The filing period for new H-1B visas under the cap opens soon, on April 1st.    So, now is the time for you to organize and plan to get the most from the new filing period.  You might wish to access a recent audio conference we had on the topic where we also address the tougher standards and document requirements and the new regulations around the employer-employee relationship.  Below is a brief review of what the employer needs to do to prepare:

1)  Plan and identify the workers subject to the cap:  The applicants that fall into this category are applicants for new H-1B visas that will most likely be either: (a) new hires or current employees with non-immigrant status that will NOT permit them to work continuously through October 1, 2010.  These would be F-1 students on OPT, J-1 exchange visitors and H-3 trainees; (b) candidates who are outside the USA and have not been counted against the cap; (c) Employees you wish to maintain on a permanent basis who might require a change of status as a necessary means to your long-term business strategy of sponsoring them for their green-cards (L-1Bs, L-1A managers who do not qualify for EB-1C multinational manager green-cards and TNs).

2)  Delays due to LCA Issues:  Utilizing the new iCERT system that still has many quirks, can delay filings up to 7-14 days, with erroneous and improper denials based upon their inability to verify the employer’s EIN#.  Given that LCA’s can be processed up to 6 months in advance for a cap case with a start date of 10/1/2010, with proper planning – these delays can be avoided.

On October 1st of every year, 85,000 new H-1B visas become available, with 20,000 of them set aside for advanced degree graduates of colleges and universities in the USA.  The “cap” quota only applies to filings for new employment.  H-1B extensions and transfers to a new US employer are not subject to the annual cap.

Employees of institutions of higher education and certain non-profit or government research organizations are exempt from the cap.  Please remember to discuss this category with your immigration attorney because it can be tricky.

Please do not hesitate to contact Immigration Solutions with any questions or concerns you might have.  We are available to handle your casework or, if you process your own H-1B cases, to consult with you and review your casework for approvable USCIS filing.

Super Express Van Tours of Houston was not your ordinary bus line. It served neither tourists nor commuters. Instead, federal officials say, it specialized in transporting illegal immigrants around the country. Once they arrived from Mexico, it kept the passengers under lock and key in “safe houses” — preventing both scrutiny from outsiders and possible escapes — until it loaded them into minivans and shuttled them to cities across the United States, including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Miami.

Super Express was no stranger to the Border Patrol and other federal authorities — its drivers had been stopped and arrested seven times over five years for transporting illegal immigrants. But the drivers and their human cargo were merely the low-hanging fruit. That’s why it was a welcome development last week when agents arrested the company’s owner, Fermin A. Tovar.  For more

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week provided AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association) with information regarding enforcement issues at Newark Airport.  The CBP have been assisting ICE with an investigation of certain H-1B non-immigrants and particular employers who hire H-1B workers.  This created events where H-1B visa holders were detained as a result of  employers being under investigation by ICE.

This incident has been a strong reminder that non-immigrants in work-related status such as H-1B, L-1, E and O-1 classification should be prepared for the potential of additional scrutiny when entering the United States after travel abroad.  CBP will question arriving non-immigrants about their employer, and may request documentation to prove that the nonimmigrant is still employed according to the petition that was filed on their behalf.

The above-mentioned incident where CBP engaged in more extensive questioning, has caused many H-1B visa holders and their employers to have concern about documentation that their employees will need to re-enter the USA following foreign travel.

CBP does have the authority to inquire about these issues, however, recent events indicate that their line of questioning may become more extensive and may result in more situations where arriving employees will be put in secondary inspection.  Secondary Inspection is where CBP officers wish to question the alien concerning their intent in the USA and conduct a more thorough interview and review any additional documentation that the individual may have brought with them, as well as information on electronic devices (cellphones and laptops).  They may even conduct Internet searches on the individual and the employer.  Therefore, employees entering the USA in H-1B classification or other employment based visas should be prepared for the possibility of additional scrutiny, and for the possibility of secondary inspection, regardless of where and when they enter – be it an airport or a land border.

We highly recommend that entering non-immigrants bring the following additional information with them in the event they are asked to produce evidence of their employment:

1)      Copies of 2 recent paycheck vouchers

2)      A copy of the USCIS petition that their status is based upon

3)      Current/Original I-797 approval notice

4)      A current letter of employment verification from a company officer or HR professional confirming job title and dates of employment  on business letterhead – is an excellent idea, as well.

We have heard recent reports that employers may also be contacted by CBP to confirm information related to the employment relationship and job duties.

We will provide updates to you on this issue and intend to monitor it very closely.  If you or your employees have encountered any additional scrutiny and would like to relay your experiences, please contact Immigration Solutions.

Yes – it’s the season to start preparing H-1B “cap” filings again for Fiscal Year 2011.

The USCIS FY starts on October 1st each year. Thus, fiscal year 2011 starts on October 1, 2010 and runs through September 30, 2011.  Regulations permit cap subject filings 6 months in advance of the October start date for cases to be received at USCIS on April 1, 2010.

The following are suggestions to help you for the upcoming cap season.  Our suggestions are based on existing law, as well as USCIS guidance and our experience from prior years.

USCIS frequently issues updated guidance with slight procedural variations for each fiscal year. For example, the LCA process changed in July – note it is taking sometimes up to 7 days to obtain an approval.  In case of a denial such as problems with verifying an employer’s EIN# which is quite common unfortunately, obtaining an LCA may take even longer.

Immigration Solutions is accepting H-1B cases for FY2011 at this time.  We have a team of experienced attorneys, case managers and paralegals in our business unit who are currently working on new H-1B cap-subject cases.  The cases will be prepared in advance and will be transmitted for delivery on March 31, 2010, for USCIS filing on April 1^st.  In order to file, it is necessary to have an appropriate job offer from a U.S. employer who is willing to sponsor the H-1B case.

