Business immigration visa quotas have long presented a major hurdle for employers and employees. There is no logic to the quota systems that Congress has in place, and quotas are
Continue Reading Congress Needs to Fix Immigration Visa Quotas to Boost Economyemployers
Public Access File and I-9 Compliance in the Post-COVID Environment
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers found the extensive and nuanced Form I-9 and Public Access File (PAF) compliance requirements challenging. Once the pandemic set in…
Continue Reading Public Access File and I-9 Compliance in the Post-COVID EnvironmentGreenberg Traurig’s Laura Reiff Featured in Law360
In this Law360 article, Greenberg Traurig Shareholder Laura Reiff discusses immigration legislation and regulations to watch in 2017. Reiff addresses the Legal Workforce Act, requiring employers to use E-Verify, the…
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Greenberg Traurig’s Nataliya Rymer Featured In Law360 Article – DOS Visa Revocation Policy May Pose Serious Consequences
In a recent Law360 article, Nataliya Rymer, Of Counsel in Greenberg Traurig’s Philadelphia office, addresses the DOS’ prudential visa revocations and its impact on foreign nationals, employers, and school officials. …
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Permanent Residency Through the EB-3 Program: What’s Lawful and What’s Not
I recently returned from a month in Vietnam meeting with clients and potential immigrants to the United States. Over the course of the past five years and in my travels to Vietnam, I have watched the EB-5 program grow in popularity as a tool for Vietnamese nationals to self-sponsor for a U.S. green card. In fact, Vietnam now ranks second in EB-5 visa usage worldwide.
The growing interest in immigration to the U.S. has also spurned in Vietnam a new trend, with some immigration agents promoting the EB-3 visa program, to target clients that cannot afford the EB-5 program or wish to spend less money to immigrate to the U.S. This development is alarming, as in many cases, the way the EB-3 program is being described and offered to the Vietnamese public is inconsistent with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and U.S. Department of Labor Regulations (DOL) laws and regulations. In the most egregious cases, these EB-3 for sale programs intentionally circumvent the legal requirements and are fraudulent.
By way of background, EB-3 stands for Employment-Based Third preference category – a concept long existent in U.S. immigration law and a valid means to a green card when properly used. Employment-based sponsorship in U.S. immigration is divided into several preference categories, with the Employment-Based Third category being reserved for sponsorship for positions requiring:
- Less than two years’ training or experience (unskilled workers). This is predominately the focus of the Vietnamese EB-3 for sale programs; or
- At least two years of experience in the field of expertise (skilled workers); or
- A Bachelor’s degree.
The process of employment-based sponsorship in the EB-3 category entails a three step process:
1. A PERM application is processed and filed by the employer with the DOL. The process involves the U.S. employer engaging in various methods of recruitment to find U.S. workers for the position. This is because the DOL’s main purpose is to ensure that U.S. workers get preference for jobs. The DOL determines the prevailing wage rate for the position that the employer is required to pay. Only after recruitment is completed, and if the employer can show that it was not able to find minimally qualified, able, or willing U.S. workers for the position, would the DOL certify and approve a PERM application. If the sponsoring organization receives applications from interested individuals in the U.S. in response to the ads but does not review and interview the applicants or disclose receiving the applications to the DOL, the sponsoring company and all persons involved in the process can be subject to enforcement action.Continue Reading Permanent Residency Through the EB-3 Program: What’s Lawful and What’s Not