Immigration Visa Lawyer Blog

Our law firm is delighted to announce to our clients nationwide that it was nominated for the 2008 TechColumbus innovations award in the category of "outstanding product" for its creation of the immigration case management software called VisaTurbo. We are also happy to state that our product was also chosen as a finalist in the competition which drew more than 160 astute competitor companies all having less than 50 employees.

In 1999 brothers Gus and Sam Shihab, the owners of a law firm immigration our law firm embarked on a project for designing and launching online case management software which would propel them forward ahead of their peers and provide unprecedented quality legal services. The product was called VisaPlanner which was launched in 2002. VsaPlanner is the predecessor of the current software called VisaTurbo. Currently VisaTurbo includes more 20,000 record entries, documents and notes pertaining to their client case processing status.

Being immigrants themselves, Gus and Sam Shihab are two lawyers among 10,000 other immigration lawyers nationwide. They realized that the key to success in this practice is to be close to their clients and this software has been successful in achieving this goal. Few law firms have undertaken a similar project and those include some of the largest immigration law firms in the country. About the same time, other software providers have designed similar products that are now for sale to immigration law practitioners. Holding engineering degrees from The Ohio State University, Gus and Sam employed a full time in-house software engineer Kevin Dagostine who wrote the program under their constant direction and supervision. Gus and Sam Shihab provided instructions regarding architecture, software functionality, deliverables, and look and feel. While other software development companies who designed similar products employ dozens of software engineers and programmers to design their commercial product, our law firm has been successful in simultaneously and independently designing an identical product with 70% functionality with their current team.

Continue reading "Columbus Immigration Lawyers Nominated Finalists in Innovations Award Competition for Outstanding Product Which Processes H1B visas" »

Employees are the building blocks of any successful and prosperous company. Such successful companies know that they should hold on to their employees during hard times as their employees held the company together during good times. As a Columbus, Ohio immigration lawyer, I received a call from a client recently informing that he has recently requested a 10% wage reduction from all of his employees. Since the company was unable to do so for the H1B visa employees, as the law requires the employer to pay H1B holders the higher of either prevailing wages or actual wages, the employer turned to me for advice. I advised the employer to convert the H1b visa holders to part time and re-petition the USCIS to reduce their hours, and hence, their compensation.

Employers are able to employ foreign nationals in full or part time positions. Thus, this is powerful tool that can be utilized by employers who are concerned about keeping their staff during financial challenges it is facing. For instance, employers may be able to concurrently petition H1b visa employees who hold full time H1b employment with other employers, in a part time H1B visa in their own company. The H-1B visa is concurrent in the sense that the employee has an H1B visa status with more than one employer simultaneously.

Alternatively, the employer could petition an H1b visa employee to work for it on part time basis who would not not necessarily maintain full time H1B visa status elsewhere . In essence this would become a non-concurrent part time H1b visa petition. Example of this include converting an H-1B visa employee within the same company from full time to part time H-1B status or or by transferring an H-1B visa employee from full time status from another company to part time H-1B visa status into the company.

Continue reading "H1B Visa Lawyer on Part Time H1B Visas During Difficult Economic Times" »

In order to file for the extension or transfer of H-1B visa status, the alien must prove have an extension or transfer petition filed prior to the expiration of the alien's current status and the alien must have maintained status throughout. Maintaining valid status means that the H1B employee must be paid at all times by the petitioning employer.

There are many unfortunate situations which might cause an H-1B visa holder to fall out of status. These situations include those who have done so inadvertently, those who have not been paid by their employers for work done, or those who have filed complaint against their employers and who have subsequently received retaliatory treatment by their employers. H-1B holders are, in many ways, at the whim of the employer and are very vulnerable. That is why Congress has enacted various legislation to protect those workers who had fallen out of status through no fault of their own. Please bear in mind that there are complex legal issues involved in re-instating status to one who, through no fault of his own, had fallen out of status which requires the assistance of competent legal H1b lawyer.

I have seen these issues more frequently recently out of our offices located in Columbus, Ohio and Cleveland Ohio. The same applies for our Washington, DC office. But most frequently, I have had a number of clients visit us in our Michigan offices to also find ways to re-instate their status.

Here are the situations that might occur causing an H1B visa holder to fall out of status thereby restricting his or her ability to change or extend her H1b visa with another employer:

• When H-1B Visa Holder Falls Out of Status Due to Inadvertent Technical Violations:
There are myriad situations where an H-1B visa holder fell out of status through no fault of his. An example of this is where an H-1B visa employee moves from one job to another and the employer fails or neglects to file an H-1B visa transfer petition with the USCIS. Another example I have seen lately, alien moves from job to another unbeknownst to him that the immigration lawyer negligently files an H-1b visa petition requesting consular processing instead of transfer. In both of these scenarios, the employee H-1B visa holder had done nothing to cause this confusion and the fact that he is now out of status. Sometimes, the inadvertence is not discovered for several months after the fact.

