From
the Editor's Desk
The Express H2B team gives
a hearty and warm welcome to all its readers.
With the advent of New Year 2009, we are striving
hard to introduce new and exciting services
to make your H-2B visa processing a smooth
journey! The response we received for our
first newsletter was simply overwhelming.
Your trust and appreciation have made our
efforts all worth while. The Express
H2B team wants to take this opportunity
to thank all our readers for their trust and
appreciation. We wish you all a very Happy
and Prosperous Year ahead.
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The month of December
was quite exciting as it marked the
successful launch of our H2B Newsletter.
With the launch of the Express
H2B Newsletter, we have a mechanism
in place to be linked with you. Through
this expedition we have taken the initiative
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endow you with the latest H-2B "happenings
of the month" and the changes in the world
of immigration. As part of our continued efforts
to provide you with The Best Services,
our Express H2B team is currently
working on various exciting projects this
year. Your suggestions and feedback are highly
valuable, so please do let us know how we
can help you better!
H2B Cap Reached! The USCIS,
on January 08, 2009, announced that it has
received a sufficient number of petitions
to reach the congressionally mandated H2B
cap for the second half of Fiscal Year 2009
(FY2009). The USCIS notice also informed us
that it will reject any H-2B visa petitions
for new workers seeking an employment start
date prior to October 1, 2009 that are received
after January 7, 2009. If excess H-2B petitions
are received, the USCIS will apply a computer-generated
random selection process to all cap-subject
H-2B visa petitions that are received on Jan.
7, 2009 in order to select the number of H-2B
visa petitions needed to meet the cap.
The USCIS will reject, and return the fee,
all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected.
The USCIS will however continue to accept
cap-exempt H-2B petitions
with employment start dates in the second
half of FY 2009, including extension requests
for current H-2B workers, and petitions requesting
changes of employer or additional employers.
The USCIS had stated that it would accept
H-2B petitions for 50,000 beneficiaries --
significantly more than the cap-figure of
33,000 -- to allow for cases that are ultimately
denied, withdrawn, or revoked, as well as
cases in which employers employ fewer workers
than actually requested. At this point it
is unclear if USCIS actually accepted petitions
for 50,000 H-2B beneficiaries. The 50,000
figure was an estimate only and subject to
change by the agency.
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Good
News - H2B Procedures Streamlined!
Now for some of the best news we have
received in a long time. Last month,
the US Department of Labor (DOL) and
the USCIS issued rules that significantly
change the H-2B filing procedures in
an effort to streamline and modernize
the process. One |
of the merits of this new H-2B rule is that
employers will now submit their H-2B applications
directly to the DOL's Employment and Training
Administration instead of filing first at
the state level and then having to wait for
a second review at the federal level.
The rule change ends the state workforce
agency duplication of effort in processing
applications. State workforce agencies will
now concentrate their efforts on helping employers
recruit US workers. Another significant change
is that the DOL may debar (for up to three
years) any employers, attorneys and agents
found to have committed fraud or willful misrepresentation
concerning the H-2B employment-based immigration
program, or who fail to cooperate with Labor
Department audits or investigations. The final
rule will go into effect Jan. 18, 2009. In
the opinion of Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao,
"This final rule will provide greater protection
for workers and improve the integrity and
efficiency of the H-2B temporary labor certification
program."
We truly appreciate the USCIS' effort to
streamline the H-2B visa process. The proposed
rule appears to recognize that alleged abuses
of the program appear to be the result of
foreign recruiters in obtaining H-2B workers.
Click
here to read the DHS’ Final Rule on H-2B
Visa…
The winds of "change" are blowing. One of
the biggest news items on this month's agenda
is the inauguration and Swearing-in
Ceremony of President-elect Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama, in one of his speeches, promised
that he would make immigration his top priority
and will definitely initiate ways and means
to make immigration a fair journey. Obama
and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden plan
to fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy
and increase the number of legal immigrants
to keep families together and meet the demand
for jobs that employers cannot fill with US
workers. Obama would also initiate measures
to discourage illegal migration to the United
States.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden:
Fighting for Comprehensive Immigration
Reform
“In approaching immigration reform,
I believe that we must enact tough,
practical reforms. . . . We need stronger
enforcement on the border and at the
workplace. . . . But for reform to work,
we also must respond to what pulls people
to America. . . . Where we can reunite
families, we should. Where we can bring
in more foreign-born workers with the
skills our economy needs, we should.
