Senator Hatch wants White House to seek H-1B expansion

Treasury secretary says he agrees with Hatch on need to increase H-1B visa program

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) berated the White House on Wednesday for failing to urge expansion of the H-1B program.

Hatch, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, raised his concern at a committee hearing on President Obama's proposed 2012 federal budget. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was its sole witness.

One of the things that would "help our country a great deal is to expand the H-1B and allow these Ph.D.s who are educated here who want to stay here, who are brilliant, who can help us in the high-tech world and other worlds, to stay here," Hatch told Geithner.

"It's ridiculous that the administration doesn't weigh in on [H-1B], and I know why they don't -- but it's ridiculous not to," Hatch said, "And we've now created real competitors in India and China, just to mention two places, but others as well. "

In China, but especially in India, the H-1B visa is critical to offshore outsourcing companies in providing overseas services. These companies were critical of the Senate last year for approving a $2,000 visa fee increase specifically aimed at them. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who sought the fee increase, said the H-1B program has created "multinational temp agencies."

"We are not doing things that we really ought to do to get competitive," Hatch said. "Weigh in on this H-1B thing. That would help us a great deal."

In response, Geithner said, "I agree with you on H-1B, by the way. It's just a question about how best to do it."

Hatch quickly answered, "Expand it."

The U.S. issues 85,000 H-1B visas each year, of which 20,000 are reserved for advanced-degree graduates of U.S. universities.

The Obama administration has said little about the H-1B program specifically, but in his State of the Union address last month, he urged an easier path to immigration for foreign students who graduate with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.

Legislation to accomplish that may soon emerge from U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). Lofgren drafted a proposal that would create a new employment-based permanent residency, or green card, category for advanced-degree graduates. It would bypass the need for an H-1B visa.

Two other senators, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), want to limit the number of H-1B or L-1 visas to 50% of a company's U.S. workforce, the so-called 50/50 rule.

Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is pthibodeau@computerworld.com.

H1B FY 2010 Cap Count Update: May 29, 2009

As of May 29, 2009, approximately 45,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

H1B FY 2010 Cap Count Update : May 26, 2009

As of May 22, 2009, approximately 45,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions and
approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap
exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B
petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into
account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or
withdrawn.

Occupations related to IT and Computer Engineering removed from Canada AINP Program (US H1B visa holder category)

On May 19, 2009, Canada removed all the occupation related to Computer and Software Engineering from H1B AINP Occupations under Pressure list.

Last year Canada announced AINP Program for individuals in H1B category (US visa holder category). AINP is an immigration program operated on behalf of the Government of Alberta by the Ministry of Employment and Immigration in conjunction with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to expedite the processing of an application for permanent residence.

The AINP is designed to support Alberta's economic growth by attracting labour-market-destined immigrants to the province.

Individuals nominated by the Province of Alberta, together with their spouse and dependent children, are eligible to apply for a permanent resident visa through CIC as a Provincial Nominee. CIC expedites permanent resident applications from Provincial Nominees and makes final decisions on the permanent resident applications.

US visa holder category

To be eligible in this category, you must be currently working in the United States on a valid temporary skilled worker visa in an occupation that is in demand in Alberta.

Purpose

The objective of the U.S. Visa Holder Category is to facilitate the entry of U.S. visa holders currently working temporarily in the United States, into Alberta’s permanent labour force.

U.S. visa holders in specific visa categories, working in skilled occupations in high demand in Alberta, may be eligible to apply to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) without an application from an Alberta employer.

Criteria for AINP Candidates under the Strategic Recruitment Stream U.S. Visa Holder Category (includes but is not limited to):

• A Candidate must demonstrate a clear ability and intention to live permanently in Alberta;
  
• A Candidate must be currently working in the United States and possess a valid visa in one of the following temporary skilled worker visa categories: H1-B, H1-B1, H-1C, E-3 at the time the AINP makes a final decision on the application;
  
• A Candidate must have a minimum of one year of work experience in the United States in one of the qualifying visa categories listed above; and,
  
• The Candidate’s current occupation must be on the AINP Occupations Under Pressure List for the Strategic Recruitment Stream – U.S. Visa Holder Category. Please note that this list is reviewed regularly and occupations may be added or removed based on Alberta’s current labour market needs.
  
