#H-1B Visa News

[npzlawyersforimmigration]

Breaking News: Key Updates in U.S. and Canadian Immigration Policies

https://visaserve.com/breaking-news-key-updates-in-u-s-and-canadian-immigration-policies/

#immigration #USimmigration #CanadianImmigration #H1b #GreenCard #VisaBulletin #GreenCard #FamilyBased #EmploymentBased

[amitkakkareasyvisa]

(via USCIS Announces Second H-1B Visa Lottery for FY 2025)

[travelling-bird]

A steep hike in the visa application fee for employment-based visas, including H-1B and L, is on cards. Click here to read more about the US visa fee hike.

[brilliancemigrationservices]

Want to know how USCIS can help the US Economy and all the H-1B spouses? You are at the right place, as you’ll get all the information here.

[mariacallous]

Five months ago, software engineer Shikhar Sachdev adopted a peculiar hobby. While his friends met for drinks or played FIFA 23 to unwind after work, he would come home, boot up his laptop, and spend hours filling out job applications, for sport.

Sachdev is content with his job at a San Francisco fintech company, but he writes a career blog in his spare time and had noticed a recurring sentiment: Job hunting these days is the worst. Friends described returning home from an exhausting day of work they hated, applying for new positions, and quickly growing discouraged by clunky application software and a low response rate. Research suggests the frustration is widespread: 92 percent of candidates abandon online job applications before completing them, according to the recruitment platform Appcast.

“You might hate your boss. But if you think that searching for jobs is worse, you're never going to change,” Sachdev says. “I wanted to try to put some data behind the claim that job hunting sucks.”

Sachdev set himself the challenge of applying to 500 software engineering jobs to observe exactly what made the endeavor more or less frustrating. Halfway through, however, he hit a snag. “I wanted to chop my head off,” Sachdev says. He scaled back his target to a still brain-melting 250 jobs across a range of industries and company sizes, chosen largely at random—companies he’d seen on billboards, for instance, or friends’ employers.

Sachdev timed each application from start to finish and for consistency always applied directly through a company’s career page—he ended up spending about 11 hours total filling applications. Since he wasn’t looking for a new position, he always stopped short of clicking “Submit” on a completed application, except for a few choice roles that piqued his interest. (He landed three interviews, but didn’t pursue the jobs.) He aimed to make each application serviceable, but wasn't as thorough as a truly ambitious or desperate job seeker would be, so he figures the times he logged are underestimates.

Sachdev found it took an average of 2 minutes and 42 seconds to fill out a job application—but that doesn’t include time spent identifying suitable roles, and the time could vary widely from job to job. The longest took more than 10 minutes, the shortest less than 20 seconds. Much of this variation sprang from the particularities of applicant tracking software.

Applying to work at a company that used Workday, for instance, took 128 percent longer than average for similarly sized companies in the same industry. Workday spokesperson Nina Oestlien called customer service a “core value” at the company and says that application timing is determined by how customers configure their applications. (Disclosure: WIRED owner Condé Nast uses Workday. Also, we’re hiring!)

Starting Over

Sachdev’s job hunting obsession was born partly from rejection. Originally from Geneva, Switzerland, he graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in environmental economics and philosophy. Most of his friends lived in the Bay Area, and career opportunities in the region abounded, so he resolved to stay.

As Sachdev’s senior year wound down, he began furiously applying for local jobs. But his heart sank each time he reached the portion of an application that asked if he needed visa sponsorship. Since he lacked US citizenship, he needed an employer to sponsor him, likely with a specialty H-1B worker visa. “When I would click the H-1B box, my application would go straight into the garbage,” he says. “I was getting rejections four minutes after I applied.”

But Sachdev has the tenacity to power through the uttermost tedium for months on end. And he discovered what looked like a loophole. Foreigners who earn STEM degrees from certain US institutions can work in the country for up to three years without a visa under a federal program called Optional Practical Training. “Who stays at their first job for more than three years?” he rationalized. So when the visa sponsorship question popped up in an application for a product manager role at a major tech company he wanted to work for, he clicked “no.”

After he landed an interview, Sachdev spent 40 hours scouring job sites for tips, cramming his notebook full of hypothetical questions and their responses, compiling a presentation the company required—and totally neglecting his coursework. Half a dozen interviews later, he got the job. His heart soared, but not for long. When he explained his immigration status to the recruiter, she rescinded the offer. Sachdev started over, eventually landing a job with a startup willing to sponsor his H-1B visa, and decided to parlay his experience into a career blog offering help to other hapless job questers.

Job hunters have long complained about the process, but it developed fresh annoyances after moving online starting in the mid-’90s, says Chris Russell, managing director of the recruitment consultancy RecTech Media. Online job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder flooded companies with candidates, giving rise to applicant tracking systems built to help recruiters manage the deluge.

These systems promised to save recruiters time by automatically ranking and filtering applicants based on keywords. From the perspective of applicants required to laboriously enter their information into the software, they felt like a new barrier. “These systems were built with the companies in mind,” says Russell. “They never really considered the user experience from the job seeker’s point of view.” A cottage industry sprang up of tools and résumé whisperers promising to help job seekers get past the automated scanners.

In recent years, new features like psychological assessments and “digital interviews,” in which applicants answer prepared questions into their webcams, only placed more barriers between candidates and human decisionmakers. Meanwhile, the fundamentals of hiring remain stuck in the past, says Scott Dobroski, a career trends expert at jobs platform Indeed. It takes three and a half months for most Indeed users to find a job, he says. “All the other parts of our lives have sped up. The hiring process has not caught up.”

