Comment

Advanced Degree H-1B Exemption Passed And More

House Republicans blocked the 9/11 bill which included many anti-immigration provisions and will not become law - there may still be one last opportunity to have 9/11 bill pass, in early December when Congress reconvenes. The FY 2005 omnibus bill appropriations was passed by the House and Senate with various immigration-related provisions. The bill now awaits the President's signature before it becomes law. Below are key changes to the H-1B and L-1 Visa program contained in the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

H-1B Visa Program Changes (effective 90 days after Bill is signed into law, unless otherwise noted below)

• H-1B exemption - exempts from H-1B cap up to 20,000 foreign nationals with Masters and higher degrees from US graduate schools (to be determined whether this applies to new applications only or includes current pending petitions)
• Additional costs to file H-1B petition - in addition to the basic filing fee and the (optional) premium processing fee
• worker retraining fee - permanently reinstated to $1500 per H-1B petition (previously $1000); for employers with less than 25 full-time employees, the retraining fee is $750 per H-1B petition (effective immediately)
• fraud prevention and detection fee - $500 fee imposed for initial H-1B, L-1 petitions, and change of status petitions
• Prevailing wage - employer must pay 100% of prevailing wage or higher (currently 95%)
• DOL investigations - increased investigative powers to initiate investigations against employers based on reasonable cause (effective immediately)

L-1 Visa Program Changes (effective 180 days after Bill is signed into law)

• No subcontracting of L-1 visa holders to third party employers - legislation prohibits L-1 visa holders to work outside of petitioning employer's worksite with limited exceptions
• L-1 blanket - one year requirement is reinstated (reduced 6-month period for L-1 blanket period eliminated); applies to new L-1 petitions.

We welcome readers to share their opinion by writing to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Highlight

Wenger & Dadisman, PC And Other Featured Law Firms

Wenger & Dadisman, PC  Detroit, MI

Immigration Law Associates  Skokie, IL

Law office of Samia Chandraker  Boston, MA

Werner & Associates  San Francisco, CA

Blaine L. Gilbert & Assoc., P.A.  Baltimore, MD

Attorneys: Click here to join directory

Articles

Legislative Round-Up
Gregory Siskind reports on three major news items - the passage of a major J-1 physician bill, the end of the 9/11 bill and the passage of a an H-1B/L-1 bill that will dramatically change both programs.

Chat

When	Attorney
Logon for chat Next Chat: Tue, Nov 30, 5PM ET Questions will be accepted starting 15 minutes before the event.	Marc Ellis, Esq.
Tue, Dec 7, 5PM ET	Alice Yardum-Hunter, Esq.
Tue, Dec 14, 5PM ET	Gene Meltser, Esq.
Tue, Dec 21, 5PM ET	To Be Announced
Tue, Dec 28, 5PM ET	To Be Announced

Letters

Send your letters to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Dear Editor:
In the last issue of Immigrant's Weekly, I read about the proposed amendment to the Omnibus bill: "The omnibus bill will likely include an H-1B visa cap exemption for foreign graduates of US colleges and universities with advanced (Masters and PhD) degrees in the omnibus spending bill." I was wondering if this includes old graduates. I hold a MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH. I graduated in 1998. After that I have worked for several years in the US as a chemical engineer. However right now I have been unemployed for 3 years, and reside in the US on an H4 visa (dependent of my wife). Despite my efforts, with the cap in place, it has been virtually impossible to find a job/H1-sponsor. I am hoping that the amendment would extend to US Graduates with advanced degrees, which have graduated at any time, and not only to fresh graduates.

Name Held Upon Request [03/06/06 Ed. changed]