H-1B Work Visa Denials: The Solution

Many foreign workers are finding it difficult to renew or obtain an H-1B working visa. Employers are also becoming frustrated at being unable to get visas for their workers. H-1B denials are becoming commonplace, as are massive RFE’s (Requests for Evidence).

When all else fails, and that includes the hopeless appeal, I “appeal” such cases to the federal courts. Many times, such an appeal to federal court succeeds, either because the U.S. Attorney agrees to settle, or because the judge issues a favorable decision for the company and employee.

There is no reason for employers and workers to give up and drop the case, when there is a federal judicial system, willing to exercise jurisdiction, and consider the merits of the H-1B claim.

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About the author: Bruce Coane is an attorney who specializes in labor and employment law, and, immigration law, with offices in Florida and Texas. He may be reached at houstonlaw@aol.com, 713-850-0066 or 305-538-6800.

H-1B Working Visas Available for Foreign Nationals

The H-1B working visas allows foreign nationals to work in the USA in a specialty occupation that requires a bachelor’s degree.

There is an annual cap on such visas of approximately 65,000, and each year the cap has been reached. On April first the cap re-opened allowing foreign workers to be sponsored by American companies for jobs in the U.S. There are all sorts of complex rules and regulations for this visa, and as can be seen in the attached article, the debate continues concerning this long-standing work visa program. Our law firm, Coane and Associates, PLLC regularly advises workers and employers on the intricacies of this visa, and we represent them before the Department of Homeland Security in obtaining such visas.

Here is an interesting article on H-1B working visas from The Star Telegram.

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About the author: Bruce Coane is an attorney who specializes in labor and employment law, and, immigration law, with offices in Florida and Texas. He may be reached at houstonlaw@aol.com, 713-850-0066 or 305-538-6800.

H-4 Visa explained

An H-4 visa is a visa issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders. An H4 Visa allows the spouse or child of an H-1B Visa holder to live and study in the United States.

USCIS allows immediate family members of H visa holders (H-1A, H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, or H-3) to get H-4 visas to lawfully come and stay in the US. These visas are usually issued at the local US consulate office abroad. However, if the person is already in US, he or she can obtain H-4 visa by filing Form I-539 for change of status.

H-4 visa holders are not eligible to get a Social Security Number and cannot be employed, but they can hold a driver’s license, open bank accounts, and get an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for US tax purposes.

Family members may alternatively be admitted in other non-immigrant categories for which they qualify, such as the F-1 category for children or spouses who will be students or the H-1B category for a spouse whose employer has also obtained approval of an H-1B visa petition to employ the spouse. An H-4 visa holder is admitted to the US for the duration of the primary (H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, or H-3) visa validity.

Since H-4 visa holders are not issued a social security number, an ITIN (Individual tax identification number) should be obtained before filing for joint tax returns by filing Form W-7. They are not authorized to work in the United States, though they are allowed to study.

Did you know that a child’s H-4 Visa status automatically expires when the child turns 21? Even if the U.S. government mistakenly gives you an expiration date that is past the child’s birthday, your child will be out of status if he or she remains in the U.S. after turning 21.

What can you do to prevent your child from becoming out of status? The most important thing you can do is plan ahead. There are ways for your child to obtain a different visa and change status. For example, your child might be able to enroll in school and receive an F-1 student visa. You should consult with an experienced immigration lawyer at least one year before your child turns 21 to determine how he or she can legally remain in the United States.

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Bruce Coane is a leading lawyer with 30 years of experience in the field of immigration law and employment law. He may be reached via email at houstonlaw@aol.com or his website at Coane and Associates.

NFAP suggests Entrepreneur Visa program

A new report from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) urges Congress to establish an entrepreneur visa program to foster job creation. The entrepreneur visa would allocate 10,000 visas per year to foreign citizens allowing them conditional residency in the U.S. The intending immigrant would be required to present a business plan to be evaluated by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Conditional status would be removed and a green card awarded after two years if the individual satisfied the terms of the visa by creating three or more non-relative U.S. workers.

The proposed entrepreneur visa program is separate from the EB-5 investor visa. The current investor immigrant visa program requires a capital investment of $500,000 or more and is out of reach for most prospective immigrants. There is no minimum capital requirement specified in the entrepreneur visa program. Check out the press release from the NFAP website: http://www.nfap.com/pressreleases/NFAP092010.pdf

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Bruce Coane is a leading lawyer with 30 years of experience in the field of immigration law and employment law. He may be reached via email at houstonlaw@aol.com or his website at Coane and Associates.

Can you bring your foreign fiancé to the US for marriage?

Congratulations — You are newly engaged and planning to bring your foreign fiancé to the United States for marriage. You’ve done some research, and you downloaded the Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé. You’ve done your Internet research: Wikipedia, free online resources, case law, advice from friends and family, and the list goes on. You may be thinking, “This looks easy, maybe I should just do it myself. It will save me money”. Sure you can do it yourself and save money, but you do really understand the complex process? On paper it looks simple, but wait, the buck stops here.

