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January 25, 2011  

Latest H-1B Cap Count – Almost Finished

FY 2011 H-1B Cap Count

Cap Type

Cap Amount

Cap Eligible Petitions

Petition Target


Date of Last Count

H-1B Regular Cap

65,000

62,800

 

1/21/2011

H-1B Master’s Exemption

20,000

20,000

 

1/21/2011

 

January 13, 2011  

‘US violated GATS by increasing H1B, L1 visa fee’ – Via The Economic Times

Via The Economic Times

An article in the Economic Times discusses the findings of a think-tank which indicated that the United States may have violated its obligations unde the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) by the newly implemented H and L fee increase for certain US Petitioners,  “As a result, a WTO Member whose companies use H-1B and L-1 visas to perform services in the United States may challenge this provision at the World Trade Organization.”
November 8, 2010  

Legal Action Center Argues H-1B Employees Should Not Face Arrest While Extension Requests Remain Pending

November 8, 2010
 
Washington D.C. – Late last week, the Legal Action Center of the American Immigration Council (LAC), together with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), filed an amicus briefarguing that an H-1B employee should not face arrest, detention or deportation after his initial period of admission expires if a pending extension request remains under review. The brief, filed in federal district court in Connecticut, maintains that H-1B employers who follow the law should not lose valuable employees because of widespread delays at immigration processing centers.”Both existing law and common sense dictate that the government cannot sit on an employer’s H-1B extension request and then arrest the employee due to its own processing delays,” said Melissa Crow, director of the Legal Action Center.

 

The LAC filed the brief on behalf of a Lebanese national represented by the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.  The plaintiff was gainfully employed when his employer requested an H-1B extension in early 2004, more than a month before the deadline.Though his employer paid a $1,000 “premium processing” fee to obtain a decision within fifteen business days, the government neither approved nor denied the application and refused to respond to requests for information.Nearly seven months after the extension request was filed, but before DHS had decided it, immigration agents arrested the plaintiff for allegedly “overstaying” his visa. 

 

While federal law permits H-1B employees to remain in the United States for up to six years, the government grants visas for only three years at a time. Typically, the government may seek to remove noncitizens who overstay a temporary visa. But a federal regulation specifically permits an H-1B employee to continue working for up to 240 days after his initial period of admission expires so long as his employer filed an extension request before that period ended. 

 

In the amicus brief, LAC and AILA argue that the automatic extension of work authorization should prevent the government from arresting H-1B employees while their employers’ extension requests remain pending. With supportive declarations from three prominent companies that rely on H-1B workers, the brief further argues that subjecting noncitizens in the plaintiff’s position to arrest would threaten to disrupt key sectors of the U.S. economy and undermine the goals of the H-1B program.  


 ###
 
For more information contact Wendy Sefsaf at 202-507-7524 or wsefsaf@immcouncil.org

___________________________________________________________________________

 

The Legal Action Center strives to increase the accountability of government agencies that administer the immigration laws and to ensure these laws are interpreted and implemented in a way that honors fundamental constitutional and human rights. The LAC engages in impact litigation, appears as amicus curiae (friend of the court) before administrative tribunals and federal courts in significant immigration cases on targeted legal issues, and has long worked to protect the right to counsel for noncitizens facing removal from the United States. 

October 8, 2010  

H-1B worker faces 10 years in prison for creating logic bomb attack on former employer Fannie Mae IT systems

VIA http://www.thetechherald.com


“Rajendrasinh Babubha Makwana, a Fannie Mae contractor indicted earlier this year for creating a logic bomb after being terminated from his job, was found guilty this week by a federal jury in Maryland. The initial indictment raised several issues, including calls to examine the H1B Visa program, but the real problem was policy failure.

During the Makwana indictment, the court said that if the logic bomb had been successful, it would have “caused millions of dollars of damage and reduced if not shutdown operations at [Fannie Mae] for at least one week.”

…

Makwana now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has scheduled sentencing for December 8, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.”

October 8, 2010  

Amendments on H1B and L1 visas blocked

Via http://profit.ndtv.com

Two amendments moved by a US Senator on restricted hiring of foreign workers and another aimed at preventing fraud and abuse of H-1B and L1 visa could not pass the Senate floor as it was was blocked by the Democratic Party.

