USCIS Implements I-797 Notification Change

As of September 12, 2011, USCIS has begun sending original I-797 receipt and approval notices directly to applicants and petitioners. A copy of the receipt and approval notice will also be sent to an attorney or accredited representative in cases where a Form G-28, the Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, is on file. USCIS has implemented this change in notification process to ensure that documents are mailed directly to the address that the applicant/ petitioner specifies.

H-1B Cap and Restrictive EB Green Card Polices are 'National Suicide'?

Mayor Bloomberg calls H-1B visa caps 'national suicide' - But demand for H-1B visa remains sluggish

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for "eliminating the cap on H-1B visas" and believes restrictive U.S. visa policies -- particularly the limiting of employment-based green cards -- are a form of "national suicide."

Bloomberg, who spoke Thursday at the U.S Chamber of Commerce about national competitiveness, has been an advocate for eliminating the visa cap, easing access to employment-based green cards, and doing more through visa policies to attract foreign entrepreneurs and encourage foreign students to remain in the U.S.But Bloomberg's call for more H-1B visas comes at the same time the pace of visa demand is relatively low, as is IT hiring overall. In the immediate pre-recession years, available visas disappeared in a week.

In his speech, Bloomberg said that "temporary visas like the H-1B program help fill critical gaps in our workforce, but the numbers are too few and the filing process too long and unpredictable."Bloomberg didn't address arguments from H-1B opponents who view the visa as a way to bring in low-cost employees or displace workers through offshore outsourcing. Instead, he said that foreign workers are critical to U.S. economic success.

In years where the visa allocation has been quickly exhausted, said Bloomberg, "this leads to critical shortfalls not only in the software industry, but also in fields like engineering, electronics, pharmaceuticals, medical research and aerospace. This is just absurd to deny American companies access to the workers they need."Even so, businesses aren't rushing to apply for H-1B visas this year.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has received 48,900 H-1B petitions so far toward its cap of 85,000, or approximately 57% of the visas available for the 2012 fiscal year, which begins Saturday. The U.S. can start issuing visas for the new fiscal year any time after that date. This relatively sluggish pace of visa petitions is in contrast to 2008, when the U.S. received some 163,000 visas within the first week after it began accepting applications on April 1.

Labor Market Opinion Exemption for Select IT Occupations Extended in British Columbia

Employers in British Columbia will continue to benefit from a labor market opinion exemption for seven types of IT occupations, as Canada is extending the facilitated processing program for the province to December 31, 2011. The exemption was set to expire today.

Earlier this year, the IT program was extended in Quebec until further notice. It is not available in any other Canadian province or territory at this time.

The seven IT occupations that qualify for the exemption in British Columbia and Quebec are Senior Animation Effects Editors, Embedded Systems Software Designers, MIS Software Designers, Multimedia Software Developers, Software Developers (Services), Software Products Developers, and Telecommunications Software Designers.

On October 1, the UKBA Will Implement a Number of Technical Modifications to the Sponsorship Management System

Employers have until September 30 to allocate their remaining restricted certificates of sponsorship to foreign workers before the UK Border Agency unveils changes to the Sponsorship Management System - the online tool employers use to administer sponsorships of foreign nationals. Though existing restricted certificates will still be available after September 30, sponsoring employers will be unable to use them without significant delays.

On October 1, the UKBA will implement a number of technical modifications to the Sponsorship Management System. The full extent of the changes is not yet known, but the UKBA is expected to release details later this week.

Restricted certificates of sponsorship are used by employers to sponsor skilled workers from outside the UK under Tier 2 (General) of the Points Based System. For 2011, there is a cap of 20,700 restricted certificates, which are issued to employers through a monthly quota system.

What This Means for Employers:

 Employers currently holding restricted certificates should decide as soon as possible whether they will allocate them now to individual workers they intend to sponsor. If an existing certificate is allocated after October 1, administrative delays could hinder the new recruit's ability to begin employment on time.

France Introduces EU Blue Card