TRACKING THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
May 9, 2013
The Senate Judiciary Committee has begun the arduous amendment process. More than 300 amendments have been filed by the Senate Judiciary Committee membership, many by Republicans looking to stop CIR. The SJC is composed of far less than half of the Senate membership as a whole. The SJC deliberations are expected to last for about two weeks. After which, the SJC will take a vote.
Although some members of the SJC are trying to torpedo the CIR bill, it is still expected to pass the SJC. From there the Senate as a whole will act on the bill, where it is also expected to pass. It remains to be seen by how much the bill passes the full Senate. The greater the margin of passage, the better the likelihood of House action. A lot hinges on the next several weeks.
MU Law will be in Washington DC next week meeting with Senate and House members' staffs educating them further on employment-based immigration issues, especially for the healthcare community. We received a lot of positive feedback from our last trip in March.
Although some members of the SJC are trying to torpedo the CIR bill, it is still expected to pass the SJC. From there the Senate as a whole will act on the bill, where it is also expected to pass. It remains to be seen by how much the bill passes the full Senate. The greater the margin of passage, the better the likelihood of House action. A lot hinges on the next several weeks.
MU Law will be in Washington DC next week meeting with Senate and House members' staffs educating them further on employment-based immigration issues, especially for the healthcare community. We received a lot of positive feedback from our last trip in March.
WHAT CIR WILL HAVE IF WE HAVE CIR
May 6, 2013
Comprehensive Immigration Reform is heating up. The Gang of Eight published a bill in April that is the first significant step in immigration legislation. MU Law has been to Washington to discuss the bill with Congressional staff.
The bill is 850+ pages and will be amended many times before it ever come up for a vote. While the final version is still a work in progress and it is still an open question as to whether CIR will ever pass, several things are becoming clear. If CIR becomes law it will have these characteristics.
The bill is 850+ pages and will be amended many times before it ever come up for a vote. While the final version is still a work in progress and it is still an open question as to whether CIR will ever pass, several things are becoming clear. If CIR becomes law it will have these characteristics.
Greater H-1B visa numbers. Current law allows 65,000 new “regular”H-1B visa approvals every fiscal year and an additional 20,000 for graduates ofAmerican Master’s degree programs. American businesses haveregularly asked Congress to raise this H-1B quota. Congress is hearing the call. Most potential legislation calls forincreased H-1B numbers.
Increased H-1BEnforcement. The trade-off for thegreater H-1B numbers is greater enforcement regulation. Allversions of CIR step up funding for H-1B enforcement.
Special Third PartyPlacement Rules for H-1B Employers. Since January 2012, USCIS has held staffing companies to a higher level of scrutiny. Congress is now going further. Placing employees atthird-party worksites is outright prohibited for some employers and highly regulated in others.
Abundant Green CardNumbers. By increasing green cardnumbers, Congress hopes to incentive future employers and workers to adhereto immigration regulation. For theindustry this should mean faster green cards and less worrying about quotas.
E-Verify is here tostay. E-verify is a federal programwhereby voluntary employers can check a prospective employee’s workauthorization. Government contractorsand some states have made E-verify mandatory. Congress appears ready torequire E-verify for all employers, likely phasing it in over a few years.
Shifting from FamilyBased Visa Numbers to Merit Based Immigrants. One part of the CIR plan is that Congress appears to have settled on a merit-based greencard. A merit-based system would allowthe Department of Homeland Security to weigh a number of factors, such aseducation, job prospects, US ties, and English fluency to prioritize anapplicant’s visa. The merit based systemwill come at the expense of the family categories and will eliminate the visalottery program.
US EMBASSY – MANILA TEMPORARY CLOSED
May 1, 2013
The US Embassy - Manila Immigrant Visa Unit will betemporarily closed onMonday, May 13, 2013. Applicants withappointments scheduled for May 13 will be contacted to reschedule theirappointments. Alternatively, applicantswith appointments scheduled for May 13 may contact the Embassy’s call center at(632) 982-5555 or (632) 902-8930 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Monday throughFriday) to reschedule their appointments.
Also, the American Citizens Services unit in Manila will be closed on Wednesday, May 8,2013 for a regular training day. Regularservices will resume on May 9.
