Do you have foreign-born professionals as employees? If so, you may be one of hundreds, maybe even thousands of companies that need to immediately think about filing paperwork to keep those employees legally on the payroll.

While many jobs are considered "professional" positions, we are talking about positions that require at least a bachelor's degree and the employee has the appropriate bachelor's degree for the position. Accountants, sales directors, and information systems managers are some of the types of positions in a hotel that may be qualified for an H-1B visa

This H-1B visa allows a person to legally work for a specific employer in a specific job in a specific location in the United States. Unfortunately, the U.S. government only issues 65,000 H-1B visas per year. All the visas become valid beginning October 1 of any given year. However, filing for these visas begins on April 1 of each year. The Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) is responsible for reviewing these petitions and approving or denying them. On April 1, 2007, the CIS received approximately 120,000 H-1B petitions for the 65,000 available visas. They conducted a lottery of all petitions received and accepted a little more than 50% of the petitions received. Remember, only the employers that filed on the first day were even in the running for getting an H- 1B visa for their employees

If you have a person that may be eligible for one of these coveted visas, you need to act immediately. When do you do your hiring? If you are thinking you may need one of these professional people in October, would you normally even consider hiring them now, eight months before you want them to start working? The answer needs to be a resounding yes, if you want to obtain that H-1B visa. You need to have these people identified, interviewed, with an offer made and accepted before April 1 in order for the filing to occur. Also, plan on hiring an immigration attorney as early as possible to properly prepare the paperwork for you. Nothing is worse than having the perfect candidate for a position and having the visa denied because the paperwork was not properly prepared or filed.

Immigration is an ever changing area of the law. Incorrect information can result in loss of benefits or opportunities for a foreign national or a company. Therefore, I recommend that you consult with a qualified immigration attorney prior to making any immigration decisions.

By: Martha James - click here for more information

To download a recording of our teleseminar, Strategies for Success: How to Win the Race for an H- 1B Visa, click the link below.

The SAVE Act would expand the basic pilot program, codify the SSA No Match proposed rule, and make more local cops immigration agents! Contact Congress today at http://capwiz.com/ aila2/home/ and click Oppose the SAVE Act. For more information about the SAVE act and how it will hurt businesses, click the link below.

On April 2, 2007, USCIS received over 100,000 H-1B petitions well exceeding the 65,000 annual limit, creating an unprecedented eighteen-month restriction on access to new H-1B visas for temporary professional employees. April 1, 2008 promises the same or even worse for employers. Write to your members of Congress now; tell them how the H-1B shortage is affecting your business and urge them to end the H-1B crisis!

Click the link below to contact your Congressional representative!

On February 22, 2008, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced higher civil fines against employers for immigration violations. Based upon inflation, the new fines will take effect on March 27, 2008 and will increase an average of 25%. The minimum penalty will increase to $375 and the maximum penalty will increse to $16,000.

For the full press release and discussion of fines issued by the Attorney General, click the link below.

USCIS has updated information on its website to inform customers that an I-765 Application for Employment Authorization to extend an EAD (employment authorization document) may not be filed earlier than 120 days before the original EAD expires. Any I-765 application for an extension EAD received on or after January 29, 2008, that was filed more than 120 days from the date of expiration, will be denied as filed too early. An application for replacement of an EAD that was lost, stolen, or mutilated, or that contains incorrect information may be filed at any time.

Attorneys Ann Badmus and Martha James will present immigration law updates for employers at the Annual Labor Law Conference for HR Managers and Business Owners, sponsored by Urban League of Greater Dallas. Topics will include I-9 compliance and social security mismatch letter updates as well as other immigration compliance information. Labor law information will also be presented by employment law attorneys.

The seminar will be held on Wednesday, March 13, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel, 2015 Market Center Boulevard, Dallas, Texas.

For registration information, contact Ralph Adams at 214-915-4683.

To download recordings of our previous seminars, click the link below.

On February 22, 2008, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey spoke to the press about the government's border patrol and immigration enforcement efforts. Click the link below to read his speech.

email: fkilgore@badmuslaw.com

phone: 469-916-7900

web: http://www.badmuslaw.com