There are many compelling reasons to hire an immigration lawyer to handle your fiancé visa.

Here are the top 5:

1. Immigration Lawyers Know the Law
U.S. Immigration law is complicated, even for some lawyers. Also, the rules are constantly changing, and it helps to have someone who is up to date on the latest laws and statutes.

2. An Immigration Lawyer Can Represent You
Only a licensed lawyer can represent you before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (where the fiancé visa petition is filed), the National Visa Center (where the name checks are conducted) or at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate (where your fiancé will be interviewed and the K-1 visa will be issued).

3. An Immigration Lawyer Get Things Done Faster
If you choose to prepare your own fiancé visa petition, you will quickly realize there are a number of forms required. You may have to stop frequently to do more research. An experienced immigration lawyer will prepare your fiancé visa petition quickly and correctly.

4. An Immigration Lawyer Can Prevent Costly Mistakes
There are multiple rules regarding your fiancé’s ability to travel to the United States during the fiancé visa process. For example, if your fiancé is issued a K-1 visa, they must use it to enter the U.S. and not any other visa and you must marry within a specified period of time. Mistakes in this regard can result in you having to start the fiancé visa process all over again (including paying the fees) or your fiancé being unable to remain in the U.S.

5. An Immigration Lawyer Can Prevent Lengthy Delays
Out of all the reasons for hiring an immigration lawyer, this is the most compelling for many engaged couples. According to the Office of Immigration Statistics, approximately 40 to 60% of all fiancé visa petitions filed every year are not approved. Thus, an experienced, knowledgeable immigration lawyer can prevent any lengthy delays and give you peace of mind.

If the USCIS finds some technical mistake or omission in the paperwork you submitted to them, they will send you a formal letter (also known as a Request for Evidence or RFE) telling you what you did wrong. This form will often be sent several months after you originally filed your petition. Often, when you submit the required correction, they will again wait several months and again return the forms to you with another cover-sheet informing you of a second technical error or omission. Even writing N/A in a box can result in an RFE. Each RFE may add about six more months to the process.

Call us at Coane & Associates at 713-850-0066 (Houston) or 305-538-6800 (Miami) today for a consultation with one of our experienced immigration lawyers. Also, visit us on the web at http://www.coane.com.

Green Cards come faster for spouses and unmarried children of Green Card Holders

There has always been an immigration quota for spouses and unmarried children of green card holders, to immigrate to the USA. That quota typically took 3-7 years before being able to get a green card, thereby keeping many families separated from one another.

Just recently,in the late-summer of 2010, that green card quota has surged ahead so that instead of waiting 3-7 years, these individuals only need to wait about 5 months.

In past years, the spouse of a green card holder would not even have a case filed, rather they would wait five years until the green card holding spouse became a USA citizen, before filing a case. That strategy no longer makes sense with a quota that takes only 5 months. As a result, our office has been filing many of these “2a preference cases,” in order to allow families to legally immigrate and be together again.

The green card sponsor, such as the parent sponsoring unmarried children, does not even need to be in the USA to file the case. The entire visa petition process is all done by mail.

September 2010 Visa Bulletin: A Great Leap Forward for Some…

Recently, we spotted some language written by the State Department in the August 2010 Visa Bulletin which indicated that certain categories might advance rapidly in the September 2010 Visa Bulletin. And for many thousands of people, the September Visa Bulletin is a dream-come-true. Not for those with India and China employment-based (EB) priority dates who have been waiting in line for much too long (Did you hear that, Congress?).

For who does the September 2010 Visa Bulletin apply to?

In particular, for those in the worldwide EB-3 category for instance — For professionals and skilled workers, the numbers advanced over 5 months in September while for unskilled workers, the advance was over 10 months. The worldwide family numbers advanced between 2 and 12 months, much faster than they did back in September 2009. The biggest movers in the worldwide family categories were 2A (spouses and children of permanent residents) and 2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents). 2A advanced 10 months while 2B moved forward one full year!

Thus, there are people stuck in the worldwide family backlogs have something to cheer about, persons born in the Philippines, a country where demand for visa numbers far outpaces the supply, are positively ecstatic! Family 1st advanced by one full year, 2A by 10 months, 2B by one year, 3rd by 8 months and 4th by 9 months! (Thanks, Congress for listening…)

H-1B working visas still available

The immigration service continues to accept H-1B visa applications for specialty occupation jobs (those that require a bachelors degree). The quota opened at 65,000 visas on April 1, 2010, and prior to the recession, the quota would be exhausted by April 2. However, this year (and last year), work visa numbers continue to be available well-past April. In fact, the latest count from the government shows that only 23,500 visa numbers have been requested by sponsoring employers, since April 1, 2010.  The current quota is for H-1B jobs with a start date on or after Oct 1,2010, which is the new fiscal year for work visas.