Time Wasters

While job hunters have much to gripe about, from “ghost jobs” to the dreaded “résumé black hole,” Sachdev decided to focus his efforts on the initial application process. He identified three main factors that affected the time it took to apply: the size of a company, the industry it was part of, and the applicant tracking software it used.

Applicant tracking software was a major source of Sachdev’s frustration. The most common systems he encountered were Workday, Taleo, Greenhouse, Lever, and Phenom, which adds AI-powered features on top of systems like Workday. More established systems such as Workday and Taleo redirected him away from the careers page and made him create a separate account for each application, adding significant time and vexation. By the end of his 250 applications, he had 83 separate accounts.

Newer offerings such as Greenhouse and Lever spared him some of these frustrations. Applications through Lever, for instance, took 42 percent less time to complete than the average for similarly sized companies in the same industry.

Sachdev also spent many excruciating minutes retyping information he’d already uploaded on his résumé because software would misread it. Workday, for instance, would routinely populate the education field with “Munich Business School” even though Sachdev’s résumé clearly says he graduated from non-soundalike UC Berkeley. “Sometimes it's not even the time,” he says. “It's the mental fatigue of having to do it every single time.”

The longest application to fill out was for the US Postal Service, clocking in at 10 minutes and 12 seconds, while the shortest was that of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, which requested only his name and résumé and consumed a mere 17 seconds. In general, Sachdev found that government applications took the longest—a trend that Indeed’s data backs up—followed by aerospace and consulting jobs. Younger industries such as online banks, AI firms, and crypto companies were amongst the least time-consuming. Legacy banks, for instance, took about four times longer to apply to than their newer online counterparts.

Sachdev also found applications to large companies more time-consuming than for smaller firms. In general, a doubling of company size added 5 percent to the average application time.

While the process was largely an exercise in repetition, Sachdev encountered a few creative takes on a musty old format. Plaid, a fintech company that provides APIs to connect software with bank accounts, invited applicants to apply via API. (Sachdev opted for the old-fashioned route, for consistency.) The gaming company Roblox let candidates apply in-game.

While hiring software has historically been stacked in employers’ favor, more job seekers are using their own forms of automation. Bots and tools like LazyApply use text-generation technology like that behind ChatGPT to automatically mass apply to jobs, to the likely chagrin of overwhelmed recruiters. When Sachdev posted his results on discussion site Hacker News, one commenter claimed to use bots to fill out job applications and ChatGPT to write cover letters and correspond with recruiters, fully taking over only at the interview stage. “Can you blame him?” Sachdev says. “Because the companies are doing it too. Their résumé parsers, their application tracking software, and their tools are also using AI. So it's almost as if the applicant now has this weapon they can use against the companies.”

An AI arms race that floods the job market with unserious applicants and insurmountable filtering tools is in nobody’s interest, however. Indeed’s Dobroski says some platforms, including his own, have begun rolling out a new approach that aims to save time on both sides, albeit also by leaning on algorithms. Instead of sending hundreds of résumés into the void and hoping for the best—“spray and pray” he calls it—candidates can list their skills, qualifications, and preferences and let AI suggest suitable jobs to apply for. “The matching really speeds up the hiring process, and it connects the candidate with employers that they otherwise may not even have considered,” he says.

Sachdev has his own ideas for what would make job applications more productive for both seekers and recruiters. First off, he advises applicants to save time and mental anguish by prioritizing employers that use simpler software like Lever and Greenhouse. For jobs he’s really serious about, he’ll try to make a human connection with the hiring manager on LinkedIn.

There’s a saying Sachdev likes, from computer science professor Randy Pausch: The brick walls are there for a reason. Facing and surmounting hurdles can help a person discover how much they want something. But if an employer erects too many barriers, “is an applicant really going to think, ‘That brick wall is there for a reason?’ Or is the applicant going to exit out of your website and go apply somewhere else?” Sachdev says. “I think it's the latter.”

[torreshalstead]

It Seemed Like a Good Idea - Chapter 17

Summary - Hailey’s US visa was due to expire, which normally wouldn’t be an issue as the CPD would get it renewed but due to a backlog of paperwork, this wasn’t possible. This meant Hailey was faced with the real possibility of having to leave the country, her job and everything she held dear. That was until Jay offered up a solution which would allow her to stay in Chicago, in Intelligence, with him - they could get married. Getting married was a good idea, right?

Chapters - 17/20

Chapter Title - The Outcome

Notes - just a little reminder that there won’t be an update for the next two weeks as I’m on vacation. Chapter 18 will be posted 14th October. Happy Reading ❤️ AO3 Link

‘What is it?’ Jay groaned, rubbing his eyes as he attempted to sit up, the sleep still heavy in his limbs.

‘It’s my visa,’ Hailey murmured, not believing what she was reading.

‘Did you get it?’ Jay asked anxiously, his voice suddenly more alert than it had been just a moment before.

‘Yeah,’ she said flatly but before she had a chance to say anything else, Jay wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a tight hug.

‘See I knew it would be fine,’ he said, his voice slightly muffled from where he had buried his face into her hair.

‘Yeah,’ she said again, her eyes still scanning down the email, trying to make sense of the words before her.

‘What’s wrong?’ He said, clearly sensing something was up from her lack of reaction to the news they had been waiting months for. ‘This is what you wanted right?’

Instead of answering, Hailey passed her phone over to him, not making eye contact.

‘Dear Detective Upton, please find attached the confirmation that your application for a H-1B Working Visa for the United States of America has been approved,’ Jay’s voice tailed off as he looked between her and the email and back again. ‘Working visa? But we applied for the Spousal?’

‘Yeah,’ she said again, still plagued with the inability to form a coherent sentence.

‘What does this mean Hails?’ Jay asked. Gone was the excitement in his voice, it was replaced by apprehension and worry and she couldn’t blame him. Her own emotions were currently going haywire.

