Author: tancincowp

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Another reason why the US needs to review the H-1B visa policy

Another reason why the US needs to review the H-1B visa policy
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A new study has been released pointing to the benefits of expanding the United States’ H-1B visa policy.

Let’s first discuss the H-1B: The H-1B is a visa in the US that allows US employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. 

An H-1B worker’s spouse and children can accompany the worker to the US by obtaining H-4 visas, which are not visas that allow them to work in the US.

The study found, however, that most H-1B visa holders are married to skilled workers. The problem is that most of them only have H-4 visas.

To be allowed to work, these spouses need to wait for their H-1B spouses being on queue for a permanent visa, which would then allow them to apply for employment authorization. This can be a wait that takes years.

In the study of the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the US H-1B rules were compared to equivalent rules in Canada, and found that it could lead to a brain drain for the US.

This is because under Canada rules, all spouses of skilled workers are also granted work authorization.

A change in policy to allow spouses to work, according to the study, would mean economic benefits for American businesses. 

“Research has shown that the H-1B visa category boosts US economic growth, creates jobs for American workers, and slows offshoring of high-paid jobs. Extending work eligibility to the spouses of H-1B visa holders would help the United States garner more of the economic benefits that skilled foreign workers create,” the study said.

For advice on H-1B visas and work authorizations, consult a trusted immigration lawyer.

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Updates

DACA codified – what you need to know

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The codification of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is finally in effect as of October 31, 2022, through the published DACA Final Rule of the Biden administration.

What does this mean for Dreamers? Well, for many, it means things will remain the same. This is good news to some and bad news to others.

Let me explain.

On October 6, a federal appeals court ruled that DACA was illegal, but it kept it intact – mostly because of the Biden administration’s codification.

The Biden administration codified DACA through the Final Rule in order to find a way to keep it from being struck down. This was to replace the implementation of DACA only through the legally challenged memo from the Obama administration.

Now, what does this mean for DACA beneficiaries and applicants.

The good news is that DACA renewals will continue. 

It clarified that expunged convictions, juvenile delinquency adjudications, and immigration-related offenses seen as felonies or misdemeanors under state laws won’t automatically mean disqualification from DACA.

It added that work authorizations obtained through DACA will only be revoked only after the termination of the DACA status and not at the beginning of deportation proceedings.

The bad news is that new applications still won’t be processed.

Beneficiaries who have been approved for the program could continue to renew. It is advised that beneficiaries renew regularly and on time because DACA continues to be under legal challenge and there is a real possibility that it will get paused in toto.

The recommended time to renew DACA is 150 to 180 days before expiration.

If you let your DACA status expire, you won’t be able to renew it because it will be considered a new application.

To navigate through this DACA dilemma and to find alternate ways to seek permanent status, consult a trusted immigration lawyer.

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Updates

DHS Announces Extension of REAL ID Full Enforcement Deadline

DHS Announces Extension of REAL ID Full Enforcement Deadline
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On December 5, 2022 the Department of Homeland Security (#dhs) announced its intent to extend the REAL ID full enforcement date by 24 months, from May 3, 2023 to May 7, 2025. 

DHS Announces Extension of REAL ID Full Enforcement Deadline

Under the new regulations, states will now have additional time to ensure their residents have driver’s licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established by the REAL ID.

As required by the law, following the enforcement deadline, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (#tsa), will be prohibited from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards that do not meet these federal standards. 

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Updates

USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals

USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals
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On Sept. 26, 2022, USCIS automatically extended the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (also known as Green Cards) to 24 months for lawful permanent residents who file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card).

USCIS is in the process of sending out amended receipt notices for individuals with a pending Form I-90. You can present an amended receipt notice with an expired Green Card as evidence of continued status. By presenting your amended receipt notice with your expired Green Card, you remain authorized to work and travel for 24 months from the expiration date on the front of your expired Green Card.

If you are in urgent need of evidence of status while you wait for your amended receipt notice or your replacement Green Card, or if you need another in-person service, you may call the USCIS Contact Center to request an appointment. We encourage you to wait for your amended receipt notice instead of scheduling an appointment that you may not need.

More Information
Please visit USCIS website for more information on the extended green card validity or contact us for assistance. 

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Updates

The H-1B visa: A pathway to work for healthcare workers

The H-1B visa: A pathway to work for healthcare workers
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Application for the H-1B visa is around the corner as the new year of 2023 is fast approaching. This year, the H-1B registration ran from March 1 to March 18. Let’s talk about how it works and if you or someone you know can qualify for it and can even benefit from its cap exemption.