. . . The time to fix our broken immigration
system is now. It is critical that as
we embark on this enormous venture to
update our immigration system, it is
fully reflective of the powerful tradition
of immigration in this country and fully
reflective of our values and ideals.”
[Obama Statement
in U.S. Senate, 5/23/07]
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Bush waves a final Good-bye!
President George W. Bush delivers his
farewell address to the nation Thursday
evening, Jan. 15, 2009, from the East
Room of the White House. President Bush
stated in his remarks, "It has been
the privilege of a lifetime to serve
as your President. There have been good
days and tough days. But every day I
have been inspired by the greatness
of our country, and uplifted by the
goodness of our people."
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President Bush Delivers Farewell
Message to the Nation: Couple of
days prior to the Swearing-in ceremony of
Mr. Barack Obama, President Bush delivered
a farewell message to the Nation saying, "It
has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve
as your President. There have been good days
and tough days. But every day I have been
inspired by the greatness of our country,
and uplifted by the goodness of our people.
I have been blessed to represent this nation
we love. And I will always be honored to carry
a title that means more to me title that means
more to me than any other - citizen of the
United States of America. And so, my fellow
Americans, for the final time: Good night.
May God bless this house and our next President.
And may God bless you and our wonderful country."
To ensure you receive your Express
H2B Newsletter, please add
to your address book or safe list.
See you next month with lot
more happenings on H-2B! Till then take care!
News Bulletin
USCIS
Reaches H-2B Cap for Second Half of Fiscal
Year 2009
The USCIS, on January 08, 2009, announced
that it has received a sufficient number of
petitions to reach the congressionally mandated
H2B cap for the second half of Fiscal Year
2009. USCIS will reject the H2B visa petitions
for new workers seeking employment start dates
prior to October 1, 2009 that arrive after
Jan. 7, 2009. If deemed necessary, USCIS may
apply a computer-generated random selection
process to all the H2B visa petitions that
are subject to the cap and received on Jan.
7, 2009 in order to select the number of H2B
visa petitions needed to meet the cap.
Read More News
Featured Article
H2B
Visa – Determining the Prevailing Wage Rate
There is a prevailing wage requirement for
all H1B, H2B and Permanent Labor Certification
cases. Prevailing Wage is defined as the hourly
wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid in
the largest city in each county, to the majority
of workers, laborers, and mechanics. Prevailing
wages are established, by the Department of
Labor (DOL) and Industries, for each trade
and occupation employed in the performance
of public work. The law requires that an employer
pay the higher of their actual wage or the
prevailing wage in the area for the offered
position. Obtaining a prevailing wage determination
is no longer the easy process as it was in
the past. Determining the prevailing wage
would include identifying a wage survey that
fits your job offered and noting the wage
requirements. Read out the complete article
to find out how the Department of Labor determines
the Prevailing Wage Rate.
Read
Full Article | Read
More Articles
Questions and Answers
What is an H-2B certification? Why
is it required?
Ans: The H-2B program establishes
a means for US nonagricultural employers who
anticipate a shortage of domestic workers,
to bring temporary nonimmigrant foreign workers
into the US. The Labor Certification is one
of the requirements for H-2B petitions to
prove that the job and the US employer's need
for the foreign worker is of a temporary nature,
and that there are no qualified US workers
that are ready, willing, and able to fill
the position. The need must be for one year
or less and can be either a one-time occurrence,
seasonal, peak load or intermittent. Temporary
employment should not be confused with part-time
employment, which does not qualify for temporary
(or permanent) labor certification.
More
Q&A
H2B Myths and Reality
Myth: I have a valid employment
offer from an employer in US and I meet all
the other criteria for the H-2B work visa.
I am not concerned about the H-2B cap because
I will just use premium processing. That way
I can still get an H-2B, even though the cap
has been reached.
Reality: No, this is a myth.
Premium processing is simply a way to speed
up the decision making process in a case.
It is not some sort of special program with
extra cap numbers or exemptions. A cap-subject
H-2B case filed after the cap has been reached
will be rejected and returned by the USCIS
Service Center, whether or not premium processing
is requested. Even though you meet all the
criteria for the H-2B visa, there’s no exemption
from the Cap rule through premium processing.
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H2B QUIZ |
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answering The H2B Quiz question.
Can anyone who is in the US on
H-2B Visa Status, travel in and out
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