The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of September 24, 2010, 39,600 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of September 24, 2010, 14,400 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office investigated Smartsoft International Inc, a computer consulting company based in Georgia and found the company was not paying their 135 nonimmigrant workers their earned wages as required under the H-1B regulations. The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program sets certain standards to both protect nonimmigrant and US workers; as a part of those standards the company was suppose to pay the nonimmigrant workers at least the equivalent of what other U.S. workers were being paid that had similar knowledge and skill. The Wage and Hour investigator discovered through their investigation that the company had violated the H-1B regulations. Specifically, some employees were not paid any wages at the beginning of their employment, were paid on a part-time basis despite being hired under a full time employment agreement, and were paid less than the prevailing wage applicable to the geographic locations where they performed their work. Accordingly, the investigation has led Smartsoft International to agree to pay their workers around 1 million dollars in back wages.
The H-1B system enables United States employers to seek highly skilled foreigner workers from around the world to increase productivity and develop new innovations within their fields, which ultimately helps the U.S. economy. In return, the U.S. remains at the forefront of technology among other nations of the world, and continues as a major competitor in all other fields. The system was designed to protect both U.S. and foreign workers by: (1) including labor certifications and attestations; (2) implementing costly filing fees, (3) requiring extensive background documentation/proof; and (4) conducting on-site employer investigations and continuous oversight by several federal agencies, as previously stated.
The majority of U.S. employers who utilize the H-1B visa system do obey employment and immigration laws. The employers that abuse the system cause the perception that the system is corrupt, abusive, and a strain on the U.S. economy.
MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, October 1st, 2010
We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
In the recent Court Case (No. 10-22072) Gerardo Alvarado sued Carlos Albizu University for breach of contract and “breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.” He was working at the University on an H-1B visa in 2006 when he was promoted to Interim Director of the Business Program at the Miami Campus in 2007. His salary was increased from $75,000 to $95,000 per year. The University also agreed to sponsor Alvarado’s permanent labor certification in order for him to keep working past December of 2009. When the Director of Recruitment and Admissions stepped down, Alvarado was asked by the University to take over the position that had a salary less than his current job. When he asked for additional money the University refused saying it was already paying for attorney costs and fees for his labor certification.
Alvarado said the University violated § 1589(a) (3) and (4), alleging they used his pending labor certification as a means of force/abuse to obtain his “labor”. He believed that if he did not take this new job with the lower salary he would lose his visa and not obtain a permanent labor certification.
The Southern Florida District Court decided Alvarado’s claims failed. His arguments were “inconsistent with the definition of abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process,” he merely proved the University violated the law. The court concluded that even though the University violated the regulation it did not use it as a “tool of coercion.” The University’s Motion to Dismiss was GRANTED.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of September 17, 2010, 38,300 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of September 17, 2010, 14,000 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right that any person born in the United States is a citizen no matter the status of their parents. Over the years the Supreme Court has upheld birthright citizenship in cases like Plyler v. Doe and Unites States v. Wong Kim Ark. Recently, this right has been questioned by the anti-immigrant groups who have been introducing bills in Congress that would end the right to birthright citizenship.
The elimination of birthright citizenship would only make the growing problem of illegal immigrants worse and also make it harder for Americans to prove their citizenship. If the new laws proposed were passed, the children born in the United States to illegal immigrants would not have U.S. citizenship nor the citizenship of their parent’s country creating even more problems. This issue would not only affect illegal immigrants but also temporary workers in the United States on H-1B, F1, E1, E2, L1, L2, and many other temporary visa status’, not to mention those awaiting a Green Card on another status such as AOS/EAD.
Comprehensive immigration reform that solves the root causes of undocumented immigration is necessary to resolve our immigration problems, not amending the U.S. Constitution.
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on September 15, 2010 with processing dates as of July 31, 2010.
If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
Question #1 – Employment Based Immigration – Green Card – EAD Renewal
I filed for my EAD renewal back in August 2010 and it is still pending. My current EAD expires next week. What are my options moving forward – can I expedite the EAD since my card is expiring? What can I do I can’t risk losing my current job?
Answer #1
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of September 10, 2010, 37,400 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of September 10, 2010, 13,700 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, September 17, 2010
We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog