USCIS Offers Guidance on Talented Employee Transfers

L-1B visas are used by foreign companies looking to transfer their most talented employees to their United States branches. Despite the economic value of these employees, USCIS has been capriciously denying these applications for years. L-1B visa applications had a

35% denial rate

last year, a more than five-fold increase from year 2006.

As part of President Obama's recent executive memoranda, USCIS has finally issued guidance on these visa applications to provide more consistency in adjudication.

You can find the memorandum here: 

USCIS L-1B Memo

Employment-based visa applications are extremely complex. If you are looking to transfer employees or hire a foreign national, contact us at TheTeam@huwelaw.com.

April 2015 Visa Bulletin is Out

The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for April 2015. There was slight forward movement in most visa categories. However, there was a retrogression of nearly 10 months in the employment-based third preference category for China. The Bulletin also warns in Section D that a cut-off date for China-mainland born can be established no later than June.

To learn about your immigration options, please contact us at TheTeam@huwelaw.com.

Are you an immigration LEO?

Numerous paths exist for a software engineer to come to the United States to work. Many developers believe that they can only get to the U.S. on the H-1B employer-sponsored visa, the J visa for interns, or the F-1 student visa. However, if you have an existing business, some money to invest, or a proven track record of being extraordinary in your specialized field, you may qualify for other types of visas, such as the L, E, or O visa.

Existing business owners may qualify for an L-1A new branch visa as part of expanding their company. The visa applicant must have worked full-time for a year within the past 3 years for their foreign company. L visa holders can stay up to 7 years, their spouse can work in the U.S., and there is a path to apply for a green card.

Citizens of certain "treaty countries," including Spain, Mexico, Argentina and the United Kingdom, can apply for a small business investor visa called the E-2 visa. This allows you to come to the U.S. to start a new company or to manage a new investment. Unlike the million-dollar EB-5 investment green card, the E-2 visa investment can be as low as $100,000, and in certain circumstances, even less. While there is not a path to a green card, it is indefinitely renewable and your spouse can work while in the U.S.

Persons who are extraordinary in their specialized field, as defined under U.S. immigration law, might qualify for an O-1A visa. You need to show objective evidence that you have made unique contributions to your field, in the form of awards, honors, media coverage, expert opinion letters, high salary and/or work for distinguished projects or companies.  O-1A visas are indefinitely renewable and have an indirect path to a green card.

There is no cap on any of these visas, and they can take as little as six months to process. However, they are very complicated and highly scrutinized by U.S. immigration authorities, so you must have an attorney's help in applying. Contact us at TheTeam@huwelaw.com for more information.  

Tapping into American Resources: Opportunities For H-4 Visa Holders

Some spouses of H-1B visa holders waiting in line for green cards can now apply for work authorization. This important and long-awaited reform will tap into what is truly an American resource - an educated and experienced potential workforce who is eligible for and waiting for a green card.

The American immigration system has long been inconsistent regarding which visa holder spouses can apply for work authorization in the U.S. As a rule, H-1B visa holder spouses can not work. The spouses of L-1 visa holders, also a dual intent visa, can work. The spouses of O visa holders (extraordinary persons) can not work. The spouses of E visas (treaty investors) can work. There is no apparent rhyme or reason behind these distinctions.

The Department of Homeland Security has now announced that some H-1B dependents - H-4 visa holders - will be allowed to apply for work authorization as of May 26, 2015.

The H-1B visa holder must have an approved I-140 on file. What does this mean? This means that they must have been vetted by the Department of Labor and USCIS as being uniquely qualified for their job. The employer must have participated in a recruitment process to prove that there is no eligible and available American citizen or lawful permanent resident to take that employee's position. This carefully vetted individual must then get in line to wait to apply for a green card - a line that can be up to 15 years long.

Most H-4 dependents have already been in the U.S. for at least six years by the time the I-140 is granted. Having to wait until they and their spouse can apply for a green card puts an incredible burden on families, sometimes causing these uniquely qualified and highly skilled individuals to abandon their green card efforts and move back to their country of origin.

It is also a waste of an American resource. H-4 visa holders are often highly skilled and educated persons in their own right. They may work in fields that do not fall into strict H-1B visa categories, or perhaps may not have been lucky in the tough H-1B lottery, and so have not been able to obtain an H-1B visa themselves. They have been part of our communities for years, and will be green card holders and potentially future U.S. citizens. Putting to work this underutilized local resource will benefit the U.S. economy and society.

To find out more on this new program, go to: 

DHS H-4 work authorization

Eligibility for this program is complicated.  To find out if you are eligible, please contact us at TheTeam@huwelaw.com

This January, 57,000 Driver's Licenses Were Issued to Undocumented Immigrants in California

Thanks to the enactment of California AB60 on January 1st of this year, undocumented immigrants residing in California are now eligible for California driver's licenses. AB60 requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue a driver's license to an applicant who is unable to prove that they are lawfully present in the United States. This includes children who were brought into the country without inspection at the border, immigrants who entered the country using a visa but who are now out of status, and immigrants who are waiting for their "green card" applications to be processed.

During the first month after AB60 went into effect, 366,000 people visited the California DMV to apply for a new license and to take the required driver's exams. In that first month alone, 57,000 new licenses were issued. The DMV estimates that 1.4 million people will apply for a license during the first three years of the program.

To learn about the specific requirements for obtaining a license without proof of lawful presence in the U.S., visit:

http://dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/ab60/index?lang=e

Contact us at TheTeam@huwelaw.com to learn about your immigration options.