ELECTRONIC I-94 CARDS
April 30, 2013
USCIS and Customs and Border Security (CBP) have rolled out an automated I-94 card system effective this week. Foreign entrants into the US via air and sea ports will no longer be given paper I-94 cards at the inspection desk. Foreign nationals will be electronically registered by the Port of Entry officer. This is a good step toward an all-electronic entry and exit system.
CBP has set up a dedicated webpage through which foreign nationals can review the electronic record of their entry and print out a paper copy of the I-94. The paper copy is often needed by other federal and state agencies for immigration benefits and US drivers licenses. One would hope that these agencies will be able to tap into the CBP system rather than relying on paper copies.
CBP has set up a dedicated webpage through which foreign nationals can review the electronic record of their entry and print out a paper copy of the I-94. The paper copy is often needed by other federal and state agencies for immigration benefits and US drivers licenses. One would hope that these agencies will be able to tap into the CBP system rather than relying on paper copies.
NURSES, COMPUTERS AND FUTURE JOBS
April 24, 2013
Slate’s Matt Yglesias is one of the internet’s best writerson economics. His April22, 2013 post explains why nursing should experience increasing demand inthe near and long term, unlike many other “middle skilled” occupations. His take-away:
An aging country is going to demand more health care services. Acountry that's politically committed to meeting the health care needs of thepoor is going to demand more health care services. A wealthier society is goingto demand more health care services.
His fellow Slate writer, Anna Reisman, who is also aphysician, wrote anApril 18 article in which she outlines the case for greater use of nurse practitionersand liberalized state licensing rules. She cites an Institute of Medicine study that shows similar patient outcomesregardless of whether the patient is diagnosed by a Nurse Practitioner orPrimary Care Physician.
Yglesias takes it a step further. He cites a recent study that concludes thatcomputer models do a better job at predicting lung cancer patients’ treatmentoutcomes than doctors.
Nurses are going to be more in demand. They are going to need to be fully versed intechnology and they are going to be even more responsible for patient outcomes. Yglesias says it best: “with digitalmedical technology improving, there's going to be a broader and broader rangeof health care services that a well-trained nurse can provide without needingthe many extra years of expensive medical education required to churn out adoctor.”
USCIS MAY TAKE UNTIL JUNE TO NOTIFY H-1B CAP WINNERS AND LOSERS
April 18, 2013
The USCIS has begun processing the 124,000 timely-fieldH-1B cap-subject petitions. Because the H-1B category was oversubscribed,the USCIS will be returning approximately 15,000-20,000 H-1B petitions, after accountingfor improperly filed and/or denied H-1B petitions.
Between April 1-5 the USCIS registered each timely-fieldH-1B case into their system. Eachtimely-filed H-1B cap-subject petition was given a filing number. Once all 124,000 petitions were registeredinto the system, the USCIS randomly chose 85,000 winning petitions. This “H-1B lottery” was held about 10 daysago.
The USCIS now has started processing winning premium processingpetitions. Contrary to incorrectinternet rumors, this does not mean that premium processing petitionswere given any benefit in the lottery. TheUSCIS has confirmed on multiple occasions that non-premium petitions had theexact same chance of winning the H-1B lottery.
Processing of winning petitions consists of confirmingproper filing fee payment and data entry of H-1B petitions onto USCIS internalcomputer system. Once the H-1B petitionis processed, Premium Processing adjudicators begin to assess the approvabilityof the petition.
MU Law has had several H-1B premium processing petitionsalready approved. We have also receiveda few premium processing RFEs.
Data entry of non-premium processing petitions will not becomplete until at least May and perhaps June. Rejection notices for petitions not selected in the lottery will be sentout after the data entry for winning petitions has been completed. AILA points out that when the cap was reachedon the first day in 2008, USCISdid not complete data entry and issue receipt notices until late in May2008.
SENATE CIR OUTLINE RELEASED
April 16, 2013
An Outline of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, andImmigration Modernization Act of 2013, which is the Senate’s "Gang ofEight" bill, has been released. MU Law has posted a copy of the17-page Outline on ourDoc Stoc page.
If the bill passes the SenateJudiciary Committee and the Senate as a whole, a separate ComprehensiveImmigration Reform bill will be announced in the House ofRepresentatives. The House bill will also have to pass that chamber andthen be remedied with the Senate bill. Only then will it be presented toPresident Obama for signature. The key take-away is that this bill isstill many steps from becoming law.
