Immigration Update FALL 2006

Practice Limited to Law Diversity Visa Lottery Plan Now to File H-1B Leete, Kosto & Wizner, LLP is The Department of State will accept Petitions for FY2008 pleased to provide applications for the 2008 Diversity Visa Lottery until noon EST, Sunday, The time to plan is now! The H-1B clients and friends December 3, 2006. The annual DV “blackout” will end on October 1, 2007. with information program makes permanent residence Employers may file up to six months in about recent changes visas available to persons meeting the advance. April 1, 2007 is the first day in immigration law. simple, but strict, eligibility that H-1B petitions may be filed for requirements. A computer-generated work start dates commencing October random lottery drawing chooses 1, 2007. We limit our practice selectees for diversity visas. The visas, to immigration law. however, are distributed among six Why are there no H-1B numbers geographic regions with a greater available now? On May 26, 2006, U.S. number of visas going to regions with and Immigration Services Please feel free to lower rates of immigration, and with no (“USCIS”) announced that it had contact one of our visas going to nationals of countries received enough petitions to exhaust sending more than 50,000 immigrants attorneys with any available H-1B numbers for FY2007, to the U.S. over the period of the past which runs from October 1, 2006 related questions or five years. through September 30, 2007. USCIS to schedule a subsequently announced that, as of consultation: This year, persons born in the following July 26, 2006, petitioners had also countries are ineligible to apply for used the 20,000 H-1B numbers exempt Diversity Visa Lottery, unless the from the 65,000 cap that are available Elizabeth B. Leete applicant’s spouse was born in an to beneficiary-employees who earned a Gale S. Kosto eligible country: Brazil, Canada, China graduate or advance degree from a Andrew L. Wizner (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican U.S. institution of higher education. Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, , Eric Fleischmann Jamaica, Mexico, , , Through the H-1B program, U.S. Virginia E. Carstens Peru, Poland, Russia, , employers are able to hire, on a United Kingdom (except Northern temporary basis, highly educated Ireland) and its dependent territories, foreign professionals for “specialty 999 Asylum Avenue and . occupations”-- jobs that require at least Suite 202 a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in Hartford, CT 06105 Applications must be filed online. the field of specialty. Examples include Instructions on applying for the 2008 doctors, engineers, professors and Diversity Visa Lottery may be found researchers in a wide variety of fields, Tel. (860) 249-8100 online at: accountants, medical personnel, and Fax (860) 727-9184 www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants. computer scientists. [email protected] Copyright 2006 Leete, Kosto & Wizner, LLP Fall 2006 DHS Unveils New Employers May USCIS Offers Faster Interior Enforcement Electronically Sign and Processing – For a Fee Strategy Retain I-9 Forms USCIS recently expanded the Recently, DHS Secretary Michael U.S. Immigration and Customs availability of its premium Chertoff and Julie Myers, Assistant Enforcement recently published processing service, which Secretary for U.S. Immigration and an interim rule which permits provides a 15-calendar-day Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), employers and recruiters or adjudication of designated unveiled a new strategy to expand referrers for a fee who are petitions. The agency’s premium interior enforcement efforts. Known required to complete and retain processing unit now accepts I-140 as the second phase of the DHS Forms I-9, Employment Eligibility Petitions for Immigrant Workers Secure Border Initiative, it will Verification, to sign and retain for certain categories of target employers of undocumented these forms electronically. The beneficiaries. This development aliens, immigration violators inside interim rule implements statutory may assist companies in retaining the U.S., and criminal networks. changes to the Form I-9 talented professionals. retention requirements by Employees in the H-1B category The announcement followed earlier establishing standards for are subject to a six-year limitation employer raids that made national electronic signatures and the of stay, subject to certain headlines and resulted in the electronic retention. exceptions. If the USCIS arrests of over 1,000 alleged approves an Immigrant Petition undocumented workers, and the (Form I-140) filed on behalf of an arrest and criminal indictment of H-2B “Returning H-1B worker, and immigrant visas several corporate managers. are unavailable in their Worker” Exemption classification, then the employer Since DHS announced its intent to Remains in Effect may petition to extend their stay beef up interior enforcement as for additional three-year part of the Secure Border Initiative, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration increments beyond the six-year ICE has been conducting additional Services (USCIS) announced on limit. Premium processing is sweeps in communities in various October 26, 2006 that the available for an additional filing parts of the country. Employers “returning worker” exemption to fee of $1,000. should ensure that their the H-2B numerical limitation will employment verification forms are remain in effect until September completed properly for each 30, 2007. The program provides New Passport employee. 66,000 visas each fiscal year. Requirements for Visa The H-2B program is available Waiver Travelers for individuals who will provide USCIS Checks Criminal temporary or seasonal services The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) History of Petitioners to an employer. Employers must permits citizens of 27 countries to prove that U.S. workers are travel to the U.S. for business or The new International Marriage unavailable. pleasure without first applying for Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) a B-1/B-2 visitor visa at a U.S. requires the USCIS to ask K-1 A returning worker, exempt from Consulate. New passport fiancé(e) petitioners for their the cap, is defined as a worker requirements entered into effect criminal background infor-mation. who counted against the H-2B for these travelers. Any passport Congress enacted the law to help annual numerical limit during any issued on or after October 26, prevent domestic violence and one of the three fiscal years 2006 by a VWP country must be spousal abuse. preceding the fiscal year of the an e-Passport for travelers to be requested start date. eligible to enter the U.S. without

