Immigration Visa Attorney Blog

In a down economy with higher unemployment, it is easy for programs like H-1B to be cast as standing in the way of Americans finding new and higher paying jobs. Our readers here in Columbus, Ohio have heard us challenge that narrative on a number of occasions.

And that is why a recently released study by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research has the potential to be of significant benefit in terms of public opinion on the issue.

AEI's study contains a number of eye-opening findings, foremost among them that an average of 262 new jobs for Americans can be linked to every 100 foreign-born workers graduating from U.S. universities with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The study looked at the eight-year period between 2000 and 2007.

"Immigrants with advanced degrees boost employment for US natives," the report says in its executive summary.

Continue reading "Columbus, OH Attorney: Study Details Benefit of Skilled Immigrants to Job Creation" »

A somewhat unusual idea for sidestepping U.S. visa practice has been making headlines the past few weeks. Regardless of whether it ends up becoming a reality, the existence of the plan does an excellent job of framing the modern immigration debate.

The program in question is called Blueseed. The brainchild of CEO Max Marty and President Dario Mutabdzija, the idea is a living and office space located in a large boat or barge approximately ten miles off the coast of Northern California.

It would house individuals or corporations of all nationalities and provide the ability to take day trips to California using temporary visas. "Existing visa policies were designed for a different era," Marty told the New York Times.

Continue reading "Columbus, OH Attorney on the floating, "technology incubator" " »

Readers of the blog know that reform with respect to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor and H-1B visa programs are topics we touch on rather frequently. (Entries can be found HERE and HERE.)

Which is why we find a recent speech by Michigan governor Rick Snyder incredibly positive in terms of bringing attention to what those at the state level are seeing. His remarks are especially relevant to our friends in Troy, Michigan, given the importance of job creation in the state.

In an address last week at Delta College, Snyder said he would petition Homeland Security to make permanent the EB-5 program, which is set to expire in September of 2012. "The EB-5 foreign investor program provides international investors the chance to live here by investing in Michigan's economy and creating job," he said.

EB-5 grants permanent U.S. residence to foreign nationals investing at least $1 million into a business that creates or maintains ten jobs. Other components of the program include a $500,000 category for investment in designated areas with high unemployment.

Continue reading "Michigan governor to push for EB-5, H-1B reform" »

A recent report on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) paints a disturbing picture of the how the organization charged with overseeing lawful immigration in this country operates. We feel it provides some useful insight for our readers and clients in Columbus, Ohio and Troy, Michigan.

In a report dated November 22, auditors from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that a $1.7 billion project to modernize operations at USCIS has been plagued by unreliability related to cost and planning.

In late 2008 USCIS awarded a technology and services project to IBM that was supposed to "move the agency to a new centralized and consolidated electronic environment that will enable faster, more efficient and accurate immigration benefits determination and processing." The contract was initially given $491.1 million in options for five years.

Continue reading "Columbus, OH attorney on report of USCIS mismanagement" »

Wednesday the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the H-1B visa cap number for FY 2012 has been reached.

The final receipt date for cap-subject H-1B petitions was Nov. 22, meaning new applications will not be considered. The USCIS said only petitions physically received by that date will be evaluated; postmark dates do not impact the process.

H-1B's regular cap number of 65,000 was the number reached Tuesday. The 20,000 cap master's exemption was attained in October.

The Nov. 22 date represents an almost two-month difference from FY2011. The regular cap for the previous fiscal year was reached on Jan. 26.

The USCIS' release stated that the following non-cap petitions are still being accepted:

-to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.;
-to change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
-to allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
-to allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

A few years back this blog touched on a few of the specifics connected with extending an H-1B visa beyond six years. Given how many of our clients here in the Columbus, Ohio community work closely with the visa we thought another look at this aspect would be helpful.

What is the history of 7th year H-1B extension?

Prior to 2000, if a foreign national here on an H-1B visa could not reach I-485 (permanent resident) status within six year they were required to leave the U.S. What would often happen is that delays in the permanent residence application process meant H-1B visa holders would reach the end of their six years before completion. Since the situation meant employers often lost the investment they had made in skilled employees, Congress elected to introduce AC21.

What is AC21?

In 2000 Congress passed the "American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act," or AC21. Among other things, AC21 allowed for H-1B workers to begin working for a new employer upon filing the petition instead of waiting for approval. It also provided the ability to extend the H-1B visa beyond six years if an ongoing PERM Labor Certification began at least 365 days prior to the end of the sixth year.

Continue reading "FAQ: H-1B Extensions Beyond Six Years (Part I) " »

Recently, the Department of State (DOS) has been delaying or denying the issuance of new H-1B visa stamps to H-1B non-immigrants due to questions regarding the existence of the required employer-employee relationship.These delays and denials run contrary to the established H-1B practices and requirements set forth in the law.

Sam Shihab & Associates, LLC will continue to assist its clients in resolving visa-stamp-related issues in the consulate. We believe, though, that these delays and denials are part of a greater war on the H-1B program. Keep reading for our analysis.

