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4/12/2008 - DOL Published Final Rule Formalizing LCA Requirement for E-3 Australians
In a final rule published April 11, the U.S. Department of Labor finally made official what has already been a requirement in practice: that employers seeking to sponsor Australian nationals for E-3 visas to work as professionals in the U.S. must first obtain a certified Labor Condition Application ("LCA") from the DOL.
The rule does not materially alter the current situation; it merely formalizes the current practice.
Employers utilizing the E-3 program and Australian nations seeking professional employment in the U.S.
4/8/2008 - Upcoming Speaking Engagement: Stuart Reich to Speak at NYCLA's April 10 Continuing Legal Education Event
Mr. Reich will present a discussion entitled "Compliance Issues Under U.S. Immigration Law" at the New York County Law Association (NYCLA") event, entitled The Intersection of Immigration and Corporate/Business Law" and sponsored jointly by the Immigration and Business Committees. The discussion will deal with I-9 procedural, documentation and discrimination issues and the Social Security No-Match Rule among other current topics.
4/3/2008 - House Approves Bill for Faster Processing of O and P Visas
On April 1, the House of Representatives approved the "Arts Require Timely Service ("ARTS") Act, which would require USCIS to adjudicate O and P nonimmigrant petitions within 30 days of receiving them. If this is not accomplished and the petitioner is a qualifying nonprofit entity, USCIS would be required to grant the $1,000 premium processing service (15-day adjudication) free of charge. The bill specifically excludes athletes applying for P visas, but says nothing about non-artists applying for O visas (which may be used for those in athletics, business, education or the sciences.
At this point, this is not yet law and has no real impact. It remains to be seen whether this will become law, but if it does it should make it easier to plan artistic events. Quite often scheduled tours or shows which have already been promoted must be cancelled when an O or P visa for the artist can not be obtained in time. The rule should be especially helpful to artistic endeavors not generally considered "mainstream" or "commercial" and which are therefore under funded, thus unable to afford the extra $1,000 premium processing fee.
Organizations sponsoring O visas and non-athlete P visas, especially non-profit organizations. Artists seeking entry on O or P visas.
3/26/2008 - USCIS Publishes H-1B Visa Interim Rule
In an effort to discourage multiple H-1B filings by the same employers for the same potential employees aimed at increasing the odds of being chosen in a lottery, USCIS has published a strict new rule in the March 24 edition of the Federal Register.
The new rule should cut down on "multiple-dipping" by larger petitioners, and on the whole does serve to make the lottery process somewhat more fair.
H-1B petitioning employers, potential H-1B sponsored employees.
3/6/2008 - Department of Labor Announces Move to Centralized Filing of LCAs and PERM Applications
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that starting in June, all PERM labor certification cases will be processed in the Atlanta National Processing Center while all paperwork for temporary visa matters (H-2A, H-2B, H-1C, and D-1 paperwork plus those few LCAs not filed electronically for H-1B/H-1B1, TN and E-3 cases) will be handled by the Chicago National Processing Center. The transition will begin on June 1 and as of June 15, all cases must be filed at the proper location under this new system or risk rejection.
DOL appears to be mimicking USCIS' move towards greater specialization - handling specific types of applications only at certain Service Centers, in the hope that focusing the attention and experience of the staff at each location on one type of case will help develop greater competence and lead to greater efficiency and consistency in adjudications. The jury is still out on whether this has worked with USCIS.
Employers that file Labor Condition Applications in conjunction with H-1B filings and those that file PERM labor certification cases for their employees, as well as beneficiary foreign national employees of these petitions and applications.