Author: tancincowp

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US plans to talk to India about H-1B and L-1 visa fee hikes

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The US has planned to hold a discussion with India in April over the recent H-1B and visa fee increase. According to the Indian media statement, it mainly disturbs the Indian owned companies in the US. The US has agreed discussions following India’s complaint against its move to raise visa fees for non-immigrant workers at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Indian Government, Ministry of Commerce is functioning with a set of legal mentors to validate that the visa rules victimize Indian IT organizations working in the US. “We want the US to see our point of view at the consultation stage itself and revoke the visa fee hike, but this is unlikely to happen. We have to be ready to fight a case at the dispute panel. Our legal team is trying to prove violation of WTO rules on both de facto (in effect) and de jure (by law) basis,” the Commerce Ministry official said.

According to Nasscom Assessment:
The change would affect losses estimated at $400 million for Indian IT firms. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: “The MEA is intense to settle the matter during the WTO consultation process as it does not want yet another problematical situation with the US on trade and economic matters.”

This will be a challenging case for India to argue at the WTO as the legislation is applicable on all companies and doesn’t explicitly target Indian companies. Official said: “Our legal team has to prove that discrimination is taking place by providing data which shows that it is only Indian companies that are getting affected because of the increased visa fees and not the American companies”. The US has suggested April 5-6 as probable dates for consultations. We look at the readiness of our officials around that time and respond accordingly.

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Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone Temporary Protected Status Stretched for Six Months

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An additional six months of extension for the designations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).This extension has been done by Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security. Though there have been major progresses in the conditions in all three countries since their designations for TPS in November 2014, the enduring effects of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak and continued recovery challenges support this six-month extension

The extended designation is effective May 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2016. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourage beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible. TPS extension allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Eligible TPS beneficiaries who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of Nov. 21, 2016.

Submission Process for Re-registering for TPS:
To re-register, current beneficiaries should submit the following forms:

  • Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee)
  • Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD
  • The Form I-765 application fee (or a fee-waiver request) only if they want an EAD. No application fee is required if the re-registrant does not want an EAD.
  • The biometric services fee (or a fee-waiver request) if they are age 14 or older.

Submission Process for Individuals who still have a pending initial TPS Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone application:

New Form I-821 is not needed for the individuals who still have a pending initial TPS Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone application. However, if they currently have a TPS-related EAD and want a new EAD, they should submit:

  • Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
  • The Form I-765 application fee, regardless of their age and
  • A copy of the receipt notice for the initial Form I-821 that is still pending

One who fails to submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee-waiver requests USCIS will reject that applicant’s TPS application. Applicants may request that USCIS waive any fees based on an inability to pay by filing Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or by submitting a written request. Fee-waiver requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation. All USCIS forms are provided for free. Forms are available at USCIS website uscis.gov/forms or applicants can request forms by mail or call toll-free 1-800-870-3676.

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Updates

H-1B Petitions for Fiscal Year 2017

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USCIS will start accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2017 cap from April 1, 2016. The H-1B visa program allows employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require the imaginary or practical application of highly specialized knowledge, such as engineers, scientists, and computer programmers.

The required cap on H-1B visas for FY 2017 is 65,000.The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap. The number of petitions received will be monitored and notified to the public by an agency when the H-1B cap has been met.

To Avoid Delays in Processing:
USCIS is expecting to receive more than 65000 petitions during the first five business days of this program. In order to avoid delays in processing, H-1B petitioners must follow all legal and regulatory requirements.

USCIS has developed detailed information, including an optional checklist, Form M-735, Optional Checklist for Form I-129 H-1B Filings, on how to complete and submit an FY 2017 H-1B petition. The optional checklist for FY 2017 will be available within the next week. Employers should take action as early as possible to initiate any cap-subject H-1B petitions. Cases will be acknowledged on the date USCIS receives a properly filed petition with the appropriate fees.

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Mark Zuckerberg to Support Obama’s Efforts on Undocumented Immigrants

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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and other Silicon Valley leaders have advised the Supreme Court to sustain Barack Obama’s executive actions that seek to protect undocumented immigrants to stay in the US.

The Facebook founder, along with Reid Hoffman LinkedIn co-founder, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, prominent angel investors and venture capitalists Ron Conway, Jeremy Levine and representatives of upwards of 60 companies advised the Supreme Court to support Obama’s efforts to allow millions of immigrants to stay in the U.S.

Silicon Valley Says:
The court brief released by FWD.us on Tuesday argues that the immigration system is shattered and advised the Supreme Court to allow Obama’s executive actions to be implemented for the sake of the U.S. economy. For Silicon Valley, the issue has been both personal and commercial.