2 Immigration Update - Fall 2006 Immigration Update a visa. E-Passports are not PERM Update adjudicates most applications required until the traveler's existing within ten days to five months. In passport expires in the following The Department of Labor has the previous program offered cases: a VWP traveler with a valid, been slowly improving the certifications took from one to machine-readable passport with a operation of the PERM online three years or more. digital photograph where the system, which, effective March passport was issued prior to 28, 2005, is the standard The new regulation requires October 26, and a VWP traveler method for obtaining approval of employers to conduct pre-filing with a valid, machine-readable an Application for Permanent recruitment for the position, passport without a digital Employment Certification. including two Sunday photograph where the passport Touted as a streamlined, fast, advertisements and a job order was issued prior to October 26. online process intended to with the State Workforce Agency. reduce agency backlogs, the Employers of professionals must new program experienced also conduct three additional DOL Updates Status of serious processing issues in its forms of recruitment. The DOL several months of operation. requires employers to retain Pending Labor Certi- evidence of the recruitment efforts fication Applications Labor Certification is often the for a period of five years. Unlike first of three steps towards the previous program, approvals On March 28, 2005, the obtaining status as a lawful under the new program are Department of Labor introduced a permanent resident (“green subject to a paper-based audit new labor certification program, card”) for many intending while the application is in process known as PERM, and transferred immigrants. First, the employer or following adjudication. all Labor Certification Applications must obtain a certified pending as of that date to two Application for Permanent Backlog Elimination Centers Employment Certification (ETA- Social Security Cards (“BECs”). Until recently, applicants 9089). Through this process, the for E and L Spouses and beneficiaries could not check employer requests the DOL the case status. Employment and Training The Social Security Administration Administration to certify that recently updated its guidance The DOL has updated its website there are no qualified U.S. concerning issuance of social to include an on-line BEC case workers available in the security cards to spouses of E status system, which is available at geographic area of intended (treaty trader or investor) and L http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/ employment. Second, the (intracompany transferee) foreign/times.asp The site contains employer must file an Immigrant nonimmigrants. The new a link to the Backlog Public Petition for Alien Worker (I-140). guidance states that spouses are Disclosure System, which may be Third, the foreign worker either not required first to apply for an used to determine the status of an submits an Immigrant Visa employment authorization card application filed at a BEC. The site Application (DS-230) to the U.S. through USCIS in order to obtain will indicate whether the case is “in Consulate or, if present in the a social security number. These data review”, “in process” or U.S., an Application to Adjust individuals must submit proof of “certified”. Status (I-485) to the USCIS. marriage to an E or L principal. The SSN card issued to an E or L Applicants should immediately Our experience to date spouse will state that it is "valid for contact the BEC if they have had indicates that the new PERM work only with DHS no communication regarding their program reduces processing authorization," which is the same application. times in the first step of the restriction imposed on other process by offering nonimmigrants. increased automation. DOL

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Leete, Kosto & Wizner, LLP provides a wide range of immigration legal services to businesses and individuals throughout the and around the globe. The firm’s five attorneys limit their practice to immigration law.

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Copyright 2006 Leete, Kosto & Wizner, LLP

Virginia Carstens Joins Don’t Forget: Partners Listed in Leete, Kosto & Wizner We’ve Moved! “Best Lawyers” Survey We are pleased to announce We’re very happy in our new The editors of The Best that Virginia Carstens joined the office space located on Asylum Lawyers in America have firm as an Associate Attorney. Hill in Hartford. Since June 5th, announced that three partners She received her bachelor's our new address is: of the firm of Leete, Kosto & degree, cum laude, from Bryn Wizner LLP have been selected Mawr College and her J.D. from Leete, Kosto & Wizner, LLP for inclusion in the 2007 edition. Northeastern University School 999 Asylum Avenue, Suite 202 of Law. Hartford, Connecticut 06105 Elizabeth Leete, Andrew Wizner, and Eric Fleischmann Ms. Carstens has extensive Our phone and e-mail contact have all been selected by their experience representing non- information have not changed. peers as leading practitioners of citizens in immigration court. immigration law.