  Important note: An updated version of the AINP Occupations Under Pressure List was posted on May 19, 2009. Any applications postmarked on or before May 19, 2009 will be assessed based on the previously posted list. All applications postmarked after May 19, 2009 will be assessed based on the list currently posted.
  

H1B FY 2010 : Case Status Not Available Online

Few Applicants are reporting that even with the valid USCIS Receipt number for H1B FY 2010 case, they are not able to view the status online on USCIS website. Individual is receiving an error "Your case cannot be found at this time in Case Status Online. Please check your receipt number and try again. If you need further assistance please call the National Customer Service Center at 1.800.375.5283"

USCIS do try to keep up the records current with the case status, but there are times that one would not see any updates till few days. It could take as long as 15 days to see updates on the system. I know of a person who received an approval for H1B FY2010 last week, but his case status still shows pending on USCIS website. Some times error could also be due to regular maintenance scheduled by USCIS.

Wait for few days to see if the case is updated. If not then call National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. Customer Representative should be able to help you with your case. If the petition has been pending for more than 6 weeks, ask your attorney/employer to send a letter with a copy of the receipt notice enclosed requesting a case status.

Schools Approved by SEVIS that qualifies for 12 month OPT

International Students looking to pursue higher education in United States are always concern about Universities which are eligible by SEVIS/SEVP to issue I-20, and eventually recognized and qualified by USCIS for 12 month (29 month for STEM students) On Practical Training (OPT) program after graduation.

Here is the list of the updated SEVIS/SEVP approved schools

H1B FY 2010 Cap Update: May 18, 2009

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced information on the number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. USCIS has received approximately 45,500 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap.

Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; however, we continue to accept advanced degree petitions since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable. Congress mandated that the first 20,000 of these types of petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas.

For cases filed for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window, the 15-day premium processing period began April 7. For cases filed for premium processing after the filing window, the premium processing period begins on the date USCIS takes physical possession of the petition.
USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions. The updates can be found on the USCIS Web site at www.uscis.gov/h-1b_count.

H1B Approved and Currently on OPT : Can I transfer H1B ?

Students on OPT, who have been recently approved for H1B always have the question "I am currently on OPT and my H1B application was approved. Can I change my Job and transfer H1B to new employer?"

Answer to "Can I Change my Job? " will be Yes, you can change job on OPT whenever you want. There is no obligation to work for any employer. Employment in US is at will, and one can change job anytime he/she wants.

Tricky part will be "Can I transfer my H1B to new employer?". Individual can transfer their H1B only after October 1st, which is official start date for your H1B. To benefit from "portability" - being able to transfer the H-1B from one employer to another - the H-1B must be in effect, and thus the transfer cannot occur until the October effective date. Although the petition can be submitted before that time. But case will be approved only after October 1st.

H1B FY 2010 Cap Count Update : 11th May 2009

As of May 11, 2009, approximately 45,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2010 and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

USCIS Receipts and Approvals : How to Amend Misspelled Name?

If you recently applied for H1B FY 2010 and received your I-797 receipt, there is a good chance that in excitement, you may overlook some spelling mistakes or wrong printed information. Please do not overlook this fact, as it can be detrimental later on, especially if mistake is present in I-797 approval notice.

It may be easy to amend these mistakes early on, until petitioner's I-797 is not approved. USCIS do acknowledge that few errors occur when scrutinizing so many applications every year. If one realizes that their name is misspelled or there is some other error in the receipt, individual should call the National Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 to request a correction. USCIS customer representative will take the information to correct the error.

Though this may be easy at Receipt level, correcting mistakes will not be that straight forward after an application is approved. In such cases, individual should contact above contact number to follow the correct procedure. In some cases representative might ask you to file an I-824 Application for action on an approved application.

Individual can also call in the following sequence for typo rectification on any of the notices.

1-800-375-5283
Press 1 (for English)
Press 2 (to skip introduction and go to main menu)
Press 2 (For case status)
Press 5 (if there is any typo in any of the notices/receipts)

Napolitano says DHS is increasing H-1B enforcement

WASHINGTON: Indian professionals aspiring to go to the US to work may now find it more difficult to get H-1B visas with Washington deciding on stricter screening following complaints of misuse of the facility.

