELEASED
The Department of State released the
May bulletin on April 7th. The
Bulletin shows significant movement for the EB2 categories for both
India and China, jumping nearly a year ahead in the numbers for each
(India jumped from 7/1/2002 to 1/1/2003 and China jumped from
1/1/2003 to 1/1/2004). Unfortunately, not much movement has been
seen in the EB3 classification for any country.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2868.html
H-1B CAP - LATEST UPDATE
The USCIS has issued the latest update on the FY2007 H-1B cap. As of
April 3, 2006, USCIS has approved 76 H-1B beneficiaries and 9 H-1B
Advanced Degree beneficiaries. The limits on the caps are 58,200 for
H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside for the H-1B1 program
until October 1, 2006) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas.
USCIS estimates the number of beneficiary applications needed to
reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations, at
61,000 for H-1Bs and 21,000 for H-1B Advanced Degrees.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm.
HLG TO OFFER
FREE IMMIGRATION SEMINAR IN ATLANTA
HLG is offering a free immigration update seminar in Atlanta on
April 27th from 7pm-9pm EST with featured speaker Sherry L. Neal,
Esq. This seminar will cover the following topics: Latest update on
Labor Certifications; H-1B cap and alternative strategies;
Government Emphasis on Employer Enforcement; Potential Relief from
Retrogression; and Legislative Potentials for Immigration Reform. If
you would like to attend this seminar please register at:
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/sln_seminar4_2006_registration.htm
COMMENT PERIOD ENDS FOR PROPOSED
REGULATIONS ELIMINATING SUBSTITUTIONS AND IMPLEMENTING REASONABLE
VALIDITY PERIOD
The Department of Labor has issued proposed regulations that will
eliminate the use of substitutions and proposes to implement a
strict 45 day validity period in which to file immigrant petitions
following the approval of labor certification applications. In
addition, the proposed regulations call for employers rather than
the employee pay all costs of the labor certification process. These
proposals would have a significant negative impact on how the green
card process operates.
The Department of Labor was accepting comments to the proposed
regulations from employers and attorneys through April 14, 2006. HLG
has submitted comments against these proposed regulations. These
comments can be found here:
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/RIN1205AB42ProposedRule4.13.2006.pdf
We will keep you updated as further developments occur surrounding
these proposals.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/04.05.2006_alert.htm
USCIS ISSUES GUIDANCE FOR FY2007 H-1B
FILINGS
In a March Public Notice, the USCIS offered some guidance for
employers filing new H-1B petitions to avoid processing delays and
receipt of Requests for Evidence. Specifically, the notice requests
employers to provide a detailed itinerary of dates and places where
work will be performed by the employee if work is to be performed in
more than one location. Further, the notice states where an H-1B
worker is seeking to change employers, the USCIS will require that
the worker demonstrate that he or she actually did perform
meaningful work for the original petitioning employer. This
requirement is implemented to expose potential fraudulent intent in
the original petition’s filing. HLG is assisting current clients in
drafting new H-1B petitions that address both of these guidance
points.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/statements/H1Bnotice_24Mar06PN.pdf
USCIS CENTRALIZES FILINGS OF I-129 AND
I-140 PETITIONS
The USCIS is centralizing its processes for the handling of I-140s
and I-129s (H-1s and L-1s, most notably). Many applicants and
petitioners have and will see their I-140s and I-129s transferred
from one Service Center to another. Effective April 1, 2006, all
I-129 petitions and related applications must be filed at the
Vermont Service Center (VSC), and all I-140 petitions must be filed
at the Nebraska Service Center (NSC). The VSC and CSC will share
responsibility for the adjudication of I-129 petitions and related
applications, and the NSC and Texas Service Center (TSC) will be
responsible for adjudication of I-140 petitions. The VSC and NSC
will each forward petitions to the Service Center they are paired
with for adjudication.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/03.27.2006_alert.htm
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS CALL FOR INCREASE IN
H-1B CAP
In a recent article published in the Silicon Valley/ San Jose
Business Journal entitled “Some financial institutions hope for more
H-1B visas, too,” Raksha Varma writes that a potential increase in
the number of available H-1Bs could yield more business for several
financial institutions that cater to key Silicon Valley customer
groups. Kathleen Litman, spokeswoman for Technology Credit Union,
the fourth-largest credit union in Silicon Valley is quoted in the
article as stating, “H-1Bs usually don’t have credit history, a FICO
score…But, they are employed by the tech sector’s most profitable
companies. They’re making good money. They are focused and
traditional when it comes to paying their bills and loans on time.
It’s the perfect customer base.” Varma highlights that if Congress
were to pass an increase to the H-1B cap, the benefits would be
reaped by not only the usual corporate players, but the benefits
would also be reflected in the financial institutions that are often
used by these H-1B workers in handling their finances.
For full article see:
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/04/10/story7.html?hbx=e_abd
EFFORTS CONTINUE TO INCREASE H-1B CAP
Congress is feeling the pressure from all sectors and industries to
increase the H-1B cap. Currently, the annual cap amounts to 65,000
H-1Bs plus a 20,000 Congressionally mandated exemption for those
individuals holding a master’s degree or higher from a US
institution. DNA World recently published an article entitled,
“Efforts are on to keep H-1B visa issue alive,” which comments on
the strong lobby efforts by such industry leaders as IBM, Cisco,
Apple and Oracle and advocacy groups such as Compete America on
Congress to pass a legislative solution to the cap issue. Author
Uttara Choudhury writes, “[t]he explosive immigration reform debate
in Congress which has spilled onto the streets still has a bearing
on the fate of US industry’s longstanding demand to raise H-1B visas
and Green Cards, lobby groups pushing for more visas on Capitol Hill
for tech workers…Advocacy groups are still hoping that the visa plan
will be salvaged in negotiations after the spring recess.” HLG
encourages all employers affected by the H-1B cap to contact their
Congressional representatives to voice your opinion regarding the
H-1B cap debate.
For full article see:
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1023666
H-1B REFORM TO BE LOST?
In a recent article entitled, “Tech firms fear H-1B reform may be
lost in immigration furor” (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business
Journal, April 17, 2006), Timothy Roberts and Kent Hoover comment on
technology companies’ fear that in the highly-publicized debate over
illegal immigrants, Congress may overlook the need to implement H-1B
visa reform. “Silicon Valley technology companies are fearful that
an apparent backlash against illegal immigrants—expressed in
legislation under consideration in Congress—will dash their hopes of
expanding the number of H-1B visas,” writes Roberts and Hoover,
“Technology companies depend on those certificates to bring highly
educated engineers here from around the world.”
For the full article see:
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/04/17/story4.html
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