‘It means that the Ivory Tower must have got through the backlog,’ she said, taking a second to swallow before saying anything else. ‘It means we don’t need to be married anymore.’

——————————————————————————

Her words were like someone had dumped a bucket full of ice water over him. An unpleasant jolt to the system and one that left him incredibly uncomfortable.

Their marriage had never meant to last, it had always had an expiry date but he had at least thought it would take a couple of months for them to get the answer about the visa. And maybe in that time he would have plucked up an ounce of courage to tell Hailey how he really felt. To admit to her that he didn’t want to divorce her, didn’t want to pretend like their marriage had never happened. To be honest with her, and himself, and say the time they had spent as husband and wife had been the best time of his life and he didn’t want it to end.

‘Oh,’ was all Jay managed to say. He knew it wasn’t enough, knew he should have something else to say, maybe even crack a joke to lighten the mood but unfortunately the mood was as dark and heavy as it had ever been. He couldn’t think of anything to say that would break through the dark cloud that was hanging over his head.

‘Well I guess that’s good right?’ Hailey said after a moment, he wasn’t sure what he was hearing in her tone but it didn’t sound like she was particularly enthralled at their imminent change in circumstances either.

‘Yeah, I guess so,’ Jay said, suddenly aware that they were both sitting in bed together after a night wrapped up in each other’s arms, the awkwardness bubbling to the surface. ‘Did you know they were still moving ahead with your H-1B application?’

‘No,’ Hailey said, running a hand through her hair. ‘I assumed that when they sent the letter it meant they had stopped processing it.’

‘Okay,’ Jay nodded.

‘I wouldn’t have made you go through with this if I thought there was a way around it,’ Hailey said panicked, jumping out of bed as if she had been electrocuted. ‘I wasn’t trying to trap you!’

‘That’s not what I meant,’ Jay said quickly, trying to persuade her that his words had been totally innocent, ‘I know you didn’t make me do anything.’

‘I thought it was my only option,’ Hailey muttered, starting to pace back and forth across the room.

‘It was the only option Hails,’ Jay said calmly, even though he felt anything but calm. Although his own life was turning upside down at this precise moment, it was nothing to the life of the woman currently wearing a hole in the carpet as she paced. The last few months had been a rollercoaster for Hailey, and this wasn’t the end of the ride that either had been anticipating.

‘They said they couldn’t do it. Said I needed to make my own arrangements. Go back to Canada and apply from there. They never said they were going to process it anyway. They never said…’ she tailed off, her hands gesturing wildly around her as she attempted to make sense of the current state of affairs.

Jay had never seen her quite so worked up, sure when she had thought she would have to leave she had been upset but the addition of alcohol had lubricated her thoughts whereas this morning, it was all spilling out of her without the need for it.

‘Hailey,’ he said, dragging himself out of bed to stand in front of her and bring an end to the incessant pacing. Hailey had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t see him in front of her until they were almost toe to toe. ‘It’s okay,’ Jay said, putting everything he had to prevent the shaking from working its way into his voice. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and bring some sense to her tangle of thoughts.

He opened his arms in the offer of a hug and relief flooded through him as Hailey leant into his embrace, melting against his chest as her hands fisted tightly into the back of his shirt.

‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured softly against the material. Jay shook his head as he smoothed a hand over her hair, frizzy from the night's sleep.

‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry about,’ he said quietly, squeezing the arm around her waist lightly.

‘I made you marry me and you didn’t need to,’ she said and Jay thought for a second he felt the wetness of a tear seeping through his pyjama top.

‘You didn’t make me do anything Hailey,’ Jay said honestly. ‘I’d marry you again in an instant.’

And he meant it. He had no regrets about his decision to marry Hailey. Sure, realising his feelings for her had made the whole thing a little more complicated, but there wasn’t a hint of regret. She had needed him, and being the reason she smiled again and got to live the life she wanted - he could never regret that.

The pair slid into a comfortable silence, both unwilling to break the connection. They appeared to have reached an unspoken conclusion that when they pulled apart, it wouldn’t just be in the sense of the hug. It would be the end of them, if she had her visa then there was no reason for them to be married anymore. No reason either of them seemed willing to admit anyway.

——————————————————————————

When Jay emerged from the shower, he found himself alone in the apartment. Although he was not surprised, he wished Hailey was still there and they could talk about what happened, and more importantly what happens next.

He knows what he wants. Knows he’s wanted it for a long time. He loves her. He wants to be with her. To continue to call her his wife and spend the rest of his life by her side. Admitting that to himself had been hard enough however, admitting it to Hailey - that was something else entirely.

They weren’t needed into work until 9 so he assumed she had gone out for a run to clear her head. Running was her usual response to a stressful situation, pounding the pavement for hours on end seemed to act as a release valve. Jay couldn’t think of anything worse. Sure running with Hailey was fine, if anything he enjoyed it. She was in her element and always seemed lighter when she’d got her sneakers on, hair pulled back and her running cap snug on her head and he loved seeing her like that. But for Jay, the gym held the answers to stress relief. With his headphones on, he could ignore anything that was happening in the outside world. In the gym, it was just him and the weights, each rep banishing an ounce of stress so when he finally walked back out into the Chicago air, his stress had dissipated to almost nothing.

He got ready for work and shot Hailey a text saying he would meet her at the district. He failed to notice her running shoes were still neatly lined up by the front door and her favourite black cap still hung on its peg next to her leather jacket.

——————————————————————————

Maybe it was a stupid idea to come here, thought Hailey as she sat on the couch, her leg bouncing up and down, her fingers playing unconsciously with the ring on her left hand. The couch was incredibly lumpy and Hailey’s sympathy for the all doctors who she was certain had spent hours asleep on the thing was increasing exponentially.

