Archive for the ‘Immigration’ Category

In the SEA M&A Liquidity Advisor Newsletter, I am discussing what business owners should know about I-9 audits.

Unless you’ve been hunting in the Outback for the last few years, you should be deeply aware of government’s concern regarding the employment of undocumented workers. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dramatically stepped up its audit and enforcement activity, otherwise known as I-9 audits.  The number of I-9 audits multiplied over the past decade, rising from three audits in 2004 to 3,004 in 2012. I-9 audits used to be random, but now they are more often the result of disgruntled former employees complaining to ICE.

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While the U.S. Senate has been working in Washington this week to craft some form of immigration reform bill, thousands are protesting in Washington, D.C., and other major U.S. cities.  Many believe that a comprehensive immigration reform bill will emerge from the Senate by the end of the week, perhaps along the lines of the failed 2007 bid by the Bush Administration. Given the current climate to secure our borders and limit the cost of government services pushed by conservatives and the creation of rights for illegal immigrants and promoting a path to citizenship by liberals, there is no doubt that there will be heated debate both in and outside the beltway.

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This week in international business, we cover news on  H1B visas, a solar panel manufactures going bankrupt, transparency reports, and the hacking of broadcasters and banks in South Korea.

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President Barack Obama today announced a dramatic shift in policy which effectively enacts portions of the stalled DREAM ACT offering hope to almost a million young people who have been in legal limbo.  If one meets the eligibility requirements deportation will be deferred for two years and a renewable work permit will be available.  The deferred deportation and work permit will be renewable and deportation will continued to be deferred.

To secure your DREAM, USCIS advises you must:

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To paraphrase Ronald Regan “there they go again”. The June Visa Bulletin was just released bringing even more bad news for EB2 hopefuls from China and India. The numbers for China and India have been regressing over the past months but now; the EB

2 is completely unavailable regardless of one’s priority date for the remainder of this fiscal year. New numbers should be available for fiscal 2013, which starts October 1, 2012. Not only is that bad news for the people affected but it also adversely affects the ability of the USA to attract and retain highly educated and experienced workers. More bad news in the bulletin for prospective immigrants is the prospect that the availability of employment based visas in all categories may either retrograde or become unavailable for some countries as well in the upcoming months.

The arbitrary quota system was set up by Congress to “protect” the American work force is counterproductive. Unless there is a dramatic cultural shift causing a material increase in the number of USA citizens graduating with advanced degrees in the sciences and technologies, who will step up to design the products, technology, factories, etc. that will employ our people. Under the current visa availability program, a potential Albert Einstein could spend years in limbo waiting and waiting for a green card that may never materialize. Right now, families never know whether they’ll be able to remain in the USA or if they’ll have to suddenly leave – not a very attractive recruiting position for USA companies.

Besides being the 100th anniversary of the start of the HMS Titanic’s 1912 sea trials, the <a title=”USCIS to Accept H-1B Petitions for Fiscal Year 2013 Beginning April 2, 2012″ href=”http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35

e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=26d5068d9c456310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&amp;vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD ” target=”_blank”>USCIS today announced</a> that April 2^nd is the first day for the filing of petitions for the 65,000  H-1B visas for fiscal year 2013 (which starts October 1).  An additional 20,000 visas are also available for those with master’s degrees from U.S. schools and petitions for these also can be filed on April 2^nd.   The operative date for purposes of being in the cue for a visa is the actual date a complete petition is received by the USCIS, not the postmark date.   The poor U.S. economy has made the “March Madness” filing rush a thing of the past; however, one should not take lightly the need for a timely filing while visas are still available.  Once the USCIS has received enough petitions to meet the allotted number of visas, it will reject and return cap subject petitions.  Great care should be taken then to ensure the initial filing meets the USCIS requirements so as not to loose a place in the queue.  Premium processing is encouraged for a quick response from the USCIS, either approving the visa or raising questions with a petition that can be promptly answered.  The upfront time spent to file a proper petition can prevent one from hitting an iceberg later on.Rich Text Area