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UPCOMING NPZ SPEAKING
EVENT:
U.S. IMMIGRATION WORK VISAS - A PRIMER FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONAL: HOW TO SELECT APPROPRIATE WORK VISAS (H-1B, L-1, O-1, E-1 OR TN)? HOW TO APPLY FOR A WORK VISA? WHO GETS A SOCIAL SECURITY CARD AND HOW? HOW DOES THE WORK VISA SQUARE WITH THE I-9 FORM AND E-VERIFY?
When: February 9th, 2016
Time: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where:
Rutgers Dinning Club on College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
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Quick Links
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:: 201-670-0006 (X100)
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OUR OFFICES:
NEW JERSEY OFFICE:
VISASERVE Plaza
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: 201-670-0006 (x107)
NEW YORK OFFICE:
108 West 39th Street
8th Floor, Suite 800
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 1-866-599-3625
INDIANA OFFICE:
Indianapolis City Center
201 North Illinois Street
16th Floor, South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-936-6600
BOSTON AREA OFFICE:
300 Brickstone Square
Suite 201
Andover, Massachusetts
01810
ATT: Call Rabindra Singh, Esq. at 125
INDIA AFFILIATED OFFICE:
Kaival Chalishazar, Adv.
Kaival Chalishazar & Co.
22 Vasant Kunj
New Sharda Mandir Road, Paldi, Ahmedabad 380007, India
ATT: Call Kaival at x130
(This office provides on the ground services to our Indian clients such as India Divorce, India Real Estate Purchase and Sale, Business Sale Purchase, Adoption, Litigation and High Court Complaints.
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OF COUNSEL:
Law Office of Michael Phulwani
F603 Remi Biz Court
Veera Desai Road
Andheri West
Mumbai 400 053, India
ATT: Ask for Sangeeta
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Dear Readers:
First and foremost, the immigration and nationality staff at the NPZ Law Group want to wish all of our readers (and their friends and families) all of the very best for a safe and happy and healthy holiday season. Holiday time is a great opportunity to connect with friends and family and to remind ourselves how lucky that we are to be able to enjoy time with loved ones and an opportunity to openly express our thoughts and feelings and concerns about day-to-day events in the world. We are reminded about how lucky we are to be able to enjoy the freedom of choice and freedom of expression. The holidays are an important time to recall that there are many people around the world that do NOT also enjoy these freedoms. Such thoughts continue to remind us how arcane are the words of "The Donald" who seeks to "Ban all Muslims" from entering the U.S. We continue to remind our readers that "immigrants" are NOT terrorists. Terrorists are terrorists.
Our staff continues to be actively involved to assist clients with 221(g) administrative holds of cases at consulates worldwide. The tragic events in California several weeks ago seems to have set new protocols in motion for case processing and a higher level of security checks. Additionally, we are actively involved in DOL investigations of H-1B use by employers throughout the U.S. These investigations range from simple H-B site visits to more complicated Wage & Hour Investigations about the wages paid to H-1B employees. We continue to remind our clients and our readers that the H-1B requires strict compliance as well as the preparation and retention of Public Access Files.
The NPZ Law Group (VISASERVE) continues to seek to provide clients with the very highest level of responsiveness and service in the Business and Family-based immigration law arena in the U.S. and Canada. For an initial consultation with any of our immigration and nationality lawyers, please feel free to contact us at info@visaserve.com or by calling us at 201-670-0006 (x107). We continue to serve our clients from offices in NJ, NY, IN and MA. We also have "on the ground" counsel in India and in Canada to better assist our clients. We look forward to being able to be of assistance to you. Happy Holidays!
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GETTING READY FOR H-1B SEASON-WE SURE ARE!
TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY AND TIS ALMOST 2017 H-1B SEASON.
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As a reminder to all U.S. employers, H-1B season is almost here! United States Citizenship & Immigration Services ("USCIS") will start accepting new H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2017 on Friday, April 1st, 2016. As such, employers should start immediately identifying current and future employees who will require sponsorship for new H-1B petitions. By way of background, the USCIS issues H-1B visas to foreign workers serving in "specialty occupations at a professional level."