Other Companies Says:
Facebook, LinkedIn and other companies say they need more visas for high-skilled immigrants. In recent times company faced a backlash in India aimed at trying to offer free mobile broadband service to some users, but only to access certain websites, such as Facebook. Many of the allusions point to theoretical studies and press trainings rather than other court cases. “Failure to address the status of undocumented immigrants and their families,” the brief says, “also wear away the long-term skills base of our workforce.”

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DHS to launch known Employer Pilot Program

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The Employer pilot program is announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This program is to assess a new process for employers seeking to hire certain workers through employment-based visa categories.

The program will be designed to make adjudications more efficient and less costly and also to reduce paperwork and delays for both the department and U.S. employers who seek to employ foreign workers.

GOALS OF THE KNOWN EMPLOYER PILOT PROGRAM

  • Reducing the amount of paperwork filed by employers and retained by USCIS
  • Encouraging the stability in the settlement of employment-based petitions and applications.
  • Restructuring the adjudicative process to achieve greater efficiency within USCIS
  • Providing greater support to CBP and DOS in support of greater efficiency and consistency at ports of entry and consular posts.

Under the Known Employer pilot, up to nine preselected employers will file applications requesting that USCIS predetermine that they meet certain requirements relating to certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visa classifications. Employers will create a profile in the Web-based Known Employer Document Library (KEDL), and upload documents relating to the requirements, when making this request.

USCIS officers will review and decide whether a prospective employer has met certain requirements relating to the visa classifications, and if USCIS approves the employer’s predetermination request, the employer may then file petitions or applications for individual employees without needing to resubmit company information with each petition or application.

No additional fee is charged to participate in this program. At any time, USCIS may terminate or extend the pilot at any time. DHS and DOS will solicit on going feedback from the participants.

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Yemen: Deadline for TPS Registration is March 1, 2016

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March 1, 2016 is the deadline for the Yemen to get registered for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The TPS designation for Yemen runs from September 3, 2015, through March 3, 2017.

Eligibility Criteria for Registration
To get registered with TPS, you must validate all eligibility criteria. This includes:

  • You must undergo security checks if you are 14 years old or older
  • You must have been “continuously residing” and “continuously physically present” in the United States since September 3, 2015.
  • Persons with criminal records are not eligible for TPS.

Registration Process:

To get registered for TPS, You must submit the following forms:

  • Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status.
  • If you are more than 14 years old then biometric services fee applies.
  • Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether you want an employment authorization document (EAD).
  • The Form I-765 application fee or a fee-waiver request, but only if you want an EAD. No application fee is required if you don’t want an EAD.
  • There is no Form I-765 fee for initial applicants under the age of 14 or 66 years of age and over.

If you cannot pay the fee, you can submit a written request. However, you must file Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. TPS application will be rejected, if you do not submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee-waiver request.

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Global Pinoy

Predicament of American daughter: Family separation

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Sonia was born and raised in San Jose, California. From the outside, Sonia seemed like your typical happy-go-lucky senior in high school getting ready to go college, but at home, Sonia lives a different reality.

Her parents, Edgar and Rowena, are from the Philippines. They came to the United States when Rowena was pregnant with Sonia and decided to overstay their tourist visa.

Refused to leave

When Sonia was very young, her parents were arrested by the Immigration Service and were to be deported. Edgar and Rowena, however, refused to leave the US and decided to stay. For years, they hid their status and tirelessly worked several under-the-table jobs so Sonia could study in the best schools and participate in after-school activities.

Illegal status

It was only recently that Sonia found out about her parents’ illegal status in the United States when she wanted to apply for private student loans for college. Since finding out the truth about her parents’ illegal status, Sonia has been worried that her parents can be taken anytime from her and she’s scared of what will happen when she leaves for college. She relies on her parents for everything, emotional and financial needs. In two weeks, Sonia will be turning 18 years old and instead of the usual birthday debut celebration, she told her parents not to prepare anything special.

Instead, she wanted to take steps to help her parents. Is there anything that Sonia can legally do for her parents?

Deferred action

More than a year ago, US President Barack Obama released two immigration executive actions that will provide immigration relief to undocumented parents of US citizens (called DAPA or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans); and, an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for undocumented young immigrants.

The DAPA and DACA will affect more than 4 million undocumented immigrants.

Instead of the implementation of these reliefs, however, a lawsuit was filed by 26 states. Currently, the implementation of Dapa, the program which was supposed to allow undocumented parents with US citizen children to obtain an employment authorization document and be deferred from removal, is still suspended until the US Supreme Court decides on this case.

It is expected a decision will be reached by June 2016. Until then, parents with US citizen children will have to avail of alternative options.

US citizen children may only petition their parents after they turn 21 years old. Until Sonia reaches this age, there is really nothing much she can do affirmatively to help her parents with their immigration status. Even assuming that she turns 21 years old, there is a bigger hurdle that she has to overcome before she can file a petition for her parents.

