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I am pleased to announce that on March 3, 2015, I will be participating in a national webinar hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association on "Immigrant Options for Small and Start-Up Businesses." This program will focus on the unique challenges faced by foreign personnel working for small businesses, or founding start-up companies. We will discuss various permanent residence options, ability to pay, bona fide job opportunities, capitalization, business plans, and best practices for … [Read more...]
Immigration and Firm News
February 8, 2015 by ·
Finalize those offers now and prepare for April 1, 2015 H-1B Cap Filings It’s that crazy time of year again when immigration lawyers and employers try to finalize offers to candidates needing H-1B cap-subject visa petitions so they can be filed during the short five-day period beginning April 1, 2015. Given growth in the economy and recent statistics showing increased job creation, immigration attorneys expect that, like last year and every year before, demand for cap H-1Bs will exceed … [Read more...]
November 24, 2014 by ·
Below is a summary of the various Executive Actions announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014 concerning legal immigration to the USA. Most of the press coverage has been about the hot-button topic of what to do with the millions of people who are in the USA already in undocumented status. There has been virtually no coverage of the President's plans concerning legal immigration. While he is constrained by Congressional statute and Congressional inaction to fix legal immigration, there … [Read more...]
August 13, 2014 by ·
On August 6, 2014, the American Immigration Lawyers Association sent a letter to President Obama recommending administrative fixes or executive action to tweak the business immigration system in light of Congressional failure to pass an immigration reform bill. The list of recommended actions are within the realm of administrative law and existing statutes. Only Congress can change or amend statutes, including underlying visa categories, requirements and numbers. However, within the confines … [Read more...]
May 15, 2014 by ·
USCIS has issued proposed rules to enhance the usability of some work visas to make some of the procedures less disruptive for employers and employees and to attract and retain international experts. The Obama Administration is trying to improve some of the visa issues that make it difficult for employers to keep or attract highly skilled foreign workers. Comments by the public are due on or before July 11, 2014. Comments can be emailed to USCISFRComment@uscis.dhs.gov. Include DHS Docket No. … [Read more...]
May 12, 2014 by ·
DHS has issued proposed regulations to allow the spouses of H-1B workers to apply for work authorization. The public has until July 11, 2014 to comment. Comments can be emailed to uscisfrcomment@dhs.gov using in the subject line "DHS docket number USCIS-2010-0017" or by commenting online using the preceding docket number to search. The purpose of the regulation is to address "personal and economic hardship for the families of H-1B nonimmigrants the longer they remain in the United States" … [Read more...]
April 10, 2014 by ·
The H-1B cap situation is even worse than last year, which means employers are continuing to hire. USCIS announced today that it received 172,500 H-1B petitions for 85,000 available visas, compared to 124,000 last year. These were received at USCIS during the first week of April for the FY2015 filing season for specialty occupations with selected employees scheduled to begin work on October 1, 2014 (unless employees already have some underlying work authorization). Because the number of … [Read more...]
April 3, 2014 by ·
Here at the Seattle immigration Law Office of Bonnie Stern Wasser, we enjoy working with entrepreneurs. Whether owned by Americans who seek to hire global foreign talent, or foreign nationals seeking to open or expand a business in the U.S., it is important for entrepreneurs to understand the range of business immigration options and startup visas for employees, executives and investor entrepreneurs as well as the impact they have on the local and national economy. The Kauffman Foundation just … [Read more...]
March 26, 2014 by ·
Once again, it’s that crazy time of year for immigration lawyers and employers trying to squeeze in the last few H-1B petitions for the short filing season of one week (April 1-April 7, 2014). If demand exceeds supply, which most immigration practitioners predict, there will be a lottery. Last year, there were 124,000 applications for 85,000 spots. That means that once again, employers cannot predict if they will be able to hire their candidates, who on top of everything else, will not be … [Read more...]
