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Avoid being an April fool
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will open the floodgates for new H-1B visa petitions on 1st April, and it 's important you're not fooled because you weren't aware of new restrictions on employers.
The USCIS announced recently additional requirements for employers, who receive funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) or under section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (covered funding), before they may hire a foreign national to work in the H-1B specialty occupation category.
The new 'Employ American Workers Act' (EAWA), which was signed into law by President Obama as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on 17th February, has been designed so that companies receiving covered funding do not displace US workers.
Under the EAWA legislation any company that has received (covered) funding from the government and seeks to hire new H-1B workers is considered an 'H-1B dependent employer'. Such employers must make additional guarantees to the US Department of Labour (DOL) when filing a Labour Condition Application.
It's not only those who hope to gain one of the sought-after annual quota of 65,000 H-1B visas who need to be wary of the new legislation. The EAWA also applies to new employees based on a petition approved before 17th February 2009 - if the H-1B employee has not actually commenced employment before that date - and even to those seeking concurrent employment (with a different employer), regardless of whether the beneficiary is already in H-1B status.
EAWA does not, however, apply to H-1B petitions that seek to change the status of a beneficiary already working for the employer in another work-authorised category, and also does not apply to petitions seeking an extension of stay for a current employee with the same employer.
H-1B visas are in great demand, and in recent years the USCIS closes the door for new applications soon after 1st April when it announces a 'final receipt date' (where applications received after this date are immediately discounted). So if you are pining your hopes of emigrating through an H-1B visa, it is crucial to make yourself aware of the recent application changes and ensure your petition is submitted by your proposed US employer on 1st April.
For more information, visit the USCIS website www.uscis.gov, and keep an eye on Emigrate magazine for in-depth immigration coverage.