With the shortage of U.S. workers in many STEM fields, H-1B workers are an increasingly vital part of the U.S. workforce.
It is important for employers to remain aware of changes in the H-1B program. Harris Beach plans a March 12 webinar for employers to learn about H-1B requirements, processing times and validity periods for H-1B status, as well as long-term considerations for retaining H-1B workers, including planning for permanent residency sponsorship. Harris Beach’s New York Immigration Attorneys Danielle M. Rizzo and Brendan J. Venter will lead the discussion and Q&A session.
This one-hour webinar will be especially helpful to employers likely to employ professional workers requiring visa sponsorship in industries such as IT, engineering, health care, and higher education. The H-1B visa program is extremely important for these industries, as evidenced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receiving registrations last year totaling nearly 10 times the 85,000 available H-1B visas.
However, many of these registrations were duplicates, as hopefuls attempted to increase their chances of winning the H-1B lottery. This, and other problems with the program prompted changes, including the reintroduction of a program to resume renewals of H-1B nonimmigrant visas in the United States for certain qualified foreign nationals and increased filing fees beginning April 1.
Our New York Immigration lawyers work across New York State in our Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse offices and focus on strategies – including immigrant visas for permanent U.S. resident status and temporary visas for foreign nationals – to ensure companies are able to hire, transfer, and retain the brightest and best non-U.S. talent.
If you have questions about this subject or related matters, please reach out to our immigration attorneys, Danielle M. Rizzo at (716) 200-5149 and drizzo@harrisbeachmurtha.com; Brendan J. Venter at (518) 701-2773 and bventer@harrisbeachmurtha.com; or the Harris Beach attorney with whom you most frequently work.
This alert is not a substitute for advice of counsel on specific legal issues.
Harris Beach has offices throughout New York state, including Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse and White Plains, as well as Washington D.C., New Haven, Connecticut and Newark, New Jersey.
