H-1B Lottery

In the CIS' interim rule, multiple related or unrelated employers can file legitimate H-1Bs for the same beneficiary.
In other words, a single beneficiary CAN file with multiple different Employers, as long as all the jobs are legitimate.

But the same employer CANNOT file more than one petition for the same employee, even if they are for different positions.

Please also note that if the 20,000 US Master's Degree quota gets filled by April 05, then CIS will have a lottery for them first. The petitions for the US Master's Degree who does not get accepted in that lottery, will then be put into the regular 65K lottery. So if there is a lottery for US master's Degree, they get their chances twice at the lottery- first the 20K one, then the 65K one.

Petitions incorrectly filed will not be counted towards the lottery.

The CIS has also said that all cases received until April 05, will go into the lottery. But from my past experience, I cannot rely on CIS . There is Nothing to keep the CIS from issuing a statement on April 02 saying that "due to the huge number of cases already filed on April 01, we will NOT be accepting further cases". So ALL my cases are reaching the CIS doorstep on April 01, 2008.

The following is a cut and paste from USCIS web site on their interim rule:

"USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions.

This rule does not preclude related employers (such as a parent company and its subsidiary) from filing petitions on behalf of the same alien for different positions, based on a legitimate business need."

March Madness Revisited

Once again another year approaches when more than 150,000 applicants vie for the 65,000/- H-1B visa quotas per year. Once again, us immigration lawyers are scrambling to get petitions ready to be fedexed to the Vermont and California Service Centers on March 31, so that they reach on April 01. If they reach on March 31, the Citizenship and Immigration Service will reject them as too early, if they reach on April 02, it will be too late. The more than 150,000 that reach on Apriul 01, will be entered into a lottery system and the lucky 65,000 will get the visa.

Once again, for years now, Bill Gates urges the Congress to increase the quotas on H-1B. Yet it falls on deaf ears. The H-1B category is for "Professionals" of which US has a tremendous demand. These professionals help us stay productive and competitive in the world economy of today.

We champion free market enterprise, yet we do not allow free flow of skilled labor to meet the demands of a free market economy. We are governed by Xenophobia and hamper our economy by unreal restrictions and baseless wars.

Birthright Citizenship-NYT and John McCain

The NY Times seems determined to place a Democratic President in 08 is desperately trying to discredit the Republican front runner Sen. John McCain. Right on the heels of their accusation that Sen. McCain had an improper relationship with a female lobbyist 8 years ago, comes a new assertion that Sen McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone and therefore may not be a "natural born Citizen" of the US. Although Art II Sec I of the US Constitution requires the President to be a "natural born citizen" this issue was never litigated and thus has never been defined by any court of law. John McCain's parents, like him and like his son served in the military, and McCain was born in an US Military base in the Panama Canal Zone. He was a natural born child, born of natural born citizens at the time of his birth. The Panama Canal Zone was a US territory when McCain was born in 1936.
"It's very clear that (the idea that) an American born in a territory of the United States whose father is serving in the military would not be eligible for the presidency of the United States is certainly not something our founding fathers envisioned" McCain said. Historical precedents support him.
Why can we not recognize the children of American army, who is serving our country as natural born citizens of our country. After all, McCain's parents did not go to the Panama Canal on their own volition. They went because the American people sent them there to protect our interests. This distinction is absurd.

What will the NY Times think of next!

L-1A to Permanent Residency

This list is for small business owners who are on L-1A managerial capacity and wants to convert to the Permanent Residency by filing the I-140 under § 203(b)(1)(c) without filing the labor certification. The burden of proof is heightened in order to classify the alien as a “manager” or Executive” and not merely perform day to day activities. In a recent case the Administrative Appeals Office noted, “The petitioning entity, which is involved in the food service industry (a restaurant) does not require or involve the employment of professional employees.” How an administrative unit can make this blanket statement about an industry that they don’t have personal knowledge about is above and beyond me.

Thus the Petitioner who seeks to convert a beneficiary from L-1A to the green card is advised to do the following:

Give a Very detailed job description of the beneficiary’s job duties---merely reciting the statute will not do. The job description should state in details. The activities should be managerial or executive in nature. She should be MANAGE rather than PERFORM the work of the manager

Org chart of US Company should state name and job titles

Description of job duties of all other employees, and educational level

Beneficiary’s previous work experience in home country in details

Support everything with documentary evidence

Note: If the manager is managing a “function” it has to be a specific function and not blanket “all functions”

Latest on FBI Name Check Issue

Good News! According to a memo by Michael Aytes, Associate Director of Domestic Operations at CIS, a case otherwise approvable but which is pending FBI name check for more than 180 days, will be send to production of card. In other words, if your case has been adjudicated and is waiting the FBI name check for more than 180 days, you will receive the green card. If however there is a negative report in the FBI name check later, CIS will issue removal and deportation procedure. The FBI has agreed to complete all name checks within 180 days.

Hopefully this memo, which is not binding, will be followed.

If any of these individuals are indeed dangerous, it is not safe in any case to harbor them for more than 180 days. On the other hand, innocent people will at least have their due process right to a green card.

Hopefully this will be the dawn of a brave new world.

Its the Economy Stupid

The new year brought with it our hold over from last year, the subprime crisis, the weakening USD, and of course the fear of recession. If the US economy declines however, whether its a recession or not, jobs inside the US vanish. Our manufacturing jobs have already been outsources, so are our IT related jobs. And although immigration remains a hot topic in the primary elections, no immigration related bill has been passed by the US Congress since the Bush presidency. The H-1B numbers are pathetically stuck at 65,000 per year, when last year about 200,000 candidates applied. The lottery kicked out 135,000 H-1B applicants last year. All those jobs got outsourced.

Giving tax rebates may not stimulate the economy if that money is not spent. But making sure that jobs remain in the US, by increasing business immigration visa will. And it won't cost the government anything. If only politicians thought about the people instead of votes, the world would be a much better place.

Birthright Citizenship

The Congressional Research Service has just published a paper on birthright citizenship. Many members of the congress want to restrict birthright citizenship, which was present in the US, ever since it was formed. What changed is the skin color of the children of non citizens being born here.

It is my Holiday wish that we look at the world as one world, under one God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for ALL.