Acting on the complaints, the US has adopted “fraud prevention tactics” to prevent such misuse. “We’ve added fraud prevention tactics. We’ve begun looking at other more standard fraud investigatory techniques that weren’t being used in H-1B that we are now going to employ. It includes things like sites visits and worksites visits,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said. Read Article ...

June Visa Bulletin 2009 : Visa Numbers Retrogress for EB2 India Category

June 2009 visa bulletin is out. The cutoff date for India in the EB2 category has retrogressed to January 1, 2000. The June Visa Bulletin will become effective as of June 1st. Thus, the May Visa Bulletin, with an EB2 India cutoff date of February 15, 2004 remains effective through May 31, 2009. So applicants with priority date before February 15, 2004 should rush their applications as soon as possible.

DOL claims that high level of demand in the EB2 India category, and the need to keep within the annual limits is set by law. The DOS also stated that it is currently not possible to estimate whether this retrogression will continue for the rest of the fiscal year. Cut off date in EB-2 category is current for ROW, where as it is 15 Feb 05 for natives from China Mainland. Looking at past trend, we can see retrogression in dates for natives from China in coming visa bulletins.

It should also be noted that last month DOL announced that visa numbers in EB3 category will be unavailable for rest of the fiscal year. If dates will keep on retrogressing, wait for green card could be indefinite for applicants from India and China category. I wonder, if we do not see any immigration reform in Senate regarding employment based category , soon we will see declining number of immigrants opting US as an option to settle and work. Eventually, other countries would benefit from this by opening doors to skilled workers.

Students on OPT: Tips for Finding Job After Graduation

If you are on OPT after graduating from an American university and currently actively looking for a job, you may find this post helpful. In recent years after talking to many friends and colleagues overtime, I have found that it is not easy to get an entry-level job. Especially if you are an international student, life gets more tough. With new 90-day unemployment rule, finding job is a challenge. One would have to apply for many jobs daily, even to get a single call from a Recruiter. I have found that many individuals will randomly apply for a job which they come across online job-board like Monster, dice, Hotjobs or Careerbuilder. Some applicants would not even bother to send a cover letter with their applications.

Here are few steps that are recommended if you are applying for a job.

1. Always prepare a cover letter defining your qualification, skills (technical, research or teaching) and brief summary on how you obtained them during different employment you held. Do not make an unique cover letter. Make sure every cover letter outlines work that will complement the job requirement.
2. Resumes and application forms give employers written evidence of your qualifications and skills. The goal of these documents is to prove—as clearly and directly as possible—how your qualifications match the job’s requirements. Do this by highlighting the experience, accomplishments, education, and skills that most closely fit the job you want.
3. Screen through the job requirement and see if recruiter or hiring manager has mentioned a contact email address or a phone number. Your resume will reach right people soon if you will email them than applying online.
4. Spend some time on working on Steps 1 to 3 and once you are convinced that you have a good case then apply for the job. Apply few jobs but make sure that Resume and content that you submit is qualitative and not quantitative.
5. Most of the people get jobs through networking. Try joining Linkedin, Alumni network at your school or other networking sites. Join different groups at these networking site. Talk to your Professors. Go to different networking events in your city.
6. Most of the students will end up getting their first job locally. Screen through craigslist or local newspaper. Check your university's career website regularly. See when your university and neighboring universities are holding a career fair.
7. Lastly, start searching for job well in advance from your graduation. If possible, try getting an Internship or Co-op during summer. You are most likely to end up with a full-time job with the same company.

If you will follow aforementioned steps, you are more likely to get a call from Recruiter. Other issue that international student face even after following above steps is company will not consider them, even being perfect match. The reason being company will not file H1-B for individuals future employment. To overcome this, usually I will not apply jobs with companies that do not have history of filing H1Bs, unless I am close to the best match they are looking for. To search for the companies that hire H1B holders in your field, please visit this website. Most of the companies that do not have history of filing H1Bs would immediately turn you down since they do not want to go through the hassle of filing H1B in April or would not like hiring lawyers for your case. In addition, it also cost them $4000 above your base pay. There are few small companies who have never even heard of H1B work visa.

