Posts Tagged ‘visa’
Visa Extensions: A Problem?
Many of my immigration attorney colleagues are reporting denials of visa extension requests. These are situations where the foreign national is already in the U.S. working legally; but when it comes time to renew the visa, the USCIS says no.
If your status is about to expire, do not think that the USCIS will simply rubber stamp a prior approval and extend your visa. Now more than ever it is important to thoroughly document your eligibility again even if nothing about the employment situation has changed. What was approved once will not necessarily be approved again.
Although most reported cases I’ve heard about involve denials of L-1, O-1 and H-1B visa extensions, other visa types are not remotely immune to the culture of no that pervades USCIS these days.
In fact, just this past weekend, the New York Times reported that E-2 visas are becoming difficult to extend. See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30visas.html?pagewanted=2&sq=E-2%20visa&st=cse&scp=1 for a woeful tale of a business forced to shut down because its British proprietors were not able to renew their visas.
Tags: E-2, extension, H-1B, L-1A, O-1, renew, visa
Posted in Alerts | Read More »
Attention Foreign National Entrepreneurs: Small Tech Companies Needed in the U.S.
Attention Foreign National Entrepreneurs: Small Tech Companies Needed in the U.S.
There are a number of potential opportunities in the U.S. for small technology companies, including start-ups established by foreign nationals. Reported on http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100416_1532.php, and confirmed in that article by Alan Swendiman, former general counsel of the General Services Administration, small businesses (even those established by foreign nationals) in the U.S., are able to go after “set asides” (Federal contracts) reserved for small firms. Foreign companies and foreign national entrepreneurs should find this encouraging and should be incentivized to establish U.S. start-ups, subsidiaries or branch offices.
Currently, large companies submitting proposals for Federal projects must include a subcontracting plan using smaller subcontractors. These plans must account for 40% of the total offer. This is great news for small U.S. companies since large companies are constantly seeking the work of smaller subcontractors to meet this requirement. This also allows small companies to take advantage of the Federal Recovery Act stimulus money available to Federal subcontractors. Please note that in order to qualify for these subcontracts, the U.S. company must have been in business for at least two (2) years.
We encourage you to take advantage of these unique subcontracting opportunities by establishing a company in the U.S.. If you have any immigration questions regarding the establishment of your business within the U.S., please don’t hesitate to contact our immigration law firm.
Tags: entrepreneur, foreign national, immigration, start-up, technology, visa
Posted in Uncategorized | Read More »
Number of International Students in the U.S. Rising
The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by an average of 8% for a total 671,616 students, for this academic year, according to the Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE). This is the largest percentage increase in international student enrollment since 1981, and marks the third consecutive year of growth.
Here’s how it breaks down, according to the Open Doors report, in terms of the top 15 sending countries:
| India | Increased by 9% | 103,260 students |
| China | Increased by 21% | 98,510 students |
| South Korea | Increased by 9% | 75,065 students |
| Canada | Increased by 2% | 29, 697 students |
| Japan | Decreased by 14% | 29, 264 students |
| Taiwan | Decreased by 3% | 28, 065 students |
| Mexico | No increase | 14, 850 students |
| Turkey | Increased by 10% | 13, 263 students |
| Vietnam | Increased by 46% | 12, 823 students |
| Saudi Arabia | Increased by 28% | 12, 661 students |
| Nepal | Increased by 30% | 11, 581 students |
| Germany | Increased by 9% | 9679 students |
| Brazil | Increased by 16% | 8767 students |
| Thailand | Decreased by 3% | 8736 students |
| United Kingdom | Increased by 4% | 8701 students |
While on many levels this is great news, it highlights the inadequacy of our current immigration system, which is based on an antiquated visa quota system that has no relationship to the globalized world in which we live. These international students, who disproportionately obtain degrees in the sciences, are in a position to make enormous contributions to our society. For instance, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that between 1990 and 2007, 25% of all publicly traded companies in the U.S. that were started with venture capital financing had an immigrant founder (“The Other Immigrants”, WSJ, Nov. 18, 2009). Basically, it’s in our interest to keep the best and the brightest of these students here in the U.S. But as the system currently stands, an Indian national graduating with a U.S. degree would need to wait many years (upwards of 10 in some cases) to be eligible for an immigrant visa. Why would this person choose to immigrate to the U.S. , if Canada, Germany, and a whole host of other countries offer a more streamlined and user-friendly system? In short, does it make sense for us to offer the best universities in the world (ours) to the world’s best and brightest, only to watch them take their skills and talents elsewhere?
