Thomas J. Arkell Dunn Law Firm, LLP 1001 N. Main Street, Suite A

Thomas J. Arkell

Dunn Law Firm, LLP 1001 N. Main Street, Suite A

Bloomington, IL 61701 (309) 828-6241

[email protected]

Nonimmigrant (temporary) visa

Maximum stay of 6 years (with certain exceptions)

Professional or “specialty” occupation requiring a bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Employer specific

Location specific

Job specific

Allows for “dual intent”

Thomas J. Arkell- Dunn Law Firm, LLP

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A specialty occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge along with at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.

Examples of specialty occupations include: Professor, Accountant, Engineer, Systems Analyst, Computer Scientist, Software Engineer, Architect, Physicist, Chemist.

Job titles and job descriptions are very important.

Thomas J. Arkell- Dunn Law Firm, LLP [email protected]

The employer must pay 100% of the prevailing wage or the actual wage, whichever is higher.

Prevailing wage is based on minimum requirements of the job and the area of intended employment.

Actual wage is the amount being paid to other employees in the same position with similar qualifications and experience.


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Filing fees: $325.00 for I-129 filing fee

$500.00 for Fraud Prevention and Detection fee

$1,500.00 (more than 25 employees) or $750.00 (25 or fewer employees) for ACWIA fee

Employer must pay for Fraud fee and ACWIA fee and should pay all filing fees

Current processing times for the H-1B petition once filed with the USCIS is 3-5 months.

Premium processing for an additional $1,225.00 and USCIS will issue a decision or request for evidence within 15 calendar days


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65,000 visas allowed for beneficiaries with a bachelor’s degree

Additional 20,000 for beneficiaries who have obtained a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution

Lottery


Visas become available October 1st of each year.

Employer can begin filing H-1B petitions subject to the cap April 1st of each year with a start date of October 1st

Petitions from institutions of higher education are not subject to the annual cap

Extensions, amendments and change of employer petitions are not subject to the cap


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Provides an automatic extension of stay and work authorization for F-1 students with Optional Practical Training (OPT)

Cap gap requirements:

H-1B petition must be timely filed;

Requested change of status from F-1;

Requested October 1st start date; and

Student has no violations of F-1 status

Cap gap terminates upon the rejection, denial or revocation of the H-1B petition


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STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)

Student must have a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree in a STEM field

Employer must be enrolled in E-Verify.

Student must apply on time (at least 90 days before the current post-completion OPT expires)

Must report to Designated School Official upon STEM approval and every 6 months


Students on post graduation OPT may not accumulate more than 90 days of unemployment during the first 12 months using OPT.

Students may not accumulate more than 120 days of unemployment during the entire 29 month STEM extended OPT period.


Exchange visitor programs designated by the Department of State for individuals to participate in work and study based exchange visitor programs.

Some individuals are subject to the two-year home-country physical presence (foreign residence) requirement


Visa Stamp

Issued at U.S. Embassy or Consulate

Allows for admission into the United States


I-94 Arrival/Departure Record

Issued by Customs and Border Protection upon entry into the U.S.

The expiration date on I-94 is the date you are authorized to stay in U.S.

Only have one valid I-94 at a time

Last I-94 issued lists status expiration


TN (Trade NAFTA) Canadian/Mexican citizens

L-1 Intracompany Transferee

H-3 Trainee

O-1 Extraordinary Ability


I. Family Based II. Employment Based A. Labor Certification (PERM)-test of the U.S. job market B. I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker C. I-485 Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing III. Diversity Visa Lottery


IV. Self Petition ( no labor certification)

A. National Interest Waiver (EB-2)

B. Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A)

C. Investment (EB-5)


Shortcut to permanent residence

Skip the labor certification (PERM) process

Does not require employer sponsorship

http://www.nationalinterestwaivers.com


Criteria

1. Individual must be seeking employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit

2. Proposed benefit of the employment should be national in scope

3. Applicant must show that the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required

* Citations are important to show influence in the field.


Must meet three of the following criteria: Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for

excellence Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding

achievement of their members Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or

other major media Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on

a panel Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related

contributions of major significance to the field Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade

publications or other major media Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in

relation to others in the field Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts


Must meet at least three of the required criteria and USCIS must then make a final merits determination of whether or not the petitioner has demonstrated that the alien has a level of expertise indicating that the individual is “one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor”

No offer of employment is required

Employer must employ at least three (3) other full time researchers


Must meet two of the following criteria: Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for

outstanding achievement Evidence of membership in associations that require their

members to demonstrate outstanding achievement Evidence of published material in professional publications

written by others about the alien's work in the academic field

Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field

Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field

Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field


Must meet at least two of the required criteria and USCIS must then make a final merits determination of whether or not the petitioner has, by a preponderance of the evidence, demonstrated that the alien is recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic area

Must have at least 3 years experience in teaching or research in that academic area

Offer of employment is required



Documents

Thomas J. Arkell Dunn Law Firm, LLP 1001 N. Main Street, Suite A