A specialty occupation requires a theoretical and practical application of a body of highly-specialized knowledge, to be performed by a worker with at least the equivalent of bachelor's degree in the field. Both the position to be filled and the foreign worker's qualifications must meet the criteria for a specialty occupation.
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H-1B REMINDER AND UPDATE: FROM "MUST" TO "MAY" ON RETROACTIVITY: USCIS ISSUES FINAL GUIDANCE ON WHEN TO SUBMIT AN AMENDED H-1B PETITION UNDER SIMEIO SOLUTIONS.
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As discussed in our above-mentioned article, in Simeio Solutions, the AAO specifically stated that when H-1B employees change their place of employment to a worksite location that requires employers to certify a new Labor Condition Application (LCA) for nonimmigrant workers to the Department of Homeland Security, this change may affect the employee's eligibility for H-1B status; it is therefore a material change for purposes.
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IRCA AND EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION LAW UPDATE: HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGERS AND PROFESSIONALS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RECENTLY PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-9 FORM.
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On November 24th the USCIS announced, in the FEDERAL REGISTER, proposed changes to the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.
Many of the proposed changes to Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 are intended to help reduce "technical errors" and to help customers complete the Form on their computer after they have downloaded it from the USCIS website at
http://www.uscis.gov/. Here are some of the ways that the I-9 Form will be changing:
1. The Form will have a system in place that checks certain fields to ensure information is entered correctly; and
2. The Form provides additional space to enter multiple preparers and translators; and
3. The Form will include a drop-down lists and calendar; and
4. The Form will provide instructions on the screen that users can access to complete each field;
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IN THE WAKE OF THE PARIS AND THE CALIFORNIA SHOOTINGS - THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM MAY BE IN FOR SOME ENHANCEMENTS.
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On November 30th, 2015, The White House released a Fact Sheet about Visa Waiver Program Enhancements.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits visa free travel for 20 million visitors per year to the United States for citizens of 38 program partner countries around the world. The VWP utilizes a layered system of security to detect and prevent terrorists, serious criminals, and other potentially dangerous individuals from traveling to the United States. These layers of security include comprehensive screening of VWP travelers prior to departure for the United States, at various points throughout the traveler's journey, and upon arrival at U.S. ports of entry.
Over the past year, the Administration has taken a series of steps to enhance the significant security measures in the VWP. In the wake of the attacks in Paris, the administration is announcing additional actions today that will further enhance and accelerate these changes. Additionally, the Administration is working closely with Congress to provide statutory authority for many of these security enhancements, which will further improve our ability to implement and enforce the changes.
Many new changes include that the: "DHS will immediately take steps to modify its Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications to capture information from VWP travelers regarding any past travel to countries constituting a terrorist safe haven. The Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, will identify and regularly review these countries so that traveler risk assessments can be made on the most up-to-date information."
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THE U.S. DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE AND HOMELAND SECURITY RECENTLY ANNOUNCE JOINT GUIDANCE TO EMPLOYERS ABOUT THE PROPER WAY TO CONDUCT INTERNAL I-9 AUDITS.
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On December 14th, 2015, The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the issuance of Joint Guidance for Employers Conducting Internal Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9 Audits.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), employers are required to verify the work-authorization of their employees using the Form I-9 and are prohibited from knowingly hiring unauthorized workers. Employers seeking to ensure their Form I-9 practices comply with federal law are increasingly conducting internal audits of their Forms I-9. To ensure that these audits are conducted properly and do not discriminate against employees, ICE and OSC have collaborated to issue formal guidance on the topic.
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USCIS RECENTLY ISSUES AN IMPORTANT GUIDANCE MEMORANDUM: APPROVAL OF A SPOUSAL IMMEDIATE RELATIVE VISA PETITION UNDER INA SEC. 204(I) AFTER THE DEATH OF A U.S. CITIZEN PETITIONER.