Tags: colleges, immigrant visa, immigration, international student, quota, universities, visa
Posted in Politics/Current Events, Uncategorized | Read More »
Alternative Visa Options: H-3 Special Education Training Programs
This is the first in a series of blog posts profiling unusual or lesser known visa categories. Some of these visa categories may be useful to certain foreign nationals who have never heard of them. My hope is that someone who can benefit from these alternative visa categories will learn about them in this blog, and act accordingly.
An H-3 is a visa for a trainee. The visa holder must be participating in a bona fide training program in the U.S. However, not many people know that there are 50 H-3 visas per year allocated specifically for training programs in the field of special education.
The H-3 participant in a special education training program must be coming to the United States to participate in a structured program which provides for practical training and experience in the education of children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
The petition must be filed by an organization which has professionally trained staff and a structured program for providing education to children with disabilities, and for providing training and hands-on experience to participants in the special education exchange visitor program.
Unlike other H-3 visas, it is not a requirement to show that the special education training cannot be obtained in the participant’s home country.
According to USCIS, so far, none of the 50 visas for the current fiscal year have been used to date.
Tags: disability, H-3 visa, special education, training program, USCIS, visa
Posted in Alternative Visa Categories | Read More »
Upcoming Presentations by Gali Schaham Gordon
NAFSA Regional Conference Region XII
The NAFSA: Association of International Educators is a member organization promoting international education. Its regional conference for 2009 – titled International Education – Navigating Across Borders – will be held in San Diego, California, at the end of October. Gali is speaking at the conference in a session titled Beyond OPT: How students can stay in the US. The details are as follows:
October 26 – 30, 2009 in San Diego, California
Pre-conference Workshops Oct 26-27
Main Conference Sessions Oct 28-30
Registration: http://www.nafsa.org/events.sec/conferences.pg/nafsa_regional_conferences/
HR Wine & Agriculture Conference
The NCHRA (Northern CA HR Association) Wine & Agriculture Conference is an opportunity for HR management personnel in the wine and agriculture industries to attend various workshops relevant to these fields. Gali will be speaking on immigration issues relevant to the wine industry. The details are as follows:
November 16, 2009
The Meritage Resort and Spa, 875 Bordeaux Way, Napa, California 94558
NCHRA Members: $340 / General: $425 (Join NCHRA for $150 and attend at the member rate)
Scholarships & Group Rates Available
Registration: http://www.nchra.org/staticcontent/download/CF90701.pdf
Tags: agriculture, green card, H-1B, H-2A, H-2b, human resources, international, OPT, student, visa, wine
Posted in Events and Presentations | Read More »
Is Self-Employment Permitted on an H-1B Visa?
The short answer is, no. However, you could (and many people have) establish a new company (or non-profit entity) that will hire you as an employee and sponsor you for an H-1B visa. The position must meet all of the normal H-1B requirements.
It must be in a ‘specialty occupation’; meaning an occupation that normally one cannot enter without possessing at least a university degree in the specialty, or in a related field. In addition, the company will have to pay you, the employee, a salary that meets the prevailing wage requirement. And yes, the company will need to pay payroll taxes on your salary. When an H-1B sponsor is a brand new company, you’ll want to demonstrate that it has sufficient capital to pay the proffered wage.
Additionally, it’s important to adequately explain to Immigration what the business model of the new entity is. Submitting a well-written business plan can help, as will evidence of revenue or contracts with customers. Lastly, although there is no regulatory requirement to have a physical office in the H-1B context, it is helpful to have at least part-time or virtual office space and to submit an office lease along with the other evidence in the petition.
Tags: H-1B, new office, prevailing wage, self-employment, specialty occupation, visa
Posted in FAQ H-1B, H-1B | Read More »
