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Posts Tagged ‘h1b’

H-1B Visa Quota Reached for 2009

December 23rd, 2009 | No Comments

Overcoming an early slump in demand for H-1B visas, U.S. employers again hit the cap of 65,000 for the controversial visas that allow foreign workers in specialty fields such as computer science and programming to work in the United States for three to six years.
– Despite an early slump in U.S.
employer demand for H-1B visas, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
announced Dec. 22 it had reached the 65,000 cap for the controversial guest
worker visas favored by technology companies. H-1B visas allow companies to
hire foreign workers with special s…

House Bill Would Increase H-1B Cap

December 16th, 2009 | No Comments

Details are seriously lacking, but a comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in the U.S. House Dec. 15 would raise the H-1B visa cap by exempting several categories of highly skilled workers from employment-based visa caps. In addition, the bill would recapture some 309,500 unused H-1B visas from 1992-2008.
– Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) announced legislation Dec. 15 that
would raise the annual cap on H1-B visas and allow U.S. companies to
recapture 309,500 unused H-1B visas from previous years. The
legislation is part of a larger, more comprehensive immigration bill
sponsored by Gutierrez and nearl…

H-1B Visa Demand Rebounding

December 3rd, 2009 | No Comments

After a slow start, U.S. employers are again gobbling up the controversial H-1B work visas. With a surge in demand over the last two months, the total number of H-1B visa petitions granted so far in 2009 is 58,900. The government caps the visas at 65,000 per year.
– U.S.
employers are again on the hunt for H-1B visas, with demand for the
controversial temporary work visas rising sharply over the last two months.
According to the most recent numbers issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, the late rush has pushed the number of H-1B visa petition…

Sparks Fly from All Sides: The H-1B Visa Debate

November 30th, 2009 | No Comments

With the possible exception of network neutrality, no other subject is more likely to spark a debate than the issue of H-1B visas, the temporary work visa program allowing American companies and universities to employ foreign guest workers who have the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. The tech industry wants the government to expand the program, while others think H-1Bs are used to replace American IT workers and administers at lower salaries. Here, eWEEK takes a look at all sides of the debate and what some key players are saying about H-1B visas.
– …

Sparks Fly from All Sides: The H-1B Visa Debate

November 30th, 2009 | No Comments

H-1B Visa Beef May End Up in Supreme Court

November 19th, 2009 | No Comments

The Programmers Guild and other litigants fighting a 2008 Department of Homeland Security decision to extend from 12 months to 29 months the amount of time mathematics, engineering, science or technology students are allowed to work after graduation under an optional practical training program say it amounts to little more than a back-door attempt to circumvent the H-1B visa cap.
– H-1B visa opponents have turned to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort
to overturn a 2008 Department of Homeland Security decision that the Programmers
Guild, the Immigration Reform Law Institute and others claim is a back-door
circumvention of the H-1B visa cap.
In a Nov. 13 filing, the c…

Feds Plan Increased H1-B Site Inspections

November 19th, 2009 | No Comments

Following nationwide arrests earlier this year involving fraud and abuse in the H1-B visa program, new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service promises a substantial increase in actual site visits to third parties employing H1-B workers.
–
The USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service) plans to beef up its fraud and compliance assessment of the nation’s
H-1B visa program, including increasing site visits from a little more than 5,000 last year to 25,000 in 2010.

In a Nov. 10 letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) USCIS Dir…

H-1B Visa Scam Investigation Digs Up Dirt

October 20th, 2009 | No Comments

A two-and-a-half-year investigation yields one of the most bizarre cases of alleged visa fraud in the history of California. Fictitious companies for H-1B visas? Check. Exploitation of immigrants? Check. Money laundering via cemetery plots? Oh, indeed.
– An immigration lawyer in West Covina,
Calif., a suburb of Los
Angeles, and his business partners have been charged
with visa fraud in relation to an elaborate scheme
targeting immigrants, according to a report from the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agency.

Kelly Einstein Darwin G…

Grassley Seeks H-1B Job Assurances

September 30th, 2009 | No Comments

With the federal government set to begin its new fiscal year Oct. 1, Sen. Chuck Grassley wants the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to require that new H-1B visa applicants actually have a job waiting for them in the U.S.
– Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services Sept. 29 to hold employers accountable by requesting evidence from
petitioners that H-1B visa holders actually have a job waiting for them in the United
States. Grassley’s comments came after
several small Iowa com…

H-1B Visa Companies Getting Unannounced Visits by Feds

August 17th, 2009 | No Comments

If your company is using H-1B visa workers, you may get a surprise from the government. Piece of advice for your manager: It’s voluntary, but the surprise could intimidate.
– In an attempt to help root out fraud and other criminal activity, the
U.S. Citizenship amp; Immigration Services agency is making surprise
visits to companies with H-1B visa holders on the books.

After
reports came out that there has been evidence shown of fraudulent use
of temporary workers…

U.S. Scientists See H1-B Visas as Major Issue Against Progress, Says Survey

July 12th, 2009 | No Comments

A new survey by the Pew Research Center has found that, while the American public holds a high opinion of scientists, a minority feel that U.S. scientific achievements are best in the world. At the same time, scientists felt the biggest impediments to their research were lack of funding and difficulties in the H1-B visa process for foreign scientists and students.
– The nation’s scientists see H1-B visa issues as a major barrier to
scientific achievement, according to a new survey by the Pew
Research Center.

Some 56 percent surveyed felt that issues with the visa process for foreign
students and scientists represented a massive impediment, second only to …