Deciding that she had been foolish to come here, Hailey pushed herself up off the couch and began to head to the door but just as she did so, the tall red haired figure she had been intending to speak to walked through it.

‘Hailey,’ Will said, his expression uncertain as his eyes roamed over her clearly looking for any obvious sign of injuries. ‘Maggie said you were here, is everything okay? Is Jay okay?’

‘He’s fine, we’re both fine,’ Hailey said, feeling guilty for scaring Will. She should have text him to say she was coming, or better yet, shouldn’t have turned up at Med at all. ‘Sorry,’ she apologised, ‘I shouldn’t have come.’ She started to make her way towards the exit but Will side stepped and blocked her way.

‘Hey, it’s fine, I shouldn’t have assumed,’ he said lightly but remained standing firmly in front of the door. ‘Did you need me for something?’

‘Ummm…’ Hailey said, blinking hard. ‘I guess I just wanted to talk to you,’ she admitted, glancing up at Will.

People often said the Halstead brothers didn’t look alike but Hailey could see so many similarities between the man who was technically her brother-in-law and the man who was technically her husband. They both had the sort of smile that made you feel immediately comfortable in their prescience. Although Will’s eyes were darker, they still had the same sparkle in them. Currently Will was sporting a couple of days worth of ginger stubble on his cheeks and although Jay preferred to remain clean shaven, Hailey knew his beard had a spattering of ginger mixed in when he did let it grow a little. She liked it.

‘Okay,’ Will smiled, gesturing behind her to the couch she had vacated a moment ago. ‘I’ve got a couple of minutes unless all hell breaks loose,’ he chuckled and some of the tension in Hailey’s shoulders melted away. Maybe she had made the right decision to come here.

Taking a seat on the couch as Will perched on the opposite side, she knew he was waiting for her to speak first. She was the one who said she had wanted to talk, the ball was firmly in her court regarding the conversational topic.

On the drive over she had thought about what she wanted to say, what she wanted to admit to someone - that she was in love with Jay. And Will was the only person she could speak to about it. Everyone else in her life, bar the object of her affection, thought she had been in love with Jay for years. They had all either been at her wedding or at the after party, so for her to phone up Kim now and admit that it had all been a fraud, but not really because she really did love him - she’d think she was insane. Maybe she was.

Taking a deep breath which she intended to be a sign of confidence, but came out shakier than a newborn horse’s legs, she started.

‘Well you’re the only person who knows the truth about Jay and I’s marriage,’ Hailey spoke slowly, keeping her eyes firmly directed downwards.

She heard Will hum in response and was pleased he hadn’t interrupted, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to get out what she wanted to say without an interruption, she was certain if she stopped she wouldn't be able to continue.

‘It was supposed to just be a marriage of convenience but lately…’ the words got caught in Hailey’s throat, like if she admitted out loud her feelings, that the whole world might come crashing down around her. ‘It’s felt like something else,’ she said, settling on words adjacent to the truth.

‘I got the email this morning to say my visa was approved this morning which means…’ she swallowed again, determined to get through it. ‘We don’t need to be married anymore.’

‘Oh,’ Will said softly but Hailey refused to look at him, her eyes focused on a small mark on the side of the counter on the other side of the room.

‘But…’ she blinked away tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She hated that wanting to say how she felt out loud made her feel so weak and vulnerable. ‘But I… umm…I…’ Hailey could feel the panic bubbling up inside her, the internal fight between what she wanted to say and the potential repercussions of her emotions.

As she opened her mouth to try again to admit what was in her heart, her phone rang. She couldn’t ignore it, it could be a case, Jay could need her, the team could need her.

‘Sorry,’ she said, quickly pulling out her phone and seeing Voight’s name flash across the screen. ‘I gotta go,’ she said, gesturing to both the phone and the door.

Standing up and not looking back to Will she walked across the room, he spoke up once her hand was on the handle.

‘I don’t think I’m the Halstead brother that needs to hear it, Hailey, talk to him.’

Hailey turned back, shock colouring her expression that he seemed to know what she had wanted to say, but instead of being met with a knowing grin or even a smirk. Will’s smile was soft and honest, heart warming and comforting.

‘Talk to him,’ he repeated with a little nod.

Hailey nodded and with a smile of thanks, left the doctors lounge her heart seemingly both lighter and heavier than when she had walked in.

——————————————————————————

‘I love her,’ Jay said the second Will opened the door to his apartment after Jay’s incessant knocking. Jay had sped straight over after work. It had been a day full of awkward touches and flinches, both he and Hailey had tried to dance around the conversation they had had that morning but where they normally worked smoothly side by side, today was full of friction.

‘Come in,’ Will sighed, opening the door wide for Jay to walk through and flop down onto the couch.

‘I know I said I didn’t have feelings for her, that I was just doing it as a friend, but I love her,’ Jay babbled quickly. It was like the stopper that had been keeping all of his Hailey related feelings inside, had been removed and they were all pouring out of him without restraint.

‘She’s got her visa now and we don’t need to stay married but I want to, fuck, I want her man,’ Jay ran a hand over his hair, messing up the previously neat locks. ‘She’s everything to me and I can’t just let her walk away.’

‘Have you told her how you feel?’ Will asked tentatively.

‘No,’ Jay admitted, slumping backwards, his eyes closing briefly but once images of Hailey in his arms swam through, he opened them immediately.

‘So you don’t know if she feels the same,’ Will commented, almost off-handedly but if Jay was paying more attention to his brother instead of the inner turmoil he was battling, he might have heard the inference in Will’s words.