As we all know, the United States economy is hurting and jobs are in short supply. Thus, the idea of H-1B non-immigrant workers is very unpopular with many Americans. This unpopularity has caused a policy shift in the H-1B program. The United States Government, through the DOS and USCIS, is attempting to reduce H-1B approvals by increasing the evidentiary threshold to obtain visa stamps and petition approvals.

Much of the increased USCIS scrutiny was manifested in the January 08, 2010 Neufeld Memorandum. The Neufeld memo caused quite an uproar in that it appeared to increase scrutiny on H-1B IT contractors by increasing the amount of documentation needed to prove the existence of the employer-employee relationship required for non-immigrants. (Read some of our previous discussion of it HERE.)

Continue reading "Heightened H-1B Scrutiny Spreads to the Consulates (Part I)" »

Last month the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano unveiled changes to policy and operation the federal government hopes will increase foreign investments and help spur job creation. The moves have been praised in many circles as step in the right direction.

Although the government still hasn't addressed lingering issues with the current system it's worth making note of what to expect with these changes. It's very possible our friends in the Ohio and Michigan area could be impacted.

Though no law has been changed, a few significant differences will come in the operation of three categories -- H-1B, EB-5 and EB-2.

With H-1B, USCIS has updated its FAQs with the clarification that a "beneficiary who is the sole owner of the petitioning company may establish a valid employer-employee relationship for the purposes of qualifying for an H-1B visa."

Continue reading "Will the USCIS Job Growth Visa Initiative Make a Difference? " »

Late last month the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services released the most recent count for its H-1B visa. These numbers represent what the USCIS has received since the the FY2012 schedule began in April.

As of July 22 there have been 21,600 regular petitions accepted by the USCIS out of a total cap of 65,000. That is an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's total.

The Master's Exemption category has had 13,300 petitions accepted out of hits total cap number of 20,000. On July 15 the USCIS reported 12,800 petitions were accepted for this advanced degrees category.

These numbers are somewhat low, perhaps reflecting the economy's sluggish recovery. The positive is that it means there is still ample opportunity to qualify for a visa that begins in October of this year.

A Form-129 needs to be completed in the most complete manner possible for an applicant to have his or her best chance for the petition to be approved. Because of the emphasis the process places on accuracy we recommend seeking experienced counsel for help working through the forms.

Here is some of the most recent information regarding the controversy surrounding Indian IT giant Infosys. The actions of a large company based overseas may not initially seem relevant to the average employer or worker here in Columbus, but the way Infosys may or may not have manipulated the U.S. immigration systems could certainly have ramifications at home.

In May an attorney employed by Infosys named Jack Palmer Jr. filed a civil suit alleging his superiors at the company tried to get him to circumvent U.S. regulations regarding visas. Additionally, Palmer claimed that when he informed his employer of illegal activity it did nothing to correct the problem.

The result of Palmer coming forward is that federal prosecutors are currently assembling a case against Infosys. So far Infosys has not publicly responded to the charges, though it denied Palmer's claims in court filings. Late last month the company filed a motion compelling arbitration in the case, the result of which would be to have the case heard behind closed doors.

In his suit Palmer alleges that Infosys wanted him to help them "creatively" navigate around restrictions put in place to make acquiring H-1B visas more time-consuming. According to Palmer Infosys made the decision to use B-1 visas - easier to obtain but used primarily for shorter visits - to game the system.

Infosys, Palmer says, asked him to write letters on behalf of the workers to be used in the B-1 application process. In those letters he was to state the employees were only visiting for short periods of time, when the truth was they had full-time employment waiting in the U.S.

Palmer refused to write the letters, after which he says he was told he was "not being 'a team player.'"

Continue reading "Columbus, OH Attorney Updates the Infosys Investigation" »

Readers of this blog are aware Shihab & Associates supports reforming immigration, specifically lifting the cap on visa programs like H-1B. We feel the United States and its economy will benefit in numerous ways from the addition of more of these kinds of skilled workers.

A component of the visa debate that seems to get less discussion has to do with the families the workers bring to the U.S. To that end, the nonprofit National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) released a policy brief last month entitled: "The Impact of the Children of Immigrants on Scientific Achievement in America."

The brief focused on the Intel Science Talent Search, a 69-year old research competition that allows high school seniors to present original scientific research. Each year a small group of students are chosen as finalists, with the top-three awarded prizes totaling more than $225,000.

NFAP found that "while only 12 percent of the U.S. population is foreign-born, 70 percent of the finalists in the 2011 (Intel competition) were the children of immigrants." Additionally, 60 percent of the 40 finalists were children of parents who entered the country on H-1B visas, despite former H-1B holders making up less than one percent of the country's population.

China was the country of origin for 16 of the finalists, with ten hailing from India, one from Iran and one from South Korea. The information came from a series of interviews and follow-up interviews conducted by NFAP.

