September 18
First, the requirement to enter the United States through a funnel of 15 airports has been lifted, however, the ban from travelers from the UK and Ireland, the Shengen Region consisting of most European Countries, Brazil, China and Iran is still in place.
This means National Interest Exemptions are still required for those that come from these locations. We have processed about 6 of these in last two weeks. The processes vary from country to country, some have changed since the process began. It is very difficult to assist family members who want to join workers and the decisions can be inconsistent. If you need help, please go to OnlineVisas.com and schedule a strategy session.
When will the new restrictions on the H-1B, L-1 and other visas be released by the White House? Our sources tell us that it could be this week or the first two weeks in October.
The White House has been given suggestions by a number of agencies, but we have not seen a copy nor heard about its contents. We have produced another video breaking down what our predictions on it may contain such as restrictions on specialty occupations and limitations or restrictions on placement of H-1Bs at third party locations.
We also heard that there may be an addition Department of Labor rule increasing the prevailing wage requirements which would impact the H-1B visa. We do not know how significant the wage increases will be.
There is a forthcoming rule that will impose the requirement of obtaining fingerprints to obtain non-immigrant work visas like the H-1B or L-1 visa.
The issue here is that this will slow down the process of obtaining the visas virtually eliminating the premium processing solution and maybe creating additional problems if the processing goes beyond 240 days which is the time permitted to continue working while an extension is processing.
This rule while may lead to exclusion of people that may be inadmissible due to a criminal background or membership in an organization that is barred, will also frustrate the hiring process by American companies of all others.
If you need our help please request your free strategy session.
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