The Business Immigration Monthly is Hammond Law Group’s latest web-based newsletter, 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.
October 2008 Visa Bulletin
The
Department of State has released the October Visa Bulletin.
Unfortunately, many categories have retrogressed back including EB2
China and EB2 India, which have moved back to April 1, 2004 and
April 1, 2003 respectively. On a positive note, EB3 has become
available again with EB3 All Chargeability moving to January 1,
2005, EB3 China moving to October 1, 2001, and EB3 India moving to
July 1, 2001.
The DOS has also given little hope for much movement in the
categories, stating, “Little if any forward movement of the cut-off
dates in most Employment categories is likely until the extent of
the CIS backlog of old priority dates can be determined. It is
estimated that the FY-2009 Employment-based annual limit will be
very close to the 140,000 minimum.”
For the full visa
bulletin see:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4357.html
DOL Clarifies Role
of Attorneys in PERM Recruitment Process
On August 29th,
the Department of Labor released a Guidance Bulletin clarifying the
role an attorney can take during the labor certification recruitment
process. The Bulletin, clarifies that Attorneys cannot conduct any
preliminary screening of applications nor can attorneys participate
in the interviewing of applicants. The DOL writes, “[w]here the
Department finds evidence of potentially improper attorney, agent,
or foreign worker involvement in considering U.S. worker applicants,
the Department will audit, and may subsequently require supervised
recruitment, for those applications to determine whether the
employer’s recruitment and hiring processes were conducted in good
faith and to ensure adherence to all statutory and regulatory
requirements.”
For full
Bulletin see:
http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov
Senators McCain and Obama's Stance
on Immigration
HLG
attorneys are reporting that their clients are very interested to
learn about the Presidential candidates positions on Immigration.
Here are their positions.
McCain on Immigration:
www.johnmccain.com
Obama on Immigration:
www.barackobama.com
Recent HLG Summary of the positions:
www.hammondlawfirm.com
AAO Suport for H-1B for Owners
The
Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) has again decided a case in
favor of a corporation to petition an H-1B Visa for its owner. The
H-1B in this case was filed by a graphic design firm which sought to
employ the beneficiary/owner in H-1B status as a graphic designer.
In its decision the AAO found, “[e]stablished tenets of corporate
law, as well as cases such as Matter of Aphrodite, state that
a corporation has a separate legal identity from its owner. As such,
a corporation, even if it is owned and operated by a single person,
may hire the same individual and the parties will be in an
employer-employee relationship, as is the case in the instant
matter.” This decision follows a number of other similar
non-precedential cases by the AAO upholding the ability of a
corporation to petition for its owner for an H-1B if the owner meets
the requirements for the visa. Although there is now a possibility
of an owner receiving an H-1B visa, the owner is still barred from
obtaining a labor certification when their own corporation is the
sponsoring employer.
For article on
case written by Cora-Ann V. Pestaina see ILW.com here:
www.ilw.com
USCIS States New Passport Card Acceptable
for I-9s
On August 8th, the USCIS announced that the new
U.S. Passport Card may be used by employers in completing the
Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) and by employers
participating in the E-Verify program. The new passport card was
put into full production in July 2008 and will be used to expedite
document processing at the US land and sea port of entries for US
citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
Please note, however, the card cannot be used for international air
travel. From more information see:
www.uscis.gov
Immigrants Turn to Canada for PR
Status
In the
wake of the October visa bulletin’s retrogression being announced,
USA Today has released an article entitled “Opportunity
knocks in Canada for U.S. immigrants” detailing the ease of Canadian
permanent residency process as compared to the US process. The
author, Emily Bazar, writes about a new program that the government
of Alberta, Canada has implemented allowing skilled immigrants to
fast track their Canadian Permanent Residency applications. Bazar,
quoting Wendy Blackwell of Alberta’s Ministry of Employment and
Immigration, writes “The program appeals to skilled immigrants who
are frustrated with the U.S. immigration system.” The Alberta
program offers a solution by granting eligible applicants and their
families’ permanent residency status in 6-12 months, allowing
spouses to work, and does not require job to be secured prior to
applying.
For the full
article see:
www.usatoday.com
Other provinces
of Canada are following suit, see:
www.theglobeandmail.com
HLG’S Global Immigration Practice
Hammond
is pleased to announce our firm’s global immigration department to
assist businesses in the global movement and relocation of
employees. Hammond’s Global immigration services include:
- Formulating strategic corporate immigration strategies to facilitate
a company's global immigration requirements.
- Preparation and processing global work authorizations and permanent
resident visas.
- Preparation and processing of applications for business visitor
visas, temporary entry and residence permits.
www.hammondlawfirm.com
Free Seminar for
Employers
Friday, September
7th at the New York Helmsley Hotel in New York City
HLG will be
holding a free seminar entitled “IT Companies, the USCIS and DOL:
Getting Results, Saving Money & Staying out of Trouble” on Friday
November 7th at the New York Helmsley Hotel in New York
City from 8:30am-12:30pm. Space is limited, Reserve your seat today!
For more
information, please visit:
www.HammondLawFirm.com |
