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The State Department has released the Diversity Visa Program details for fiscal year 2016. Registration will open at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 and will close at noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Monday, November 3, 2014. Eligible applicants must submit applications electronically—paper submissions will not be accepted. Continue reading “2016 Diversity Visa Lottery Program Details Announced”
Under the Immigrant and Nationality Act (“INA”), the hiring of a foreign worker must not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly situated U.S. workers. The INA was also designed to protect foreign workers from being exploited. To make sure that does not happen, the INA requires employers to, among other things, pay foreign workers here on H1-B visas at least the local prevailing wage. Continue reading “To Amend, or Not to Amend?”
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has changed from red to blue the color ink it uses to stamp certain documents that could be used for I-9 purposes. This would be relevant, for instance, in a scenario where you have a high population of new hires that are refugees and they provide you with a refugee document. Reviewers should note that moving forward they may see government documents with stamps in blue, red and black ink and that, just because the ink color has changed, documents may still be valid. Continue reading “USCIS Now Using New Ink Color for Certain Documents Which May be Used for Form I-9”
Quite often employers ask, “If it doesn’t work out, can we recover all the money we have spent on the H-1B process from the employee?” The short is answer to this repeatedly asked question is no. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations are clear that the employer must pay the filing fees and may not allow the worker to pay it directly, by deduction from wages or in any other fashion. DOL regulations say that the H-1B costs and fees are employer business expenses and exclude those fees and costs from the list of “authorized deductions.” (Read more about deductions for an H-1B worker’s pay.) Continue reading “A Cautionary Tale for H-1B Employers”
The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (“OCAHO”) for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”), in United States v. Clean Sweep Janitor Service, has reduced Clean Sweep’s fines from $12,623 to $6,750. Continue reading “Federal Government Fines Its Own Janitorial Service for I-9 Violations”
The increased popularity of renouncing your U.S. citizenship to avoid potential tax liabilities has resulted in a surprising fee hike by the U.S. Department of State. Although the hike is not unexpected, the fee increase of fivefold is. Sought to be a deterrent to discourage dual citizens from renouncing their U.S. citizenship, the fee increased from $450 to $2,350 on September 4, 2014. Continue reading “If You Renounce Your U.S. Citizenship, You Have to Pay the Piper”
Due to the ongoing armed conflict and the continuation of extraordinary conditions in Sudan, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Sudan for an additional 18 months, effective November 3, 2014, through May 2, 2016. Continue reading “Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Sudan”
The State Department has released the October Visa Bulletin showing the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) Category for India with a priority date of May 1, 2009. Based on current demand, it is expected that the priority date could retrogress as far back as 2005, possibly as early as November. The high number of Indian-born applicants “upgrading” their filings from EB-3 to EB-2 is a major factor in the impending retrogression. Continue reading “EB-2 India: Retrogression Expected”
On September 15, 2014, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has released “Frequently Asked Questions” and “How Do I” guides for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Please visit Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and follow the links for the new multilingual guides. These may also be accessed in Spanish at www.uscis.gov/acciondiferida. Continue reading “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) FAQs and How To Guides Now Available in Multiple Languages”
EB-5 Immigrant Visas for Chinese nationals have been depleted through fiscal year 2014, but remain current for the new fiscal year beginning October 1. However, based on the assumption that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) will continue to approve EB-5 cases at the current rate, it is predicted that a cut-off date will be imposed during the second half of the fiscal year, possibly as early as May 2015. Continue reading “Immigrant Visas for EB-5 China Depleted”