The deportation order may be enforced anytime by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) against her parents if they are found to be still present in the United States. Fortunately, there is “prosecutorial discretion” request that may be filed with the DHS to prevent this from happening.

Sonia’s case is very sympathetic and her desperation to help her parents is understandable considering that her parents are her only means of support. She represents many young immigrants who are in the same situation and who were afforded the opportunity to be integrated into the American system just to be threatened with family separation with no relief available.

Hopefully, the DAPA litigation will result in a favorable judgment for the Obama administration and her parents will be given temporary relief.

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Global Pinoy

Use of certificate of loss of nationality allowed after renunciation of US citizenship

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A naturalized US citizen who makes a decision to relinquish US citizenship should understand that this matter involves a process. The completion of the official renunciation is not immediate.

Accomplishing, signing and submission of the required consular forms are just the start of a process and there is a time period required for its approval to be an effective renunciation.

In the same way that there are steps to take in applying for US citizenship, there are also certain steps one must take to renounce US citizenship.

An immigrant wishing to be naturalized to become a US citizen must wait until his oath-taking in order to be officially considered one.

In the same manner, an individual who wishes to renounce citizenship or a renunciant is considered to have effectively done so only after the Department of State approves the certificate of loss of nationality.

The naturalization application currently takes some four to six months before the applicant officially becomes a US citizen. For renunciation, the process varies approximately from four months to a year depending on how fast the Department of State issues its final approval on the loss of citizenship.

Pending the oath-taking ceremony, a naturalization applicant who passed the interview and submitted all the application forms is still considered a Filipino citizen and may still use the “green card” for purposes of travel.

In the same manner, the individual who voluntarily renounces US citizenship by executing a sworn statement before the consular officer is allowed to use the US passport pending his/her approval of the application for renunciation by the Department of State.

The use of travel documents as a US citizen while the application for renunciation is pending is still considered valid by the Department of State. In fact, there are specific instructions on the Foreign Affairs Manual (7 FAM 1229) on the use of passport even after the acts of renunciation.

The US consular officer after receiving the signed forms of renunciation is specifically instructed not to cancel the US passport right away but rather they are mandated to keep the passport in the safe place until the certificate of loss of nationality is approved and returned by the Department of State.

During this period, should the renunciant have any need to travel to the United States, he or she can request that the consular officer return the US passport to him/her but only for the specific travel. When the certificate of loss of nationality is approved by the Department of State, the renunciant will then be called to appear before the consular officer and surrender the US passport.

This is the reason why Sen. Grace Poe was still able to use a US passport during her travel despite her act of renunciation. She may have the intent to renounce it but since there is a process she had to undergo before completing the renunciation, nothing is really final until approval by the Department of State.

Taking the oath of allegiance completes the naturalization process. In renunciation, the final act of approval by the Department of State completes the renunciation. However, unlike naturalization, renunciation is retroactive to the date of the voluntary act of renunciation and not the date the certificate of loss of nationality is received from the Department of State.

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US hikes H-1B and L-1 visa fees

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The visa fee increases for an H-1B visa and the L-1 visa. This visa fee increase has caused friction between India and the US expectedly. Recent report says that Indian IT firms have decided to increase the client and the processing fees more which will soften the blow of increased costs due to fees being doubled for US H-1B and L-1 visas.
Under the new law, employers that employ 50 or more employees in the United States, and where more than 50% of such employees are working under H-1B or L-1 status, will be required to pay an additional filing fee of:

  • $4,000 for H-1B petitions (including H-1B extensions), and
  • $4,500 for L-1 petitions (including L-1 extensions).

One of the largest Indian IT outsourcing companies in India, TCS, said that it’s likely to record a 10 per cent increase in profitability in its December quarter, while Infosys is expected to report a 3 percent rise in profits, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Nasscom and The Economic Times says:
According to Indian IT body Nasscom, this is expected to have an impact of about $400 million annually on India’s technology sector. Indian technology industry paid $22.5 billion in taxes during the financial years 2011-15, besides investing $2 billion in FY 2011-13 in the US as well as supported 4,11,000 jobs in FY2015 directly or indirectly, according to a Nasscom report.

R Chandrasekhar, president of Nasscom, described the fees as ‘unjustified’, and said that they are designed to target Indian IT companies ‘disproportionately.’ “US immigration reform is something that has to occur sooner or later,” Chandrasekhar added.

The Economic Times quoted him as saying: “I don’t think it is an issue at all, $2,000 or $4,000 that doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you have to provide excellent value to customers.” While another leading industry figure, Sanchit Gogia, expects that the affected Indian IT companies will simply pass on the extra charges to their clients.

However, several commentators have stated that the increased H-1B and L-1 visa fees aren’t of great concern. Indian industrialist N. R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, believes that the doubled visa costs will not be a particularly troubling issue.