sheela
09-23 10:09 AM
[QUOTE=smartboy75;292226]09/22/2008: USCIS Ombudsman Assistance Available for EAD Delay Cases
I appreciate your posting this useful info and gave you green.
Is there a 'response time' from Ombudsman office?.
I appreciate your posting this useful info and gave you green.
Is there a 'response time' from Ombudsman office?.
wallpaper Will.i.am Readies Fourth Solo
h1bemployee
02-26 10:41 AM
When was your H1-B amendment denied?
What is your current LCA salary vs. original LCA Salary?
10 days back My employer called me and asked provide some more documents , so that they can appeal to USCIS....
I was working on getting those documents, I was in constant touch with my employer...
two days back , he suddenly called me and said that as amandment is denied I have to leave US with in next two weeks and they don't want to appeal against the RFE denyl
What is your current LCA salary vs. original LCA Salary?
10 days back My employer called me and asked provide some more documents , so that they can appeal to USCIS....
I was working on getting those documents, I was in constant touch with my employer...
two days back , he suddenly called me and said that as amandment is denied I have to leave US with in next two weeks and they don't want to appeal against the RFE denyl
buddhaas
02-02 03:57 PM
Why Is H-1B A Dirty Word?
By Eleanor Pelta, AILA First Vice President
H-1B workers certainly seem to be under fire these days on many fronts. A new memo issued by USCIS on the employer-employee relationship imposes new extra-regulatory regulations on the types of activities in which H-1B workers can engage as well as the types of enterprises that can petition for H-1B workers. The memo targets the consulting industry directly, deftly slips in a new concept that seems to prohibit H-1B petitions for employer-owners of businesses, and will surely constitute an open invitation to the Service Centers to hit H-1B petitioners with a new slew of kitchen-sink RFE's. On another front, USCIS continues to make unannounced H-1B site visits, often repeatedly to the same employer. Apart from the "in-terrorem" impact of such visits, I personally cannot see the utility of three different visits to the same employer, particularly after the first one or two visits show that the employer is fully compliant.
But USCIS isn't the only agency that is rigorously targeting H-1B's. An AILA member recently reported that CBP pulled newly-arrived Indian nationals holding H-1B visas out of an immigration inspection line and reportedly placed them in Expedited Removal. The legal basis of those actions is still unclear. However, the tactic is too close to racial profiling for my own comfort.
Finally, recent H-1B "skirmishes" include various U.S. consular posts in India issuing "pink letters" that are, simply put, consular "RFE's" appearing to question the bona fides of the H-1B and requesting information on a host of truly repetitive and/or irrelevant topics. Much of the information that is routinely requested on a pink letter is already in the copy of the H-1B visa petition. Some of the letters request payroll information for all employees of the sponsoring company, a ridiculous request in most instances, particularly for major multi-national companies. One of the most frustrating actions we are seeing from consular officers in this context is the checking off or highlighting of every single category of additional information on the form letter, whether directly applicable or not, in effect a "paper wall" that must be overcome before an applicant can have the H-1B visa issued. Very discouraging to both employer and employee.
How have we come to a point in time where the H-1B category in and of itself is so disdained and mistrusted? Of course I'm aware that instances of fraud have cast this category in a bad light. But I think that vehemence of the administrative attack on the H-1B category is so disproportionate to the actual statistics about fraud. And interestingly, the disproportionate heavy-handed administrative reaction comes not from the agency specifically tasked with H-1B enforcement—the Department of Labor—but from CIS, CBP and State. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and ask myself what makes people so darn angry about a visa category that, at bottom, is designed to bring in relatively tiny number of really smart people to work in U.S. businesses of any size. It has to be a reaction against something else.
Yes, a great number of IT consultants come to the US on H-1B's. It is important to remember that so many of these individuals are extremely well-educated, capable people, working in an industry in which there are a large number of high profile players. And arguably, the high profile consulting companies have the most at stake if they do not focus on compliance, as they are the easiest enforcement target and they need their business model to work in the U.S. in order to survive. Some people may not like the business model, although arguably IT consulting companies provide needed services that allow US businesses, such as banks and insurance companies to focus on their own core strengths. Like it or not, though, this business model is perfectly legal under current law, and the agencies that enforce our immigration laws have no business trying to eviscerate it by policy or a pattern of discretionary actions.
It is true that some IT consulting companies' practices have been the focus of fraud investigations. But DOL has stringent rules in place to deal with the bad guys. Benching H-1B workers without pay, paying below the prevailing wage, sending H-1B workers on long-term assignments to a site not covered by an LCA—these are the practices we most often hear about, and every single one of these is a violation of an existing regulation that could be enforced by the Department of Labor. When an employer violates wage and hour rules, DOL investigates the practices and enforces the regulations against that employer. But no one shuts down an entire industry as a result.
