U.S. Judging by the Political Gamesmanship, There Must Be a Major Election on the Horizon
 

VISA AVAILABILITY - January 2012
(PHILIPPINES)
Family First                                                     15 Apr 1997
Family Second “A”                                       22 Apr 2009
Family Second “B”                                       01 Sept 2001
Family Third                                                    15 July 1992
Family Fourth                                                  08  Oct 1988
Employment Based 1st Preference          Current
Employment Based 2nd Preference         Current
Employment Based 3rd Preference          01 Feb 2006
Third “Other Workers”                                 01 Feb 2006
Fourth Certain Religious Workers              Current
5th Employment Creation                              Current
Target emp. areas/reg. centers                   Current


 
  
 
   H-1B “Cap” Number Reached November 22nd, Leaving Businesses and Skilled
Workers in the Lurch Once Again  --  Isn’t it About Time Our Congress Stopped
Shooting Our Economy in the Foot?


   H-1B quotas or the H-1B “cap” first came into existence as a part of the
bi-partisan “Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1990” or “IRCA”.  Prior to
the passage of that legislation, there was no legal limit on the number of new
H-1B petitions that could be approved in any given fiscal year.

   Restrictionists in both major political parties (including the late Senator
Ted Kennedy and our own Illinois Senator, Dick Durbin, were always more than
willing to believe the thoroughly discredited argument that H-1B workers take
jobs from U.S. workers, and they were always eager to limit or restrict or
burden the H-1B program whenever the opportunity would arise.)          The cap
was initially set at 65,000 new H-1B numbers each fiscal year (the U.S. fiscal
year runs from October 1st to September 30th). During a few early “boom” years,
the cap was temporarily raised to almost 200,000, and, in November 2004, a “set
aside” was created (and that still exists) whereby 20,000 numbers were reserved
for beneficiaries holding U.S. awarded Master’s Degrees.      The cap soon
reverted to the 65,000 number envisioned under the 1990 law, and in 1997, the
cap was reached for the first time, even though the INS (now USCIS) used some
fancy accounting tricks to defer some of the “excess approvals” to fiscal year
1998 to avoid exceeding the cap.  More tricky politics were in play that
resulted in Congress approving expanded cap numbers to 115,000 in 1999 and 2000,
dropping to 107,500 in 2001.  Ultimately, the cap was raised to 195,000 for
2001, 2002, and fiscal year 2003, and reverting to 65,000 in 2004 and
thereafter.

   On Monday, April 2, 2007, the first day that new H-1B petitions could be
accepted for fiscal year 2008 numbers, the USCIS announced that they had
received in excess of 150,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions, more than twice the
number allowable under the 65,000 cap in effect that year.

   To resolve that dilemma, the USCIS conducted a random lottery drawing from
the cap subject cases received over the first two available filing dates, April
2nd and 3rd of 2007, and then rejected those filings not selected.  In 2008, the
65,000 cap was reached within one week of the commencement of the application
process for fiscal year 2009 numbers.

   The story was pretty much the same for fiscal year 2008.  In fiscal year
2009, USCIS announced that the 2010 fiscal year 65,000 cap had been reached on
December 22, 2009.  In fiscal year 2011, the 65,000 cap was reached on January
26, 2011, and for fiscal year 2012, the cap was reached on November 22, 2011.
H-1B new petition filings for fiscal year 2013 numbers (to begin employment on
or after October 1, 2012) will commence on April 1, 2012.  For a brief history
of the political mechanizations behind the H-1B program up until 2008, I
recommend the article found at the following link:
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/H1BHistory.htm

   Some reputable commentators have suggested that the cap, which has generally
reflected the market, being reached two months earlier this year than it was
reached last year is an indication that our nation’s economy is heating up, and
that we are turning the corner on some really awful (for most “99%” people)
times. That would be nice, but it would even be nicer if there were no cap at
all, and that “the market” itself were the mechanism for allocation of H-1B
visas.

   That will never happen unless some of the restrictionist myths that hamper
and encumber the H-1B program are smashed, and the H-1B program is seen as the
jobs generator that it is. The cap being reached earlier this year drives home
the point that our political leaders need to find the courage and wisdom to
quickly reform our skilled immigration rules to suit the needs of our modern
economy and attract individuals who will make the country more competitive.

   The very existence of the H-1B cap flies in the face of the Obama
Administration’s announced (in August of 2011) efforts to encourage
entrepreneurial start-ups and the hiring that would take place to feed these new
enterprises.
   For additional reading and information on the issues covered in this
article, I strongly suggest visiting the following sites/links:
http://ailaleadershipblog.org/2011/11/29/doesn%e2%80%99t-america-get-it-high-skilled-talent-helps-us/

http://cew.georgetown.edu/
http://cyrusmehta.blogspot.com/2011/11/shutting-down-global-business-in.html
http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/immigration-law/blogs/outside/archive/2011/11/25/the-real-cost-of-a-closed-door-policy.aspx

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/25/opinion/wilkinson-jobs-immigration/index.html?iphoneemail

http://ailaleadershipblog.org/2011/11/07/making-it-easier-for-new-immigrant-entrepreneurs-%e2%80%93-changes-in-policy-and-law-can-facilitate-job-creation-in-the-u-s/

Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice Moving Ahead on
Implementation of Prosecutorial Discretion
   On Nov. 17, 2011 ICE posted a memo to the web entitled "Next Steps in the
Implementation of the Prosecutorial Discretion Memorandum and the August 18th
Announcement on Immigration Enforcement Priorities."
EOIR released a related statement.
AILA also released a related statement.
AILA also released an undated ICE memo entitled "Guidance to ICE Attorneys
Reviewing the CBP, USCIS, and ICE Cases Before the Executive Office for
Immigration Review."  Links are below:
http://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/pdf/pros-discretion-next-steps.pdf
http://www.justice.gov/eoir/press/2011/EOIRProsecutorialDiscretion11172011.htm
http://aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=37685
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27924754/guidance%20to%20ICE%20attorneys.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/us/deportation-cases-of-illegal-immigrants-to-be-reviewed.html?_r=1

COPYRIGHT BY AUTHOR -- 2011

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