Due to continued heavy applicant demand, primarily by USCIS Offices for adjustment of status cases, the annual limits for the Mexico Employment Third and Third preference Other Worker categories have been reached.   As a result, both categories have become “unavailable.”  Visa numbers will become available once again in October with the start of the new fiscal year.

On the bright side, cut-off dates for most Family preference categories have been advancing at a very rapid pace.

The full bulletin is available at www.mantlewoks.com.  If your priority date is current, contact D.Ray Mantle to discuss your green card application now.

Applications will most likely spike again at the end of April and May, as new graduates become eligible beneficiaries.  Updates will be posted to www.mantleworks.com as they become available.

If you are hoping to hire a foreign worker this year that needs an H-1B visa, start the process now to qualify for one or more of the remaining visas.

You may view the video online at www.mantleworks.com/practice/citizenship/interview.

Current regulations allow certain students with pending or approved H-1B petitions to remain in F-1 status during the period of time when an F-1 student’s status and work authorization would otherwise expire, and up to the start of their approved H-1B employment period.

Learn more about the rules governing F-1 to H-1B status changes at www.mantleworks.com.

• U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens (Publication 519)
• Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad (Publication 54)
• Tax Information for Visitors to the United States (Publication 513)
• Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities (Publication 515)

Lawful permanent residents should pay extra attention to their federal income tax returns.  Filing as a “non-resident” will jeopardize your status and have a severe impact on your ability to apply for naturalization.

Individual federal income tax returns are a critical component of family-based green card applications and naturalization applications.  If you have questions about qualifying for either of these benefits, schedule a consultation with Immigration Attorney D.Ray Mantle today.

USCIS released video reenactments of real-world hiring scenarios in which employers and employees work together through the E-Verify process.

“Understanding E-Verify: Employer Responsibilities and Worker Rights,” aimed at employers, explains E-Verify rules, procedures, and policies to employers with an emphasis on safeguarding employee privacy.

To learn more about E-Verify requirements for your business, schedule a consultation with Immigration Attorney D.Ray Mantle.

USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap. If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.

Petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations. Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands are exempt from the cap until Dec. 31, 2014. Employers may continue to file petitions for these cap-exempt H-1B categories seeking work dates starting in FY 2010 or 2011.

Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap also do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap.

Employers still hoping to hire H-1B workers should contact an immigration attorney to assist in filing their petitions before USCIS stops accepting new filings.  Visit www.mantleworks.com to learn more.

U.S. employers also turn to H-1B professionals when they recruit post-graduates from U.S. universities. Foreign students represent half of all U.S. graduate enrollments in engineering, math, and computer science. It is imperative that U.S. businesses have access to foreign professionals who have graduated from U.S. master’s and Ph.D. programs. The H-1B visa is a vital tool necessary to help in the recovery of the U.S. economy and to keep jobs in America. Far from harming U.S. workers and the U.S. economy, highly educated foreign professionals benefit our country by allowing U.S. employers to develop new products, undertake groundbreaking research, implement new projects, expand operations, create additional new jobs, and compete in the global marketplace.

H-1B workers do not undercut wages of U.S. workers. When an employer submits a petition for an H-1B worker, there are safeguards to help prevent highly educated foreign professionals from undercutting the wages offered to U.S. workers. The employer must offer the foreign professional a wage that is the higher of either the typical wage in the region for that type of work (“prevailing wage”), or what the employer actually pays existing employees with similar experience and duties. Furthermore, there are other safeguards that the employer must meet including indicating that: the foreign professional will not adversely affect the working conditions of U.S. colleagues, there is no strike or lockout at the worksite and the position requires a professional in a specialty occupation and the intended employee has the required qualifications.

To learn more about sponsoring an H-1B worker, schedule a consultation with Immigration Attorney D.Ray Mantle today.