At Brown Immigration Law, we strive to be your company’s partner in growth and innovation, on a global scale. We continue our commitment to demystifying the complex immigration laws of the United States and Canada to provide efficient and effective immigration and global mobility support. Please find this month’s breaking immigration news below.
We wish everyone a happy holiday season!
U.S. BREAKING NEWS
State Side Visa Renewal Program Begins January 29, 2024 for Certain H-1B Holders – Important Details Below
In a notice published in the Federal Register December 21, 2023, the Department of State announced the beginning of the state-side visa renewal pilot program for a limited pool of H-1B holders. The pilot program will run from January 29, 2024 to April 1, 2024 with a total of 20,000 slots available for the pilot program.
To qualify for the pilot program, very specific criteria must be met:
- Applicant is seeking an H-1B visa
- H4’s are not included in the pilot phase, limited to only H-1Bs.
- Must hold a previous H-1B visa from Mission Canada or Mission India with specific dates:
- Prior H-1B visa that is being renewed was issued by Mission Canada with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023;
- or by Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021
- Not subject to nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (reciprocity fee; information here)
- Eligible for waiver of in-person interview requirement (information here)
- Previously submitted ten fingerprints to the DOS in connection with a previous visa application.
- No “clearance received” annotation on a prior visa stamp.
- No waiver required for issuance of visa due to inadmissibility or other limiting factor.
- Hold an approved and unexpired H-1B petition.
- Most recently admitted to the U.S. in H-1B status.
- Period of authorized admission in H-1B status has not expired.
- Intend to re-enter the United States in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad; and
- Must reside in the United States.
The Department of State has indicated that their pilot program is limited to Canada and India because they believe this population will be representative to determine whether the program will work. Participation in this program is voluntary and applicants may continue to pursue overseas visa applications if urgent travel arises, but fees paid will not be refunded. Additionally, the DOS reserves the right to request additional information during the state side visa issuance process.
On the below noted dates, the Department of State will open up this website for entries into the pilot program. Each week, the department of state will accept a total of 4,000 – 2,000 from Mission India and 2,000 from Mission Canada. The Dates are as follows:
- 01/29/2024
- 02/05/2024
- 02/12/2024
- 02/19/2024
- 02/26/2024
To verify the information on your most recent H-1B visa, please review the below example. In the top left corner, under ‘Issuing Post Name’ the visa sticker will list the location which last issued your visa. The issuance date is also highlighted below. To qualify, this must be a location in India or Canada, issued within the above noted dates.
If you believe you may qualify for this program, please contact your BIL attorney as soon as possible for an assessment and further detailed instructions. The website will lock each week after the requisite number of slots (4,000) have been filed.
We welcome this program from the Department of State and hope that the pilot is successful to permit expanded visa types in the program for the future. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as they become available.
NEW LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Visa Primer and Mobility Overview
In opening the year, sometimes its good to get back to the basics! Managing Partner, David Zaritzky Brown, will quickly outline the different visa status options that we routinely use to support our clients. He’ll outline eligibility and length of status and provide real-world examples of when different visa status types are employed to facilitate hiring and employee transfers. Our team is ultimately agnostic when it comes to the visa type chosen – we’re committed to finding the most efficient, successful, and workable option while balancing the needs of the individual and the corporate mission. This program will provide HR experts with the foundational knowledge to ask all the right questions and be ready to support any visa classification you hire. As always there will be a generous Q&A period available to ask any visa question you may have.
H-1B Cap Primer – What to Expect This Year
A new year brings a new H-1B lottery selection in early 2024! And possibly new regulations to streamline the process and increase fairness in selections. We want to ensure you are ready for the H-1B Cap lottery, so you can field basic questions and are ready to navigate the H-1B cap season. This talk with cover who should be included, how the H-1B works, and Cap selection in particular. David Zaritzky Brown, Managing Partner, will also speak to what to expect in terms of deadlines and timing, and how H-1B selection is then worked into an H-1B petition and the timing of that submission. David will also discuss H-1B Cap gap and how we approach contingency planning for those who are not selected.
