USCIS Announces 2nd Mtg on the Neufeld Memo 3/26/10
We have been advised that USCIS will hold a 2nd in-person and teleconferenced meeting on the above topic on Friday, March 26th at 3:00 (Eastern). We link to a copy of the Meeting Invitation that contains the RSVP information.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) sent a letter to USCIS, requesting that the January 8th “Neufeld memo” on the “employer-employee relationship” be withdrawn listing four key problems.
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Here’s an update with some new developments in re the H-1B Memo:
1. The memo is a new policy that is inconsistent with current regulations: The regulations already define “employer” for H-1B context and indicates control when the employer “may hire, pay, fire, supervise, or otherwise control the work of any such employee.” The Memo adds additional requirements beyond what the regulations state.
2. The position taken by USCIS imposes significant economic burdens on business, at a time when the government should be trying to encourage business growth, in that employers will be required to spend considerable time and money gathering additional evidence to file their H-1B petitions and/or respond to RFE’s. Also, AILA pointed to several studies of the positive economic impact of H-1B employment, including a study that found that “U.S. technology companies increase their employment by an average of five U.S. workers for each H-1B worker they hire.”
3. The memo will have serious adverse affects on employers and individuals: AILA pointed to state restrictions on physicians being employed directly by hospitals and to locum tenens and other temporary staffing arrangements in the health care arena (including therapists) where it will be difficult to satisfy the new standards of the memo. AILA also pointed to government contracts as not being able to meet the standards. The memo will also negatively affect H-1B workers who change employers or extend status, and may have adverse effects on permanent residence petitions. AILA noted that it is not just the H-1B petitioner and the H-1B visa holder that are impacted — the end-users are also affected as they may experience a disruption in work for an H-1B worker that is not able to timely extend status or when additional staffing is needed.
4. The policy is spreading to other non-immigrant and immigrant petitions: AILA noted that USCIS has been adjudicating L-1 petitions and I-140 petitions based upon this new, heightened standard of the employer-employee relationship.
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For those of you who might have missed the Immigration Solutions teleconference that we had on “Tougher Standards for H-1B’s”, you can access the audio recording here.
If you would like to share with us any recent experiences you’ve had or your input as to how this Memo has impacted your business, please feel free to do so.
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Lastly, we are available to assist you with your H-1B filings and have developed some smart approaches as to how to deal with these new regulations and document requirements. Contact us today. If you file your own H-1B cases and require consultation or a skilled attorney to review your petitions, we also offer these services.
Tags: H-1Bs for Healthcare, healthcare occupations, Healthcare Staffing Agencies, Neufeld Memo, USCIS, USCIS Meeting on Neufeld Memo