When applying for temporary visas to work in the U.S., USCIS requires many foreign national healthcare professionals to get VisaScreen certificates to certify that their degrees fits the requirements of the visa that they are seeking. The temporary visas that require this certificate are the E-3 Australian Specialty Occupation Professionals, H-1Bs, O-1s, and TNs. The certificate is also required for the employment-based immigrant visas (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3). The healthcare workers to which this requirement applies are Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists, Medical Technologists, Medical Technicians (general), and Physicians Assistants. The reason for this requirement is because, for many of these professions, other countries could require less than the U.S. degree requirements in order to practice in the field. Therefore, VisaScreen Certificates, like the degree equivalency certificates, certifies that the professional is qualified to practice in the U.S. under that specific profession because their coursework is the same as that of a higher degree in the U.S.  However, note that even if a foreign national obtained the healthcare degree in the U.S., in order to apply for any work visa, he/she would still have to obtain the VisaScreen Certificate. Read More

My previous post, Is My Potential Employee Cap-Exempt?, explains the six-year limitation for an employee working under H-1B and the concept of recapturing unused time. This is a follow-up to explain the options that may be available for those H-1B employees that are approaching the end of their six years or have exhausted their six years.

American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000 (AC21) has two important implications for H-1B employees: (1) a “one-time” protection for H-1B employees by extending their H-1B visa in 3 year increments if the I-140 has been approved under section 104(c), and (2) one-year extensions are available if prior to the exhaustion of the beneficiary’s H-1B time, the beneficiary’s PERM application or the I-140 petition had been pending for more than 365 days under section 106(c). Read More

As promised in my tweet earlier, here is a report on the H-3 visa as an alternative to H-1B. First of all, special thanks to Margaret Holland-Sparages, a Senior Associate at Deutsch Williams, for sharing your experience and knowledge with the attendees. It really is a great and under-utilized program and I will very likely be suggesting this program to those of my clients that are concerned about the H-1B quota and the H-1B rejections. Below is a brief background of the program and why this program should be considered. Read More

As our law firm begins to accept and work on new H1B petitions, many of which are filed subject to the 65,000 cap, it is important to remember that potential employees with petitions filed within the last 6 years could have their H1Bs refiled cap-exempt. Taking advantage of this exemption could provide H1B-dependent employers with unparalleled benefits when continuing to employee or when hiring a foreign national. Read More