Over the past few weeks (and months, really), there has been some chatter about a possible change in the regulations to allow certain H-4 spouses to apply for and obtain work authorization. In a press release today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that the proposed rules are to be published for review [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced earlier this afternoon that, as of today, April 7th, they have received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the annual H-1B cap for the 2015 fiscal year (FY2015). According to USCIS, they have received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries with U.S. master’s [...]
As we are going into the peak of the H-1B cap season, our office receives many inquiries about the duration of the H-1B filing season this year or, in other words, when will the H-1B cap be reached? So far we have been able to compare demand with prior H-1B filing seasons and we knew [...]
The Department of Labor has provided some updates for the first quarter of the Fiscal Year 2014 (October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013) on their processing of PERM cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers. Please note that this period reflects the period of the partial government shutdown [...]
The Department of Labor (DOL) has released the most recent annual report for the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). Even though the report was recently released, it is for the 2012 fiscal year (FY2012) which covered the period between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012. While we understand that the relevant period is [...]
On April 1, 2014 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start accepting applications for one of the most popular U.S. work visas, H-1B, for fiscal year (FY) 2015. Our intelligence and past experience suggest that this year's H-1B cap season will be very short -- five business days. Our office is already [...]
USCIS has circulated a proposed draft of a redesigned and revised Form I-129 and has opened a public comment period on the proposed changes. The new form features a new design layout where most of the questions are the same but laid out slightly differently. There are some changes to the wording of some questions, [...]
The large Indian technology company Infosys has agreed to pay $34 million in a civil settlement after federal prosecutors in Texas alleged it had committed "systemic visa fraud and abuse" when bringing temporary workers to the U.S. on H-1B and B-1 visas. This kind of settlement is the largest ever in a visa case and [...]
In light of aggressive government enforcement actions, employers and human resources professionals need to have a firm understanding of their roles and responsibilities regarding the employment of H-1B workers, the PERM Labor Certification process, and what do to in the event of a surprise government workplace site-visit. This FREE webinar details the employer’s responsibilities regarding [...]
Many of our readers are aware that as of April 5, 2013, USCIS has 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 5th have been rejected. Additionally, due to the high number of H-1B petitions (124,000), the [...]