Bush Makes Life Easier for H-1Bs

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 1:28 AM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

I haven't been able to find much in the US media about Bush's new extension
of H-1B visas. Fortunately the Indian websites have plenty of this "good
news" for H-1Bs.

American doctors should be very concerned about this bill because it will
increase the number of H-1B doctors that can stay in the US.

http://www.acip.com/acipweb.nsf/NewHome/CAB09A4E09EE662385256C69006DF759?OpenDocument

President Signs H-1B 7th Year Extension Bill

Date Posted: 11/06/2002
Contact:
Related Pages:

On Friday, November 2, the President signed H.R. 2215, 21st Century
Department of Justice Appropriations
Authorization Act, into law. This bill includes a provision that allows H-1B
visa holders to extend their stay beyond the statutory six-year period if a
labor certification has been pending for at least 365 days. INS is expected
to issue guidance shortly on the evidence required by petitioners seeking to
take advantage of this provision. In the interim, ACIP advises members to
consult with legal counsel on the potential benefits of this measure to your
pending cases.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=27499106

The Economic Times Online

US Bill to make life easier for H-1B visa holders
URMI A GOSWAMI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2002 07:45:37 AM ]
NEW DELHI: It is now official. On November 2, US President George Bush
signed the department of justice Authorisation Bill which will make
extension for H-1B visas easier.

It will also make it possible for more Indian doctors to live and work in
the US once their academic programme is over.

The extension of H-1B visas will particularly benefit the IT sector. This is
good news for Indian H-1B visa holders, as nearly 50% of them are working in
the high-tech sector.

This provision will allow those whose labour certification applications have
got caught in official backlogs. For the industry, the advantage lies in the
fact disruption that affected important projects because of the loss of key
employees will be avoided.

Prior to this law, extensions were possible, but applicants would be
required to file a labour certification sometime during their fifth year,
and that an immigration petition, the next step in the long line to
permanent residency, be filed before the end of the sixth year as well.

The idea behind this provision as it appeared in the American
Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) was to protect foreign
nationals and the sponsoring companies from lengthy delays at the
Immigration and Naturalisation Service.

However, the immigrant petition could not be filed until the labour
certification was been approved. The labour certification is approved by the
US Department of Labour. The provision in AC21 was not useful to protect
H-1B visa holders from these delays.

Under the new law, those in H1-B can apply for extensions without regard to
the ability to file an immigrant petition by the end of the sixth year. The
law thus protects foreign nationals from delays originating in the
department of labour.

It also recognises the fact that those foreign nationals applying for
extensions are already well valued by their companies, have significant ties
to the US and do not pose a threat to jobs of US workers.

The Conrad State 20 programme which has been extended will make it possible
for more Indian medical graduates to avoid returning to India after
completing their course of study.

All they will have to do is serve out three years in an area designated as
facing a shortage in qualified doctors. Prior to this law, the number of
waivers permitted was 20, it has now gone up to 30. The programme has also
been extended till '04.

US immigration law requires foreign medical graduates to return to their
country on completion of their course for at least two years before they can
apply for a non-immigrant or permanent residency status. There are, however,
certain programmes under which this requirement may be waived.

The conditions of the waiver require foreign medical graduates to serve
three years in rural areas in the US.

This increase is particularly welcome after the United States department of
agriculture (USDA) ended its J-1 waiver programme in the aftermath of
September 11 attacks.

The closing down of the USDA waiver programme had drastically limited the
number of foreign doctors available to serve in areas designated as
“medically underserved area”. It had also reduced the opportunities
available to foreign doctors to avoid returning to their home countries.

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