CBP Travel Advisory: Border Crossing from Canada to USA

CBP Travel Advisory: Border Crossing from Canada to USA With Victoria Day (May 21, 2012) holiday weekend approaching in Canada, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is anticipating a substantial...

H-1B Work Visa Cap Has Been Reached on November 23, 2011 for FY2012

H-1B Work Visa Cap Has Been Reached on November 23, 2011 for FY2012 On November 23, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the 65,000 statutory H-1B cap. Nov. 22, 2011 was the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date (October 1, 2011 or later) in Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012). Any petitions...

As of May 6, 2011: 10,200 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012

As of May 6, 2011: 10,200 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012 As of May 6, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 10,200 H-1B Regular Cap, and 7,300 H-1B Master’s Exemption. H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtain green card status. Foreign nationals...

On April 15, 2011: 7,100 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012

On April 15, 2011: 7,100 H-1B Cap Work Visas Have Been Received for FY2012 The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 7,100 H-1B Regular Cap, and 5,100 H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000, as of April 15, 2011. These numbers include cases that are still pending or have been approved but do not include petitions that have been denied. H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for foreign nationals to live and...

Updated I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Procedures

Updated I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Procedures On April 14, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has updated some of the procedures pertaining to Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. The new changes become effective on May 16, 2011. Employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United...

Cutting-Edge Proposed H-1B Electronic Registration System for H-1B Visa Cap Petitions

Cutting-Edge Proposed H-1B Electronic Registration System for H-1B Visa Cap Petitions The ground-breaking H-1B Electronic Registration System is finally being proposed for implementation for H-1B petitions that are subject to the statutory annual visa cap, after lengthy discussions. An H-1B petition is a temporary work visa for specialty occupation foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have...

H-1B Visa Cap for FY2011 Has Been Met!

H-1B petitions are temporary work visas for specialty occupation foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully gone on to apply for and obtaining green card status. On January 27, 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received sufficient H-1B cap petitions to meet the statutory cap for the fiscal year (FY) 2011. The final receipt date...

Considering Filing H-1B or L-1? Additional Fee Applies to Certain New or Change of Employer Petition (Effective August 14, 2010)

Effective August 14, 2010, there will be an additional fee for filing certain H-1B or L petitions; $2000 for H-1B and $2250 for L-1. This new fee, where applicable, is in addition to the existing government immigration fees applicable to H-1B and L-1 work visas. This new fee will remain effective until September 30, 2014. This additional fee requirement applies to new petitions and petitions to change employer filed by petitioners...

Rising Demand for Workforce, Foreign Nationals or Otherwise, As Oil Spill and Environmental Calamities Worsen in the Gulf of Mexico?

With the spread of environmental calamities as a result of the severe and continuous oil leak caused by BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico of the United States, international cooperation and efforts from various experts which include, but are not limited to the scientific, environmental, and natural oil/gas communities are more sacrosanct than ever. This oil spill disaster is expected...

Apply for H-1B Cap Work Visas Before Visa Numbers Run Out!

H-1B petitions are extremely useful for many skilled foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. for a temporary period of time. H-1B petitions are temporary work visas. Normally, H-1B petitions/work visas are approved for a maximum of 6 years (3 years each time). Many H-1B foreign nationals have successfully progressed toward applying for and obtaining green card status. As of April 27, 2010, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration...

H-1B Work Visas Still Available for Oct 1, 2010 Start-Date!

H-1B petitions are extremely useful for many skilled foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. for a temporary period of time. H-1B petitions are company-sponsored temporary work visas. Normally, these petitions are available for an eligible H-1B beneficiary for a maximum of 6 years (3 years each time). As of April 15, 2010, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 13,600 H-1B petitions that are...

Live and Work in U.S.: We Can File H-1B Cap Cases, Starting April 1, 2010!

Qualified foreign nationals who wish to live and work in the U.S. may start applying for first-time H-1B Petitions starting April 1, 2010. These H-1B Cap Petitions will have a start date of October 1, 2010 or later, and will be counted towards the annual H-1B visa quotas for the 2011 fiscal year (FY 2011). The fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2011 is 65,000; 65,000 is the annual visa cap, unless...

2010 H-1B Visa Quota Has Been Reached!

On December 21, 2009, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received sufficient new H-1B specialty occupation worker petitions to reach the statutory cap for the fiscal year 2010 (FY2010). USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B seeking an employment...

H-1B Visa Numbers Are Still Available for Foreign Nationals Who Want to Acquire Immigration Status to Work and Live in the U.S.!

Based on the calculation conducted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on August 14, 2009, visa numbers are still available for filing new H-1B Petitions. H-1B status provides immigration and work status for foreign nationals to work and live, temporarily, in the U.S. All Rights Reserved. For more information, please contact Aik Wan Kok, Immigration Attorney, at koka@tiyalaw.com, 703-772-8224 or http://www.tiyalaw.com/....

A Smooth Sail for Employers? Immigration Worksite Enforcement

As Congress continues to appropriate more money to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), employers in the U.S. will see an increase in immigration worksite enforcement in all industries, and industries involving critical infrastructure, according to officials of ICE who presided in a conference on May 28, 2009, held in affiliation with the immigration bar association. Immigration worksite enforcement (worksite enforcement)...