Anyone know how this is done

[angela256z]

What forms does an employer need to fill out to give people work visas? My friends company just had a major deport of their employees and they want to petition for them all to return.

[Lachulagreeneyes]

Wow those poor people. I don't have an answer for your question Angela, although I believe the work visas are full for a while. Someone I'm sure will chime in though!

[angela256z]

Actually I got it. This employer is very serious about doing this.

I-129 for a non-immigrant visa
I-140 for an immigrant visa

I am so glad that there are employers willing to do this.

[Lachulagreeneyes]

Me too and I'm glad you found it! Isn't there a cutoff on the amount of apps every year though?

[Laura]

But if they were previously here illegally (were they?), they have 10-year bars... Can an employer file a waiver???

[angela256z]

That is a good question I asked the INS lady and she said that an employer can file for whatever person they would like. Which really did not answer the question, but who knows.

[Lachulagreeneyes]

Angela please let us know when you find out. I hope the employer will be successful in filing for them!

[MendozaQH]

People with unlawful presence can get work visas.....I know many people who were here illegally who now have work visas or who employed undocumented workers and now have them here legally. What I don't know is if they lie about the unlawful presence......They must otherwise they would be banned.

If they have been deported though, I know they must remain outside the US for 10 years though (this is the case with my BIL)

[Adriane]

I'm pretty sure they have to lie- we tried the employer route and it didn't work. And if it were an option, I think more people would have discovered it by now....

I know that Laurel said that she was hired by a company who had discovered that 38% of their work force was illegal. They wanted her to come in and see what options the employees had to legalize- and she said that for the vast majority, there was no option. That wouldn't be true if an employer could file a waiver.

You should ask at the chat for clarification.

[Laura]

Good point. That's what I was thinking. An employer can't file a waiver... so they must just say they've never been to the U.S. and get away with it in many cases.

[inlimbo]

This is similar to another thread: http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1471

It sounds like maybe DHS/USCIS doesn't do as much background checking for people applying for temp work visas so (ahem) misrepresentation might go unnoticed in many cases...

Oh, and the person applying for a visa can file their own I-212 waiver (they don't need a USC or LPR qualifying relative doing it for them), so they could potentially come back to the US with a work visa sponsored by their employer. Of course if they were present over 180/365 days they'll need a 601 waiver to come back earlier than the 3/10 year ban, and of course as we all know they need an immediate qualifying relative to do that.

[MendozaQH]

Good point. That's what I was thinking. An employer can't file a waiver... so they must just say they've never been to the U.S. and get away with it in many cases.

The problem is there are many people who are getting away with it because the government is more concerned for those married to US citizens than those working here! My husband is pretty pissed right now that so many people from his village are in the US on a work visa while he is sitting at home WAITING for the government to decide that he too can come to the US to live with his family! I guess they just don't do the same checking for the work visa that they do for the family of US citizens. Perhaps those coming on the work visa figure they have nothing to lose if they lie about unlawful presence....

[MendozaQH]

Sorry guys, I had to vent a little about the way the US government is handling US citizen cases.....I am over it now...LOL

[USnoiva]

A U.S. employer may sponsor an immigrant employee who qualifies under one or more of the employment based immigrant visa categories.

EB-1 Priority Workers
• Aliens with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education,
business or athletics
• Outstanding professors and researchers
• Multinational executives and managers

EB-2 Professionals with Advanced Degrees or Persons with
Exceptional Ability
• Aliens who, because of their exceptional ability in the sciences,
arts or business, will substantially benefit the national economy,
cultural or educational interests or welfare of the U.S.
• Aliens who are members of professions holding advanced
degrees or the equivalent

EB-3 Professional or Skilled Workers
• Professionals with a baccalaureate degree
• Aliens capable of performing skilled labor (requiring at least 2
years of training or experience) for which qualified workers are
not available in the U.S.
• Aliens capable of performing unskilled labor for which qualified
workers are not available in the U.S.

