The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is set to begin accepting H-1B visa applications pursuant to its Fiscal Year 2011 (FY2011) quota. The first day on which USCIS will accept new, cap-subject H-1B petitions, is April 1, 2010. About the H-1B Program and the Annual Cap The H-1B visa category was created in 1990 [...]
The Neufeld Memorandum of January 8, 2010, has generated a substantial amount of discussion with its newly-proposed standard for "employer-employee" relationship applied to third-party H-1B employee placements, which are very common for consulting companies. Our office has handled many consultations and inquiries relating to the Neufeld Memorandum and what it means for the thousands of [...]
Now that the H-1B quota has been reached (as of December 21, 2009), we are receiving an increasing number of inquiries by both cap-subject employers and prospective employees about the alternatives for work authorization between now and October 1, 2010, when the new fiscal year's H-1B quota would begin (as a reminder, April 1, 2010 [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of October 30, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 53,800 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,000 in a week). USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. U.S. Masters Degrees Quota Reached As we mentioned [...]
The H-1B regulations impose certain additional recruitment and attestation requirements to so called “H-1B dependent employers.” Therefore, it becomes to understand the definition of H-1B dependent employer. Definition of H-1B Dependent Employer Pursuant to 20 CFR 655.736, an H-1B dependent employer is one which meets one of the following standards: The employer has 25 or fewer full-time equivalent [...]
Under a new directive marked as “Tier 1″ (high strategic importance and significant impact on one or more industries), the Internal Revenue Service (”IRS”) has indicated that it will be focusing increased resources on H-1B sponsor companies’ tax withholding and reporting. As our clients and readers know, the H-1B nonimmmigrant work visa is one of the [...]
With the H-1B filing date upon us, we have seen an increased amount of inquiries from companies, press organizations, legislative and not-for-profit entities seeking comments on the upcoming H-1B work visa lottery and the broader economic impact of the current labor immigration landscape. Please contact us if you need comments from immigration attorneys who specialize in labor immigration.
Earlier in February, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification at the Department of Labor released its official FY 2007 data covering cases processed under the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM). The PERM data provides an insight into the level of demand for U.S. jobs in different industry sectors and geographic areas.
Many foreign nationals who are on H-1B visa and have their spouses on H-4 visa often face the issue of insufficient income for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support purposes when filing for adjustment of status.
Many H-1B visa holders are asking the question, “Can I start my own company while I am on H-1B visa?” The short answer is “No, because the terms of the H-1B visa allow a foreign national to work only for the sponsoring employer. However, a foreign national may have other options.