October 8, 2010  

H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Cap Season – Latest Cap Count

FY 2011 H-1B Cap Count

Cap Type

Cap Amount

Cap Eligible Petitions

Petition Target


Date of Last Count

H-1B Regular Cap

65,000

40,600

 

10/1/2010

H-1B Master’s Exemption

20,000

14,900

 

10/1/2010

 

September 25, 2010  

“A losing game” – article by Bharat Jhunjhunwala of The Deccan Herald

Interesting article by Mr. Jhunjhunwala of the Deccan Herald, explores the potential for fallout as a result of the recent H and L petition fee increases.

September 24, 2010  

Updated USCIS H-1B Cap-Subject Petition Count

USCIS updated its count of FY2011 cap-subject H-1B petitions and advanced degree cap-exempt petitions. As of September 17, 2010, approximately 38,300 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. USCIS has receipted 14,000 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

September 24, 2010  

USCIS will provide Priority Adjudication of H-1B Cap-Gap Cases

VIA AILA

USCIS has informally advised AILA that it will prioritize the adjudication of H-1B change of status cases for F-1 cap-gap students who are otherwise prohibited from continuing employment after September 30. AILA Liaison has been coordinating with USCIS to help achieve this outcome. USCIS has the means to independently verify these cases. 
August 20, 2010  

USCIS Implements H-1B and L-1 Fee Increase According to Public Law 111-230

On Aug. 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law Public Law 111-230, which contains provisions to increase certain H-1B and L-1 petition fees. Effective immediately, Public Law 111-230 requires the submission of an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions postmarked on or after Aug. 14, 2010, and will remain in effect through Sept. 30, 2014.  

These additional fees apply to petitioners who employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50 percent of its employees in the United States in H-1B or L (including L-1A, L-1B and L-2) nonimmigrant status.  Petitioners meeting these criteria must submit the fee with an H-1B or L-1 petition filed:

  • Initially to grant an alien nonimmigrant status described in subparagraph (H)(i)(b) or (L) of section 101(a)(15), or 
  • To obtain authorization for an alien having such status to change employers. 

USCIS is in the process of revising the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129), and instructions to comply with Public Law 111-230. To facilitate implementation of Public Law 111-230, USCIS recommends that all H-1B, L-1A and L-1B petitioners, as part of the filing packet, include the new fee or a statement of other evidence outlining why this new fee does not apply.  USCIS requests that petitioners include a notation of whether the fee is required in bold capital letters at the top of the cover letter. Where USCIS does not receive such explanation and/or documentation with the initial filing, it may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) to determine whether the petition is covered by the public law. An RFE may be required even if such evidence is submitted, if questions remain.

The additional fee, if applicable, is in addition to the base processing fee, the existing Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, and any applicable American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) fee, needed to file a petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129), as well as any premium processing fees, if applicable.

USCIS will work with its stakeholders to effect a smooth transition given this legislation’s new requirements. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov.

June 25, 2010  

H-1B Recruiting Companies Sue USCIS, DHS over Changes

Eweek.com reports that H-1B recruiting firms have filed suit against USCIS, DHS over changes to the H-1B presumably related to the Neufeld Memo.  The companies indicate that the government is overstepping its mandate and burdening these specialists with an intrusive and costly ruling that they estimate will cost more than $100 million.

March 22, 2010  

AILA Memo to USCIS regarding the Neufeld Memo

AILA memo RE: Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions, Including Third-Party Site Placements; Additions to Officer’s Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 31.3(g)(15)(AFM Update AD 10-24), Donald Neufeld, Associate Director, Service Center Operations, HQ 70/6.2.8, January 8, 2010
<a href="/files/4941-4844/AILA_Memo_to_USCIS___Determining_Employer_Employee_Relationship_in_Third_party_Placement_Settings.pdf”>Read memo
March 22, 2010  

Pune Mirror story on the Neufeld Memo

I was recently interviewed by the Pune Mirror for a story on H-1B visas.

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