| ashu |
Posted
on 04-Oct-00 09:43 PM
> From:
> Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 15:08:02 -0500 (CDT)
> Reply-to: sarangi@egroups.com
> Subject: [sarangi] good news for h1b holders
>
> good news for h1b holders. congress passed a bill (96 to 1) that:
>
> - will allow an h1b employee to work over 6 years, in 1 year
> increments.
> - will allow an employee going through an h1b transfer to start
> working at
> the other company as soon as the application is filed with the ins.
> - cap increased to 195,000
> ... and numerous other things (see summary below).
>
> clinton has to sign it. i think it'll go through smoothly.
>
> the copy/paste didn't go too well, so the summary below is better
> read from the web:
>
> http://www.shusterman.com/s2045sum.html
>
> regards,
> krishna
> ----- Forwarded message from Krishna B. Shah -----
>
> Summary of H-1B Cap Bill (S. 2045)
> As Passed by the Congress (10-3-00)
>
http://www.shusterman.com/s2045sum.html
>
> H-1B Cap: Increases cap to 195,000 for FY2001, 2002, and 2003
> Backlog Clearout: The bill mandates that all H-1B cases
> approved
> in 1999 after the cap was reached and before October 1,
> 1999 are counted against the FY1999 cap, and all cases filed
> before September 1, 2000 are to be counted against the FY2000
> cap, regardless of when they are approved. The caps for those
> years are raised to accommodate however many visas this
> would require.
> Exemption from the Cap: Exempts individuals employed at higher
> educational institutions and their related or affiliated nonprofit
> entities, and individuals employed by nonprofit research
> organizations or governmental research organizations from being
> counted toward the H-1B cap. (Exemption from the cap for
> foreign
> graduates of U.S. masters or Ph.D. programs is deleted). Also,
> H-1B physicians who have received a J-1 Conrad 20 waiver of the
> two-year home residency requirement are exempt from the
> cap. Anyone exempt from the cap by virtue of their employment
> with
> one of the entities described above who subsequently
> changes employers to one that is not described would be counted
> toward the cap in the year they change employers.
> H-1B Count: Prohibits the INS from counting someone toward the
> H-1B cap if they have had H-1B status in the previous 6
> years, unless the individual would be authorized for a new
> six-year period of stay at the time the petition is filed.
> Per Country Limits: Will allow unused employment-based
> immigrant
> visas in a calendar quarter to be allocated in subsequent
> quarters without regard to per-country limits. Allows an
> individual who has an I-140 filed on his or her behalf and who would
> be
> subject to per-country limits to extend his or her nonimmigrant
> status until the adjustment of status application is decided.
> Portability of H-1B Status: H-1B nonimmigrants may change jobs
> upon the filing of a new petition by the new employer as
> long as the individual is in lawful status at the time of
> filing
> and has not engaged in any unauthorized employment since his or her
> last lawful admission.
> Portability of I-140s and Labor Certs: Allows individuals who
> have filed for adjustment of status and whose cases have been
> pending for 180 days or more to change jobs or employers
> without
> affecting the validity of the I-140 or underlying labor
> certification, as long as the new job is in “the same or a
> similar
> occupational classification” to the job in the original petition and
> labor cert.
> Recapture of Unused Employment-based Immigrant Visas: Provides
> that any employment-based immigrant visas that
> were available but unused in FY1999 and FY2000 are to be
> “banked”
> for use in future fiscal years if the demand for
> employment-based visas exceeds the overall cap for that year.
> (This shall take place in addition to any “spill up” of unused visas
> to the family preferences that would otherwise occur.)
> Sixth-Year Extension for H-1Bs Awaiting Green Cards: Provides
> that H-1B nonimmigrants for whom an I-140 has been
> filed and whose labor cert or I-140 was filed at least 365 days
> prior, may obtain extensions of their H-1B status beyond the
> six-year maximum, in one-year increments, until their
> adjustment
> of status or immigrant visa application is decided.
> Extension of Attestations and DOL Investigative Authorities
> Through 2003: Extends the additional attestations and DOL
> investigative authorities from ACWIA through FY2003
> Recovery of Fraudulent Visas: Provides that for any H-1B
> petition
> revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation, the visa
> number shall be added back to the cap in the year the petition
> is
> revoked, regardless of when the visa was actually issued.
> Additional Funds to INS for Processing: Increases INS’ portion
> of
> the H-1B education and training fee to 4% from the
> current 1.5%
> Education and Training Provisions: Worked out in a compromise
> between Senators Abraham, Kennedy, Lieberman and
> others.
> 55% of the H-1B education and training fees are to go
> toward
> DOL demonstration programs and projects to provide
> technical skills training for workers. Training shall
> not
> necessarily be at the level of a baccalaureate degree, but
> preparation for workers at a broad range along the career
> ladder. 75% of the grants shall be to workforce investment
> boards or consortia of such boards in a region, to be
> decided in consultation with the Dept. of Commerce. 25% of the
> grants will go to partnerships of at least 2 businesses
> or a
> business-related nonprofit organization that represents more
> than one business, and may include any educational,
> labor,
> community organization or workforce investment board. 80% of
> grants will be for skills training in high technology,
> information technology, and biotechnology and no more than 20% to
> training workers for skills in other H-1B-type specialty
> occupations.
> 22% of the fees will go toward low-income scholarships
> instituted in ACWIA (“Abraham scholarships”)
> 15% of the Fees will go toward NSF competitive grants for
> K-12 math, technology and science education.
> 4% of Fees go to the Department of Justice and the INS
> for
> H-1B case processing and enforcement of those attestations
> under their jurisdiction.
> 4% of fees go to the Department of Labor for enforcement
> and
> processing of LCAs.
> Studies and Reports: Requires a new NSF study on the
> divergence
> of access to high technology (“digital divide”), Dept. of
> Commerce to conduct a review of existing public and private
> high-tech workforce training programs in the United States (Kerry
> amendment).
> Kids 2000: Biden amendment from committee that provides
> after-school technology grants to the Boys and Girls Clubs of
> America. Up to $20 million may be appropriated for FY2001-2006
> to
> the Attorney General to fund grants under this program,
> such funds may come from the Violent Crime Control Trust Fund.
> Backlog Reduction Provisions: The bill incorporates the text
> of
> the Immigration Services and Infrastructure Improvement Act
> (S. 2586, introduced by Senator Feinstein), which provides for
> the
> creation of a new Immigration Services and Infrastructure
> Improvement Account (and authorizes appropriations to fund this
> account) in order to reduce INS processing time of all cases
> to less than 180 days and eliminate the backlog of pending
> cases.
> The bill requires INS to provide a backlog elimination plan to
> Congress within 90 days of the enactment of the bill, and
> annual
> reports on their service provision situation and progress toward
> improvement.
>
>
>
> Courtesy of the American Immigration Lawyers Association
|