Continue reading "Extending or Transferring H-1B Visa When Alien is Out of Status" »

Recapturing H-1B time

The burden of proof is on the employee to prove that time is eligible to recapture. It is crucial to keep accurate records of all entry and exit dates into and from the United States. If passport stamps are not readable or only partly readable, all dates should be separately notated and recorded. USCIS will not make these calculations when it adjudicates the petition unless instructed to do so. If you are unsure about how to do this call us at any of our offices in Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, Southfield Michigan, or Washington, DC.

File Labor Certification as soon as possible

The worst scenario occurs when an employee on H-1B status nears the end of the allowable six years without any legal means of attaining an extension. Extensions beyond the statutory six year linit are all based on having a filed or approved labor certification or I-140, so it is important to begin this process as soon as possible. Six years may seem more than an adequate period of time, but any number of complications could arise that delay filing.

In addition to starting the process, it is important to follow through requests for documentation such as experience letters. Documents such as these can be time consuming to procure so promptness and follow through are important

Continue reading "H1B Attorney Advice Bits For Employer and Employee" »

Every year, thousands of students in F-1 status complete their education programs and wish to work temporarily in the United States on H-1B status. Between the time when these students complete their education programs and the time when they plan to begin working, many of them desire to travel abroad for various reasons, such as to vacation, visit family, etc.

As an H-1B attorney, the most common question is this: "I graduated from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. My prospective Employer in Michigan filed my H-1B application. During the pending H-1B petition is filed, can I travel outside the US?"

It is the unofficial policy of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to permit travel when the person has an approved H-1B petition and an approved application to change status from F-1 to H-1B. If the H-1B visa is still pending, a travel outside the US may cause the request to change status be denied. The H-1B petition will be approved but you must interview at a US embassy abroad before you can enter the US on H-1B status.

The F-1 foreign national should depart from and reenter the US prior to the effective date of the change of status and after the H-1B is approved. Your H-1B attorney will most likely advise not to travel on F-1 in the event the application to change status is still pending.

Despite the apparent benefits of the limited ability to travel, F-1 students should be warned against traveling due to other issues that may make travel difficult for them.

For example, in some cases, F-1 students who were approved for H-1B status have had their registrations erased automatically and in error from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). In these cases, the students' F-1 status could not be verified at the border, despite having valid Form I-20 Certificates of Eligibility for student status.

Continue reading "Can I Travel While my H-1B Filing is Pending After Graduating From College?" »

With more than 28 years of combined experience as immigration attorneys, our firm has represented hundreds of employers and employees in more than a thousand H-1b visas before the US Department of Labor and the US Citizenship and Immigration Service. Even though our offices are located in Columbus, and Cleveland, Ohio as well as Michigan and Washington, DC, we interact with employers all over the US. From this experience, I know that employers are always searching for the right H-1b attorney, one who can truly represent their interests as well as those of their employees in a cost effective as well as efficient manner. When it comes to H-1B visa processing, it is important to understand the role of effective H-1B visa lawyer in advancing the interest of the employer and employee. Here are some pointers that are important to keep in mind in choosing the right lawyer:

• Communication: A lawyer who is willing to put forth the time and effort to communicate with the employer and employees during the H-1b visa processing. Choose an H-1b visa attorney who is available and who is responsive.

• Public Access File: I have seen many H-1B visa attorneys who do not do so and rely on the employer to put these important documents together. I believe this is a dangerous trend especially if the employer is H-1B dependent. If you look at the regulations, you know right away that this function must be accomplished by the lawyer. Hence, it is highly advisable to choose an H-1B lawyer who is willing to put this important document together for the employer. Failure to prepare and keep the public access file may result in costly US Department of Labor investigations and penalties.

• Automation: It is highly important to make certain that the lawyer utilizes online case management software like VisaTurbo. VisaTurbo is secured software that was designed by our law firm for the dissemination and sharing of all documents coming in and out of the lawyer office from all parties concerned. Make certain that the H-1B lawyer you choose has such software as many others like VisaTurbo are available in the market.

• Experience: Processing of an H-1B visa requires experience with the needs of small and large employers. The smaller employer (less than 200 employees) is unique and USCIS has recently stepped up their Request for Evidence for H-1B visas processed by smaller employers. A lawyer who is experienced in processing H-1B visas for smaller employers can avoid many pitfalls that could truly delay the processing of H-1b visas.

Continue reading "Choosing the Right H-1B Visa Lawyer During the 2009 H-1B Cap Season" »