Archives for January 2011

The annual 65,000 H-1B cap has been reached as of January 26, 2011. That means for the balance of the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, no new H-1B visas are available for employers with positions subject to the cap if they want to hire foreign talent between now and the end of September. The fact the cap was reached at all is interesting. In an earlier post, GAO Issues Significant H-1B Report , I noted that the cap has been reached every year except for 2001 to 2003 when the maximum … [Read more...]

A Wall Street Journal article, Crackdown on Illegal Workers Grows, reports that Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) will open a new "Employment Compliance Inspection Center" to handle an increase in I-9 audits of employers of all sizes, including large, major employers. Under the Bush administration, ICE focused on rounding up undocumented workers through surprise raids. By contrast, the Obama administration is conducting stealth, "silent" audits of employer documents. Where false … [Read more...]

At the request of Congress, on January 14, 2011, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a comprehensive and quite significant report on the H-1B Specialty Occupation program. Entitled H-1B Visa Program: Reforms Are Needed to Minimize the Risks and Costs of Current Program, the GAO study involved interviews with 34 H-1B company executives, researchers of various types, advocates for several groups, interviews with involved agencies, examination of the data on 150 of the top users of H-1B … [Read more...]

In a few earlier posts, I discussed how the permanent immigration quota system works, or doesn't work because of its impact on illegal immigration. In my recent post, Why Don't They Just Come Legally? - Myths Part II, I mention that two of the causes of illegal immigration are due to there being no lines for legal visas to get into in the first place because there are no categories for certain employment and family categories. And, in cases where there are applicable categories, the lines can … [Read more...]

A revised edition of "Handbook for Employers" or M-274 has been released by USCIS. This booklet is a critical and indispensable tool for employers to use when documenting the work authorization status of new and rehired employees as well as containing information for recruiters and referrers for a fee. Since 1986 when Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), employers have been responsible for verifying work authorization documents for all US citizen and noncitizen hires. … [Read more...]

As of January 7, 2011 USCIS reports that 58,700 of the annual 65,000 allotment of cap-eligible petitions have been approved. Some petitions are exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption provided to the first 20,000 petitions filed for a beneficiary who has obtained a U.S. master's degree or higher. Those 20,000 have now been reached. If the annual 65,000 cap is reached in the next few weeks or months, then a new round of H-1B visas will not be available until October 1, 2011. … [Read more...]

As Congress and several states take up proposals to repeal the 14th Amendment citizenship provisions because of fears of an "alien invasion", anti-immigrant activists continue to incorrectly charge that individuals from abroad want to invade our country by breaking the law. Myth: Most of the people here illegally just don't want to follow the law. The frequent refrain, or more likely, a quip, is "why don't they just come legally or get in line?" Reality: Most people would come legally if they … [Read more...]

In an earlier blog post, Hate Lines? CBP Announces Expansion of Global Entry Pilot Program, one of several trusted traveler programs, Global Entry, is discussed that enable frequent travelers to expedite entry into the U.S. But there are others, including NEXUS and SENTRI. NEXUS is a U.S.-Canada program for frequent trusted travelers between the U.S. and Canada. SENTRI is a another U.S.-Mexico program for other frequent trusted travelers. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that … [Read more...]

Starting December 29, 2010, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expanded its international trusted traveler pilot program, known as Global Entry, to qualified Mexican nationals. Global Entry allows for the expedited clearance of pre- approved, low-risk travelers into the United States. The program is operational at several major U.S. airports. The program is not for the faint of heart, however, as it involves more elaborate security checks and biometrics features (fingerprints and photos) … [Read more...]