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In this week’s episode, BAL’s Kristi Ngo explains why the EB-5 visa is a viable alternative to the traditional PERM green card path for certain foreign national investors. Plus, the latest U.S. and global immigration news.
Explore more episodes of the BAL Immigration Report podcast, available on Apple, Spotify and the BAL news site.
This podcast has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.
Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.
Starting this week, the U.S. Embassy in Havana will expand visa services, including certain categories for temporary work, trainees, athletes, artists and entertainers.
Key Points:
Additional Information: A visa appointment is not a guarantee of visa issuance. Applicants must demonstrate their qualifications for the visa under U.S. law and regulations and provide the required application, fees, a valid passport and a current photo. Find more information here.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.
The Labor Department has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.
PERM Processing Times: As of Aug. 1, the department was adjudicating applications filed in July 2023 and earlier, conducting audit reviews on applications filed in December 2022 and earlier and reviewing appeals for reconsideration filed in November 2023 and earlier.
Average Number of Days to Process PERM Applications
Determinations
Calendar Days
Analyst Review
565
PWD Processing Times: As of Aug. 1, the National Prevailing Wage Center was processing PWD requests filed in February 2024 and earlier for H-1B OEWS cases and January 2024 and earlier for PERM OEWS cases. For H-1B non-OEWS cases the department was processing requests filed in December 2023 and earlier. For PERM non-OEWS cases, the department was processing requests filed in September 2023 and earlier.
Redeterminations were being considered on appeals filed in March 2024 and earlier for both H-1B and PERM cases.
Center Director Reviews were being conducted for both H-1B and PERM cases filed in August 2023 and earlier.
BAL Analysis: Our data indicates that DOL is just beginning to adjudicate PERM applications filed in July 2023. For PERM OEWS PWD filings, we are now seeing a surge in start dates for March 2024.
The State Department recently announced that annual limits had been reached for EB-3, EW and EB-5 visas for fiscal year 2024.
Additional Information: Maximizing EB-3 and EW visas facilitates legitimate travel for essential workers across many industries that greatly benefit the U.S. economy, particularly in the healthcare sector. EB-5 visas create employment opportunities throughout the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security today announced implementation of the Keeping Families Together process, which grants parole in place on a case-by-case basis to certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens.
Additional Information: In its announcement, the agency stated, “Too often, noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens — many of them mothers and fathers — live with uncertainty due to undue barriers in our immigration system. This process to keep U.S. families together will remove these undue barriers for those who would otherwise qualify to live and work lawfully in the U.S., while also creating greater efficiencies in the immigration system, conducting effective screening and vetting, and focusing on noncitizens who contribute to and have longstanding connections within American communities across the country.”
More information about the process can be found here.
As an HR or global mobility professional, your plate is already full. Adding visa requirements to the mix can feel overwhelming. But by familiarizing yourself with the different visa types, you can smoothly navigate the evolving immigration landscape and enhance your recruitment and mobility strategies.
To support your global hiring and relocation efforts, this article explores some of the most common nonimmigrant visa types and their specific requirements.
The H-1B visa is designed for foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as technology, engineering and healthcare.
Key requirements:
BAL insight: Previously, the H-1B lottery allowed multiple registrations for the same beneficiary by different employers, increasing the chances for certain individuals. In 2024, USCIS updated its rules and now limits registrations to one per beneficiary, the so-called beneficiary-centric process, regardless of how many employers submit registrations on the foreign national’s behalf. This change aims to level the playing field and give every applicant an equal chance of selection. Even if your H-1B registrations were not selected, BAL can work with you to identify alternative options.
The L-1 visa is for employees transferring within their multinational company to a U.S. office. There are two categories: L-1A for executives and managers and L-1B for employees with specialized knowledge.
BAL insight: L-1 applicants can apply under a company’s approved Blanket L petition, which allows applications for the visa directly at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad or a Canadian port of entry (Canadians only). A company may qualify for a Blanket L petition by meeting certain regulatory criteria, including engaging in commercial trade or services, doing business for one year or more with an office in the U.S. and having three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries and affiliates. L-1B applicants are not eligible to apply under the Blanket if they do not have at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field.
The O-1 visa is for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture and television industry.
BAL insight: The team at BAL has experience helping foreign nationals obtain an O-1 visa and can assess on a case-by-case basis for eligibility and evidentiary requirements. Check out our case study to see BAL’s visa expertise in action with a biotech company.
The TN visa allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level.
The H-1B1 visa allows specialty occupation workers from Chile and Singapore to temporarily work in the U.S. An annual maximum of 1,400 Chilean national professionals and 5,400 Singaporean national professionals in specialty occupations may work in the U.S. in H-1B1 status.
The E-3 visa allows Australian professionals in certain specialty occupations to temporarily work in the U.S. A maximum of 10,500 Australian citizens per fiscal year are allowed to work in the U.S. in E-3 status.
BAL is committed to helping HR and mobility professionals reduce immigration complexity by guiding you through recent shifts in immigration policy. To help you stay informed, here are a few emerging trends that may impact your approach to hiring.
Immigration is a complex industry that requires specialized partners to help you navigate the ever-changing landscape in real time. To assist you in managing these challenges, we invite you to join BAL Community — an interactive forum developed exclusively for HR and in-house mobility professionals. By connecting with peers and experts, you can ensure your organization remains compliant and competitive in the global talent market.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it will begin accepting requests for Keeping Families Together on Aug. 19, 2024, using a new electronic form, Form I-131F, Application for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens.
Additional Information: USCIS updated the Key Questions and Answers about the process on the Keeping Families Together webpage. More information about Keeping Families Together will be made available in a Federal Register notice in the coming days. Each requestor, including minors, must file a separate Form I-131F and have their own USCIS online account.
In this week’s episode, BAL’s Tiffany Derentz provides an update on the U.S. Department of State’s domestic visa renewal pilot program, which ended May 1. Plus, the latest U.S. and global immigration news.
In a record-setting year for the firm, 63 BAL attorneys have been recognized by the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers®, with 30 attorneys named as the 2025 “Best Lawyers in America” for immigration law and 33 named as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.” In addition, BAL Partner Sharon Cook was honored as the immigration law “Lawyer of the Year” in Atlanta, GA.
“We are thrilled and proud to see so many of our attorneys recognized with this incredible honor,” said Managing Partner Frieda Garcia. “BAL is always looking to raise the standards of how we support our clients, and it can’t be done without the dedication and persistence of our attorneys. Having 63 attorneys recognized this year is proof of their hard work and expertise.”
The following BAL attorneys were recognized as “Best Lawyers”:
The following BAL attorneys were recognized as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch”:
The attorneys will be featured in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the only purely peer-review guide to the legal profession.
As of August 12, there are 9,120 pending or approved H-2B petitions filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the 33,000 available for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year.