Enforcement Advisor

Your Reliable Source of  Worksite Enforcement,
Employer Compliance & Business Immigration News
Volume 3, Issue 6June 2010
In This Issue
Status of FY-2011 H-1B cap
ICE Says Employer Compliance is a Key Part of Border Security
ICE Says Employer Compliance is a Key Part of Border Security
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Status of FY-2011 H-1B Cap
 
As of June 18, 2010, for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, USCIS has received 22,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the congressionally mandated 65,000 annual cap. USCIS has also received 9,700 petitions for foreign nationals with advanced degrees.
 
If USCIS receives the necessary number of petitions to meet the respective caps, it will issue an update to advise the public that, as of a certain date (the "final receipt date"), the respective FY 2011 H-1B caps have been met. The final receipt date will be based on the date when USCIS actually receives the petition, not the date when the petition is postmarked. The date or dates when USCIS informs the public that the respective caps have been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date.
 
To ensure a fair system, USCIS may randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received as of the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected as well as those received after the final receipt date.
 
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ICE Says Employer Compliance Is A Key Part Of Border Security 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released its strategic plan for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2010 to 2014, showing its intent to focus on the first three homeland security missions identified in the 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Report: : (1) prevent terrorism and enhance security, (2) secure and manage America's borders, and (3) enforce and administer U.S. immigration laws.
 
Creating a culture of employer compliance and enforcing immigration-related employment laws are a key part of border security, ICE noted. To create a "culture of compliance" among employers, ICE will use a two-pronged approach: (1) aggressive criminal and civil enforcement against employers who knowingly violate the law and (2) continued implementation of programs like E-Verify and IMAGE, which help employers comply with the law.
 
Criminal investigations will focus more on employers that abuse or exploit workers or otherwise engage in egregious conduct. To support its civil audit program, ICE intends to hire more auditors and centralize some auditing functions. Through the "I E-Verify" campaign, ICE will work with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to increase public support for employers that use compliance tools. Finally, ICE will also seek "better statutory tools" to address employment of unauthorized workers.

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USCIS Issues Report on Characteristics of H-1B Workers 

USCIS issued its annual report providing information on the countries of origin, occupations, educational levels and compensation of H-1B workers during the 2009 fiscal year.

 

Highlights of the report include the following:

 

· The number of H-1B petitions filed decreased by 15 percent in FY 2009, as compared to the prior year.

 

· The number of approvals in FY 2009 decreased by 22 percent compared to FY 2008.

 

· Approximately 48 percent of all H-1B petitions approved in FY 2009 were for workers born in India.

 

· Two-thirds of the H-1B petitions approved in FY 2009 were for workers between the ages of 25 and 34.

 

· Forty-one percent of FY 2009 H-1B approvals were for workers with a bachelor's degree, 40 percent had a master's degree, 13 percent had a doctorate, and 6 percent had some kind of professional degree.

 

· Approximately 41 percent of FY 2009 H-1B approvals were for workers in computer-related occupations.

 

· The median annual salary of beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions increased to $64,000 in FY 2009, up $4,000 from FY 2008.
 
The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) requires USCIS to prepare this report annually.

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