Corporate Immigration Services for
US and Foreign Companies
LL.M. Law Group can help retain the critical international
talent that your company needs. We also have experience advising
individuals and companies located abroad how to obtain immigration
benefits through investment in the United States.
If you are a U.S. company or employer seeking to sponsor a
nonimmigrant or immigrant employee, please complete the
Employer Immigration Questionnaire (one for every employee) in full
and return to our office by e-mail,
fax or mail to the address below. Please note that you will need to
provide documentation regarding your ability to pay the sponsored employee
and also copies of all passports and immigration documentation pertinent
to the case.
If you are an individual or company located outside the
U.S. but are seeking to obtain immigration benefits by investing in the
United States, please complete the
Investor Immigration Questionnaire. Please note that you will need to
provide extensive documentation regarding the investment.
Work Visas USCIS Updates
Updated November 25, 2011
USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2012 H-1B Cap. On November 23, 2011,
USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions
to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2012. USCIS is
notifying the public that Nov. 22, 2011, was the final receipt date for
new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start
date in FY 2012.
Properly filed cases will be considered received on the date that USCIS
physically receives the petition; not the date that the petition was
postmarked. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B specialty
occupation workers seeking an employment start date in FY 2012 that arrive
after Nov. 22, 2011.
For more information please visit http://www.uscis.gov/.
Director Mayorkas Announces New EADs and N-560s with Enhanced
Security Features. USCIS news release announcing the launch of an
enhanced Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a redesigned
Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560) with new features intended to
deter counterfeiting, obstruct tampering, and facilitate fast and accurate
authentication. Click here
for the USCIS news release.
For more information please visit http://www.uscis.gov/.
Updated June 16, 2011
USCIS 6/1/11 Edition of the Handbook for Employers, M-274 Manual.
Click here to
download a 6/1/11 edition of USCIS' M-274, Handbook for Employers, which
provides guidance to employers on I-9 compliance.
For more information please visit http://www.uscis.gov/.
Updated April 27, 2011
Final Rule Adopts Interim Rule Improving Integrity of Form I-9
Process. On April 14, 2011, USCIS announced a final rule that adopts,
without change, an interim rule to improve the integrity of the Employment
Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. The main changes made by the
interim rule and adopted by the final rule include: prohibiting employers
from accepting expired documents; revising the list of acceptable
documents by removing outdated documents and making technical amendments.
H-1B Cap Exemptions Based on Relation or Affiliation. On March
18, 2011, in response to recent stakeholder feedback, USCIS announced that
it is currently reviewing its policy on H-1B cap exemptions for non-profit
entities that are related to or affiliated with an institution of higher
education. Until further guidance is issued, USCIS is temporarily applying
interim procedures to H-1B non-profit entity petitions filed with the
agency seeking an exemption from the statutory H-1B numerical cap based on
an affiliation with or relation to an institution of higher education.
For more information please visit http://www.uscis.gov/.
On January 14, 2011 USCIS announced that the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department
of State, has identified 53 countries whose nationals are eligible to
participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year.
Effective Jan. 18, 2011, nationals from the following countries are
eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs: Argentina,
Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan,
Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nauru, The
Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru,
Philippines, Poland, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon
Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United
Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vanuatu. Of these countries, the following
were designated for the first time this year: Barbados, Estonia,
Fiji, Hungary, Kiribati, Latvia, Macedonia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea,
Samoa, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
For more information please visit http://www.uscis.gov/.
News Archives:
2011
2010
2009
2008
NOTICE FOR ILLINOIS EMPLOYERS ABOUT E-VERIFY
What is the status of E-Verify in Illinois?
Earlier this year, the State of Illinois passed a new
law—Section 12(a) of the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace
Act—that would effectively prohibit employers in the state from enrolling
in the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program. In September of
2007, DHS sued Illinois and asked a court to declare the new law illegal.
The law was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2008, but the
state has agreed to not enforce this law until DHS’ lawsuit is over. What
does all this mean?
If your business already has enrolled in E-Verify, you may continue to
use E-Verify after January 1, 2008 to confirm that your newly-hired
employees are authorized to work in the United States. If your business
has not yet signed up for E-Verify, you may enroll in the program before
or after January 1, 2008 by going to
www.dhs.gov/E-Verify
and following the link for employer registration. Illinois has agreed that
it will not penalize employers simply for participating in the program, at
least until the lawsuit is finished.
Are there any state requirements I have to follow before enrolling
in or using E-Verify?
Possibly. For example, Illinois did pass other new laws that are not a
subject of the DHS lawsuit. Because Illinois only agreed to not enforce
Section 12(a), you are encouraged to consult with a lawyer to determine
whether any of these other provisions may be applicable to your business
and to understand your rights and responsibilities under state law. DHS
cannot give legal advice to individual employers.
What should I do if the state says I violated Section 12(a)?
If Illinois state officials attempt to enforce Section 12(a) of the
Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act against your business, please
contact DHS immediately at 1-888-464-4218. This would include any
attempt by the state to: (a) prevent your business from enrolling in
E-Verify; (b) requiring your business to stop using E-Verify; or (c)
bringing or threatening to bring any legal action (including fines)
against your business simply for participating in E-Verify. You may also
want to contact a lawyer.
What will happen next?
The state legislature is now considering possible changes to the
Illinois law. At this time, DHS cannot predict with certainty whether
Illinois will, in fact, change its law, what those changes may be, or when
the changes may occur. DHS intends to post future developments regarding
the Illinois law on the E-Verify website,
www.dhs.gov/E-Verify,
so employers should check that site on a regular basis for any updates. We
remain hopeful that the state will act to preserve the ability of Illinois
employers to participate in E-Verify without having to continue with our
lawsuit. In the meantime, Illinois mployers are able and encouraged to
take advantage of the E-Verify program.
E-Verify
- E-Verify is a free and simple to use
Web-based system that electronically verifies the employment eligibility
of newly hired employees. For more information on E-Verify visit
www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
- E-Verify works by allowing participating employers to electronically
compare employee information taken from the Form I-9 (the paper based
employee eligibility verification form used for all new hires) against
more than 425 million records in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA)
database and more than 60 million records in DHS immigration databases.
Results are returned within seconds.
- Currently, more than 30,000 companies are enrolled in E-Verify. More
than 3.2 million new hires have been processed through E-Verify and
usage is growing by roughly 83 percent annually. The system is currently
capable of handling up to 25 million inquiries a year.
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