On Thursday, April 23, 2009, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin and Senator Chuck Grassley introduced the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act. This bipartisan legislation would reform the current H-1B and L-1 guest worker programs to prevent abuse and fraud, and to protect American workers. This legislation calls for…
On April 20, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. USCIS has received 44,000 H-1B nonimmigrant visa petitions. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions until the cap is reached. Additionally, USCIS…
According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), several United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) service centers have begun to issue Requests for Additional Evidence (RFEs) for all H-1B petitioning employers who did not include the TARP recipient funding page of Form I-129, Data Collection with their H-1B FY…
On April 10, 2009, the Department of Labor (DOL) released new information and materials on the New iCert System which covers the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programs. The New iCert system will be implemented beginning April 15, 2009. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) the New iCert…
Regular Petitions Subject to Cap As of April 9, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have received approximately 42, 000 H-1B nonimmigrant petitions counting toward the congressionally mandated 65,000 cap. The USCIS has indicated that they will continue to accept H-1B petitions subject to the cap. Advanced…
The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) International is an internationally recognized authority on credentials evaluations and verification pertaining to the education, registration, and licensure of nurses and health care professionals worldwide. CGFNS International is a leader in the industry with extensive knowledge of the profession and over…
Many employers have been questioning whether the regulation governing the “lottery” system will apply to this year’s H-1B cap. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has provided that the lottery will apply this year. In accordance with the regulation, the USCIS randomly selects the number of petition’s necessary…
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) recently released some guidance regarding the Stimulus Bill, which contains the “Employ American Worker Act” (EAWA) and its effect upon the H-1B visa petition. If the company was a recipient of the funds distributed through the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP), EAWA…
The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program is designed to allow alien beneficiaries to enter the country and begin working for a U.S. employer for a period of three years. The sponsoring employer or a new employer may renew the H-1B visa for another period of three years. In other words, the…
The Department of Labor will soon implement a new integrated online system – known as the iCert Portal – through which employers will submit applications for permanent labor certification, labor condition applications (LCAs) and other applications for immigration-related DOL programs. In addition, the agency will introduce new editions of Form…