And the IT consulting industry is not the only user of the H-1B visa. Let's not forget how many other critical fields use H-1B workers. In my own career alone, I have seen H-1B petitions for nanoscientists, ornithologists, CEO's of significant not for profit organizations, teachers, applied mathematicians, risk analysts, professionals involved in pharmaceutical research and development, automotive designers, international legal experts, film editors, microimaging engineers. H-1B's are valuable to small and large businesses alike, arguably even more to that emerging business that needs one key expert to develop a new product or service and get the business off the ground.
The assault on H-1B's is not only offensive, it's dangerous. Here's why:
* H-1B's create jobs—statistics show that 5 jobs are created in the U.S. for every H-1B worker hired. An administrative clamp-down in the program will hinder this job creation. And think about the valuable sharing of skills and expertise between H-1B workers and U.S. workers—this is lost when companies are discouraged from using the program.
* The anti-H-1B assault dissuades large businesses from conducting research and development in the US, and encourages the relocation of those facilities in jurisdictions that are friendlier to foreign professionals.
* The anti-H-1B assault chills the formation of small businesses in the US, particularly in emerging technologies. This will most certainly be one of the long-term results of USCIS' most recent memo.
* The attack on H-1B's offends our friends and allies in the world. An example: Earlier this year India –one of the U.S.'s closest allies --announced new visa restrictions on foreign nationals working there. Surely the treatment of Indian national H-1B workers at the hands of our agencies involved in the immigration process would not have escaped the attention of the Indian government as they issued their own restrictions.
* The increasing challenges in the H-1B program may have the effect of encouraging foreign students who were educated in the U.S. to seek permanent positions elsewhere.
Whatever the cause of the visceral reaction against H-1B workers might be—whether it stems from a fear that fraud will become more widespread or whether it is simply a broader reaction against foreign workers that often raises its head during any down economy –I sincerely hope that the agencies are able to gain some perspective on the program that allows them to treat legitimate H-1B employers and employees with the respect they deserve and to effectively enforce against those who are non-compliant, rather than casting a wide net and treating all H-1B users as abusers.
source link : http://ailaleadership.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-is-h-1b-dirty-word.html#comment-form
By Eleanor Pelta, AILA First Vice President
H-1B workers certainly seem to be under fire these days on many fronts. A new memo issued by USCIS on the employer-employee relationship imposes new extra-regulatory regulations on the types of activities in which H-1B workers can engage as well as the types of enterprises that can petition for H-1B workers. The memo targets the consulting industry directly, deftly slips in a new concept that seems to prohibit H-1B petitions for employer-owners of businesses, and will surely constitute an open invitation to the Service Centers to hit H-1B petitioners with a new slew of kitchen-sink RFE's. On another front, USCIS continues to make unannounced H-1B site visits, often repeatedly to the same employer. Apart from the "in-terrorem" impact of such visits, I personally cannot see the utility of three different visits to the same employer, particularly after the first one or two visits show that the employer is fully compliant.
But USCIS isn't the only agency that is rigorously targeting H-1B's. An AILA member recently reported that CBP pulled newly-arrived Indian nationals holding H-1B visas out of an immigration inspection line and reportedly placed them in Expedited Removal. The legal basis of those actions is still unclear. However, the tactic is too close to racial profiling for my own comfort.
Finally, recent H-1B "skirmishes" include various U.S. consular posts in India issuing "pink letters" that are, simply put, consular "RFE's" appearing to question the bona fides of the H-1B and requesting information on a host of truly repetitive and/or irrelevant topics. Much of the information that is routinely requested on a pink letter is already in the copy of the H-1B visa petition. Some of the letters request payroll information for all employees of the sponsoring company, a ridiculous request in most instances, particularly for major multi-national companies. One of the most frustrating actions we are seeing from consular officers in this context is the checking off or highlighting of every single category of additional information on the form letter, whether directly applicable or not, in effect a "paper wall" that must be overcome before an applicant can have the H-1B visa issued. Very discouraging to both employer and employee.
How have we come to a point in time where the H-1B category in and of itself is so disdained and mistrusted? Of course I'm aware that instances of fraud have cast this category in a bad light. But I think that vehemence of the administrative attack on the H-1B category is so disproportionate to the actual statistics about fraud. And interestingly, the disproportionate heavy-handed administrative reaction comes not from the agency specifically tasked with H-1B enforcement—the Department of Labor—but from CIS, CBP and State. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and ask myself what makes people so darn angry about a visa category that, at bottom, is designed to bring in relatively tiny number of really smart people to work in U.S. businesses of any size. It has to be a reaction against something else.
Yes, a great number of IT consultants come to the US on H-1B's. It is important to remember that so many of these individuals are extremely well-educated, capable people, working in an industry in which there are a large number of high profile players. And arguably, the high profile consulting companies have the most at stake if they do not focus on compliance, as they are the easiest enforcement target and they need their business model to work in the U.S. in order to survive. Some people may not like the business model, although arguably IT consulting companies provide needed services that allow US businesses, such as banks and insurance companies to focus on their own core strengths. Like it or not, though, this business model is perfectly legal under current law, and the agencies that enforce our immigration laws have no business trying to eviscerate it by policy or a pattern of discretionary actions.
