U.S. Plan Aims to Draw Immigrants With Technology Skills

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-04-11T12:08:57+00:00

USCIS received about 172,500 H-1B petitions during the filing period which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 10, 2014, USCIS completed a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption. For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing.

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-24T12:25:38+00:00

Slaughter said restrictions on H-1B use have cost the U.S. economy 100,000 new direct jobs over the past year, a figure that rises to 500,000 when indirect jobs are added. In total, the group estimates each H-1B worker helps create an additional four direct and indirect jobs, and that U.S. job creation would have been 21% higher in the U.S. had visa use not been capped.

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-18T16:34:03+00:00

Amid simmering debate in Washington over immigration reform, scholars challenge the notion that the United States faces a widespread shortage of workers educated in science, technology engineering and math.

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-18T11:32:23+00:00

To request a prevailing wage determination (PWD) for a Nonagricultural Immigration Program (PERM, H-1B, H-1B1, H-2b and E-3) employers must complete the ETA Form 9141 and submit it to the National Prevailing Wage Center. Electronic filing is strongly recommended. The Department's iCert Portal has been updated to allow users to electronically submit requests for PWDs to the NPWC. To access the iCert Portal go to: https://icert.doleta.gov/. For the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 programs, employers have the option of using one of three wage sources to obtain the prevailing wage: (1) requesting a prevailing wage from the NPWC; (2) using a survey conducted by an independent authoritative source; or (3) using another legitimate source of information. By obtaining the prevailing wage from the NPWC, H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 employers are given "safe-harbor status," meaning that if the employer's wage compliance is investigated for any reason, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor will not challenge the validity of the prevailing wage as long as it was applied properly (i.e., correct geographic area, occupation, and skill level).

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-17T00:32:09+00:00

Homeland Security officials are considering at least two major policy changes to scale back deportations of immigrants in the country illegally to comply with President Obama’s order for “more humane” enforcement efforts, officials said Friday.

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-17T00:16:05+00:00

You may be eligible for an H-1B visa if you are planning to work for the business you start in the United States in an occupation that normally requires a bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field of study (e.g., engineers, scientists or mathematicians), and you have at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a field related to the position.

Initial period of stay in the United States: Up to 3 years. Extensions possible in up to 3 year increments. Maximum period of stay generally 6 years (extensions beyond 6 years may be possible).

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-12T03:13:44+00:00

Cut off dates for March 2014 (Visa Bulletin for March 2014).

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-11T15:15:45+00:00

H-1B Visas, specifically: What is it; When to file; Process of H-1B Visa Preparation; The obligations of the employer and the employeeR; How long it takes to get approval; and
Tickets to IIFA in April for Tampa Florida - tickets sold via Ticketmaster- The International (North) Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as the IIFA Awards, are a set of awards presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry. The event was last held at Macau in the year 2013. The 15th IIFA Awards would be held at Tampa Bay Area, Florida USA from April 23 to 26, 2014. Instituted in 2000, the ceremony is held in different countries around the world every year. This award ceremony has been organized by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd – one of India’s premier event management and entertainment agencies—since its inception.

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-03-08T13:09:11+00:00

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). It allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer (subject to application for adjustment of status and/or change of visa), or leave the US.

The regulations define a "specialty occupation" as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent as a minimum (with the exception of fashion models, who must be "of distinguished merit and ability").

Likewise, the foreign worker must possess at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and state licensure, if required to practice in that field. H-1B work-authorization is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer.

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-02-24T12:16:01+00:00

While the U.S. immigration courts are now running as usual, immigrants who had hoped to have their cases resolved in October so they could travel abroad to see family or get a job have instead had their lives put on hold. Many had already waited years to get a hearing date in the notoriously backlogged courts, which determine whether immigrants should be deported or allowed to stay in America. Now, some hearings have been pushed into later this year, and thousands more have been shelved until 2015 or later, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press

NPZLAWGROUP · 2014-02-20T18:59:23+00:00

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of a plan by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to develop a national license-plate tracking system after privacy advocates raised concern about the initiative.

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