Immigration Law Newsletter, October 2001

Strategies to retain H-1B employees on a lower salary in a slowing economy

In the present slowing economy, many employers are faced with the unpleasant task of laying off workers. In the case of foreign H-1B employees, a lay off is much more traumatic as it means that the H-1B employee together with his/her family is faced with the prospect of moving back to their home country.

A strategy of retaining H-1B employees on a lower salary would be to file an amended H-1B visa application with the INS for part time work.

In the event, the H-1B worker has to be terminated, then the Employer may choose to either file for a Green Card for the terminated H-1B worker or continue the processing of an already filed Green Card after termination of the H-1B worker, with the intent to rehire the H-1B worker once the Green Card gets approved and the economy hopefully rebounds. The H-1B employee may return to their home country while the Green Card is being processed.

Non-immigrants flying domestically after September 11, 2001

Subsequent to September 11, 2001 there have been incidents of non-immigrants i.e. foreigners holding Tourist, Business, H-1B, L, etc. visas and Aliens holding Green Cards, being questioned and asked for documentation even while boarding domestic flights. Under US Immigration laws, all Aliens above the age of 18 years are required to carry "registration" documents with them at all times. Registration documents include I-94-Arrival–Departure Record, I-551-Permenant Resident Card (Green Card), Employment Authorization Document, Non Residents Alien Canadian Border Crossing Card, Non Residents Alien Mexican Border Crossing Card, etc.

Alien Labor Certification (Green Card) Processing at the Employment Development Department (EDD), Sacramento, California

Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) cases

EDD is currently processing RIR cases with receipt dates of April 30, 2001. EDD has 12,000 RIR cases pending and they are processing on an average about 2000 RIR cases per month.

 

All pending cases have now been logged in, including all the April 30, 2001 cases. Acknowledgement letters are going out within a day of receipt of new applications.

Non RIR Cases

EDD is currently processing non-RIR cases with receipt date of March 23, 2001. EDD currently has over 50,000 non-RIR cases pending awaiting processing.

RIR Conversion Cases

About 500 non-RIR to RIR conversion requests have been received at EDD.

Department of Labor (DOL), San Francisco Processing Time

DOL is currently processing RIR cases received on September 05, 2001 at DOL.

DOL is currently processing Non-RIR cases received on February 14, 2000 at DOL.

(Reduction in Recruitment) RIR Conversion Rules

The Department of Labor (DOL) has amended its regulations in regard to the permanent employment of Aliens in the United States. The amended rules permit employers to request, in certain circumstances, that any labor certification application (Green Card application) for permanent employment in the United States that is filed on or before August 03, 2001, be processed as a reduction in recruitment (RIR) request.

Each application must meet the following requirements:

• The application must have been filed prior to August 03, 2001
• The case cannot have gone into state-supervised recruitment. If recruitment has started, the application cannot be converted.
• There must be a letter requesting the conversion.
• There must be documentation showing RIR pattern of recruitment within six months prior to the date of the letter asking for conversion.
• There must be a summary of the recent recruitment efforts and results.

No changes in Visa Procedures after September 11, 2001

The Visa Office of the U.S. Department of State has announced that there have been no changes in visa procedures and almost all posts are open for consular services. Some posts have reported a decrease in people wanting to apply for US visas.

Visas to Mexico after September 11, 2001

Co-operating with the U.S. Govt., the Mexico Govt. will not issue Mexican visas for certain nationalities before conducting a check with a Gobernacioan (Mexican INS office) office in Mexico City. This will slow down processing by 30 days or more. This policy is applicable even to U.S. permanent residents who are citizens of the countries listed below- India, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ujbekistan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Bosnia etc. Though this policy is not permanent, it is not certain as to how long it will continue.

Spousal Work Authorization Passes the House

On September 05, 2001 the U.S House of Representatives passed by voice vote 2 bills, H.R. 2277 and H.R. 2278, which permits work authorization for spouses of international transferees. H.R. 2277 provides work authorization for spouses of E visa holders and H.R. 2278 provides the same benefits for the spouses of L visa holders and reduces the one (1) year employment abroad requirement under L-1 blanket petitions to six (6) months. The Senate is expected to vote on these bills shortly.

New V Visa Regulations

A new V visa nonimmigrant classification has been put into affect for certain spouses and children of lawful permanent resident Aliens (Green Card holders). The Aliens who will be affected by this nonimmigrant category will be those whose immigrant visa has been pending with the INS for at least 3 years, or whose immigration visas have been approved and 3 years have elapsed since the filing date. According to this rule Aliens who are eligible may enter and work in the United States while waiting for their petition to be approved or their priority date to be reached for filing for adjustment of status or an application for an immigrant visa and for their application to be judged.

Latest Service Center Processing Time Report and Visa Cut Off Dates

Please visit our website at www.avlawoffice.com for the latest Service Center Processing Time Report and Visa Bulletin.