The short answer is yes. Benching H-1B workers can lead to a criminal visa fraud indictment. Employers who hire H-1B employees and fail to pay the wages indicated in the Labor Condition Application during a work stoppage may be violating the terms set forth in the Department of Labor regulations. The practice of “benching” H-1B [...]
The Department of Labor has provided some updates for the fourth quarter of the Fiscal Year 2014 (July 1, 2014 to September 30, 2014) on their processing of PERM, H-1B LCA and prevailing wage determination cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers. DOL Processing Statistics (Fourth Quarter, 2014 Fiscal [...]
Our office handles a substantial number of H-1B work visa petitions for a variety of U.S. employers and we often share our direct experiences with the H-1B work visa program. This article is intended to share our experience and the current trends with respect to H-1B work visa petitions where there is a change in [...]
While few, if any, of our clients and readers will be planning major celebrations, October 1st is an important date as it marks the beginning of the new government fiscal year. This has some immigration implications for many folks -- for example, H-1B cap petitions are becoming effective and the quotas for green [...]
This year's busy H-1B cap season included many H-1B employee candidates who hold F-1 status and who are employed in the U.S. pursuant to F-1 optional practical training (OPT) status. Out of these F-1 visa holders, many rely on the OPT cap-gap rule to continue working in the U.S. after the post-April 1st expiration date [...]
The Department of Labor has provided some updates for the third quarter of the Fiscal Year 2014 (April 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014) on their processing of PERM, H-1B LCA and prevailing wage determination cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers. DOL Processing Statistics (Third Quarter, 2014 Fiscal [...]
In a policy memorandum dated July 11, 2014, USCIS has provided some guidance and clarifications as to the applicable standards for adjudication of H-1B petitions for nurses. While USCIS continues to maintain the position that most nurses may not qualify for an H-1B due to the fact that a bachelor's degree is not normally requires, [...]
H-1B visa holders are allowed to work temporarily in the U.S. for sponsoring employers and they often comprise of highly skilled professionals working in the difficult to fill positions in the tech, medical and education industries. In most business circumstances, hiring an H-1B visa holder is a successful and thriving event for both the employer [...]
Last week we reported on the announcement of the proposed rule which would allow certain H-4 dependent spouses to apply for and obtain work authorization. Our article generated tremendous interest and feedback from clients and readers but at that time we did not have the actual proposed rule so we could not answer any specific [...]
Many of our readers are aware that as of April 7, 2014, USCIS had received a sufficient number of H-1B cap-subject petitions to fill the annual H-1B quota. All cap-subject new H-1B petitions received by USCIS on or after April 7th have been or are currently in the process of being rejected and sent back [...]