‘No, I mean sometimes I think she does, like when she kissed me yesterday but then-’

‘She kissed you?’ Will interrupted loudly.

‘Yeah, just a peck when we were in bed last night,’ Jay brushed off.

‘Wait, you were in bed together and then she kissed you?’ Will’s eyes were wide as saucers.

‘Yeah, don’t make it weird man,’ Jay shrugged but his heart clenched. Maybe Will was on the right path, do you share a bed and kiss someone if you only have platonic feelings for them?

‘Oh sorry, you just told me you’re in love with Hailey and you’ve kissed her and slept with her?’ Will said, sarcasm dripping off his words.

‘We haven’t slept together like that,’ Jay groaned.

‘But you want to…’ Will queried.

‘Yeah…’ Jay admitted, ‘I want to. But it’s complicated, you know that.’

‘I know you love her, you’re married to her, you’re sharing a bed, she kissed you… but yeah it’s complicated.’

‘We got married because she needed a visa. We shared a bed the first time because Kim and Mak were in my room, the second time it had been a bad case and she didn’t want to be alone. And she kissed me for the same reason, it was an emotionally fraught day, I think she just wanted the comfort,’ Jay sighed. ‘There’s always a reason for it.’

‘And you don’t think that the reason is that she loves you back?’

‘I don’t know,’ Jay admitted. He really had no idea how Hailey was feeling, sometimes it felt like they were on the same page but then others she seemed to just be putting on the show and it was all an act - one that seemed to make her uncomfortable, he thinks back to her worry about Kim staying over.

‘You could ask her?’ Will offered quietly.

‘And ruin our friendship? Not a chance. I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than scare her off and lose her completely.’

‘And you’re okay with having the girl who you are in love with, just think of you as a friend?’

‘It’s for the best, it’s for the best,’ Jay repeated, trying to persuade himself that it was indeed for the best. Sure he could run home now and tell Hailey he loved her, she could smile wide and jump into his arms, kiss him senseless and tell him she had been waiting for him to say that and of course she loved him too. Or her face could be one of disgust, one of horror at the thought that the person who she had trusted more than anyone else, would tell her he loved her when she obviously didn’t feel the same back.

He wouldn’t put her in that position.

He couldn’t.

He loved her too much to ruin her life. Even if it meant he would live in agony of knowing he would never hold her in his arms and whisper in her ear how her eyes made him melt inside and that they filled his dreams every night. Would never cover every inch of her body in kisses and watch as she fell over the edge as a result of his touches. Would never admit to her that she was his home, his best friend and the person he wanted by his side forever.

He could live with that, if it meant Hailey got to live in peace and happiness.

She was the most important person in the world to him.

‘So what happens next?’ Will asked, pulling Jay from his Hailey filled thoughts.

‘I let her go,’ Jay said flatly. ‘We get a divorce.’

[inqorporeal]

Fiona McEntee, an immigration lawyer based in Chicago, represents immigrants who are on H-1B visas and are part of the recent tech layoffs.

While McEntee stressed everyone’s situation is unique, one of the primary challenges employees on H-1B visas face is that they have a limited window of time to find a new employer, adjust to another visa, or leave the United States. The 60-day grace period usually starts from the last day of employment.

“It’s a short time period to line these things up.” McEntee said, noting that filing a visa transfer, for example, can take time. McEntee’s firm has been receiving multiple calls from people affected by the layoffs who are concerned about next steps.

“A layoff is hard enough on people to begin with but when you’re faced with having to leave what’s been your home for a significant time, it adds a whole layer of trauma to this,” she told CNN.

One former Twitter employee described the challenges facing a former colleague who is in the US with his family on an employment-based visa and now faces the prospect of having to leave.

For that reason, some staff at Twitter who are on H-1B visas are staying on despite wanting to leave the company, a former employee told CNN, adding that they’re “concerned with being forced into a flooded job market where they may be unable to find a job and before being forced out of the country.”

In case anyone saw those tweets about immigrant programmers being willing to meet Elno's abusive demands.

[sztupy]

Minden országban szopás ha kirúgnak úgy, hogy (csak) munkavizumod van, de az amcsi H-1B egy külön pokol

[gehisimmigrationservice]

What is the Key Difference between L1A Visa and Other Work Visas for Professionals?

Work visas play a crucial role for professionals seeking employment opportunities abroad. They provide the legal authorization to work in a foreign country and are often a requirement for securing employment in another country. Understanding the key differences between work visas is essential for professionals to make informed decisions and choose the most suitable visa based on their specific circumstances and career goals. Work visas come in various types, each with unique characteristics, requirements, and benefits. Professionals need to understand these differences to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria and fully leverage the advantages offered by each visa category. By comprehending the nuances of various work visas, professionals can make informed decisions that align with their career objectives and increase their chances of success in securing employment abroad. One notable work visa option for professionals is the L1A visa. The L1A visa is designed for intracompany transferees, allowing multinational companies to transfer executives or managers from a foreign branch to a branch or subsidiary in the United States. It offers several distinctive features that set it apart from other work visas.

One key characteristic of the L1A visa is that it does not require the sponsoring employer to undergo the lengthy labor certification process typically required for other work visas like the H-1B. This exemption streamlines the application process, making it more efficient and less time-consuming for professionals and employers.

The L1A visa is nonimmigrant for intracompany transferees with managerial or executive positions. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the transfer of key personnel within multinational companies.

By allowing executives and managers to work in the United States, the L1A visa promotes the efficient operation and growth of multinational businesses by leveraging their existing talent and expertise.

