Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NONIMMIGRANT VISAS
issued to persons who wish to enter the US for a specific purpose and for temporary periods of time. are mainly B-2 tourist visa or B-1 business visa;or other commonly utilized visas: - student F visa - J visa for exchange visitors and foreign medical graduates - H-1B visa for persons who are employed by companies in the US for professional jobs. -L-1 Visas for intracompany transferees
NONIMMIGRANT VISAS
Every applicant is presumed to be an immigrant unless he or she can establish otherwise. Nonimmigrant must show:
they have no intention of abandoning their foreign residence during their stay in the US; ties to the home country such as employment, history of past travel, and realistic/credible plans of travel. H-1B and L-1 allow for dual intent and do not require a showing of ties to the home country
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H 2B VISAS
H-2B visa allows U.S employers to augment their existing labor force: <with temporary workers in industries with peak load, seasonal or intermittent. <when necessary due to a one-time occurrence, which necessitates a temporary increase in workers. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services began accepting additional petitions for H-2B workers as required by the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005. 13
H-2B Numbers
As of December 2005 for the Fiscal year 2006 27,937 approved and 7,631 pending; 35,568 cases counted against the halfyear cap Cap of 33,000 half-year cap USCIS will cut off at 52,000 (anticipates 62 percent approved beneficiaries will obtain visas)
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FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRATION
IMMEDIATE RELATIVES are spouses of US citizens, unmarried children of US citizens and parents of US citizens. There is no quota. U.S citizens resident in Canada who wish to file I-130 petitions on behalf of their spouses, minor children or parents may now do so in person at the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate in whose district they reside. The FAMILY PREFERENCE (OR QUOTA) SYSTEM allows into the US: Adult children and brothers and sisters of US citizens Spouses and unmarried children of Green Card holders.
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LABOR CERTIFICATION
Labor Certification is generally the first step toward the Green Card when an employer sponsors a US worker. The US employer establishes that it has unsuccessfully tested the US labor market in the local area of employment. The employer generally places advertisements for the job in a newspaper and also conducts other forms of recruitment, such as contacting headhunters or campus interviews. If the Department of Labor is satisfied of the unavailability, it grants labor certification, after which an employer can file applications with the DHS for the Green Card.
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PERM
An employer may at any time;
Withdraw an application filed under the regulations in effect prior to March 28, 2005. May Refile under PERM provided criteria is met Provided certain criteria are met
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PERM
The final Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) published after two and a half years. PERM to streamline the labor certification application process for the permanent employment of aliens in the United States. DOL introduced speedy and consistent process for alien labor certifications and to maintain controls.
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PERM Steps
Obtain Prevailing Wage Determination (PED) from State Workforce Agency (SWA) Post Internal Job Notice for 10 consecutive business days Job Notice to be posted on employers standard electronic and printed methods Place job order with SWA Two Sunday Newspaper Advertisements
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PERM Steps
Three Additional steps for recruitment Employer must prepare report of recruitment efforts and of the resumes received pursuant to recruitment efforts Must prepare audit file If no US worker available file Form ETA 9089 electronically DOL will certify if file not selected for audit
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PERM PWD
Prevailing Wages:
Equal to or greater than the prevailing wage. Must be at least 100% of prevailing wage, the 5% deviation is no longer acceptable. Median will be used, provided survey provides a median and not an arithmetic mean. Validity period 90 days to 1 year depending on the wage source used.
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PERM - Recruitment
Recruitment (more than 30 days and less than 180 days) prior to filing. Additional steps are required for professional occupations.
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USCIS - Petition
After PERM application is certified Petition to be filed with documents to establish that recruitment requirements were fulfilled Adjustment of Status, EAD card (authorizing work) and advance parole (travel documents) may be filed concurrently
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Adjudication :
Either certify or deny applications. Notice of Finding has been eliminated.
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Biometrics Update
Individuals under Visa Waiver Program must have passports with digital photographs Carriers liable to penalty of US$ 3,300 if they bring individuals without appropriate passport DHS to upgrade the nations biometric visitor tracking system. May require 10 fingerprints as opposed
to two
Dept of State US passport regulations to incorporate changes related to the introduction of the electronic passport. 32
Include eligible foreign nationals of Indian origin of all countries barring Pakistan and Bangladesh Registration process can be done online at the Ministry of Home Affairs website: www.mha.nic.in Provides for reacquisition or acquisition of Indian citizenship without surrendering the foreign nationality.
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OCI Contd.
The Citizenship Act 1955 (the Act) amended to include persons of Indian origin of most nationalities. The Act earlier amended in 2003 was further amended by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005 (the Amended Act) in August 2005. Citizenship Rules, 1956 have also been amended. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 also amended.34
OCI - Eligibility
A foreign national, who was eligible to become a citizen of India on January 26, 1950; or Was a citizen of India on or at anytime after January 26, 1950; or Belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 8, 1947; or Child or grand child of person mentioned in 1 to 3; or Minor children of such persons mentioned above. 35
Benefits of OCI
Life long multi-entry, multi-purpose visa to visit
or live in India. Registration requirements eliminated. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs under the Act may announce other benefits to OCIs in future. No Oath of allegiance required so does not violate dual nationality restrictions of most countries
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Topics
EU Data Protection Directive Certain US Federal Laws Certain US State Laws and Pending Bills Suggested Best Practices
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EU Directive Contd.
Each EC Member State has to enact laws in keeping with the EU Directive For e.g. the EU Directive implemented by the United Kingdom Data Protection Act 1998. Approved set of standard contractual clauses EU Directive applies to the processing of personal data
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EU Directive Contd.
Restricts the transfer of personal data outside the EU Countries unless the other country ensures an adequate level of protection The data controller is liable for ensuring that these principles are adhered to Transfer to Countries with Adequate Protection without additional adequacy requirements permitted European Court recent holding mere access from non-EU country does not constitute transfer.
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US Federal Laws
The Graham-Leach-Bliley Act 1999(GLBA) restricts the transmission of personal data to third parties and was enacted to ensure that financial institutions take meaningful measures to protect their customers' personal information The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act, impact on US companies as well as auditing firms. When work is offshored, companies could face conflicting laws on audits and corporate governance and require reports to attest that outsourcing firms have internal controls in place to comply with SOX and other regulations.
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US Federal Laws
The Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act(COPPA) is designed to protect, among other things, against the eliciting of personal data from children by an operator of any website directed to children under thirteen years of age that collects personal information from children. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates the establishment of privacy protections for health care information.
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US Federal Laws
The Federal Credit Reporting Act limits access to credit histories and other personal information. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 requires the proper disposal of consumer information or compilation by any person that maintains or otherwise possesses or compiles consumer information. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, restricts the use of the telephone and facsimile machine to deliver unsolicited 45 advertisements.
Oregon, Minnesota, and Massachusetts have bills that require call center operators to disclose their location.
A Texas bill prohibits the employment of foreign workers on state contracts.
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Thank You
Poorvi Chothani, Esq. LawQuest 36, Maker Tower F Cuffe Parade Mumbai 400 005 E-mail poorvi@lawquestindia.com Telephone 00 91 22 5654 1671
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