EB-4 Special Immigrants
• Religious workers
• Panama Canal Company Employees, Canal Zone Government
Employees, or U.S. Government in Canal Zone Employees
• Certain physicians
• Certain others


All EB-3 petitions must include a labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer.
All EB-2 petitions generally require a labor certification, but this can be waiver under the right circumstances.

To file a labor certification, you file ETA Form 9089 with the DOL.

The DOL must certify to the USCIS that there are no qualified U.S. workers able, willing, qualified and available to accept the job at the prevailing wage for that occupation in the area of intended employment and that employment of the alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

[Adriane]

Mr. Adriane fit the requirements of an EB-3 and had a company willing to sponsor him- but couldn't due to his EWI, according to our attorney (who did later screw us over on the waiver business so perhaps this should be taken with a grain of salt.)

Maybe if he'd left before 6 months were over and he wasn't banned, but not with the ban in place (ours is 3 years.)

[USnoiva]

I just read the I-140 and doesn't ask about previous entries into the US. Only if the employee is currently in the US does it ask details of arrival. I guess it must then be assumed that the prospective employee is without a bar or previous illegal presence.
This certainly seems like a window left wide open.

[ourboys2]

What forms does an employer need to fill out to give people work visas? My friends company just had a major deport of their employees and they want to petition for them all to return.
I was just wondering if the employer you mentioned is still in need of employees. I would love to have my BIL go to the US legally, and get out of our home!!!!:innocent:

[djones9714]

The employer will have to file an I-140 and the workers will have to apply to come back to the U.S. They will be subject to the 10-year bar and I am not sure if this bar will be lifted for illegally being present. It is a long process because you have to prove that there are no U.S. workers willing to do the job, the job has to be posted and you have to wait for resumes to come in before the Department of Labor will even approve it. I know a lot of people from other countries come here every year on the worker season visas (forget the name of that visa). They come here for like 9 months and work and then go back home for 3 months. Then they continue coming back or else since they came legally, they just stay.

This is something we need to check into more because this is the second time we have been asked this question -- about an employer getting a waiver for someone who has been here illegally. I will try to research this and come back.

[angela256z]

I was just wondering if the employer you mentioned is still in need of employees. I would love to have my BIL go to the US legally, and get out of our home!!!!:innocent:

They are. They are in Idaho, but it sounds to me if they are EWI they can't.

[ourboys2]

They are. They are in Idaho, but it sounds to me if they are EWI they can't.

I asked my BIL he has never been detained, has entered undetected over 5 times. Would you be willing to get me the information of the employer so that I can get in contact with him and get my BIL out of here:thumbup: Please, please please.

[lopay]

Hey, I just started reading this thread because I was talking with a friend of mine and he told me that he knew of some guys that were here illegally and went back to Mexico and returned with visas.

I told him that should not have happened because it's not the law. He said they told the consulate they had been here illegally. I don't know it that is true or not. They are seasonal agricultural workers. The area is almost pure agricultural and all of the work is done by immigrants.

I can't imagine that they were given visas after telling the consulate of illegal presence here but who knows. USCIS is so messed up, it would not surprise me.

USCIS's forms may not ask about presence here, but the state department's form does. The DS-156 ( http://ireland.dev.getusinfo.com/uploads/2w/M2/2wM2iqv22zX4IbvKj1k5aQ/Training_DS0156.pdf ) asks about illegal presence here, so unless the consulates are just ignoring the law, they would have to lie to get in.

Does anyone know if there are any special bans for immigrant workers? The guy said he knows of other guys who went to Mexico and had to wait a year or so before they could get their visa.

I don’t think that just because a person came here illegally, got a job, and was able to keep the job for a few years should be given privileges over anyone else. It’s wrong that a person can come to work easier than a USC’s husband or wife.

