Immigration Update with Lin Walker

For those of you considering viable options to the H-1B cap we will be doing a deep-dive into the O-1B and O-1A criteria over the next couple of weeks.

One of the criterion for the O-1B that causes the most confusion is evidence that the foreign national “has performed, and will perform, services as a lead or starring participant in productions or events which have a distinguished reputation as evidenced by critical reviews, advertisements, publicity releases, publications contracts, or endorsements.”

What’s so difficult about this criterion? Why do so many people get it wrong?

Takeaways

• Read the regulations and requirements in their entirety to avoid confusion and mistakes.
• Ensure that both past and future performances are listed as lead or starring roles.
• Establish that productions or events have a distinguished reputation.
• Understand the difference between lead and starring roles.
• Provide documentary evidence that satisfies the entirety of the criterion.

Contact Lin Walker to answer your business immigration questions...

[email protected]

There seems to be a disconnect between the USCIS Policy Manual for National Interest Waivers (NIWs) and the real-world.

The Policy Manual states, “USCIS recognizes the importance of progress in STEM fields and the essential role of persons with advanced STEM degrees in fostering this progress, especially in focused critical and emerging technologies or other STEM areas important to U.S. competitiveness or national security.

But we found the “Critical and Emerging Technologies List” contained within this document to be unrealistic and extremely problematic.

If you have questions about your business immigration situation contact Lin Walker at...

[email protected]

On January 31st, USCIS published a new fee schedule (89 FR 6194), which will take effect on April 1, 2024, and significantly impact most employment-based petitions.

Most notably, the new fee schedule will add a mandatory Asylum Program Fee to every Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, filed by for-profit employers. USCIS has published a new fee schedule that will affect most employment-based petitions.

This episode of the podcast will explain what the Asylum Program Fee is, why it is being introduced and the consequences for U.S. employers.

Some topics covered:

• A new asylum fee has been introduced to fund part of the cost of administering the asylum process.
• US employers will be required to pay significantly higher filing fees, potentially costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.
• Employers should file petitions before April 1st, 2024, to avoid the new fees and ensure timely processing.

This week on the podcast we discuss the implementation of a beneficiary-centric selection process for the H-1B cap.

The new process involves selecting registrations by unique beneficiary, as determined by their biometric information.

The episode highlights the important elements of the new rule, including the requirement for a valid passport or travel document and the restriction on multiple registrations for the same beneficiary.

As we explain, why USCIS has implemented this new rule has everything to do with reducing fraud and gaming of the system.

Some takeaways from the episode:

• Each beneficiary must have a valid passport or travel document, and registrations must include the same document that will be used for the H-1B visa or entry into the United States.
• The beneficiary-centric process aims to reduce fraud, misrepresentation, and gaming of the H-1B registration process.
• Employers and foreign nationals should be aware of the upcoming increase in H-1B filing fees.

A poorly written our outdated template can wreak havoc on deadlines and cause problems with green card processes that could cause the client’s green card application being denied, the loss of substantial money, and significant delays in ultimately receiving lawful permanent resident status.

In this episode of the podcast I will give you an example of one such template from USCIS that did just that.

In March 2023, two men set up and carried out staged armed robberies of at least eight convenience/liquor stores and fast food restaurants across the United States, including at least four in Massachusetts.

It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks present to claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigration status (U Visa).

In our first episode of the new year, immigration attorney Lin Walker discusses the consequences of visa fraud and why this was a really really BAD idea.

If you would like to consult Lin about your business immigration situation please contact her here...

Lin Rose Walker

[email protected]

With the upcoming holiday season and travel, and given the hectic nature of the admissions process, it is no wonder that the Form I-94 can often contain mistakes, from the "class of admission" (your actual nonimmigrant visa status) to your "admit until date" (the expiration date of your lawful period of stay in the United States).

Mistakes in either field can result in major consequences that impact your ability, for example, to work in the United States, and how long you may remain in the United States before accruing unlawful presence.

In this episode of the podcast we present an incredibly informative Client Flyer, created by the American Immigration Lawyers Association that summarizes the admissions process, the importance of your admissions documents, and what to do if you find a mistake on your Form I-94.

If you have any questions about your particular business immigration situation please contact attorney Lin Walker at [email protected]

In this "quick-shot" episode we’re going to focus on documentation of the foreign national's membership in associations in the field, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts in their disciplines or fields.

However, not all organizations are qualified to fulfill this requirement.

In this podcast we'll explore what makes a particular organization qualified or UNqualified to help you get closer to an EB-1A visa.

If you have any questions about your particular situation please contact Lin Walker at [email protected]

There are people who confuse being entrepreneurial with being parasitic. Where an opportunity arises and there is significant demand and desperation, there are people who will, and have, taken advantage of those who wish to obtain such an opportunity.

Take for example this year’s H-1B lottery debacle, wherein more than 408,000 H-1B registrations were filed for the same 96,000 beneficiaries, leading USCIS to conclude that “several dozen small technology companies” colluded to submit multiple registrations to increase their odds of selection in the H-1B lottery.

USCIS has been actively engaged in investigating these companies and beneficiaries.

We are now seeing this with the sudden increase of O-1, NIW and EB-1A consultants offering immigration coaching and mentoring services on LinkedIn, specifically focusing on how to “build a profile” to be eligible for an O-1, NIW or EB-1A.

What are their qualifications? Simply one circumstance: being the beneficiary of their own O-1, NIW or EB-1A petition, which in most instances was prepared and filed by a qualified and experienced immigration attorney.

These individuals are taking advantage of the concern and desperation being experienced by individuals who were not selected in the H-1B lottery, and/or otherwise subject to the extensive delays in the availability of immigrant visa numbers because of the per-country restrictions.

Why do I take issue with this? Listen to the podcast and find out!

On October 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to “modernize and improve the efficiency of the H-1B program, add benefits and flexibilities, and improve integrity measures.”

As a member of AILA, we received a draft of the NPRM yesterday. I read through the 220+ pages and have to admit that I was amazed by the data DHS provided, specifically with regard to the abuse of H-1B registration program.

Nearly every immigration practitioner knew this abuse was happening because of the disastrously low number of selections we received, but I don't think any of us understood the full depth of the fraud.