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Las Vegas Area Health District Selects Application Developer
Publish Date : 11/3/2004 2:01:00 PM   Source : Culture and Community News

The H-1B visa, which provides for workers in specialty occupations, is especially in need of legislative reform in the upcoming year. The demand for specialized foreign labor far exceeds the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000. The cap has been met earlier and earlier in recent years. The 2004 cap was met this past February, and the 2005 cap was met on the first day of the fiscal year, October 1, 2004. As a result, companies must race to submit H-1B applications before the cap is met.
“US employers are filing about 11,000 new H-1Bs a month, and as the economy continues to grow, this number is likely to increase. In a 12-month period, we should have at least 132,000 new H-1B visas,” explained Robert Meltzer, VISANOW CEO. “Until Congress and the President address this issue, the cap will remain insufficient to cover the labor needs of American companies.”

The earliest filing date for FY 2006 H-1B visas will be April 1, 2005. Visas filed on that date will have an approved start date of October 1, 2005. To avoid unnecessary risks, VISANOW recommends that companies wishing to file new H-1Bs begin making arrangements prior to the commencement of the filing period. Companies should contact their immigration providers to discuss other options to bridge the gap between now and April 1.

“There is clearly a lack of qualified workers, as the 2005 H-1B cap was reached the day the fiscal year began. This shortage severely limits companies' ability to plan for the long term, which is, in part, dependent on the ability to place educated, specialized individuals in open positions. When corporations are able to fill these positions, they are able to grow, which in turn spurs economic growth and creates more jobs. The President and Congress need to act,” Meltzer said.

The Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) regulation, which is expected to be published in the Federal Register shortly, may be one step towards reform. Labor certification must be obtained to demonstrate qualified US workers are not available and willing to perform work in the area of intended employment. PERM will replace traditional and Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) labor certification processing and is part of the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) initiative to eliminate the application backlog.

The specifics of PERM are not currently public; however, in the proposed regulation, it has been suggested that PERM will impose more restrictions with respect to prevailing wage requirements, change recruiting procedures and eliminate the ability to use experience gained with the same employer. If these restrictions are part of the final regulation, they would set higher and more difficult standards for labor certification and smaller companies, in particular, could be affected negatively.

“Once PERM is enacted, the labor certification process could be dramatically changed and result in a significantly more work-intensive process for employers. To avoid unknown setbacks, we are recommending companies submit labor certifications and RIR applications under the current process as soon as possible,” said Andrew Shackelford, Esq., VISANOW Director of Client Services.

According to the FY 2005 Transition Guidance issued by DOL Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, PERM is anticipated to be operational within 60 days of publication, which is half of the original 120-day grace period. This means companies wishing to file labor certifications and RIR applications under the current process will have considerably less time.

Additionally, cuts in State Workforce Agency (SWA) “supplemental” funds will drive staff reduction. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) anticipates all SWA backlogged permanent labor certification applications will be transferred to one of the two new backlog centers or assigned to ETA foreign labor certification offices by the end of March. Backlog reduction will be implemented on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis, which could temporarily freeze processing in low volume states until the backlog from higher volume states, such as California, New York and New Jersey, is reduced.    

Despite the potential challenges in filing for work-based visas in 2005, the number of submitted applications is expected to increase.

“There has been an overall increase in immigration every decade for the past two centuries. Regardless of the world economy, the perception that the United States is the land of opportunity has not changed,” Meltzer commented.

About VISANOW
VISANOW streamlines the immigration process for corporations and their foreign employees and is the only immigration provider to guarantee its services. Since 1998, it has combined superior client support and innovative, patented technology to revolutionize the manner in which immigration matters are processed. By simply logging on to www.visanow.com, VISANOW clients can experience unprecedented levels of efficiency, responsiveness, legal expertise and quality service. Hundreds of clients have received significant savings in time and money by using the VISANOWâ process. In addition, the company also offers VISANOWâ ES to in-house counsel and VisaPrep to attorneys.