employment visa

Don’t Miss the H-1B Deadline!

Ann Buwalda employment visa, H-1B ,

The April 1, 2016 deadline for filing H-1B petitions for the upcoming fiscal year is quickly approaching.  Don’t miss it!

The H-1B visa program is the most practical way for U.S. businesses to hire foreign professional workers.  This visa is for specialty occupations that require a bachelor’s degree in a specialty field or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.   Employment under the H-1B visa may be approved for three years and can be extended for another three year increment, totaling a maximum of six years.  Certain H-1B holders pursuing a green card are eligible to extend the visa beyond the 6 year limitation.

H-1B petitions may not be filed year-round.   This particular visa type has a numerical limit that USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) accepts every fiscal year.  The number is referred to as the “cap” and is currently 65,000 for regular H-1B applicants plus an additional 20,000 H-1B visas under the Master’s degree cap exemption.

USCIS will begin accepting H-1B applications on April 1 and will continue to accept filings for the subsequent five business days.  Most years, the cap is met within those first few days and many more petitions are filed than visas exist.  If more than 65,000 petitions are received during the first week of April, USCIS performs a computerized lottery to randomly select the petitions to review.  Those not selected are returned along with the filing fees.

For F-1 students with OPT (Optional Practical Training), a timely H-1B filing will extend your OPT until the H-1B employment start date of October 1.  Please consult with a lawyer for more details and options.

U.S. employers must plan ahead to avoid missing the H-1B filing deadline.  There are certain prerequisites for filing an H-1B petition with USCIS, and U.S. employers are encouraged to contact an immigration lawyer as early as possible.

The experienced attorneys at Just Law International, P.C. are  fully equipped to serve you in preparing and filing H-1B petitions.  Please contact us and schedule a consultation to discuss further details and options.

Please consult an attorney for advice about your individual situation.  The information provided on this site is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be.  You are welcome to get in touch with our law firm by electronic mail, letters, or phone calls.  Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.  Until an attorney-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information.

USCIS Acquiesces to Shalom Pentecostal Case Invalidating Legal Status Requirements for Special Immigrant Religious Workers

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On July 5, 2015, USCIS issued an important Policy Memorandum acquiescing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decision in Shalom Pentecostal, stating that USCIS will no longer require a beneficiary to have held lawful U.S. immigration status or employment authorization while he/she acquired qualifying 2-year religious work experience in the U.S. prior to filing the I-360 special immigrant religious worker visa petition.  The Policy Memorandum was issued to USCIS adjudicators nationwide and applies to all pending special immigrant religious worker petitions as well as new petitions filed on or after July 5, 2015.  The Memorandum is in effect until new regulations are enacted by DHS.

This Memorandum follows a significant decision issued on April 7, 2015, in which the Third Circuit in Shalom Pentecostal Church v. Acting Secretary DHS, 783 F. 3d 156 (3d Circ. 2015), found the lawful immigration status requirements in 8 CFR 204.5(m)(4) and (11) inconsistent with the clear and unambiguous intent of Congress as evidenced in the plain language of the statute at 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(C), and therefore beyond DHS’s legal authority to mandate (ultra vires).  As a result of the decision, USCIS is unable to apply the legal status requirements of 8 CFR 204.5(m)(4) and (11) to cases arising in the Third Circuit, and with additional federal courts reaching the same outcome, USCIS decided in July to acquiesce to the finding in Shalom Pentecostal in order to “promote consistent adjudications and a nationally uniform immigration policy.”

Although a beneficiary of the special immigrant religious worker visa petition is no longer precluded from eligibility for the I-360 visa with qualifying religious work experience acquired in the U.S. without lawful status or employment authorization, the beneficiary must, nonetheless, meet eligibility requirements of section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to successfully adjust status to permanent resident.  If you would like a consultation regarding your eligibility for the special immigrant religious worker visa, please contact us to speak with our experienced attorneys.

Please consult an attorney for advice about your individual situation.  The information provided on this site is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be.  You are welcome to get in touch with our law firm by electronic mail, letters, or phone calls.  Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.  Until an attorney-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information.

UPDATE: USCIS Now Accepting EAD Applications for Certain H-4 Spouses

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USCIS is now accepting applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from H-4 dependent spouses.  To qualify for work authorization, the H-4 dependent must be the spouse of an H-1B holder with an approved immigration petition or who has been granted H-1B status beyond the 6 year limit based on AC 21.  (Please refer to our previous blog post here for more information regarding eligibility for this program.)

