Catherine Betts, Author at Laborsphere

Visa Options and Immigration Strategies for Manufacturers

Many visa options exist to enable U.S. manufacturing companies to employ talented professionals, researchers and managers who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. This article will introduce the primary nonimmigrant (temporary) visa categories used by U.S. manufacturing companies to employ foreign national workers. The article will also provide key information about the permanent residency (green card) process. Manufacturing employers typically employ foreign nationals initially in a temporary nonimmigrant visa category. Thereafter, the manufacturer may begin working on a permanent residency case once the company has determined that it wishes to try to employ the foreign national on a permanent basis.

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H-1B Cap Registration and Process; Form I-944 No Longer Required

The FY2022 H-1B cap season is now underway. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adopted the same H-1B registration process as was used last year. Before filing a cap-subject H-1B petition, USCIS requires that employers or their authorized representatives first complete an online registration for each cap-subject H-1B petition. USCIS will then run the H-1B cap lottery (if needed) based on these registrations. Employers would only file petitions based on selected registrations.

Below are the dates to keep in mind for this year’s H-1B cap:

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Immigration and Employment Considerations for Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofit tax-exempt organizations have unique considerations with respect to navigating U.S. immigration processes and entity formation. Organizations hiring new talent or bringing employees across borders need to be aware of how their nonprofit corporate and tax-exempt statuses may impact and be impacted by immigration processes and rules.

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H-1B Cap Update: Electronic Registration Starts on March 9, 2021; Cap Selection Wage Regulation Delayed until December 31, 2021

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced updates to this year’s H-1B cap selection process. The government’s H-1B electronic registration process will open in one month, but there will be no changes to the selection process itself as implementation of the “H-1B Cap Selection Process Final Rule” is delayed until December 31, 2021. Stakeholders will want to pay close attention to the newly released registration dates along with an opportunity to learn more about the process directly from the Faegre Drinker team.

For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

U.S. Immigration Updates: H-1B Cap, Prevailing Wage Rule and International Travel Updates

Immigration updates from the end of the Trump administration include USCIS’s final rule modifying the H-1B cap selection process, DOL’s final rule on computation of prevailing wage levels, and executive orders extending immigration restrictions and terminating some travel restrictions — all of which may be changed by litigation or the Biden administration. It is also time to start planning for the FY2022 H-1B cap season.

For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

November 2020 Visa Bulletin Update: USCIS Will Continue Using ‘Dates for Filing’ Chart

On October 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued the November Visa Bulletin. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that it will use the “Dates for Filing” chart. For employment-based visa categories, the “Dates for Filing” chart is the same as last month, except for modest advancement in the EB-3 China “other workers” category. Foreign nationals who are eligible to file their employment-based visa applications in October can file their applications in November.

The November “Final Action Dates” chart shows slight forward movement in employment-based visa categories. Notably, EB-1 India and China categories will advance by six months.

For more information on this topic, please see our earlier legal update on the October Visa Bulletin.