The USCIS announced today (April 8, 2009) that within the first five business days, it received almost half the petitions needed to meet the FY2010 cap and has received just short of the 20,000 needed to reach the master’s cap. This means that there will be no general H-1B lottery this year for both master’s [...]
We wrote last week about the new Employer Handbook which was released by USCIS in connection with the revised Form I-9. The revised version of Form I-9 becomes mandatory on April 3, 2009 (barring any last-minute change by the Obama administration). Employers will have to complete the new Form I-9 for all newly hired employees [...]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics has released its annual U.S. Permanent Residents: 2008 report. The report provides a summary of the approvals of the various types of legal permanent resident (LPR) petitions. According to the report, in 2008, a total of 1,107,126 persons became LPRs. Of these, 58% already lived in [...]
A week after the Stimulus Bill was signed into law and the dust has started to settle, we have compiled a summary of the key points of the Stimulus Bill’s restriction on TARP-recipient companies to issue new H-1B visas. The law became effective upon the stimulus bill’s enactment, February 17, 2009. It is important to [...]
About the H-1B Visa and the Annual H-1B Cap The H-1B visa is one of the most commonly used U.S. work visas for highly skilled foreign born workers in fields such as information technology, engineering, research, academia, and others. The H-1B visa is both highly desirable and, unfortunately, in short supply. The H-1B visa category was created [...]
Today, Tuesday, February 10, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote and approve a version of the Stimulus Bill which President Obama has been pushing very hard over the past weeks. The version of the Stimulus Bill contains a provision which would automatically and for a period of two years make all employers who are [...]
A recent decision from the Administrative Review Board (ARB) held that when an H-1B employer fails to terminate H-1B employee and notify USCIS of such termination is liable for payment of back wages. ARB held: Under the INA’s “no benching” provisions, the employer is obligated to pay the required wage even if the H-1B nonimmigrant is [...]
Today, January 12, 2009, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization becomes mandatory for all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers. We wrote earlier about the mandatory cutoff of January 12, 2009. Effective today, VWP travelers coming into the U.S. may be turned away if they have not registered at least 72 hours before their travel to the [...]
We wrote in December about the Custom and Border Protection (”CBP”) decision to include legal permanent residents (”LPR”) into the US-VISIT program. Effective January 18, 2008, CBP will subject all entering or exiting LPRS to biometrics processing at all air and seaports. LPRS entering through land ports of entry will not be automatically subjected to biometrics, [...]
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will designate Malta as a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country on Dec. 30, 2008*. Maltese nationals will be able to travel visa-free to the United States effective Dec. 30th. The VWP will enable citizens of Malta to travel to the United States, beginning on Dec. 30, 2009, for 90 [...]