It is true that some IT consulting companies' practices have been the focus of fraud investigations. But DOL has stringent rules in place to deal with the bad guys. Benching H-1B workers without pay, paying below the prevailing wage, sending H-1B workers on long-term assignments to a site not covered by an LCA—these are the practices we most often hear about, and every single one of these is a violation of an existing regulation that could be enforced by the Department of Labor. When an employer violates wage and hour rules, DOL investigates the practices and enforces the regulations against that employer. But no one shuts down an entire industry as a result.
And the IT consulting industry is not the only user of the H-1B visa. Let's not forget how many other critical fields use H-1B workers. In my own career alone, I have seen H-1B petitions for nanoscientists, ornithologists, CEO's of significant not for profit organizations, teachers, applied mathematicians, risk analysts, professionals involved in pharmaceutical research and development, automotive designers, international legal experts, film editors, microimaging engineers. H-1B's are valuable to small and large businesses alike, arguably even more to that emerging business that needs one key expert to develop a new product or service and get the business off the ground.
The assault on H-1B's is not only offensive, it's dangerous. Here's why:
* H-1B's create jobs—statistics show that 5 jobs are created in the U.S. for every H-1B worker hired. An administrative clamp-down in the program will hinder this job creation. And think about the valuable sharing of skills and expertise between H-1B workers and U.S. workers—this is lost when companies are discouraged from using the program.
* The anti-H-1B assault dissuades large businesses from conducting research and development in the US, and encourages the relocation of those facilities in jurisdictions that are friendlier to foreign professionals.
* The anti-H-1B assault chills the formation of small businesses in the US, particularly in emerging technologies. This will most certainly be one of the long-term results of USCIS' most recent memo.
* The attack on H-1B's offends our friends and allies in the world. An example: Earlier this year India –one of the U.S.'s closest allies --announced new visa restrictions on foreign nationals working there. Surely the treatment of Indian national H-1B workers at the hands of our agencies involved in the immigration process would not have escaped the attention of the Indian government as they issued their own restrictions.
* The increasing challenges in the H-1B program may have the effect of encouraging foreign students who were educated in the U.S. to seek permanent positions elsewhere.
Whatever the cause of the visceral reaction against H-1B workers might be—whether it stems from a fear that fraud will become more widespread or whether it is simply a broader reaction against foreign workers that often raises its head during any down economy –I sincerely hope that the agencies are able to gain some perspective on the program that allows them to treat legitimate H-1B employers and employees with the respect they deserve and to effectively enforce against those who are non-compliant, rather than casting a wide net and treating all H-1B users as abusers.
source link : http://ailaleadership.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-is-h-1b-dirty-word.html#comment-form
2011 The album will be available as
morpheus
04-06 11:06 AM
Does anyone know if the latest Frist amendment to the bill would still allow H1's etc to file for 218 as outlined above? I did some more reading and I am still confident the analysis above is an option for many H1's like myself.
Frankly I'd be happy to wait six years for a GC if it meant I could be out of this continual H1/LC/140/485 rat-race. Being able to be self employed would be a huge positive for me. I'm already on my second LC and I am involved in founding my second new company. For executives the H1/GC process is useless because you frequently get promoted or change titles, and by the time your LC is near processing it's likely that the original application is no longer supportable. Plus, if you own equity in the company that opens a whole can of worms that the USCIS will object to.
I don't care if 218D is supposed to be for 'illegal' immigrants. Hell, I'll learn Spanish! Via con dios! Obras son amores y no buenas razones!
Frankly I'd be happy to wait six years for a GC if it meant I could be out of this continual H1/LC/140/485 rat-race. Being able to be self employed would be a huge positive for me. I'm already on my second LC and I am involved in founding my second new company. For executives the H1/GC process is useless because you frequently get promoted or change titles, and by the time your LC is near processing it's likely that the original application is no longer supportable. Plus, if you own equity in the company that opens a whole can of worms that the USCIS will object to.
I don't care if 218D is supposed to be for 'illegal' immigrants. Hell, I'll learn Spanish! Via con dios! Obras son amores y no buenas razones!
more...
simple1
10-07 04:13 PM
Leave the usa immediatly. you are already out of status.
Consult your attorney before taking any decision.
hi,
I am in a similar situation.
I have a valid visa stamped on my passport till the sept 2010. And I moved to company B after I was let go by company A. The I 797 approval for company B I got did not have the I 94.
I got the approval yesterday with a letter saying that my extension of stay has been rejected.
The letter also said that I was staying in the country after my H1B with company A has been revoked, which is against the law. It is also mentioned that my I 129 has been mailed to the consulate of my choice(which is in India).
Does he mean that I need to attend the consulate to get my I 129? If so, has the visa stamp been revoked?
Is it ok if I attend the consulate in neighbouring countries like mexico or bahamas instead of going to India?
If the Visa stamping has not been revoked, can I just cross the border for an I 94 card?
