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Immigration Law
Practice Group Co-Leaders
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IMMIGRATION LAW UPDATE
Clark Hill
Hosts Free Webinar on February 24, 2010
"What Every Employer
Needs to Know About Hiring Physicians"
On Wednesday, February 24, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
EST, Clark Hill will host a free Webinar on "What Every Employer
Needs to Know About Hiring Physicians." This Webinar is designed
to give healthcare employers a detailed picture of the steps
necessary to hire Physicians currently completing US residency or
fellowship training in H-1B or J-1 visa status. We will review the
processes and considerations for employers hiring these Physicians in
H-1B status, including J-1 waivers and we will also review the
permanent resident ("green card"). Reserve your
Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/890840696.
Clark Hill Hosts Free Global Immigration Webinar on
On Wednesday, February 3, 2010
from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EST, Clark Hill will host a free
Webinar on "Moving Employees to Hong Kong, Greater China and the
United Kingdom - What Every Employer Needs to Know."
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://s08.123signup.com/.
Report Issued on the Role of Immigrants in Health Care
The American Immigration Council's Immigration
Policy Center has issued a report, "Critical Care: The
Role of Immigrant Workers in U.S. Health Care" highlighting the
vital role that immigrants play in the health care workforce of the
United States. The report confirms that immigrant health care
workers are employed in occupations that are not only expected to
experience relatively high labor demand over the coming decade, but
in which there are already pronounced worker shortages in many parts
of the country. The report also notes that immigrants comprise
more than one-quarter of all physicians and surgeons in the US, and
roughly one-fifth of all nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides,
and concludes that as our population ages and requires more health
care services, immigrants will play a crucial role in filling these
shortage gaps.
2010 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached
On December 22, 2009 the US Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that for
Fiscal Year 2010 the agency has received more than enough
applications for new H-1B visas. This includes the normal
65,000 quota (also called a "cap") and the additional
20,000 quota for persons who have an advanced degree (more than a
bachelor degree) from a US university. USCIS will reject
cap-subject petitions for new H-1B specialty occupation workers
seeking an employment start date in Fiscal Year 2010 that are
received after December 21, 2009. USCIS applied a
computer-generated random selection process to all petitions that are
subject to the cap and were received on December 21, 2009. The
H-1B is a temporary work status used by US employers for hiring
foreign nationals to perform jobs which require a bachelor degree or
higher (professionals), and the employer must prove it will pay the
employee the same or more than a similar worker for a comparable job
in the geographic location. The government's fiscal year runs from
October 1st until September 30th. H-1B applications can be filed up to
6 months before October 1st. USCIS will accept petitions for
Fiscal Year 2011 beginning on April 1, 2010 for work that commences
on October 1, 2010. For more on H-1B visas see the Clark Hill website.
Persons who have been issued an
H-1B under a previous cap for work with a private employer and have
not used all of their time on an H-1B (generally limited to 6 years),
or persons who work for or in furtherance of a US university or
research organization, are exempt from the H-1B cap.
USCIS Announces Employee Self-Check Option for E-Verify
USCIS has announced it will launch a
self-check option for employees to pre-screen themselves in the
E-Verify System. This voluntary option will allow employees to
resolve issues with their status in E-Verify system in advance of an
employer completing the E-Verify process. For more on E-Verify,
see the DHS website.
Social Security Administration Fails to Utilize E-Verify
Correctly on Its Own Hires
On January 6, 2010, the Social
Security Administration (SSA) issued an Audit Report regarding the
utilization of E-Verify for its own hires. The report stated
the SSA failed to use E-Verify on 19% of its own hires in Fiscal
Years 2008 and 2009. The SSA also used E-Verify prior to the
hire date on some of its hires, against E-Verify policy.
E-Verify backs into both the DHS and SSA databases to prove work
eligibility.
Increase in Security Following Attempted Bombing on
Detroit Bound Flight
Following the Christmas day
bombing attempt on a Detroit bound flight, the US has increased the level of screening
for citizens from 14 countries, including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and
Pakistan. American citizens and citizens from countries other
than the 14 named countries, who are on US bound flights, will not be
subject to the additional level of screening.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Updates
Below are summaries of recent
efforts by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they
enforce laws related to employment of persons not authorized to work
in the US.
DOL and ICE
Reach $4.5 Million Settlement With Pilgrim's Pride
On December 30, 2009, ICE and the DOL announced
that they had reached a $4.5 million settlement following an
investigation involving the hiring and employment of unauthorized
aliens at some of the company's Texas plants.
ICE Seeks Fine
From Detroit Area Company
On December 8, 2009, ICE stated it is seeking a fine in
excess of $40,000 from Applied Plastics, a Detroit-based company for
failing to complete more than 100 employment eligibility forms (Form
I-9).
Owner, Manager
and Restaurant Corporations Sentenced For Immigration Violations
On November 28, 2009, ICE announced
that two restaurant corporations, their owner, and two former
managers were fined and sentenced to prison for immigration
violations including harboring and continuing to employ unauthorized
workers.
ICE Assistant
Secretary Announces 1,000 Worksite Raids
On November 19, 2009, the ICE Assistant
Secretary announced the issuance of 1,000 Notice of
Inspection to employers throughout the country who deal with critical
infrastructure. The employers' hiring records will be audited
to determine compliance with employment eligibility authorization
laws.
Visa Priority Dates - February Visa Bulletin
The February Visa Bulletin has been posted.
There has been very little movement in the employment visa categories
for February. For a summary of priority dates, retrogression,
and how these dates impact US green card processing, please visit the Clark Hill website.
The Department of State has also provided an explanation of how the
dates are establish, portions of which have been copied and pasted
below:
WHY DID MOST EMPLOYMENT CUT-OFFS
REMAIN UNCHANGED IN RECENT MONTHS?
Many of the categories were
"unavailable" at the end of FY-2009, which resulted in
excessive demand being received during October and November. Coupled
with the fact that CIS Offices have been doing an excellent job of
processing cases, this has had an impact on cut-off date movements.
Some forward movement has begun for January as we enter the second
quarter of the fiscal year.
WHAT ARE THE PROJECTIONS FOR CUT-OFF DATE MOVEMENT IN
THE EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES FOR THE REMAINDER OF FY-2010?
Based on current indications of
demand, the best case scenarios for cut-off dates which will be
reached by the end of FY-2010 are as follows:
Employment
Second:
China: July through October 2005
India: February through early March 2005
If Section 202(a)(5)were to apply:
China and India: October through December 2005
Employment
Third:
Worldwide: April through August 2005
China: June through September 2003
India: January through February 2002
Mexico: January through June 2004
Philippines: April through August 2005
Please be advised that the
above date ranges are only estimates which are subject to
fluctuations in demand during the coming months. The actual future
cut-off dates cannot be guaranteed, and it is possible that some
annual limits could be reached prior to the end of the fiscal year.
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To find out
more about Clark Hill and our Immigration and Empoyment Practice
Groups, visit clarkhill.com
or call 800.949.3124.
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