The USCIS has increased scrutiny on all H-1B cases and imposed tougher standards, particularly those filed in the IT consulting industry and for software companies. These new standards also affect healthcare staffing agencies that place workers at 3^rd party jobsites.   The standards for approval have become more stringent. It is necessary to recognize this trend when preparing new H-1B cap cases for filing.  For this reason, we recommend that you work with an experienced law firm that specializes in employment-based immigration. Click here to contact us for your new H-1B case now.

NOTE:  Immigration Solutions is sponsoring a free teleconference on February 10^th that will address the tougher standards in the H-1B category.  For more on this and to RSVP, we link to our blog

Here is a list published by ComputerWorld of the employers who received approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for new H-1B visas in federal fiscal year 2009.

Any comments?

Details

When: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon PST
Click Here to view time conversion for your area

RSVP: info@immigrationsolution.net

Reserve your space now | This will be a most informative teleconference that you will not want to miss.

Our Agenda will be as follows:

• How to prepare for H-1B quota issues
• Tougher standards (difficult RFEs)
• We will review the new 19-page USCIS Memo regarding employer-employee relationships
• Critical new information for Healthcare and IT staffing agencies
• New Documentation Requirements
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform and expectations for 2010
• Open Q&A

In this conference, we will convey critical and comprehensive information to our clients and readership which we are making public and are offering at no charge.

In the last year, signs have been in place concerning greater enforcement and over-burdensome Requests For Evidence (RFE’s) by USCIS, including site visits by 4 federal agencies (USCIS, DHS, FDNS and DOL).  Higher standards are being imposed with each filing season for all employers who file H-1B petitions for degreed professionals.

We are seeing that this is not just taking place with H-1B initial filings, but with extensions, L visas and we have even heard of site visits to employers who filed O-1 petitions.

Our Featured Speaker: Thomas Joy, Supervising Attorney | Immigration Solutions

Immigration Solutions’ supervising attorney, Thomas Joy, will moderate this conference.  Mr. Joy has over 25 years’ practicing immigration law with some of the leading firms in the nation.  Mr. Joy has been interviewed on television regarding current immigration issues, has published articles on various current immigration concerns, and has conducted seminars for corporations, law firms and professional organizations, both in and outside of the USA. He travels throughout the USA and the world representing clients at USCIS offices and US embassies and consulates. In addition, he advises and accompanies employers and recruiters on international recruitment drives who seek the top candidates in the IT and healthcare industries.

About Us

Immigration Solutions continues to be at the cutting edge of developments in business immigration. We are dedicated to providing our clients with the solutions required today to circumvent the complexities of immigration law. We understand the challenges that you deal with on a daily basis and design practical and strategic business models to answer your needs. This focused approach produces win-win results for everyone!

If you are not yet a client of Immigration Solutions, we would be pleased to speak further with you concerning your needs, our services & solutions, and our newly developed corporate rates.

Unlike many other industries, the healthcare sector is projected to continue growing.  The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report in December 2009 that projected an additional four million jobs will be created in the healthcare and social assistance fields during the period from 2008 to 2018.

There’s an extreme shortage of primary care physicians; there’s an extreme shortage of registered nurses.  Healthcare organizations need to be proactive in planning for the future.

Expanding the capacity of nursing schools is another essential element in preparing the workforce for coming changes, especially if the healthcare system evolves to the point where it needs more advanced practice nurses. There will be a need to educate even more nurses, and capacity would continue to be a problem.

That means that many healthcare organizations may be scrambling to fill vacancies and to develop creative and efficient strategies to deliver patient care.

We link to this article in Healthcare Briefings for more.

CNN posted an interesting article on 12/23/09 that echoed what all of us have been saying in healthcare immigration and staffing, that the USA is facing an ever worsening nursing shortage as the population grows older.

Here are some of the comments:

America has had a nursing shortage for years, said Peter Buerhaus, workforce analyst at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn. But by 2025, the country will be facing a shortfall of 260,000 RNs, he said.  “In a few short years, just under four out of 10 nurses will be over the age of 50,” said Buerhaus. “They’ll be retiring out in a decade. And we’re not replacing these nurses even as the demand for them will be growing.”

Barry Pactor, international director of global health care for consulting company HCL International, agrees that more nurses should be trained within the U.S. system. But as a short term solution for this “huge shortage,” he said the U.S. government should loosen immigration restrictions on foreign health care workers.

“I don’t see this as foreign nurses taking American jobs, because these are vacancies that already exist and cannot be [filled] by nurses currently in training,” he said. “We’d be filling in the gaps until the training can catch up with the demand.” 

The January edition of our InFOCUS news and podcast is now available.  Hope you enjoy it!

DHS employees are being asked to volunteer for assignments at U.S. diplomatic missions to help State Department officials review applications for visas.

The assignments, “some of which are located in high-threat areas,” would last at least 30 days, the notice states.

ICE agents already are posted in a dozen countries to weed out applications from potential terrorists or criminals, but the new notice seeks people to conduct in-depth background checks and write intelligence reports. Federal officials told CNN they would back up State Department officials who lack law-enforcement experience to look for security threats.

After meeting with his homeland security and counterterrorism team Tuesday, Obama told reporters that the government “has to do better” to stop attacks like the December 25 attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Additionally, U.S. anti-terrorism officials are pushing to get more air marshals on American jetliners and beef up efforts to screen visa applicants overseas after some stinging criticism from President Obama.

Internal notices issued Tuesday and Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security is asking employees to step up to train as air marshals and to serve at U.S. diplomatic posts abroad. Both moves follow Obama’s call for immediate reforms to prevent the kind of “potentially disastrous” failure involved in the unsuccessful attempt to bomb a U.S. jetliner on Christmas Day.