This may benefit those especially in the healthcare industry.

Understanding the H-1B

The H-1B visa is known to be for professionals in general, but what is commonly understated is how healthcare workers can apply for this visa. 

The H-1B visa is a temporary visa for professionals in specialty jobs that typically require a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent. The US employer (not the worker) must file a petition, and if granted, the H-1B will be valid for 3 years and can be renewed for 3 more years.

The cap you need to know

Since there are so many professionals who seek the H-1B visa yearly, the United States government has placed a cap on the number of people who can get them. To decide who to give the H-1B to, they hold a visa lottery – choosing who gets the visa randomly.

The H-1B visa lottery is limited to 65,000 H-1B visas for each fiscal year, with an additional 20,000 saved for people holding a master’s degree or higher from a US institution. 

Before you even start stressing about the H-1B lottery, it’s important to understand which jobs qualify for this visa. Only specialty occupations qualify for an H-1B, which means that the job requires a bachelor’s degree or higher (or its equivalent in work experience) in a specialized field like IT, engineering, or medicine. But, not every medical job is eligible for an H-1B.

Which healthcare workers are eligible for H-1B visas?

While a majority of health care works are educated and specialized, only some types of health care jobs qualify for an H-1B visa. The three main categories of healthcare jobs that qualify for H-1Bs are nurses, physical therapists, and physicians. Here’s what you need to know about each category.

Nurses

As far as nurses go, generally only nurse practitioners, nurse administrators, and nurse managers are generally qualified for an H-1B. Why not RNs? Well, registered nurse (RN) positions normally require only a two-year degree, so RNs don’t meet the standard educational requirement for an H-1B. However, there have been instances where RNs with really specialized knowledge and perhaps an accompanying certificate, e.g. an emergency room cert, may qualify.

Physical therapists 

Because a bachelor’s degree is generally a minimum standard requirement for this kind of work, physical therapists are generally eligible for an H-1B visa. Foreign physical therapists must, of course, have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, have their educational credentials verified through FCCPT, and obtain a US state PT license. 

Physicians

Doctors may apply for an H-1B visa to participate in a residency program, teach or conduct research, and work at a healthcare facility. Each doctor must pass the three-step examination for medical licensing through the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). This test examines clinical knowledge, clinical skills, and includes a spoken English assessment. 

There are approximately 127,000 immigrant physicians in the US who account for nearly a quarter of all the country’s licensed physicians. A majority of these doctors come from India, the Caribbean, Pakistan, Philippines, and Mexico. As you can see, the US relies heavily on foreign-born physicians. 

Can healthcare workers be exempted from the cap? 

Yes.

Some hospitals and health care systems qualify for an H-1B cap-exemption. This allows USCIS to approve H-1B visa petitions for some professions beyond its 85,000 annual cap, and applications for such positions can be filed during any time of the year.

A qualifying nonprofit institution of higher learning or a qualifying nonprofit affiliated with an institution of higher learning can be cap-exempt. H-1B cap-exempt health care categories include:

  • Institutions of higher education (colleges and universities)
  • Non-profit entities related to or affiliated with institutions of higher education
  • Nonprofit research organizations
  • Federal government research organizations
  • State and local government research entities

A healthcare organization, such as a hospital, can be cap-exempt if it can prove it’s related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education. This nonprofit relationship or affiliation can take the form of ownership or board control, or even formal research cooperation.

Unsure about how you can get an H-1B visa? Consult your trusted immigration lawyer.

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Updates

The Latest Court Ruling on DACA: The Good and the Bad

The Latest Court Ruling on DACA: The Good and the Bad
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There’s good news and bad news about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The United States 5th Circuit Court affirmed the 2021 ruling of a Texas judge that DACA was illegal. 

But here’s the catch – it did not order the government to stop it.

It still ordered the government to stop approving the first-time DACA applicants but it did not order for the end of the program.

How did this happen? The Circuit Court ruled that the Texas judged who decided DACA to be illegal, Judge Andrew Hanen, should review the legality of regulations that the Biden administration set.

These regulations refer to the Biden administration’s effort to codify DACA through legislative regulation instead of law, which leaders have so far failed to do.

These regulations are scheduled to take effect on October 31, and were crafted after DACA was still in limbo – the period of time after the government appealed the decision of the Texas judge declaring DACA illegal.

Essentially, the Circuit Court wants Hanen to reevaluate the decision based on the new factor at play – the new rules set by the Biden administration.

We earlier wrote about this in this newsletter and as we expected, it did have an effect on the future of DACA even if it was not as potent as a Congress-passed law.