To be eligible for an L1A visa, an applicant must meet specific criteria:

Qualification as an Executive or Manager: The applicant must demonstrate that they hold a managerial or executive position within their current employment. These roles typically involve making significant decisions, supervising a team or department, and having a high level of authority and responsibility within the organization.

Required Experience and Skills: The applicant should have relevant experience and skills that make them well-suited for the managerial or executive position. This can include prior work experience, leadership abilities, specialized knowledge, and advanced professional qualifications.

Employment by a Multinational Company: The applicant must be employed by a multinational company with a qualifying relationship between the foreign entity (where the applicant is currently employed) and the U.S. entity (where the applicant will be transferred).

Initial Period of Stay: L1A visa holders are initially granted a period of authorized stay in the United States. Typically, this period is up to three years for new L1A visa applicants and up to one year for L1A visa applicants establishing a new office in the United States.

Advantages of the L1A Visa:

Dual Intent: L1A visa holders are allowed to have dual intent, which means they can pursue a permanent residency (a green card) while on a temporary work visa. This provides flexibility for professionals who wish to explore long-term career opportunities in the United States.

No Prevailing Wage Requirement: Unlike other work visas, such as the H-1B visa, the L1A visa does not require employers to demonstrate that they are paying the prevailing wage. This can simplify the application process for both the employer and the employee.

Potential Pathway to Permanent Residency (EB-1C): The L1A visa can serve as a pathway to permanent residency through the employment-based immigrant visa category EB-1C. This category is specifically designed for multinational managers and executives who have been employed abroad and are being transferred to a managerial or executive position in the United States.

[kenyatta]

Harini, who is from the west Indian city of Pune, is one of roughly 600,000 workers hired in the U.S. on an H-1B visa, a “non-immigrant work visa” that allows people in certain professions to stay and work in the country. The visa is linked to their employer; if their employment ends, workers have only 60 days to find a new job to retain their visa status, or leave the country. Indians form the majority of H-1B visa recipients in the U.S. In the 2021 financial year, more than 300,000 Indians had an H-1B petition approved, either for new or continued employment, accounting for almost 75% of the total number of H-1B visas approved that year.

While finding a new tech job in the U.S. is often a scramble, it is particularly difficult now. Following a Silicon Valley hiring boom during the pandemic, a surge of layoffs in recent months has devastated the tech industry. That means many people are fighting for the same positions. According to Layoffs.fyi, a website that has been tracking reported layoffs since the early days of the pandemic, more than 180,000 tech workers have been laid off globally since November. That month, Elon Musk announced that he planned to cut Twitter’s 7,500-person workforce. Some days later, Meta announced 11,000 job cuts. In January, Microsoft said it planned to let go of 10,000 employees. Two days later, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced that it was laying off 12,000.

[...]

For Indians on H-1B visas, in particular, there is almost no alternative way to stay on in the U.S. Their estimated wait time for most employment-based green cards — which would allow them to stay in the country for longer — is about 90 years. That’s partly because the number of green cards available through employment — around 140,000 a year — is capped at 7% for each country. The number of Indians on H-1B visas is much higher than the number of employment-based green cards allotted for their nationality, creating a massive backlog. According to Grode, many laid-off H-1B visa holders from other countries may be able simply to transfer to a visitor status and wait for a green card, but that isn’t an option for most Indians.

Rest of World spoke to 10 people on H-1B visas — who had been laid off from companies including Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft, and smaller startups in the past few months — to follow their journeys as they raced against the 60-day countdown.

[npzlawyersforimmigration]

https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/canada-tightens-limits-on-foreign-workers-students--september-18-2024?id=c35468ec-4e1d-4231-9830-26c7ceef11df

[biographicalnews]

Jean D. Chen Details & News

The Law Offices of Jean D. Chen was founded by Jean D. Chen Esq., who has over 15 years of experience helping businesses and individuals with their immigration and business needs. Attorney Chen has established two law office locations to date, including the headquarter in San Jose, California, and the branch office in San Francisco, California. Attorney Chen concentrates her legal practice exclusively in the area of U.S. immigration and naturalization law and has successfully handles numerous investment-based, employment-based, and family-based immigrant petitions over the last 15 years.

Attorney Chen received her graduate degree from the Law School of Xiamen University, China, and was awarded her L.L.M. degree from Boston University Law School in 1997. She is an active member of the State Bar of New York and the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association.

Attorney Chen has extensive experience in handling all types of employment-based visas such as H-1B, TN, E-1/E-2, L-1A/L-1B, and NIW/EB1, including F-1/J-1 students. When the PERM system was first implemented in March 2005, Attorney Chen was at the forefront of utilizing the new system for her clients. Her extensive experience with PERM has allowed her to procure approvals for small businesses with as few as one employee as well as multi-national corporations with hundreds of employees.

Attorney Chen routinely publishes articles on current updated immigration issues in newspaper such as World Journal, Sing Tao Daily, Chinese Consumer Yellow Pages, and The Chinese Yellow Pages. Attorney Chen also posts weekly updates on her legal fora on most popular websites including Sina.com and Wenxuecity.com. She is regularly interviewed by NBC NEWS, KTSF Channel 26 and Sing Tao Daily as an expert on immigration issues and has her own monthly immigration radio show on Sing Tao Chinese Radio.

Attorney Chen’s publications and the legal fora continue to be a major source of immigration information for millions of readers in the United States and China.

[differentflavorsarevisible950]

New US H-1B visa rules hit Indian workers amid massive layoffs in tech industry - BusinessToday

[employehub]

Indian-Americans largely credit Donald Trump for deepening India-US ties, says close aide.