Laid Off: Planning to go from H1B - F1B?

Recently many H1-B holders, who have been laid off are having tough time to find employers, who will transfer their H1-B and offer them job. These individuals are now taking the opportunity to go back to school and earn new skills. To transfer from worker visa to student visa, one would have to change their status from H1-B to F1-B.

Here are few things that one should remember if he/she decides to go back to school. To transfer your H-1B to F1-B, one will need recent pay stubs. Generally, USCIS will accept pay stubs dated within 30 days before filing as proof of maintenance of status for the purposes of a change of status/extension of stay petition. If you don't have this, you likely would not be approved to change status in the U.S.

This does not mean that you aren't eligible for an F-1B if accepted into a qualifying program, it just means that the only way to get into F-1B status would be to leave, obtain the F-1 stamp at the consulate abroad, and re-enter. However, an F-1 visa requires non-immigrant intent - the intent to return abroad at the completion of your program. It isn't a dual intent visa like the H-1B which also allows one to migrate to US. If you ever applied for a green card while here on H-1B, this could be a problem for the F-1B application. Even a long time spent here or home ownership here might be problems. So please be careful if you will decide to go this route.

In latter case, if you showed an intent to immigrate to US, you are more likely to get your change of status rejected. Even if your case is accepted as a "change of status" approved, and later sometime if you will decide to get your F1-B visa stamped, there are chances that your visa will be rejected with 221(g) or as a 'Potential Immigrant'.

Of course, applying for F1-B once you have fallen out of status carries it's own issues. If your H-1B has expired or revoked, you probably have been accruing unlawful presence so as to be subject to a re-entry bar and denial.

H1B FY 2010 Cap still Open : 4th May 2009

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced an updated number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap and received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. USCIS also announced that they will continue accepting applications for advanced degree.

Isn't this amazing? It may be true that USCIS hasn't received enough applications since 27th April to cross 45, 000 number mark, but it is difficult to predict real M.O. at USCIS. Is USCIS screening every H1-B application received each week, and rejecting those which do not meet the criterion as skilled worker or those which have been filed improperly? Thus only counting clean cases towards the cap. Or there are enough skilled workers available in US at this time, that American companies are not hiring individuals who would need H1-B worker visa for FY 2010? Looking at unemployment rate, latter is most likely.

Anyway in each case, H1B visa numbers will be available for longtime. Some predicts it to last till September of 2009.

H1B FY 2010 Approved : How early can I enter US?

If you recently received Form I-797 for your H1B case and your case was approved as consular processing (CP) case, you may apply for an H1B visa at your nearest consulate as soon as you receive the Form I-797. However your entry to the US is restricted to 10 days prior to the start date as noted in the Form I-797, unless you are already working on an H1B visa and have applied for a revalidation.

Since you can only enter US, 10 days prior to the start date, please do not rush to get your H1B visa stamped. Make sure you have all the required documents first. Getting H1B stamped this year will require endorsing your case with many supporting documents in order to prove your case is legitimate.

Does your Form I-94 has an Incorrect Information?

If you have an incorrect information on Form I-94 card or you have lost it, Please do not neglect this. Rather follow right procedure to amend it.

What If your Form I-94 has incorrect information on it?
If your Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, was issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (at a port of entry) and it has an error, you should go to the nearest CBP Office with proof of entry or admission and the Form I-94, and request a new Form I-94. If the Form I-94 was issued by USCIS (at a local USCIS office or from a USCIS Service Center) and it has an error, you should go to a USCIS local office and request a new Form I-94. If the officer at the local office is not convinced that the Form I-94 was issued in error, the officer may advise you to file a Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Non-immigrant Arrival Departure Document.

What If your Form I-94 has been lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed?
If your Form I-94 has been lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed, you will need to apply for a replacement Form I-94 by filing a Form I-102.

Reminder: Traveling with Pending H1B Application

Please avoid traveling out of US if you have recently filed H1B application for FY 2010 and currently waiting for approval. If an applicant is currently in US and has filed H1B FY 2010 for 'change of status', traveling outside US would void one's application.