Continue reading "Study Shows Children of Immigrants Among America's Brightest." »

As with any government program, the H-1B visa system is not immune to instances of fraud or near-fraud. While such cases are not the rule when it comes to H-1B it's important those who interact with the United States be aware of what kind of malfeasance is being looked at by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Our neighbors here in central Ohio need make sure they keep abreast of what could be out out there.

The controversial organization WikiLeaks - a database dedicated to releasing private
and/or classified information - has recently published cables dealing with fraud within the H-1B application process. The cables consist primarily of anecdotal information related to the nations of Iceland, Libya and Mexico.

In April of 2009 a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said the nation had a "persistent" problem related to fraud with both H-1B and L-1. This seems to provide background for a 2008 USCIS report that found 20 percent of H-1B visas either had technical issues or were affected by fraud.

The fraud issue with Mexico seems to be almost exclusively foreign nationals looking for a way to immigrate into the U.S. Most common within that fraud is the practice of submitting falsified pay receipts to the USCIS. Additionally, applicants from Mexico exaggerate or overstate their employment background, education or the nature of their responsibilities related to future jobs.

The U.S. Embassy in Libya reported in 2009 that an H-1B applicant paid a large
sum of money online for obviously fake documents. The cable released by WikiLeaks said the applicant "believed this to be the process to obtain a work visa in the United
States."

Reports from the Reykjavik embassy were that some attorneys had attempted to bring H-1B and L-1 applicants in from other countries so they could apply in Iceland. The reason being that Iceland provided "the expectation of fast and easy issuance."

Continue reading "Columbus, OH Attorney: International Fraud and H-1B" »

As readers of this blog are aware, we're of the opinion the H-1B program is a flawed system. (Read our recent four-part analysis of H-1B HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.) Last week a key member of the United States House of Representatives offered one way to attack the situation.

During a March 31 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) brought up the possibility of limiting the number of professions which qualify for H-1B status. The thinking for Smith, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was that giving more visas to technology businesses might be the best option in the current political climate.

Smith's suggestion seems to stem from a feeling that increasing the number of H-1B visas from its current 85,000 annual cap may not be realistic.

Recent congresses have been unwilling to address small portions of the immigration issues before comprehensive immigration reform has taken place. At this point it is not known what the current Congress would support.

So while roughly half of the H-1B visas are used for tech positions such as computer programmers and IT specialists, the rest are used in industries related to fields like fashion and photography. Smith's feeling is that given the potential job-creation benefits associated with tech fields, they may be more important to the country's economy.

"There is nothing wrong with these occupations," Smith said, adding "but I'm not sure that (they) are as crucial to our success in the global economy as are computer scientists."

If other occupations are no longer eligible for H-1B, then more visas would be available for the tech industry. Focusing on scientists and engineers, Smith argued, could be a solution to the program.

Continue reading "Columbus, OH Attorney: Congressman Suggests Change to H-1B Program" »

The United Stated Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting
application for the H-1B visa Friday, April 1. Those applications cover any
employment with a starting date on or after October 1. Our office in Columbus,
Ohio can offer assistance in H-1B-related filing.

The H-1B program is applied to nonimmigrant aliens who want to work in specialty fields. The Department of Labor defines specialty as "one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent."

The program has a cap of 85,000, with 20,000 of the visas going to those with U.S. masters' degrees (or higher). The USCIC will accept applications until they have received enough cap-eligible petitions.

A more thorough overview of the H-1B program can be found HERE.

The USCIS monitors the petitions received and notifies the public when the numerical limit has been met. For FY2011 the regular cap number was reached January 26, 2011.

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, this USCIS is considering a change to the H-1B process involving an advance electronic registration. As early as FY2013, employers may be able to register petitions prior to the start of the petition filing period. The idea would be to cut down on administrative costs, as employers would be able to limit filings to those selected petitions.

The government estimates the program could save more than $23 million over the next decade. The USCIS is still seeking feedback for the proposal and those interested in comment can find information HERE.

Continue reading "Reminder: FY2012 H-1B Cap Season Begins Today" »

During our recent four-part series on the current state of H-1B visas, we touched on a few areas where the program needs evaluation and reform. We hope businesses and other interested parties here in central Ohio took a look at the posts (which can be found HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE) in order to familiarize themselves with the current state of affairs.

It seems possible that discussions this week in Washington D.C. are a step on the path to improving some of those H-1B issues we wrote about.

TechNet, a lobbying group that works on behalf of the tech industry, sent a large contingent to meet with representatives of both Congress and President Obama. Their goal was for to lobby lawmakers on a number of issues including reform of the country's visa program.

The contingent from TechNet included more than 50 representatives, including the CEO of Cisco and high-ranking officials from NASDAQ OMX and the New York Stock Exchange. They are to meet with representatives from both parties.

TechNet President and CEO Rey Ramsey said to win the future America must invest in "future discoveries that will create good paying jobs for more of our people."

"To reach that goal," Ramsey said, "we must make the smart policy choices on . . . high skilled immigration."

Continue reading "CEOs of Tech Companies Speak with Federal Legislators about H-1B" »