H-1B Visa

H-1B visa is reserved for "specialty occupations." Those that require a at least a bachelor's degree in a specific subject or closely related subjects.

USCIS Provides Details on H-1B and H-2B Cap Exemptions for Work Performed in the CNMI and Guam

Introduction

Workers in H-1B and H-2B classifications who are admitted to perform labor and services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam are exempt from the H-1B cap and H-2B cap from November 28, 2009 to December 31, 2014.  The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), Public Law 110-229, provides a special exemption to the statutory numerical limitations (or “caps”) for temporary workers in H nonimmigrant classifications mentioned in Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  

Another H-1 approval without end-client letter

We have just received another H-1 approval for an end-client placement.  There were two intervening vendors and the end-client declined to provide a letter stating that there is no requirement in law for them to provide any such letter.  We had to get together convincing secondary evidence.  I was highly doubtful we will get the approval, but we did.  So, despite the January 8 memo from USCIS, there is life yet for consulting industry.

Nonimmigrant Visas

USCIS Memo on Establishing the "Employee-Employer Relationship" in H-1B Petitions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance to adjudication officers to clarify what constitutes a valid employer-employee relationship to qualify for the H-1B ‘specialty occupation’ classification.  The memorandum clarifies such relationships, particularly as it pertains to independent contractors, self-employed beneficiaries, and beneficiaries placed at third-party worksites.