Introduction

Indian-Americans, one of the fastest-growing immigrant communities in the United States, have often played a pivotal role in fostering strong diplomatic and economic ties between India and the U.S. According to a close aide of Donald Trump, a significant portion of this community credits the former U.S. President for deepening these relations. Trump’s tenure saw notable developments in the bilateral relationship, particularly in areas like trade, defense cooperation, and immigration policies. As a result, many Indian-Americans believe his administration was instrumental in strengthening these ties.

The Trump Effect on India-US Relations

During his presidency, Donald Trump placed considerable emphasis on solidifying U.S. alliances, and India was no exception. For example, the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston in 2019 was a major spectacle, symbolizing a robust partnership between the two nations. So, Indian-Americans view Trump’s commitment to India as a cornerstone of his foreign policy, which resonated with the diaspora. This, in turn, fostered stronger connections between the countries, largely attributed to Trump’s approach to diplomacy.

Trade and Economic Growth

One of the key areas where Indian-Americans credit Trump is in economic diplomacy. Trump’s administration took concrete steps to address trade imbalances, pushing for fairer trade agreements that benefitted both countries. Because of this, the bilateral trade between India and the U.S. surged to new heights, covering sectors such as technology, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. Indian-Americans appreciated this focus, viewing it as an opportunity for economic growth in both nations.

Defense Cooperation and Strategic Partnerships

Trump’s era also saw a significant enhancement in defense cooperation between India and the U.S. With the signing of major defense agreements and increased military exercises, Indian-Americans saw this as a vital move to safeguard both nations’ interests. Therefore, many within the community believe that these efforts were crucial in countering regional threats and fostering a strategic partnership that would endure long after Trump left office.

Immigration Policies: A Double-Edged Sword?

While Trump is largely credited for strengthening India-U.S. relations, his immigration policies were more contentious among Indian-Americans. For instance, the tightening of H-1B visa rules created challenges for skilled Indian workers seeking opportunities in the U.S. However, some still argue that Trump’s stance on immigration was part of his broader vision to protect American jobs, which, they believe, would eventually benefit both nations. Because of this, opinions on his immigration policies remain divided within the community.

The Rise of Geopolitical Cooperation

In addition to economic and defense ties, Trump’s tenure was marked by closer geopolitical cooperation, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. For example, Trump supported India’s role in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), which brought together India, the U.S., Japan, and Australia to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. So, this move was seen by Indian-Americans as a significant step in countering Chinese influence in the region and promoting regional stability.

The Influence of Diaspora on Diplomatic Relations

Indian-Americans, a politically active and influential community, have consistently pushed for deeper ties between India and the U.S. During Trump’s presidency, many believed their advocacy efforts were recognized and reinforced. For instance, Trump’s policies often aligned with the aspirations of the diaspora, making them feel represented in Washington. Because of this, Indian-Americans felt that they had a more direct role in shaping U.S. foreign policy toward India.

Trump’s Popularity Among Indian-Americans

Despite the polarizing nature of his presidency, Donald Trump remained popular among a segment of Indian-Americans, particularly those who admired his tough stance on national security and trade. Therefore, his continued support from this group is often linked to his perceived success in improving India-U.S. relations. Many in the community also appreciated Trump’s willingness to engage with India’s leadership on a personal level, fostering mutual respect between the two nations.

Conclusion: A Lasting Legacy?

In conclusion, Donald Trump’s tenure had a profound impact on the India-U.S. relationship, with many Indian-Americans crediting him for deepening ties between the two nations. While there are debates over some of his policies, especially regarding immigration, the overall sentiment among a significant portion of the community remains positive. Because of Trump’s efforts, Indian-Americans feel that the foundation for a stronger, more collaborative relationship between India and the U.S. has been laid, setting the stage for future growth.

[shautsova]

New H1B Rules: What You Need to Know

The H-1B visa program has long been a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy, enabling employers to hire skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations such as IT, engineering, and healthcare. However, recent changes to the H-1B visa rules have introduced new challenges and opportunities for both employers and visa applicants. In this blog post, we’ll explore the latest updates to the H-1B program and what they mean for employers, employees, and prospective applicants.

Overview of the H-1B Visa

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. To qualify, the position must require at least a bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) in a specific field, and the applicant must possess the necessary qualifications.

Key Changes to the H-1B Program

Recent changes to the H-1B program have been implemented with the goal of improving the integrity of the visa process, protecting U.S. workers, and ensuring that the program serves its intended purpose. Here are some of the most significant updates:

Wage-Based Selection Process

One of the most notable changes is the implementation of a wage-based selection process for H-1B cap-subject petitions. Under this new rule, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will prioritize petitions based on the wage level offered to the beneficiary. Employers offering higher wages will have a better chance of securing an H-1B visa for their employees.

Impact: This change aims to ensure that H-1B workers are compensated fairly and to discourage companies from using the program to hire lower-wage foreign workers. Employers must now carefully consider the wage level they offer when filing H-1B petitions.

Revised Definition of Specialty Occupation

The definition of a "specialty occupation" has been revised to ensure that only the most qualified applicants receive H-1B visas. The new rule clarifies that the position must require a degree in a specific specialty that is directly related to the job duties.

Impact: Employers will need to provide more detailed documentation to demonstrate that the job truly requires specialized knowledge and that the applicant’s degree is directly relevant to the role.

Employer-Employee Relationship Clarifications

The new rules also provide additional guidance on what constitutes a valid employer-employee relationship in the H-1B context. This includes requirements for demonstrating that the employer has the right to control the work of the H-1B employee, even if the employee is placed at a third-party worksite.

Impact: Employers, particularly staffing and consulting firms, must carefully document the terms of employment and demonstrate that they maintain control over the H-1B worker’s duties and work location.