Keeping in mind that thefinal CIR may look different than this one, this MU Law Visa Advisor only highlights severalkey items that will be of interest to our clients and friends. Also,although the 17-page Oultine includes sections on Border Protection andUndocumented Worker Legalization we have not summarized these areas of the lawin this MU Law Visa Advisorsince they are of lesser interest to our clients and friends.
Here is the brief MU LawSummary of the Senate's CIR bill:
EMPLOYMENT-BASEDGREEN CARDS
- The Senate CIR bill calls for an immediate elimination of retrogression for currently-pendinggreen card applications. If this provision is true as listed in theSummary hundreds of thousands of long-delayed EB-2 and EB-3 applications wouldbe immediately eligible for Adjustment of Status, Immigrant Visa appointments,and Green card issuance. It is unclear how the USCIS and State Departmentwould handle this immense overload of applications.
- Going forward employment-based green card numbers would dramaticallyincrease. Theoretically this could mean that future retrogression issmall.
EMPLOYMENTVERIFICATION
- All employers will be required to use E-verify over a five-year phase inperiod, which will include enhanced photographic measures.
H-1B / L-1 VISAS
- The H-1B visa cap will increase to 110,000, and can increase to 180,000 overseven years.
- Spouses of H-1B visa holders will gain work eligibility.
- H-1B prevailing wage rules may be changing, mandating higher wages for H-1Bworkers. It is somewhat unclear in the Outline to what extent theprevailing wage rules will change.
- Employers with more than 50 employees and who have 50% of their workforce who(a) hold H-1B and/or L-1 and (b) who do not have a green card pending, must payan additional $10,000 in H-1B / L-1 filing fees.
- Employers with more than 50 employees and who have 30% of their workforce who(a) hold H-1B and/or L-1 and (b) who do not have a green card pending, must payan additional $5,000 in H-1B / L-1 filing fees.
- By 2016 any employer who has more than 50% of its workforce on H-1B / L-1status will be ineligible to petition for H-1B and/or L-1 visas.
- All employers who wish to hire an H-1B must advertise the position on agovernment database for 30 days.
MAY 2013 VISA BULLETIN
April 11, 2013
While the Senate is readying a first draft Comprehensive Immigration bill and rallies around the country are hoping to influence a new immigration system, the old immigration system continues. The Department of State has just released the May 2013 Visa Bulletin. This Visa Bulletin shows more of the same: minor progress from last month's Visa Bulletin, with one notable positive exception.
The big news was a five month improvement in All Other EB-3 to December 1, 2007. The China EB-3 number also moved to December 1, 2007. All Other, and Philippine EB-2 dates remained Current. The Chinese EB-2 visa date moved almost forward by six weeks.
On the other hand, the Philippine EB-3 date was disappointing, moving just one week, to September 15, 2006. Also disappointing was India EB-2, which remained at September 1, 2004 for the seventh month.
The big news was a five month improvement in All Other EB-3 to December 1, 2007. The China EB-3 number also moved to December 1, 2007. All Other, and Philippine EB-2 dates remained Current. The Chinese EB-2 visa date moved almost forward by six weeks.
On the other hand, the Philippine EB-3 date was disappointing, moving just one week, to September 15, 2006. Also disappointing was India EB-2, which remained at September 1, 2004 for the seventh month.
| May 2013 Visa Bulletin | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Countries | China | India | Philippines | |
| EB-2 | Current | 15MAY08 | 01SEP04 | Current |
| EB-3 | 01DEC07 | 01DEC07 | 22DEC02 | 15SEP06 |
H-1B CAP LOTTERY ANNOUNCED
April 9, 2013
TheUSCIS has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2014 (H-1BRegular Cap). USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed onbehalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption (H-1BMasters Cap). This is the first year since FY 2008 that the cap has beenreached so quickly.
USCISreceived approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period,including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 7, 2013,USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process (commonly known as a“lottery”) to select a sufficient number of petitions needed to meet the capsof 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degreeexemption limit. For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS willreject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be aduplicate filing.
F-1 students who wish to use the "cap-gap" rulesmust be lottery winners. F-1 students who do not win the lottery must exit theUS at the conclusion of their F-1 period.