Effective March 2, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will expand their premium processing service to certain Form I-140 petitions. This service will be expanded to include alien beneficiaries who have almost reached their limitation of stay on H-1B visa status.
For the specific details, please read the entire fact sheet
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on February 20, 2009 with processing dates as of December 31, 2008.
If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Business Committee prepared a list of frequently asked questions about the H-1B provisions included in the new economic stimulus bill – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The list discusses the impact of the H-1B provisions on H-1B employers, provides an explanation as to the restrictions that are placed on TARP fund recipients, and offers advice to affected employers on how to complete Labor Condition Applications (LCA) for H-1B foreign workers.
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a multi-million dollar stimulus bill designed to jumpstart the United States’ economy. For the business immigration world, the bill includes the Sanders H-1B amendment . This amendment heavily burdens recipients of Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds with strict regulations for hiring foreign workers under the H-1B program. The President of AILA, Charles H. Kuck, said, “The misguided signal it sends is that immigrants are part of the problem rather than an integral part of the solution.” In other words, the H-1B program works to bring foreign-born talented individuals to the United States to help create new jobs and bolster the United States’ economy. Passage of the amendment means that it is going to be harder for TARP recipients to successfully petition for top level talent under the H-1B program and thus it works counter to the ultimate goal of economic growth for the United States.
The economic stimulus bill has been approved by the Senate and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama early this week.
NOTE – THE SANDERS H-1B AMENDMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THOSE RECIPIENTS OF TARP FUNDS.
After an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) beginning in September 2008, the seventh and final defendant of the restaurant raids was sentenced. The Asian buffet restaurant owner was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years probation on charges of knowingly employing illegal aliens and mail fraud. Additionally, the judge ordered the owner to pay $49,000 in criminal fines.
As a result of the investigation, ICE arrested 21 illegal alien workers on administrative immigration violations who were encountered at the search locations.
Additionally, the judge noted that the restaurant owner had conspired with an employment agency to hire aliens, who due to their illegal status, were subject to exploitation. The judge also made note that the defendant benefitted financially by not paying taxes, fees and proper salaries for the illegal employees.
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin. The March 2009 visa bulletin still shows employment based third preference (EB-3) visas as oversubscribed while the employment based second preference (EB-2) is current for all areas of chargeability except for China and India.
Click here to view the March 2009 Visa Bulletin
After an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Alabaster Police Department, a Birmingham, Alabama construction company owner was indicted on charges of harboring and employing illegal aliens.
As a result of the investigation, the owner was charged in a three-count indictment. If convicted of all counts, the owner faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of $250,000. All of the illegal aliens working for the construction company were arrested and placed in deportation proceedings.
ICE aggressively targets employers who violate immigration laws by knowingly employing an illegal workforce.
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on January 23, 2009 with processing dates as of November 30, 2008.
If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
Effective February 20, 2009, ALL federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) E-Verify system. This program allows for employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees.
This new rule which is addressed in Executive Order 12989 reinforces the policy that the federal government does business with companies that have a legal workforce.
Specifically, this rule requires federal contractors to agree, through language inserted into their federal contracts, to use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all persons hired during a contract term.
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Administrative Review Board (ARB) recently upheld the final decision of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who found that the petitioner failed to pay the H-1B beneficiary the required wage under the H-1B provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The petitioner, a not-for-profit corporation that operates medical clinics sought the expertise of the beneficiary, a medical doctor. After interviewing the beneficiary, a “Physician Employment Agreement” was signed which reflected an annual wage of $125,000. Thereafter, an H-1B petition was filed to hire the beneficiary as a full time medical doctor with H-1B non-immigrant status for three years. A Labor Condition Application (LCA) was filed along with the petition on behalf of the beneficiary listing the prevailing wage as $118,222 for the position. The beneficiary began working for the petitioner in June 2004 and was allegedly terminated in March 2005. During the course of the beneficiary’s nine-months of employment, he was paid a total of $49,000 in wages. The $49,000 (or $65,333.33 per year) falls below both the $125,000 per year wage that the beneficiary contracted for and the prevailing wage of $118,222 listed in the LCA. The beneficiary thereafter reported the wage violation to the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division who conducted a hearing and entered a decision in favor of the beneficiary. The petitioner thereafter sought review of the decision by the ARB.
The ARB found the petitioner liable for back wages calculated using the prevailing wage rate of $118,222 per year for the beneficiary’s nine-month employment during which time he worked as assigned and made himself available for work. According to the regulations, when an employer signs and files an LCA, he is attesting that for the entire “period of authorized employment” the listed wage rate will be paid to the H-1B non-immigrant. One of the ways in which an employer may escape liability is if they effect a bona fide termination and inform the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immediately, and where appropriate provide the nonimmigrant employee with payment for transportation home. In this case, a bona fide termination did not occur until November 2005, when DHS was informed of the revocation of the H-1B petition. Accordingly, the petitioner was liable for payment of wages until the time of termination. The petitioner should have paid the beneficiary a total of $88,666.47 in wages for the nine months in which he worked.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog