Catch-22: Potential Nonimmigrant Visa Issues Employers Should Be Aware Because of COVID-19 Related Furloughs and Shut Downs

What employers are going through today is something that hasn’t been seen in more than a century. To stem the tide of a global pandemic, more and more state and local governments are entering “Stay at Home” or “Shelter in Place” orders requiring businesses to shut down and close their doors. Continue reading “Catch-22: Potential Nonimmigrant Visa Issues Employers Should Be Aware Because of COVID-19 Related Furloughs and Shut Downs”

Planning Ahead: H-1Bs for FY2017

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

As a reminder to all U.S. employers, H-1B season is almost here! United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will start accepting new H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2017 on Friday, April 1, 2016. As such, employers should start immediately identifying current and future employees who will require sponsorship for new H-1B petitions. Continue reading “Planning Ahead: H-1Bs for FY2017”

Client Alert: Amended Petitions Required When Relocating H-1B Employees

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

Most business immigration practitioners tell H-1B employers an amended or new H-1B petition, along with a corresponding Labor Condition Application (LCA), is required whenever there is a material change in the terms and conditions of employment. But whether a change in the employment location constitutes a material change requiring an amended petition has been a topic of much discussion. Continue reading “Client Alert: Amended Petitions Required When Relocating H-1B Employees”

Adjudication of H-2B Petitions Temporarily Suspended

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

On March 4, 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) suffered a major blow as result of a ruling by a federal district court in the Northern District of Florida.  Specifically, in Perez v. Perez, No. 3:14-cv-682 (N.D. Fla. Mar. 4, 2015), the court ruled that DOL lacked the authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to issue regulations in the H-2B program. Continue reading “Adjudication of H-2B Petitions Temporarily Suspended”

Navigating H-1B Requirements: The Existence of a Valid Employer-Employee Relationship

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

To obtain an H-1B visa, a petitioner must establish that it will have an employment relationship with the beneficiary. While this seems like a very simple and easy enough thing to do, the problem is that in an employment relationship things are not always black and white. Continue reading “Navigating H-1B Requirements: The Existence of a Valid Employer-Employee Relationship”

To Amend, or Not to Amend?

Ramos_Maria
Maria del Carmen Ramos

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?”

A Cautionary Tale for H-1B Employers

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

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”