Let’s face it, like many other Trump promises, the ten point Immigration plan is not going to happen. There’s not going to be a wall, not going to be selective Immigration from certain countries, not going to be a Muslim registration. Why? Because we cannot go back 2000 years when China was building walls.
As an Attorney practicing Immigration law for over 20 years, I have some suggestions for Business Immigration Reforms.
I will confine this blog to reforms in the H-1B and L-1 categories.
First and foremost, we need to overhaul our entire Immigration system. However, Immigration and Health Care is too huge to overhaul in one step. It should be done in baby steps.
For Immigration, we should start with Business Immigration first. This is because both Democrats and Republicans agree on most of the issues.
H-1B:
Eliminate the quota, but become stricter on enforcement. Make employers PROVE that the job is there, and it is real. Make site visits mandatory where the Sponsor has less than 200 employees. If an H-1B employee lose his job, he will get an automatic 6 months to stay in the US. After that time, if he has found no jobs, he has to leave. He can also switch to a dependent visa like H-4, but cannot switch to a student visa (F-1), without going back to the home country. If an Employer is found to have changed the resumes of the Employee in order to get a job for that employee, then both the Employer and the Employee will be barred from future filings for 5 years. The Employee will never be given the chance to adjust status through employment and will be deportable.
L-1A:
Focus more on viability and less on job description. If a Japanese restaurant owner has to oversee cooks and waiters who are not “Professional” employees, it’s no big deal. What matters is, is the restaurant viable? Is it making money, and will it survive? If a large multinational, foreign Company, (for instance let’s say Suzuki) wants a small office in the US, which coordinates their North American business, then they should be allowed to have an L-1. Even though they may not be creating US jobs, the fact that they are doing business means that they are helping US population in some way. When the time comes for the Company to grow in the US, they will grow. But by denying them the right to have a small office, we will actually drive business to Canada or Mexico. Whether the manager is managing a function, or doing full time managerial job is immaterial. Good managers do everything. If you are the CEO of a profitable company, you can clean a room, if it looks bad, and you have the time. It won’t kill you.
L-1B:
The focus should be on the technical aspect, and not so much on the proprietary aspect. We have a shortage of technical people in the US. So even though it’s fair to say that the job has to be proprietary to the Company, the focus should be on whether the Employer can get anyone in the US to do the job with some training. If the Company is viable and profitable, then we should let the Company prosper with their L-1B candidates. After all, they will pay US taxes.
For more information contact Banerjee & Associates