Any advice is valuable to me.
Thanks in advance.
Consult your attorney before taking any decision.
hi,
I am in a similar situation.
I have a valid visa stamped on my passport till the sept 2010. And I moved to company B after I was let go by company A. The I 797 approval for company B I got did not have the I 94.
I got the approval yesterday with a letter saying that my extension of stay has been rejected.
The letter also said that I was staying in the country after my H1B with company A has been revoked, which is against the law. It is also mentioned that my I 129 has been mailed to the consulate of my choice(which is in India).
Does he mean that I need to attend the consulate to get my I 129? If so, has the visa stamp been revoked?
Is it ok if I attend the consulate in neighbouring countries like mexico or bahamas instead of going to India?
If the Visa stamping has not been revoked, can I just cross the border for an I 94 card?
Any advice is valuable to me.
Thanks in advance.
quizzer
04-27 06:01 PM
Are they going to discuss all the bills in last week of May or just the Hagel Bill.
I know CIR as such is going to be discussed in the senate in last 2 weeks of May.
What about CIR in house? Will it follow after senate?
I know CIR as such is going to be discussed in the senate in last 2 weeks of May.
What about CIR in house? Will it follow after senate?
more...
perm2gc
10-27 07:09 PM
I have applied for my H1B extension in july and got the approval in Aug...:D
2010 Labeled a Sergio Mendes album,
rsdang1
06-24 03:47 PM
I understand where you are coming from but more awareness and publicity will only help and hopefully drive action...
Go Mayor Go... get us CIR...:D
Go Mayor Go... get us CIR...:D
more...
kaisersose
06-02 01:42 PM
you are right, but isnt that found only when you are travelling outside of the USA? If I am in USA till i get a gc and then add my wife, how will anyone know if she is out of status ?
If they know you changed employers to use EAD (your previous employer has to cancel your H-1b by law which also cancels the H-4), then they will know.
Check some of the RFEs that are coming in these days. They want to see documentation in support of lawful presence right from day one of the applicant's entry, even if it was 10 years ago.
If they know you changed employers to use EAD (your previous employer has to cancel your H-1b by law which also cancels the H-4), then they will know.
Check some of the RFEs that are coming in these days. They want to see documentation in support of lawful presence right from day one of the applicant's entry, even if it was 10 years ago.
hair CHERYL COLE, WILL.I.AM AND
santb1975
02-14 12:22 AM
We really need it
I volunteer. I will be in Los Angeles this Sunday. See you there.
Cheers!
g
I volunteer. I will be in Los Angeles this Sunday. See you there.
Cheers!
g
more...
sai_dt2000
04-28 12:32 PM
Could be finger printing appointment letter.
hot Will.i.am adds some “Big Fat
txh1b
05-06 11:51 PM
No one can enter your property without your permission or consent unless they have a warrant. The officer has to ask you if they can come in and you might have said yes and hence the result. You could very well say no and walk outside the door to talk to them.
Some PDs have educational videos to the police officers. A good example and a must watch link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkaMUp_JqIE
Some PDs have educational videos to the police officers. A good example and a must watch link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkaMUp_JqIE
more...
house Will.i.am The Only Person Not
LostInGCProcess
08-25 11:53 AM
Hi there,
My wife is going to Chennai for a H1 visa stamping. Her old visa expired somewhere in 2006. She is now on her second extension of H1 and has not traveled since then...now she is going to India and going to Chennai consulate to get her H1 visa.
She is a dependent on me wrt i-485. She has EAD and AP. However, she is still on H1 (hasn't used the EAD thus far).
My hypothetical question is: in the even if she gets a 221(g) at the consulate can she return to US with the AP she has?
Thanks,
My wife is going to Chennai for a H1 visa stamping. Her old visa expired somewhere in 2006. She is now on her second extension of H1 and has not traveled since then...now she is going to India and going to Chennai consulate to get her H1 visa.
She is a dependent on me wrt i-485. She has EAD and AP. However, she is still on H1 (hasn't used the EAD thus far).
My hypothetical question is: in the even if she gets a 221(g) at the consulate can she return to US with the AP she has?
Thanks,
tattoo Funky Bahia feat. will.i.am
buddhaas
02-02 03:57 PM
Why Is H-1B A Dirty Word?
By Eleanor Pelta, AILA First Vice President
H-1B workers certainly seem to be under fire these days on many fronts. A new memo issued by USCIS on the employer-employee relationship imposes new extra-regulatory regulations on the types of activities in which H-1B workers can engage as well as the types of enterprises that can petition for H-1B workers. The memo targets the consulting industry directly, deftly slips in a new concept that seems to prohibit H-1B petitions for employer-owners of businesses, and will surely constitute an open invitation to the Service Centers to hit H-1B petitioners with a new slew of kitchen-sink RFE's. On another front, USCIS continues to make unannounced H-1B site visits, often repeatedly to the same employer. Apart from the "in-terrorem" impact of such visits, I personally cannot see the utility of three different visits to the same employer, particularly after the first one or two visits show that the employer is fully compliant.
