Processing Times and Document Replacement Applications

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has a web page with the heading USCIS Processing Time Goals. If you need to replace your legal permanent resident alien card you must file an I-90 application. The estimated processing time is currently 5.8 months although there is variation with location.

If you need to file an N-565 application to replace a certificate of citizenship you face an average estimated processing time of six months.

What are Labor Cerifications?

Some businesses employ foreign nationals through processes involving the filing of Labor Certifications. Labor Certifications include application procedures to which the U.S. Department of Labor and Labor Departments of the fifty states exercise oversight responsibilities. The United States Department of Labor has a webpage providing general information and links to essential details.

Hiring Foreign Workers makes it clear that concern about the impact of foreign nationals on American workers has molded laws related to Labor Cerifications. Following the submission of a Labor Certification application, governing agencies must resolve specific issues prior to granting the sought after certification. Chief among them is assurance that a foreign national will be paid at a rate that equals or exceeds the prevailing wage and that a shortage of American workers for the relevant position exists. Wages and working conditions of U.S. workers are paramount concerns.

H-2B Non-Immigrant Workers

What do businesses do when faced with the need for temporary help even if temporary extends to several years? Hire of course. Sometimes it is more advantagous to hire foreign nationals. The law provides a variety of non-immigrant visa classifications to cope with the demands for employees from beyond the boundaries of the United States. One such category is known as H-2B. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website features a press release titled Questions and Answers: USCIS Finalizes Streamlining Procedures for H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural Worker Program. Interested employers must pursue a petition process before H-2B status is accorded to an individual. The process can involve separate government agencies which include the Department of Labor and the State Department in addition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The name of the immigration form, used to file for H-2Bs, is Form I-129, also known as the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. The employer/petitioner must show a temporary need by documenting that the need "is a one-time occurrence, a seasonal need, a peak-load need, or an intermittent need." Prior to filing the Form I-129 an employer must obtain an approved temporary labor certification issued by the Department of Labor having jurisdiction in the relevant location.

The final rule also includes this requirement:

Require petitioners to provide notification to USCIS within 2 work days in the following instances: (a) where an H-2B worker fails to report to work within five work days of the employment start date on the H-2B petition; (b) where the non-agricultural labor or services for which H-2B workers were hired is completed more than 30 days earlier than the end date stated on the H-2B petition; or (c) where the H-2B worker absconds from the worksite or is terminated prior to the completion of the non-agricultural labor or services for which he or she was hired;

H Visas

Cap Count for H-1B and H-2B Workers for Fiscal Year 2009 is an informative news item about H visas published at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. H visas are temporary visas permitting aliens to work in the United States. H visas are sub-categorized into H-1B, H-1B1, H-2B and H-3 classes.

As the article states H-1B enables certain fashion models engineers, computer programmers, architects, accountants, doctors and college professors to enter the U.S. and work within these fields. There is a limit of 65,000 allowed to enter each year with H-1B visas. Quoting from the site:

The H-2B visa category allows U.S. employers in industries with peak load, seasonal or intermittent needs to augment their existing labor force with temporary workers. The H-2B visa category also allows U.S. employers to augment their existing labor force when necessary due to a one-time occurrence which necessitates a temporary increase in workers. Typically, H-2B workers fill labor needs in occupational areas such as construction, health care, landscaping, lumber, manufacturing, food service/processing, and resort/hospitality services.

H visas are intended to benefit the U.S. economy by making it possible for businesses to get needed workers.

An Immigrant Visa Based on Employment

U.S. employers are able to petition for immigrant visas on behalf of prospective employees based on an offer of employment which meets certain requirements. The petition form is known as Form I-140 and is filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Information on the form itself is instructive. The form mentions six different types of qualifying positions. Quoting from the form:

1. An outstanding professor or researcher, with at least three years of experience in teaching or research in the academic area, who is recognized internationally as outstanding:

A. In a tenured or tenure-track position at a university or institution of higher education to teach in the academic area; or

B. In a comparable position at a university or institution of higher education to conduct research in the area; or

C. In a comparable position to conduct research for a private employer that employs at least three persons in full-time research activities and which achieve documented accomplishments in an academic field.

2. An alien who, in the three years preceding the filing of this petition, has been employed for at least one year by a firm or corporation or other legal entity and who seeks to enter the United States to continue to render services to the same employer, or to a subsidiary or affiliate, in a capacity that is managerial or executive.

3. A member of the professions holding an advanced degree or an alien with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business who will substantially benefit the national economy, cultural or educational interests, or welfare of the United States.

4. A skilled worker (requiring at least two years of specialized training or experience in the skill) to perform labor for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

5. A member of the professions with a baccalaureate degree.

6. An unskilled worker (requiring less than two years of specialized training or experience) to perform labor for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

Note the varied qualifications. Encompassed are skilled and unskilled workers, professionals, professors and researchers. Also of interest to international companies is the opportunity to transfer employees working outside the United States to a position within the United States if, during the three year period prior to filing, the employee worked for at least one year with the organization and will enter the United States to render those same services. Such services are executive or managerial in nature.