Biden’s AI Initiatives and Options for AI Related Visas
As the FY 2025 cap season nears, uncertainty looms over the heads of thousands of specialty workers while many businesses contemplate the very real risk that they will lose talented workers who are not selected. H-1B contingency planning is critical to successfully managing your foreign national workforce. Often an initial review involves considering what options exist for individuals to remain in the U.S., however, for companies implementing contingency plans for foreign nationals in the US, Canada offers a plethora of untapped and innovative immigration programs that will allow companies to relocate their employees quickly and easily to Canada while minimizing disruptions to the workforce and client deliverables.
Moderated by Managing Partner, David Zaritzky Brown, this program will highlight useful Canadian options supported by the Canadian practice, led by Clinton J. Green, Managing Attorney and Canadian Practice Lead, and his team.
H-1B Cap and Contingency Planning
As the FY 2025 cap season nears, uncertainty looms over the heads of thousands of specialty workers while many businesses contemplate the very real risk that they will lose talented workers who are not selected. H-1B contingency planning is critical to successfully managing your foreign national workforce. Often an initial review involves considering what options exist for individuals to remain in the U.S. or go elsewhere. This program will both outline our approach to the H-1B cap season and also walk through the various contingency options available to individuals who are in the cap process. Managing Partner, David Zaritzky Brown will leverage his knowledge of twenty-five prior H-1B cap seasons to share his best options for a backup to Cap selection.
*This webinar is offering SHRM Professional Development Credit.
H-1B Cap Contingency – Think Canada
As a follow-up to our February 1st discussion concerning contingency planning for those not selected in the lottery, this talk will focus on the Canadian option. Whether a US and Canadian company or just a U.S. company, Managing Attorney, Clinton Green will highlight how clients can leverage immigration options in Canada to provide continuity for those U.S. workers who run out of runway because of an unsuccessful H-1B cap season. As a progressive skilled worker destination that shares time zones with the U.S. Canada has become a natural option for displaced U.S. workers who are stymied by the artificial H-1B Cap.
In addition to learning about the different immigration options for hiring workers in Canada and key recruitment strategies for starting operations or scaling existing operations in Canada quickly – we will highlight how Brown Immigration Law supports businesses to support Canadian permanent residence within two years of entry, or the alternative of finding a way back to the U.S. after a short stint in Canada.
*This webinar is offering SHRM Professional Development Credit.
Biden’s AI Initiatives and Options for AI Related Visas
This is a rebroadcast of our January 25th webinar with any updates sprinkled in! Much has been said about AI and its impact on the world of technology, and the world in general, and it is clear that AI is the new “race” between companies and countries. The Biden Administration, in realizing both the importance and promise of AI released an Executive Order on October 30, 2023 in support of U.S. based AI development that also featured possible immigration benefits for foreign founders in the AI field, or AI key engineering talent. Managing Partner, David Zaritzky Brown will highlight the specific AI visa allowances and changes that are likely to benefit the industry and also touch on some of the tools the firm is already using to support such applications. For companies that are in the AI space or developing AI aspects of their existing technology this is a must for understanding the important shift in visa policy to support the industry. Given the newness of these changes, David will hold an extended Q&A at the end of his talk to answer any questions relating to the new tools and their implementation.
H-1B Cap and Contingency Planning
As the FY 2025 cap season nears, uncertainty looms over the heads of thousands of specialty workers while many businesses contemplate the very real risk that they will lose talented workers who are not selected. H-1B contingency planning is critical to successfully managing your foreign national workforce. Often an initial review involves considering what options exist for individuals to remain in the U.S. or go elsewhere. This program will both outline our approach to the H-1B cap season and also walk through the various contingency options available to individuals who are in the cap process. Managing Partner, David Zaritzky Brown will leverage his knowledge of twenty-five prior H-1B cap seasons to share his best options for a backup to Cap selection.
*This webinar is offering SHRM Professional Development Credit.
Once registered, you will receive an email with a link to use to join the video chat on the day of the event. Please note: This link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you. If you ever misplace the invitation link, simply visit the webinar schedule on our website.
If you have colleagues who may benefit from our talks, you are welcome to invite them to join by sharing our webinar schedule where they can subscribe for further information.
Don’t miss these opportunities to increase your knowledge on important immigration issues!
Thank you and we look forward to having you at the event.
Best Regards,
The Team at Brown Immigration Law
** This newsletter/memo is provided for informational and discussion purposes only. It does not act as a substitute for direct legal contact on an individual basis **