But USCIS isn't the only agency that is rigorously targeting H-1B's. An AILA member recently reported that CBP pulled newly-arrived Indian nationals holding H-1B visas out of an immigration inspection line and reportedly placed them in Expedited Removal. The legal basis of those actions is still unclear. However, the tactic is too close to racial profiling for my own comfort.
Finally, recent H-1B "skirmishes" include various U.S. consular posts in India issuing "pink letters" that are, simply put, consular "RFE's" appearing to question the bona fides of the H-1B and requesting information on a host of truly repetitive and/or irrelevant topics. Much of the information that is routinely requested on a pink letter is already in the copy of the H-1B visa petition. Some of the letters request payroll information for all employees of the sponsoring company, a ridiculous request in most instances, particularly for major multi-national companies. One of the most frustrating actions we are seeing from consular officers in this context is the checking off or highlighting of every single category of additional information on the form letter, whether directly applicable or not, in effect a "paper wall" that must be overcome before an applicant can have the H-1B visa issued. Very discouraging to both employer and employee.
How have we come to a point in time where the H-1B category in and of itself is so disdained and mistrusted? Of course I'm aware that instances of fraud have cast this category in a bad light. But I think that vehemence of the administrative attack on the H-1B category is so disproportionate to the actual statistics about fraud. And interestingly, the disproportionate heavy-handed administrative reaction comes not from the agency specifically tasked with H-1B enforcement—the Department of Labor—but from CIS, CBP and State. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and ask myself what makes people so darn angry about a visa category that, at bottom, is designed to bring in relatively tiny number of really smart people to work in U.S. businesses of any size. It has to be a reaction against something else.
Yes, a great number of IT consultants come to the US on H-1B's. It is important to remember that so many of these individuals are extremely well-educated, capable people, working in an industry in which there are a large number of high profile players. And arguably, the high profile consulting companies have the most at stake if they do not focus on compliance, as they are the easiest enforcement target and they need their business model to work in the U.S. in order to survive. Some people may not like the business model, although arguably IT consulting companies provide needed services that allow US businesses, such as banks and insurance companies to focus on their own core strengths. Like it or not, though, this business model is perfectly legal under current law, and the agencies that enforce our immigration laws have no business trying to eviscerate it by policy or a pattern of discretionary actions.
It is true that some IT consulting companies' practices have been the focus of fraud investigations. But DOL has stringent rules in place to deal with the bad guys. Benching H-1B workers without pay, paying below the prevailing wage, sending H-1B workers on long-term assignments to a site not covered by an LCA—these are the practices we most often hear about, and every single one of these is a violation of an existing regulation that could be enforced by the Department of Labor. When an employer violates wage and hour rules, DOL investigates the practices and enforces the regulations against that employer. But no one shuts down an entire industry as a result.
And the IT consulting industry is not the only user of the H-1B visa. Let's not forget how many other critical fields use H-1B workers. In my own career alone, I have seen H-1B petitions for nanoscientists, ornithologists, CEO's of significant not for profit organizations, teachers, applied mathematicians, risk analysts, professionals involved in pharmaceutical research and development, automotive designers, international legal experts, film editors, microimaging engineers. H-1B's are valuable to small and large businesses alike, arguably even more to that emerging business that needs one key expert to develop a new product or service and get the business off the ground.
The assault on H-1B's is not only offensive, it's dangerous. Here's why:
* H-1B's create jobs—statistics show that 5 jobs are created in the U.S. for every H-1B worker hired. An administrative clamp-down in the program will hinder this job creation. And think about the valuable sharing of skills and expertise between H-1B workers and U.S. workers—this is lost when companies are discouraged from using the program.
* The anti-H-1B assault dissuades large businesses from conducting research and development in the US, and encourages the relocation of those facilities in jurisdictions that are friendlier to foreign professionals.
* The anti-H-1B assault chills the formation of small businesses in the US, particularly in emerging technologies. This will most certainly be one of the long-term results of USCIS' most recent memo.
* The attack on H-1B's offends our friends and allies in the world. An example: Earlier this year India –one of the U.S.'s closest allies --announced new visa restrictions on foreign nationals working there. Surely the treatment of Indian national H-1B workers at the hands of our agencies involved in the immigration process would not have escaped the attention of the Indian government as they issued their own restrictions.
* The increasing challenges in the H-1B program may have the effect of encouraging foreign students who were educated in the U.S. to seek permanent positions elsewhere.