This is also true for any application filed with USCIS for 'change of status'. In case of emergency, if you have to travel outside country, please ask your lawyer to file an I-907 for premium processing. Request for premium processing can be filed during H1B application or any time after I-797 receipt is received. If for some reason your case is not validated within 15 days, you can even request to expedite the case as a last resort.

USCIS Expedite Criteria

All expedite requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and are granted at the discretion of the Director. The criteria are as follows:

• Severe financial loss to company or individual
• Extreme emergent situation
• Humanitarian situation
• Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States
• Department of Defense of National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from official United States Government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our Government)
• USCIS error
• Compelling interest of USCIS

If your case is at a local office at the time you need to make your emergency request, please go to the local office in person to make your request. Please be sure to take all supporting documentation with you.

If your case is at one of our Service Centers or the National Benefits Center, please call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 to receive further instructions on where and how to send your request.

H1B FY 2010 Cap Count : 27th April 2009

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced an updated number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program.USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap.

The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees;however, we continue to accept advanced degree petitions since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable. Congress mandated that the first 20,000 of these types of petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas.

For cases filed for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window, the 15-day premium processing period began April 7. For cases filed for premium processing after the filing window, the premium processing period begins on the date USCIS takes physical possession of the petition. USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions. The updates can befound on the USCIS’ Web site at www.uscis.gov/h-1b_count

Durbin-Grassley H1B Visa Reform Bill: Do We Need it?

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced "The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007" late last week to overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programs to give priority to American workers and crack down on unscrupulous employers who deprive qualified Americans of high-skill jobs.

The H-1B visa program allows American companies and universities to employ temporary foreign workers who have the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree in a job category that is considered by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services to be a "specialty occupation". The L-1 visa program allows companies to transfer certain employees from their foreign facilities to their U.S. facilities for up to seven years.

"Our immigration policy should seek to complement our U.S. workforce, not replace it," Durbin said. "Some employers have abused the H-1B and L-1 temporary work visa programs, using them to bypass qualified American job applicants. This bill will set up safeguards for American workers, and provide much-needed oversight and enforcement of employers who fail to abide by the law."

"This is about protecting the American worker," said Senator Grassley. "We're closing loopholes that employers have exploited by requiring them to be more transparent about their hiring and we're ensuring more oversight of these visa programs to reduce fraud and abuse. A little sunshine will go a long way to help the American worker."

Now Senate is not only looking into abuse of H1B, but have also started taking close look at L1 visa. With Senate requesting tougher scrutinizing of worker visas, soon we will see many companies refraining from hiring skilled workers to avoid unecessary hassles.

Senators should understand when a company hires a H1B visa holder, they have to spend almost $4000-$5000 (filing and lawyer fees) in addition to the base pay they offer to the prospective employee. A company would not invest in an individual unless they are not able to find right candidate. The one reason companies usually do not get skilled workers is because two third of the US population are not ready to move across a county or state line. In the 21^st century, there has been only 25 percent increase in people living in a state other than the one in which they were born (Source: U.S. Census Bureau Online). Thus there are less number of right candidates available in and around the city of interest. On other hand, non-immigrant foreign skilled workers are willing to move across the state for the right jobs as they are motivated to fulfill their American dreams.

If above bill is passed in Senate, it will make America globally less competitive. Many skilled workers would start looking at other European countries. These countries would love to have skilled workers to have edge over their counterpart. Many countries have already requested World Bank to define a unified currency to measure world economy than depending on America only. If this would happen America could lose their niche in the world.

On other hand, Foreign students and workers who might prefer to stay in the US can, and increasingly will, also return to their home countries to launch businesses. They can then compete with American companies instead of adding value to them. And when they return home, they can honestly say that America is not the land of opportunity for people like them.

The H-1B program is very small in relative numbers (new H-1B visa holders represent just 7 out of every 10,000 workers in the United States, according to the National Foundation for American Policy). It is difficult to understand why is it always a reason of worry among Senators? Or they just want someone to take the blame for the country's economic crisis and rise in unemployment rate.

Provisions of the Durbin-Grassley bill would change existing law in the following ways