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DOL Updates Prevailing Wage FAQs
In December 2009, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) within the Department of Labor (DOL) issued FAQs prior to the January 1, 2010, opening of the National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center (NPWHC) to assist employers with frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the prevailing wage.
The OFLC has issued updated FAQs to provide answers to the most common processing questions and identify the most common submission errors.
While most of March 2010 FAQs are not substantively different from the December 2009 FAQs, they replace the earlier version because they include further clarifications and additional FAQs. |
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FY 2011 H-1B Cap Filing Season Begins April 1
On April 1, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 H-1B cap petitions for foreign national employees starting employment on October 1, 2010 or later.
The FY 2010 cap was reached just a few months ago, so the high surge in initial filings of prior H-1B seasons is not expected. At the same time, however, the volume of H-1B cap petitions filed between October and December 2009 rose almost seven-fold and some expect this spike in demand to continue in 2010. Improvements in the economy and certain industries could also lead to more cap petitions this year. Because it is uncertain when the cap will be reached, employers are advised to file petitions on April 1, or at least during the first five business days of the filing period, to ensure their H-1B hiring needs for FY 2011 are met.
To avoid potential processing delays, RFEs and denials, employers need to be aware of recent regulatory and process changes affecting H-1Bs and review their H-1B filing practices. The changes include:
- Neufeld (USCIS) memo from January 8, 2010 on employer-employee relationship, which could affect H-1B eligibility.
If USCIS receives more than 65,000 cap petitions in the first five business days of the filing season - April 1 through April 7, 2010 - it will run a lottery to select the cases that are awarded quota numbers. It will continue to accept eligible advanced-degree filings until it receives enough to exhaust the 20,000 exemption for these cases. If USCIS receives more than 20,000 advanced degree exemption-eligible cases during the initial five days, but the standard cap is not reached, the otherwise exempt cases will spill over to the standard pool.
Petitions that are not selected in the lottery are rejected and returned along with their filing fees. If the quota is not reached during the first five days, USCIS will continue to accept filings until it determines that it has received enough cases to meet the FY 2011 cap. |
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DHS Announces Three Initiatives to Enhance E-Verify
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorka recently unveiled three initiatives to strengthen the efficiency and accuracy of the E-Verify system. They include 1) a new agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) that will streamline the adjudication process in cases of E-Verify misuse and discrimination, 2) an informational telephone hotline for employees that will provide a more timely, effective, and seamless customer experience for workers seeking E-Verify information, and 3) new training videos focusing on E-Verify procedures and policies, employee rights, and employer responsibilities in both English and Spanish.
The memorandum of agreement between USCIS and the DOJ's Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices establishes a streamlined process for addressing potential cases of discrimination and employer misuse of E-Verify and establishes protocol between USCIS and the DOJ for referring matters that fall within each agency's jurisdiction.
The USCIS E-Verify help line will offer employees information about the E-Verify process as well as assistance in completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Callers can also use the help line to file complaints about possible discrimination or employer misuse of the E-Verify program. The hotline number is (888) 897-7781, and it will be active as of April 5, 2010.
The training videos, explaining E-Verify procedures and policies, employee rights, and employer responsibilities in English and Spanish, were created by the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and are available at http://www.dhs.gov/e-verify, and
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