1. Top 5 Immigration Challenges Facing IT Employers (and what you can do to minimize the headaches)
3 FEBRUARY 2011

2. H-1B Cap
Annual quota of 65,000
Even in a slow year, not nearly enough to meet demand
Cap just hit this week

3. H-1B Cap - Solutions Timing Cap exemption strategies
Recruit from US schools
Masters cap
Cap-Gap and extrensions
Consider alternative categories

4. H-1B Audits
USCIS conducting site visits across the US to determine compliance
Inexperienced contractors and sloppiness verifying information
Employers also getting regularly audited by DOL (are your public access files in perfect orders?)

5. H-1B Audits - Solutions
Conduct your own audits first to make sure paperwork is in order
Make sure your staff is trained on how to respond to a site visit
Develop guidelines to ensure your paperwork is in order and readily accessible

6. Neufeld Memo Staffing cases now have a much higher approval threshold
USCIS routinely denying cases for staffing companies where employees are not clearly controlled by the contractor.
Staffing cases now have a much higher approval threshold
Serious drop in filings from these employers

7. Neufeld Memo - Solutions
Carefully document control in your contracts
Consider more placement arrangements instead of staffing ones
Consider co-employment arrangements where client is petitioner

8. I-9 Audits
Massive new federal enforcement effort – 1000% increase in fines over last three years
Potential state law consequences under new business license statutes

9. I-9 Audits - Solutions regular self audits good training
centralize recordkeeping
electronic I-9 systems
E-Verify
Procedures in place to deal with audits

10. Security Clearances
consulates are delaying Indian and other cases for months for security clearances
no way to know until you travel
almost nothing you can do to speed things up

11. Security Clearances - Solutions
Don’t travel
Be far enough along in green card process to have advance parole document

12. Final tidbits President’s State of the Union
Export control rules now on I-129 form
Maintain green card status even if you have a work card
Start up visa
Green card quota issues

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