Whatever the cause of the visceral reaction against H-1B workers might be—whether it stems from a fear that fraud will become more widespread or whether it is simply a broader reaction against foreign workers that often raises its head during any down economy –I sincerely hope that the agencies are able to gain some perspective on the program that allows them to treat legitimate H-1B employers and employees with the respect they deserve and to effectively enforce against those who are non-compliant, rather than casting a wide net and treating all H-1B users as abusers.
source link : http://ailaleadership.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-is-h-1b-dirty-word.html#comment-form
By Eleanor Pelta, AILA First Vice President
H-1B workers certainly seem to be under fire these days on many fronts. A new memo issued by USCIS on the employer-employee relationship imposes new extra-regulatory regulations on the types of activities in which H-1B workers can engage as well as the types of enterprises that can petition for H-1B workers. The memo targets the consulting industry directly, deftly slips in a new concept that seems to prohibit H-1B petitions for employer-owners of businesses, and will surely constitute an open invitation to the Service Centers to hit H-1B petitioners with a new slew of kitchen-sink RFE's. On another front, USCIS continues to make unannounced H-1B site visits, often repeatedly to the same employer. Apart from the "in-terrorem" impact of such visits, I personally cannot see the utility of three different visits to the same employer, particularly after the first one or two visits show that the employer is fully compliant.
But USCIS isn't the only agency that is rigorously targeting H-1B's. An AILA member recently reported that CBP pulled newly-arrived Indian nationals holding H-1B visas out of an immigration inspection line and reportedly placed them in Expedited Removal. The legal basis of those actions is still unclear. However, the tactic is too close to racial profiling for my own comfort.
Finally, recent H-1B "skirmishes" include various U.S. consular posts in India issuing "pink letters" that are, simply put, consular "RFE's" appearing to question the bona fides of the H-1B and requesting information on a host of truly repetitive and/or irrelevant topics. Much of the information that is routinely requested on a pink letter is already in the copy of the H-1B visa petition. Some of the letters request payroll information for all employees of the sponsoring company, a ridiculous request in most instances, particularly for major multi-national companies. One of the most frustrating actions we are seeing from consular officers in this context is the checking off or highlighting of every single category of additional information on the form letter, whether directly applicable or not, in effect a "paper wall" that must be overcome before an applicant can have the H-1B visa issued. Very discouraging to both employer and employee.
How have we come to a point in time where the H-1B category in and of itself is so disdained and mistrusted? Of course I'm aware that instances of fraud have cast this category in a bad light. But I think that vehemence of the administrative attack on the H-1B category is so disproportionate to the actual statistics about fraud. And interestingly, the disproportionate heavy-handed administrative reaction comes not from the agency specifically tasked with H-1B enforcement—the Department of Labor—but from CIS, CBP and State. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and ask myself what makes people so darn angry about a visa category that, at bottom, is designed to bring in relatively tiny number of really smart people to work in U.S. businesses of any size. It has to be a reaction against something else.
Yes, a great number of IT consultants come to the US on H-1B's. It is important to remember that so many of these individuals are extremely well-educated, capable people, working in an industry in which there are a large number of high profile players. And arguably, the high profile consulting companies have the most at stake if they do not focus on compliance, as they are the easiest enforcement target and they need their business model to work in the U.S. in order to survive. Some people may not like the business model, although arguably IT consulting companies provide needed services that allow US businesses, such as banks and insurance companies to focus on their own core strengths. Like it or not, though, this business model is perfectly legal under current law, and the agencies that enforce our immigration laws have no business trying to eviscerate it by policy or a pattern of discretionary actions.
It is true that some IT consulting companies' practices have been the focus of fraud investigations. But DOL has stringent rules in place to deal with the bad guys. Benching H-1B workers without pay, paying below the prevailing wage, sending H-1B workers on long-term assignments to a site not covered by an LCA—these are the practices we most often hear about, and every single one of these is a violation of an existing regulation that could be enforced by the Department of Labor. When an employer violates wage and hour rules, DOL investigates the practices and enforces the regulations against that employer. But no one shuts down an entire industry as a result.
And the IT consulting industry is not the only user of the H-1B visa. Let's not forget how many other critical fields use H-1B workers. In my own career alone, I have seen H-1B petitions for nanoscientists, ornithologists, CEO's of significant not for profit organizations, teachers, applied mathematicians, risk analysts, professionals involved in pharmaceutical research and development, automotive designers, international legal experts, film editors, microimaging engineers. H-1B's are valuable to small and large businesses alike, arguably even more to that emerging business that needs one key expert to develop a new product or service and get the business off the ground.
The assault on H-1B's is not only offensive, it's dangerous. Here's why:
* H-1B's create jobs—statistics show that 5 jobs are created in the U.S. for every H-1B worker hired. An administrative clamp-down in the program will hinder this job creation. And think about the valuable sharing of skills and expertise between H-1B workers and U.S. workers—this is lost when companies are discouraged from using the program.
* The anti-H-1B assault dissuades large businesses from conducting research and development in the US, and encourages the relocation of those facilities in jurisdictions that are friendlier to foreign professionals.
* The anti-H-1B assault chills the formation of small businesses in the US, particularly in emerging technologies. This will most certainly be one of the long-term results of USCIS' most recent memo.
* The attack on H-1B's offends our friends and allies in the world. An example: Earlier this year India –one of the U.S.'s closest allies --announced new visa restrictions on foreign nationals working there. Surely the treatment of Indian national H-1B workers at the hands of our agencies involved in the immigration process would not have escaped the attention of the Indian government as they issued their own restrictions.
