The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed substantial revisions to Form 9035 (and its instructions), Labor Condition Application, which is used to support a number of employment-based visas, including H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3. The proposed changes to the form are significant in many respects -- the government now requires all LCA beneficiaries (up to 10 [...]
Our office handles a substantial number of H-1B work visa petitions for a variety of U.S. employers and we often share our direct experiences with the H-1B work visa program. This article is intended to share our experience with H-1B work visa petitions where there is a change of the job location once the H-1B [...]
USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas just announced a number of initiatives intended to boost the ability of immigrant entrepreneurs to obtain immigrant benefits for themselves, as part of the Obama administration's goal to boost hiring and jobs. Director Mayorkas has announced a number of initiatives and "clarifications" of existing temporary and permanent work visas which should [...]
One of the most popular U.S. work visas, the H-1B, will start accepting filings for new H-1B employment on April 1, in exactly one week. Pursuant to each yearly H-1B quota, new H-1B filings can be filed on April 1, at the earliest, for a starting date of employment on or after October 1. The [...]
The American Immigration Lawyers' Association (AILA) has provided some guidance and information from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Newark, New Jersey airport. Background Starting in December of 2009, our office has been receiving alerts from current and prospective clients about a number of incidents where holders of valid H-1B stamps were questioned and, [...]
The H-1B regulations impose certain additional recruitment and attestation requirements to so called “H-1B dependent employers.” Therefore, it becomes to understand the definition of H-1B dependent employer. Definition of H-1B Dependent Employer Pursuant to 20 CFR 655.736, an H-1B dependent employer is one which meets one of the following standards: The employer has 25 or fewer full-time equivalent [...]
The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (”ICE”) has released a supplemental guidance sheet with respect to gap-cap extensions available to holders of F-1 status who work pursuant to their optional practical training and who are beneficiaries of a cap-subject H-1B work visa petition. The guidance sheet is helpful in not only describing in more detail what [...]
The Nebraska and Texas Service Centers (NSC and TSC, respectively) have informed that they will start issuing denials on pending I-485 upon denial of the underlying I-140 petition. Until now, USCIS has a policy from a Memorandum of Feb. 28, 2003 from William R. Yates, “Procedures for Concurrently Filed Family-Based or Employment-Based Form I-485 when the [...]