Below is an excerpt of an article authored by Robinson+Cole Immigration Group lawyer Jennifer L. Shanley published in Industry Week on September 15, 2021.
With U.S. manufacturers facing more than 800,000 vacant jobs, companies are re-focusing their efforts on building their workforce. Foreign nationals can help fill the workforce gap.
Manufacturers can sponsor foreign nationals…
This week we are pleased to have a guest post from Jennifer L. Shanley, a member of Robinson+Cole’s Immigration Group. Her preparation of temporary and permanent immigration petitions allow manufacturing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, including some Fortune 100 companies, to retain key business people, scientists, researchers, and other professionals.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), along with several prominent business organizations, filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) regulations governing the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program that would disrupt manufacturers’ ability to hire and retain critical high-skilled talent.
By way of background DHS announced an interim final rule that revises the definition of H-1B specialty occupation to include the requirement of a specific relationship between the required degree field(s) and the duties of the offered position. It also restricts eligibility for the program in several additional ways, including requiring employers to provide contracts, work orders, itineraries or similar evidence to prove employer-employee relationship when sending H-1B workers to third party worksites, ultimately providing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with the ultimate discretion on who meets the definition of employer and employee. The other rule issued by the Department of Labor increased the wage floor companies are required to pay employees to historically high rates.
Continue Reading Manufacturers Fighting Disruptive Immigration Reform
This week we are pleased to have a guest post from Jennifer L. Shanley, a member of Robinson+Cole’s Immigration Group. Her preparation of temporary and permanent immigration petitions allow manufacturing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, including some Fortune 100 companies, to retain key business people, scientists, researchers, and other professionals.
President Trump signed a proclamation temporarily suspending the entry of certain H-1B, L-1, H-2B and J-1 foreign national workers and their dependents who are currently outside of the U.S. and do not have a valid visa or other valid travel document. The order will take effect on June 24, 2020 and will be in effect through December 31, 2020, though it could be extended, if the president determines it is necessary.
By way of background, foreign nationals can work in the U.S. in a variety of work authorized categories, some of the most prominent being H-1B and L-1. Those in H-1B status are working for an employer in a specialty occupation; those working pursuant to L-1 status are intracompany transferees who worked for the U.S. company’s related entity abroad in either a managerial or executive role or one that requires specialized knowledge and are working for a U.S. employer in that same capacity. Other significant categories include the J-1, which is an exchange visitor status to participate in an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program and the H-2B program allows for temporary nonagricultural labor or services.
Continue Reading Trump Proclamation Curtails the Ability of Manufacturers to Bring Workers in From Outside USA
This blog post is dedicated to those of you who took a heathy summer break and want to catch up on the summer’s major developments. Let the speed reading begin!
As predicted here, the Trump Administration launched a series of not-so-surprising raids to arrest undocumented workers. As of this writing, there has not…
Last month, in my “Manufacturing Law Predictions for 2017: Labor and Employment” posting, I wrote: “Expect at least some high-profile workplace ‘raids’ to round up undocumented workers and substantial fines on the employers which have hired them.” On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it had concluded the round-up of 680…