* The increasing challenges in the H-1B program may have the effect of encouraging foreign students who were educated in the U.S. to seek permanent positions elsewhere.
Whatever the cause of the visceral reaction against H-1B workers might be—whether it stems from a fear that fraud will become more widespread or whether it is simply a broader reaction against foreign workers that often raises its head during any down economy –I sincerely hope that the agencies are able to gain some perspective on the program that allows them to treat legitimate H-1B employers and employees with the respect they deserve and to effectively enforce against those who are non-compliant, rather than casting a wide net and treating all H-1B users as abusers.
source link : http://ailaleadership.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-is-h-1b-dirty-word.html#comment-form
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pictures I.Am by Busta Rhymes
mmanurker
04-13 01:54 PM
In my company 3 of my collegues are doing exactly this. All are representing US company in the offshore development centre. there payrolls are run here in US, they are in India and all there expenses are paid by US company. They pay taxes here in US show some friends address and there 485 is also in progress
I am on H1b and also travel a lot at times upto 4 months. (same LCA issue should be true for me also) but never had an issue....
But I hear you, so better check with an lawyer and have a complete picture, but as I say this is completely doable.
Well all I can say is that you all are lucky and hope that the luck does not run out down the road because in US not knowing law is not an excuse and as long as DOL or USCIS does not find this out you are fine. Giving friends address and filing taxes using friends address and filing LCA to show that you will be working from a location in US and running payroll from that state but in reality working outside USA, to me if DOL/USCIS finds out then they might treat this as LCA voilations, fraud and misrepresentation and both you and your employer could land into trouble.
I remember few years back some of the H1B employees as well as employer(owner of the company and few others) were handcuffed and arrested for LCA voilations...
here is the old link from murthy.com:
MurthyDotCom : INS Raid re: LCA Violations Against H1B Employer (http://www.murthy.com/news/UDraid.html)
here is another one:
MurthyDotCom : Arrests of H1B Employers Increase (http://www.murthy.com/news/n_h1arst.html)
LCA voilations also result in H1B's revoked by USCIS. Its just that after Neufield Memo in Jan 2010 that the focus shifted towards employer-employee relationship but prior to Jan 2010, most of the talk on immigration forums were about the LCA and LCA voilations.
About you travelling upto 4 months, I am not sure how your LCA is drafted and filed. but here is some info that If an employee works for more than 30 consecutive days or 60 aggregate days within a 12 month period at a location not listed on the LCA, the employer must file a new LCA documenting that change. OR employer can list multiple locations on the LCA filed the very first time itself.
and about your taxes, you will be considered as resident alien if you lived and worked more than 180 days in the same state/place.
Again I could be wrong here but this is my understanding considering the kind of cases that I hear abt LCA voilations and subsequent petition denials..
Bottom line seek legal advice from attorneys.
I am on H1b and also travel a lot at times upto 4 months. (same LCA issue should be true for me also) but never had an issue....
But I hear you, so better check with an lawyer and have a complete picture, but as I say this is completely doable.
Well all I can say is that you all are lucky and hope that the luck does not run out down the road because in US not knowing law is not an excuse and as long as DOL or USCIS does not find this out you are fine. Giving friends address and filing taxes using friends address and filing LCA to show that you will be working from a location in US and running payroll from that state but in reality working outside USA, to me if DOL/USCIS finds out then they might treat this as LCA voilations, fraud and misrepresentation and both you and your employer could land into trouble.
I remember few years back some of the H1B employees as well as employer(owner of the company and few others) were handcuffed and arrested for LCA voilations...
here is the old link from murthy.com:
MurthyDotCom : INS Raid re: LCA Violations Against H1B Employer (http://www.murthy.com/news/UDraid.html)
here is another one:
MurthyDotCom : Arrests of H1B Employers Increase (http://www.murthy.com/news/n_h1arst.html)
LCA voilations also result in H1B's revoked by USCIS. Its just that after Neufield Memo in Jan 2010 that the focus shifted towards employer-employee relationship but prior to Jan 2010, most of the talk on immigration forums were about the LCA and LCA voilations.
About you travelling upto 4 months, I am not sure how your LCA is drafted and filed. but here is some info that If an employee works for more than 30 consecutive days or 60 aggregate days within a 12 month period at a location not listed on the LCA, the employer must file a new LCA documenting that change. OR employer can list multiple locations on the LCA filed the very first time itself.
and about your taxes, you will be considered as resident alien if you lived and worked more than 180 days in the same state/place.
Again I could be wrong here but this is my understanding considering the kind of cases that I hear abt LCA voilations and subsequent petition denials..
Bottom line seek legal advice from attorneys.
dresses Akon Contradicts Will.i.am
BPforGC
03-05 11:52 PM
My wife got RFE before leaving for India. Unless you know what the RFE is about, do not leave the country under any circumstances. RFE dates cannot be extended without compelling reasons. If you do not answer RFE, your petition has the chance of being considered "abandoned". Call the service center, not customer service, and find out about the content of RFE and tell them that you updated the address but you still did not get it.
