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.
The annual H-1B filing season starts tomorrow, April 1st, and employers and employees who have applied for an H-1B visa are hoping for low numbers of applications. Unfortunately, preliminary sources suggest that even though the U.S. economy is slowing down, there are many sectors which are still running strong and the demand of H-1B visas is expected to be as strong as ever.
USCIS has released an interim rule which sets some guidelines on accepting H-1B cases for the upcoming fiscal year.
The State Department just released its April 2008 Visa Bulletin and it brings some good news and relief to EB2 India applicants - the cutoff date for EB2 India has moved from “unavailable” to December 1, 2003. See the full April 2008 Visa Bulletin.
A new report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) indicates that major US companies experience severe shortages of skilled labor. According to the report, major U.S. technology companies today average more than 470 U.S.-based skilled job openings. NFAP surveyed postings for U.S.-based jobs that require at least an undergraduate degree for 500 companies [...]
Effective March 5, 2008, all applicants for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents must provide biometrics (fingerprints and photographs) as part of the application process. The significance of the revised procedure is that all applicants must submit to biometric processing after they file Form I-131 and before they leave the country. The new Form I-131 [...]
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.
A very common question by the holders of visas which have employment restrictions is, “Can I engage in unpaid volunteer work under my visa?” The answer is that it depends on the type of unpaid volunteer work you are seeking to perform.
The March 2008 State Department Visa Bulletin is out. The most significant development is in the EB3 “worldwide” (everyone except from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines) category applicants.
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.