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On November 18th, 2015, USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum (PM) revising the chapter 10.21(a), (b), (c)(2) and the last paragraph of (c)(5) of the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) to implement the decision in Williams v. DHS Secretary, 741 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. 2014) for all spousal immediate relative visa petitions under section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) after the death of a U.S. citizen petitioner, including petitions filed outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (11th Circuit Court). This PM partially supersedes PM-602-0017, Approval of Petitions and Applications after the Death of the Qualifying Relative under New Section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act."
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THE JANUARY 2016 VISA BULLETIN: DOS REPORTS JANUARY 2016 VISA NUMBERS - IS YOUR PRIORITY DATE CURRENT? IF SO, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
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EB-2 India: In January, the final action dates for EB-2 India will advance eight months to February 1st, 2008. In large part, this reflects a continuing correction following a roll-back of the date at the end of fiscal year 2015. The DOS indicated that a monthly advancement of eight months in this category continues to be the best case scenario, but that the actual advancement may be around four to six months at a time. The DOS expects that recent movements will spur EB-3 upgrades which, if realized, would eventually impact demand and slow the advancement of the EB-2 India category, perhaps in early to mid-2016.
EB-3 Worldwide: In January, the final action date for EB-3 worldwide will advance by one month to October 15th, 2015. Given the advancement of this category in the past fiscal year, DOS anticipated more demand in this category than has been reported by USCIS. In order to avoid future retrogression of this category if significant demand materializes, DOS does not anticipate advancing this date too rapidly in the coming months.
Religious Workers and EB-5:
On December 11th, 2015, a short-term continuing resolution was passed and signed by the President, extending the religious worker and EB-5 Regional Center programs for 5 days, until December 16th, 2015. On December 16th, 2015, another continuing resolution was signed, keeping the government open and the EB-5 and religious worker programs running until December 22nd. Assuming the 2016 Omnibus Spending Bill is passed and signed prior to December 22nd, 2015 the EB-5 and religious worker programs will be extended through the end of fiscal year 2016 (through September 30th, 2016) and will have run without interruption. At this time, appointments for these categories are continuing to be scheduled.
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"IMMIGRATION NEWS AND VIEWS" - NPZ'S NEW PRACTICAL SERIES ON YOUTUBE ABOUT VARIOUS U.S. AND CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAW ISSUES.
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GREEN CARD LOTTERY PROGRAM 2017 (DV-LOTTERY 2017)
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Green Card Lottery Program 2017
* People who are citizens from India but who were born in Nepal or even Pakistan
* This goes with the country of birth not the country that you are a citizen in
* If a person is born in that country that is eligible than it will apply you
* It is analogous to the issues of cross-chargeability that we discuss on a weekly basis when we talk about how to jump that priority date in the Visa Bulletin
* So understand that's the way it works if your spouse is born in a country which is listed as one of those countries that can apply, you too can apply
Countries where you're not eligible
* India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jamaica, Philippines, UK, etc..
What are the requirements who can apply?
* at least a high school which is equal to the USA high school, at least 2 years' experience in the last 5 years in skilled work.
* Your wife and children can be included in that but you have to move very fast and easy because unlike other categories case will be followed year by year
* All the people must also obtain the visa in that one year period
* You have to have actually received the green card before September 30th, If you don't then you lost the opportunity to win the lottery
What is the way to get around and be able to get the adjustment of status?
* TPS Nepal for example or Dhaka that person in the permission to travel goes out of the country and re-enters the US legally and they win the lottery can they adjust.
* The use of a Arrabally-Yerrabelly in the diversity lottery adjustment contacts, so the answer is yes should be allowed. It is somewhat little tricky because sometimes you travel abroad and you will get stuck.
* The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows immediate relatives who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence to apply for that waiver in the United States before they depart for their immigrant visa interview.
* Know before you go so whether or not you will know if you can come back in.
* New rule on hardship that just came out a couple of weeks ago
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BEST WISHES FOR A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
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