This means DACA recipients will continue to be protected from deportation and will still keep their jobs. 

On the flip side, DACA recipients still have no pathway to citizenship.

To protect the future of Dreamers, American leaders still need to pass a law to give them pathways to citizenship. Until then, they Dreamers can only continue to dream of a way forward.

To make sense of DACA and how to navigate this limbo, consult your trusted immigration lawyer.

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Updates

What the Biden admin has prepared and is doing for Dreamers

What the Biden admin has prepared and is doing for Dreamers
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With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program still in limbo, the Biden administration has been on the move to prepare for the worst.

By worst, it means the halting of DACA. 

So far it has been declared illegal by at least two courts, but it will be reevaluated by a Texas judge to take into account the Biden administration’s new rules codifying the program.

Now what will happen if it still gets struck down all the way to the Supreme Court? Here’s the Biden government’s plan.

A big order is that if DACA recipients are to be deported, they will be deprioritized, especially if they are not deemed as threats to public safety and national security.

The problem with this order is that if Biden is replaced, he a new president can just simply undo this policy and reprioritize deporting DACA recipients who no longer have protection from deportation.

More upfront, the Biden administration has been urging lawmakers to pass a law that will provide DACA recipients a path to citizenship. As these recipients are called Dreamers, Congress has been called to pass a DREAM Act.

The problem with passing laws, however, is that it needs a broad enough support for it to materialize – which it currently does not have.

This has forced lawmakers to be creative with their proposals for Dreamers.

For example, Representative Ruben Gallego from Arizona has introduced a bill that would allow for Dreamers to gain citizenship through military service. This is widely seen to not pass.

With Dreamers continuously in limbo, the power still rests in the courts whether DACA will continue. This is unless the Biden administration takes more active measures to protect Dreamers.

Unsure about how this affects you or a Dreamer you know? Consult your trusted immigration lawyer.

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Updates

A surplus of work-based visas ends 2022

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached the maximum number of people who can get employment-based visas for 2022.

Earlier this month, the USCIS announced that over 70,000 visas were left to be allocated before the end of the fiscal year, which is on September 30, 2022.

By the end of the month, the USCIS announced that almost all of these visas have reached their limits and new applicants should come back for the next fiscal year.

Why is there a surplus of visas at the end of the year?

This is because the USCIS and the Department of State (DOS) publicly committed to maximizing all employment-based visas for 2022. 

The USCIS even encouraged immigrants to apply earlier this year.

This is in keeping with the Biden administration’s thrust towards giving immigrants more opportunities to stay in the United States all while letting them contribute to the country through their work.

Will the USCIS and DOS do the same for the next year?

For immigration advice for fiscal year 2023, consult with your trusted lawyer.

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Featured

Updated Advisory: Traveling to the Philippines and the U.S.

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TRAVELING TO THE PHILIPPINES

As of September 12, 2022, wearing of face masks is voluntary in open spaces and non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation in the Philippines.

For travel into the country, those who have been vaccinated need to carry an acceptable proof of vaccination and their passport, valid for a period of at least 6 months at the time of their arrival to the Philippines.

Since April 1, the Philippines has been open to all fully vaccinated foreign tourists. They won’t be required to any quarantine anymore. Children below 12 years old do not need to be fully vaccinated.

Most of the Philippines continues to be in the lowest Alert Level 1.

Unboosted individuals still need to provide a negative RT-PCR test, but if they have received at least one booster shot, they no longer need to present this.

A BOQ e-Health Declaration Card (e-HDC)  is still required to be filled up upon arrival.  This includes children.  

It can be filled up three days in advance of your departure through the BOQ’s One Health Pass webpage .  

Save a copy of the transaction number and QR code, which will be required by Philippine immigration authorities.

Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travelers are still required to quarantine and are required to obtain travel insurance which covers treatment costs for COVID-19 from a “reputable insurance provider.” 

The requirements state that the plan must provide a minimum coverage of $35,000 USD for the duration of their stay in the country.

Monkeypox has been detected in the Philippines, but so far it has not been declared as a public health emergency. There is still no monkeypox vaccine available in the Philippines.

TRAVELING TO THE UNITED STATES

As of June 12, the United States CDC no longer required travelers into the states to present a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19.

Proof of vaccination is still required for non-US citizen nonimmigrants.

Non-immigrant and non-US citizen travelers still need to be fully vaccinated and must show proof of this before boarding the plane to the states.

Check the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for additional information and our Health Alert. 

The CDC will consider exceptions to COVID-19-related vaccination and testing requirements on an extremely limited basis.