Immigration Lawyer for H-1B Visas - What Both Employers And Employees Need To Know
An H-1B visa allows foreign nationals to come temporarily to the United States to perform services in a specialty occupation. Applicants must possess a relevant four-year college degree or equivalent work experience to qualify and must have an offer of employment from a US employer who is willing to act as their H-1B sponsor.
Immigration attorneys can help in properly putting together the H-1B application for the company. These include preparing the Labor Certification Application (LCA), obtaining an evaluation of the employee's college education if it was obtained outside the US to show that it is equivalent to a US degree, gathering documents and data to support the application etc. The employer is required to pay the filing fees associated with the H-1B petition which as of January 5, 2011 includes Filing Fee ($325), ACWIA fee ($750 or $1500 depending on if you have less than 25 or more employees), Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee ($500), Premium Processing ($1225-optional) and attorney fees. Each employee's scenario is different and immigration lawyers play a crucial role in taking into consideration the applicant's unique situation and filing the application in an accurate and timely manner.
H-1B approvals are usually issued within two to three months from the date of filing with the USCIS, unless premium processing is used in which case it takes 2-3 weeks. Once the H-1B is approved, employees need to be aware of the visa's limitations such as whether they can change jobs, travel outside of the US, implications for their spouse and children etc. Likewise employers need to understand what rules they have to follow and know of having an H-1B employee or employees mainly to be aware of H-1B Audits. H-1B Audits are conducted by the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor (DOL) to find out whether an H-1B employer is in compliance with the existing H-1B laws and regulations. When violations are found, the Administrator of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division may assess civil money penalties with maximums ranging from $1,000 to $35,000 per violation, depending on the type and severity of the violation. The Administrator may also impose other remedies, including payment of back wages to employees.
The company should stay in touch with the immigration attorney because there might be changes to the cost of processing and new rules and regulations to follow for employees and employers. Immigration attorneys also play an important role beyond the H-1B process when employers want to file green cards for their employees.
Immigration attorneys can help in properly putting together the H-1B application for the company. These include preparing the Labor Certification Application (LCA), obtaining an evaluation of the employee's college education if it was obtained outside the US to show that it is equivalent to a US degree, gathering documents and data to support the application etc. The employer is required to pay the filing fees associated with the H-1B petition which as of January 5, 2011 includes Filing Fee ($325), ACWIA fee ($750 or $1500 depending on if you have less than 25 or more employees), Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee ($500), Premium Processing ($1225-optional) and attorney fees. Each employee's scenario is different and immigration lawyers play a crucial role in taking into consideration the applicant's unique situation and filing the application in an accurate and timely manner.
H-1B approvals are usually issued within two to three months from the date of filing with the USCIS, unless premium processing is used in which case it takes 2-3 weeks. Once the H-1B is approved, employees need to be aware of the visa's limitations such as whether they can change jobs, travel outside of the US, implications for their spouse and children etc. Likewise employers need to understand what rules they have to follow and know of having an H-1B employee or employees mainly to be aware of H-1B Audits. H-1B Audits are conducted by the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor (DOL) to find out whether an H-1B employer is in compliance with the existing H-1B laws and regulations. When violations are found, the Administrator of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division may assess civil money penalties with maximums ranging from $1,000 to $35,000 per violation, depending on the type and severity of the violation. The Administrator may also impose other remedies, including payment of back wages to employees.
The company should stay in touch with the immigration attorney because there might be changes to the cost of processing and new rules and regulations to follow for employees and employers. Immigration attorneys also play an important role beyond the H-1B process when employers want to file green cards for their employees.
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