As we reported in our previous blog post, found here, on April 23, 2015, a lawsuit was filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to invalidate the new H-4 Spouse EAD program.  At this time, the lawsuit does not have any impact on the program, and we at Just Law International, P.C., are moving forward with H-4 Spouse EAD applications as planned.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information and to schedule a consultation regarding your eligibility for an EAD application.

Please consult an attorney for advice about your individual situation.  The information provided on this site is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be.  You are welcome to get in touch with our law firm by electronic mail, letters, or phone calls.  Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.  Until an attorney-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information.

Lawsuit filed to challenge USCIS’ H-4 Spouse EAD program

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On February 24, 2015, USCIS announced that it would expand eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to certain H-4 spouses whose primary H-1B holders have an approved immigration petition or have been granted H-1B status beyond the 6 year limit based on AC 21.  (Please refer to our previous blog post here for more information regarding eligibility for this program.)

On April 23, 2015, “SAVE Jobs USA,” a group of former SCE employees filed a declaratory suiH4 lawsuitt against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to invalidate the new H-4 Spouse EAD program, which is scheduled to take effect on May 26, 2015.  (See Save Jobs USA v. DHS, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-615, United States District for District of Columbia.)

SAVE Jobs USA contends that its members will be injured by the H-4 Spouse EAD program because they will be forced into greater competition with foreign workers for jobs.  The complaint alleges that DHS acted arbitrarily and capriciously by authorizing the program, and that “the H-4 rule is in excess of DHS authority and directly contradicts several provisions of Immigration and Nationality Act.”  According to the May 2015 court calendar, no hearing has been scheduled in the matter.

At this time, the lawsuit does not have any immediate impact on the program and it will still take effect on May 26, 2015.  However, if the court grants a preliminary injunction, the program will be temporarily suspended as in the case of the new DAPA program and expanded DACA.

We at Just Law International, P.C., will continue to provide updates on the pending lawsuit and the H-4 Spouse EAD program.  Until the court makes a decision regarding the preliminary injunction, we will move forward with H-4 Spouse EAD applications as planned.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information and to schedule a consultation regarding your eligibility for an EAD application.

Please consult an attorney for advice about your individual situation.  The information provided on this site is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be.  You are welcome to get in touch with our law firm by electronic mail, letters, or phone calls.  Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.  Until an attorney-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information.

Beware of H-1B Deadline

Ann Buwalda employment visa, H-1B , , ,

The H-1B visa program is the most practical way for US businesses to hire foreign professional workers.  This visa is for specialty occupations that require a bachelor’s degree in a specialty field or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.   Employment under the H-1B visa may be approved for three years and can be extended for another three year increment, totaling a maximum of six years.  Certain H-1B holders pursuing a green card are eligible to extend the visa beyond the 6 year limitation.

April 1Please keep in mind that H-1B petitions may not be filed year-round.   This particular visa type has a numerical limit that USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) accepts every fiscal year.  The number is called the “cap” and the current annual cap is 65,000 for regular H-1B applicants plus an additional 20,000 H-1B visas are available as the Master’s degree cap exemption.  This means that USCIS accepts only the first 85,000 petitions from US employers annually.  USCIS will begin accepting H-1B applications on April 1 and will continue to accept filings for the subsequent five business days.  Most years, the cap is not only met within those first few days of the open, about three times the number of H-1B petitions are filed than visas exist.  If more than 65,000 petitions are received during the first week of April, USCIS performs a computerized lottery to randomly select the petitions to review.  Non-selected petitions are returned along with filing fees uncashed.  The cap-subject H-1B employment starts on October 1.

For F-1 students with OPT (Optional Practical Training), timely H-1B filing will extend your OPT until the H-1B start date of October 1.  Please consult with a lawyer for more details and options.

US employers must plan ahead to avoid missing the H-1B filing deadline.  There are certain prerequisites to file an H-1B petition with USCIS, and US employers are encouraged to contact an immigration lawyer as early as possible.

The experienced attorneys at Just Law International, P.C. are  fully equipped to serve you in preparing and filing H-1B petitions.  Please contact us and schedule a consultation to discuss further details and options.

Please consult an attorney for advice about your individual situation.  The information provided on this site is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be.  You are welcome to get in touch with our law firm by electronic mail, letters, or phone calls.  Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.  Until an attorney-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information.