Increased Scrutiny and Compliance Measures

USCIS has increased its scrutiny of H-1B petitions, particularly those involving third-party placements, and has implemented additional compliance measures. This includes more frequent site visits and requests for evidence (RFEs) to ensure that employers are complying with the terms of the H-1B program.

Impact: Employers should be prepared for increased scrutiny and ensure that they are fully compliant with all H-1B regulations. This includes maintaining accurate records and being responsive to any inquiries from USCIS.

Electronic Registration System

The H-1B cap selection process now includes an electronic registration system that requires employers to register online before submitting a full petition. This system streamlines the process and reduces the paperwork burden on employers.

Impact: The electronic registration system makes it easier for employers to participate in the H-1B lottery, but it also requires careful attention to deadlines and accuracy in the registration process.

What These Changes Mean for Employers and Applicants

The new H-1B rules reflect a broader trend toward greater oversight and stricter requirements for employment-based immigration. For employers, this means a more rigorous application process and a greater emphasis on compliance. It is crucial for companies to work closely with immigration attorneys to ensure that their H-1B petitions meet the new requirements and that they are prepared for any potential challenges.

For applicants, the changes mean that securing an H-1B visa may be more competitive than ever. Those with higher qualifications and offers of higher wages will have a better chance of being selected in the H-1B lottery. It is important for applicants to work with their employers and legal advisors to present the strongest possible case.

Customer Review

The H-1B visa program continues to be a vital pathway for skilled foreign workers to contribute to the U.S. economy. However, the recent changes to the program have introduced new complexities that both employers and applicants must navigate. By staying informed and seeking expert guidance, you can increase your chances of success in the H-1B process.

At Shautsova Law Group, PC, we specialize in helping employers and skilled workers navigate the complexities of the H-1B visa program. Whether you’re an employer looking to hire top talent or a professional seeking to work in the U.S., our experienced immigration attorneys are here to assist you every step of the way. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you with your H-1B visa needs.

[craigawalt]

Meet your (Chinese) Facebook censors

By 

Sohrab Ahmari

Published Oct. 20, 2020

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China is one of the most censorious societies on Earth. So what better place for ­Facebook to recruit social media censors?

There are at least half a dozen “Chinese nationals who are working on censorship,” a former Facebook insider told me last week. “So at some point, they [Facebook bosses] thought, ‘Hey, we’re going to get them H-1B visas so they can do this work.’ ”

The insider shared an internal directory of the team that does much of this work. It’s called Hate-Speech Engineering (George Orwell, call your office), and most of its members are based at Facebook’s offices in Seattle. Many have Ph.D.s, and their work is extremely complex, involving machine learning — teaching “computers how to learn and act without being explicitly programmed,” as the techy website DeepAI.org puts it.

When it comes to censorship on social media, that means “teaching” the Facebook code so certain content ends up at the top of your newsfeed, a feat that earns the firm’s software wizards discretionary bonuses, per the ex-insider. It also means making sure other content “shows up dead-last.”

Like, say, a New York Post report on the Biden dynasty’s dealings with Chinese companies.

00:08

04:19

To illustrate the mechanics, the insider took me as his typical Facebook user: “They take what Sohrab sees, and then they throw the newsfeed list into a machine-learning algorithm and neural networks that determine the ranking of the items.”

Facebook engineers test hundreds of different iterations of the rankings to shape an optimal outcome — and root out what bosses call “borderline content.”

It all makes for perhaps the most chillingly sophisticated censorship mechanism in human history. “What they don’t do is ban a specific pro-Trump hashtag,” says the ex-insider. Instead, “content that is a little too conservative, they will down-rank. You can’t tell it’s censored.”

I won’t share the names of the Facebook employees in question. The point isn’t to spotlight individuals, but to show how foreign nationals from a state that still bans Facebook have their hands on the levers of social media censorship here in America.

The Hate-Speech Engineering team’s staff includes a research scientist based at the Seattle office who earned his master’s degree in computer engineering from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, according to his LinkedIn profile.

see also

Facebook workers ‘ashamed’ by tech giant’s censorship of Post’s Hunter Files reporting

Another member of the team, a software engineer for machine learning based in Seattle, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from Jilin University in northeast China. Still another, an engineering manager, earned his bachelor’s in computer science at Nanjing University in eastern China.

Another software engineer previously worked for the Communist-backed conglomerate Huawei, as well as the Beijing National Railway & Design Institute of Signal and Communication. I reached out to all six employees; two replied to confirm that they are Chinese nationals but refused to comment further; the rest didn’t reply.

Plenty of Big Tech firms, of course, recruit their foreign specialists from China, India and elsewhere, and many of these workers hope to resettle in the United States permanently and share the American Dream.

But some may not, and the trouble is that the society they might return to ­already deploys one of the most comprehensive and fine-tuned intellectual control mechanisms on its own population. What’s to stop Facebook’s Chinese engineers from delivering their Facebook expertise to Xi Jinping? Globalists thought that engaging with China would make that country more open; I fear it’s making us more restrictive.

A Facebook spokesperson denied that these employees influence broader policies. “We are a stronger company because our employees come from all over the world. Our standards and policies are public, including about our third-party fact-checking program, and designed to apply equally to content across the political spectrum. With over 35,000 people working on safety and security issues at Facebook, the insinuation that these employees have an outsized influence on our broader policies or technology is absurd.”

Yet, as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) put it in an email to me, these revelations are yet “another indication that Big Tech is no longer deserving” of statutory protections that render it immune to a publisher’s liabilities. Big Tech critic Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), meanwhile, said “this is all the more reason for the Senate to demand that Mark Zuckerberg — under oath and before the election — give an account of what Facebook has been up to.”

Sohrab Ahmari is The Post’s op-ed editor. This is his second column based on conversations with a Facebook insider.