USWorkVisa.com News Archive
for March, 2008

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced on February 22, 2008, that the fines for hiring undocumented workers will increase and that the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice are also working “to increase criminal prosecutions against the most egregious employer offenders.” The increased fines are expected to take effect March 27, 2008, and will be assessed on a per-worker basis. For example, if an employer knowingly employs five undocumented workers, the employer could incur five fines. The minimum penalty for knowingly hiring an undocumented worker will increase from $275 to $375. The maximum fine for a first-time offender will increase from $2,200 to $3,200, and the maximum fine for repeated violations will increase from $11,000 to $16,000.

A related Department of Justice (Executive Office for Immigration Review) final rule was published in the Federal Register and is available here.

Stephen “Tony” Edson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Service, testified on February 7, 2008, before the House of Representatives’ research and science education subcommittee. Among other things, he noted that foreign students contribute over $13 billion annually to the U.S. economy. “Their work significantly boosts our academic and scientific research and their exposure to our culture and freedoms is a crucial public diplomacy success,” he said. Mr. Edson noted that exchange visitor admissions have risen to record highs; in fiscal year (FY) 2007, the Department issued 343,946 J-1 visas, which was 11 percent over the same period in FY 2006. He noted that 90 percent of posts have wait times of less than 30 days for student and business travelers.

The hearing testimony of all the witnesses is available here.

For fiscal year 2009, the first H-1B filing date is Tuesday, April 1, 2008. Petitions are to be filed at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Vermont and California Service Centers, depending on jurisdiction. Ivener and Fullmer recommends the following tips for employers planning to file H-1B applications:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a centralized filing location for H-1B “cap exempt” petitioners, which includes petitions filed by institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations or entities related to or affiliated with such institutions, and nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations.

The Department of State’s Visa Office announced that visa number cut-off date movement for March in several employment categories is significant.  Advancement of the priority cut-off dates now, the Department said, “should prevent a situation later in the fiscal year where there are large amounts of numbers available but not enough time to use them.” If an expected increase in number use materializes from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service processing, future cut-off date movements could slow or stop, the Department warned. The India employment-based second preference category remains unavailable in March.