H-1B, J-1 and F-1 Updates for Spring and Mid-Summer, 2009

There was a lot happening in the world of immigration this spring and mid-summer. Here are some highlights:

In the H-1B Category

1. The quota for H-1B professional workers is still not full as of July 2009! If a private company offers you a job as of today, you can still apply for an H-1B visa for professional work, which would begin on October 1, 2009. I do not remember the last time in 20 years that the quota was not full in July. In the economic crisis, it's much harder to get work so employers are sponsoring many fewer of these visas. However, if you do get an offer, an employer can still hire you for a job that requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field.

2. On July 1, 2009, the Department of Labor started a new LCA system called iCert. The LCA (Labor Condition Application) must be filed and certified before an H-1B can be filed. It now takes 7 business days to get this document (it used to happen instantly online) so H-1B applicants now have to plan for that delay.

3. The "prevailing wage request" which is usually sent to the local Employment Development Department prior to filing an LCA (to determine the "prevailing wage" for an H-1B position)will be sent to a national office in Chicago, Illinois, beginning January 2010. We can expect even further delays when this happens.

The J-1 Student and Scholar and the F-1 Student Categories

1. Since 2003, J-1 and F-1 visa holders have been "tracked" in a system called SEVIS which is the same system that produces the DS-2019 and I-20 documents to apply for J-1 and F-1 visas, respectively. There is now a plan to implement a new system called "SEVIS II." All J-1 and F-1 visas holders already in the US will have to create a unique immigration profile, beginning some time in Spring 2010. All newcomers will have to create that profile abroad, prior to arriving. The profile will be used, in conjunction with the school, to create an online profile for each individual, which will be viewed by US Embassies and Consulates abroad, the USCIS in the US, and all port-of-entry inspectors at borders and international airports. Through this global database, people will be granted visas and admitted to the US without paper documents. Yes! You read that right: by September, 2010, the plan is to have a paperless F-1 and J-1 system. For more information,
contact the international office at your school or read up on it at the SEVP website.

2. The J-1 Skills List has been revised and 36 countries have been removed. When a person uses a J-1 visa status, the Exchange Visitor Skills List is one of the main ways that a person gets "subject to 212e." A person who is "subject" based on the Skills List must return home for 2 years after using a J, before they can return to the US using an H-1B, L or permanent resident status. The new Skills List is more precise and some of the "skills" (professional fields of work or study)listed for certain countries in the past have been removed. If you have a J-1 and want to know if you are subject or not based on the Skills List, you can view the Skills List at the State Department Website. However, if you are subject, don't worry too much. Most people who are subject to 212e only because of the Skills List can get a waiver fairly easily. There is more information on that at the State Department website as well.