They have access to read what is in the RFE. For my wife, the IO at NSC read the RFE content and told that it is about birth certificate. So, call and find out what is in there and take care of it first. Under any circumstances do not leave the country without answering the RFE otherwise you may not be able to come back, because it may lead to your petition considered abandoned. This risk is greatest if you use AP.
If your wife is traveling on H4, then she can enter using that VISA as long as if you maintain valid H1B. But if you are on EAD and she is traveling on AP, do not take risk. Do not listen to multiple people because you get half-cooked answers. I went through that situation and I am telling you, get to the bottom of the RFE, fast.
They have access to read what is in the RFE. For my wife, the IO at NSC read the RFE content and told that it is about birth certificate. So, call and find out what is in there and take care of it first. Under any circumstances do not leave the country without answering the RFE otherwise you may not be able to come back, because it may lead to your petition considered abandoned. This risk is greatest if you use AP.
If your wife is traveling on H4, then she can enter using that VISA as long as if you maintain valid H1B. But if you are on EAD and she is traveling on AP, do not take risk. Do not listen to multiple people because you get half-cooked answers. I went through that situation and I am telling you, get to the bottom of the RFE, fast.
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makeup Mogul will.i.am took to his
Lord Rahl
03-04 10:00 PM
ames, post your picture in your own thread with a title for it under the Just Draw Yourself sectoin of the forums HERE (http://www.kirupa.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=152).
This thread is for the list of entries and to notify big K of your entry if it's not added to the list of entries within 24 hours.
Nice Job by the way.
This thread is for the list of entries and to notify big K of your entry if it's not added to the list of entries within 24 hours.
Nice Job by the way.
girlfriend Will Fergie Release Another
n2b
07-17 01:03 PM
DOS and USCIS are slow. But it would be really helpful if the IV code team can provide some update on our site. I believe over 2.5 hours have passed since the last update regarding some update in 1 hour. I guess we can't do anything if it takes more time but an update always helps! Thank you.
hairstyles teams up with Will.i.am
TO BE OR NO TO BE
02-03 04:29 PM
Hey there, I have a three year bachelor's (from Australia) and an American CPA. I believe the two can be evaluated to an Ameircan Master's equivalent. Please, check with your lawyers. It should be possible.
Hi Ryan,
Do you know anyone have done that? Like you personally or anyone you know? Have they got I-140? I read that its possible to get PERM Labor done under EB-2, but USCIS gives real hard time at I-140 stage.
Appreciate your help!
Thank you
Hi Ryan,
Do you know anyone have done that? Like you personally or anyone you know? Have they got I-140? I read that its possible to get PERM Labor done under EB-2, but USCIS gives real hard time at I-140 stage.
Appreciate your help!
Thank you
immi_seeker
07-16 07:46 PM
^^
morchu
08-01 12:09 AM
There is nothing complicated here.
Put your wifes status as of the 485 filing date. Means if you are filing in July/August this will be H4.
You can travel in H4. Also no problem in changing status to H1 after october 1st. (She have an H1 approval doesnt mean she is NOW in H1 status. Her change of status is approved from Oct 1st). Please remember that if she doesnt start working in H1 on October 1st, technically, she will Neither be in H1 / H4 status on October 1st. Means she might fall under "adjustee" status.
Assuming that your wife starts in H1 status from Oct 1st, there is no problem in travelling in H1. (she might need to get an H1 visa stamp though).
The other option is she can fall under adjustee status and travel in AP, work in EAD.
Also after 485 approval H4 status doesnt get "illegal" it just gets adjusted.
(Well...... nobody can have two statuses at the same time anyway).
Better check with your lawyer. Becuase when you apply for 485 and get approved your wife's H4 status becomes illegal. So don't know exactly about H1 or H4 on advanced parole. Lawyer is the best person for your case.
Put your wifes status as of the 485 filing date. Means if you are filing in July/August this will be H4.
You can travel in H4. Also no problem in changing status to H1 after october 1st. (She have an H1 approval doesnt mean she is NOW in H1 status. Her change of status is approved from Oct 1st). Please remember that if she doesnt start working in H1 on October 1st, technically, she will Neither be in H1 / H4 status on October 1st. Means she might fall under "adjustee" status.
Assuming that your wife starts in H1 status from Oct 1st, there is no problem in travelling in H1. (she might need to get an H1 visa stamp though).
The other option is she can fall under adjustee status and travel in AP, work in EAD.
Also after 485 approval H4 status doesnt get "illegal" it just gets adjusted.
(Well...... nobody can have two statuses at the same time anyway).
Better check with your lawyer. Becuase when you apply for 485 and get approved your wife's H4 status becomes illegal. So don't know exactly about H1 or H4 on advanced parole. Lawyer is the best person for your case.
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