Has anyone ever tried to get an H1-B at the same time as their immigrant visa? I ran into this ( http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=ccbbec897643f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCR D&vgnextchannel=1847c9ee2f82b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1 RCRD ) and it says that:

“An H-1B alien can be the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition, apply for adjustment of status, or take other steps toward Lawful Permanent Resident status without affecting H-1B status. This is known as "dual intent" and has been recognized in the immigration law since passage of the Immigration Act of 1990. During the time that the application for LPR status is pending, an alien may travel on his or her H-1B visa rather than obtaining advance parole or requesting other advance permission from Immigration to return to the U.S.”

[lopay]

oh yea, and anyone who thinks that USCIS actually cares about the caps that congress put on immigants, think again. They don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-YdB5D0DTg

I know this happened in 2004, but does USCIS ever improve anything????

[lopay]

as always, sorry for so many post.

I found this too: the I-129 asks a lot of questions about the persons past employment and job training. There are some places that ask for the alien's last three jobs and you have to explain any interruptions.

The I-140 really doesn't say anything about the person's past.

Both of the state department’s forms (ds 159 and 230) ask about the person's past.

I didn't see anything on the 230 for a person who has less than 180 days unlawful presence, so I guess that a person who only has less than 180 days of unnoticed unlawful presence might be able to fill out this form without lying.

[Glühbirne]

The company will have to hire a lawyer and go down to Mexico and recruit for the H2A or H2B program. Thier deported ex-employees will not qualify since they will have the bar. Some people who don't qualify for residence or tourist visas can still qualify for an H2A or H2B visa. My company uses the H2A program. I cannot say much about it because it's work related, but it is very costly and difficult and the company keeps several very pricey lawyers retained for the purpose. Also, immigrant-rights activits will not leave companies using those programs alone. They try as hard as they can to find "abuses" and get the companies who use the programs in trouble.

[Glühbirne]

The company has to apply for the visas. In order to get visas, the company has to prove that not enough legal domestic workers can be found to do the work at a special wage that the labor department of thier state sets. The wage is always sat very high, higher than the employer pays thier illegal workers. The company must guarantee that no guest worker that they bring in will "displace" a domestic worker. This means that if after having brought in the foreign worker, a domestic worker who is capable and willing to do the job applies, they must fire the foreign worker and hire the domestic worker. As soon as they fire the foreign worker, the visa is no longer valid and he or she must return to his or her country of origin. There's another catch. The foreign worker is guaranteed at 2/3 of contract. This means that if the domestic worker does turn up and they must fire the foreigner and send him home, they still have to pay him 2/3 worth of contract, so if the contract was for 9 months, they must give him three months pay, even if he didn't work those three months.

Also, they must provide room and board for the foreign worker, or room and adequate cooking facilities. They may charge him for room and board or deduct it from his paycheck, but there is a limit as to how much they can charge and it's less than the actual cost of room and bored in most cases.

It is a very very difficult and costly process. It is hard for the company because they get a lot of enemies on all sides by doing it. The conservatives hate them for bringing in more foreigners and the rights-activits watch them like a hungry dog waiting for one of the workers to scream abuse so they can try to shut them down and sue for all they've got.

Although the company is issued x number of visas, the consulate still interviews each person and decides whether or not that person will be allowed to go. There are guidelines for approval and denial, but in most cases they are not followed. There is a quota of how many must be denied. This is unspoken and unwritten but based on my personal experience, at least 1/3 of the people are denied. Some are not even given a reason. They can decide they don't like the way a person looks and decide not to give the person the visa because of "immigrant intent." That means they think the person is likely to stay in the US beyond the expiration of the visa.

Also, not all companies go down and recurit for themselves. Some hire "contratistas" which are shady characters who charge people to get them work visas and also get paid a per head commision by the companies for whom they recruit. The people who go with them really don't know where they'll end up and are taking a big risk. Some companies do end up abusing the people with the work visas.

If the person quits thier job, the visa is no longer valid and the person is an illegal alien. They cannot go and find another job. It is nothing like residence.

[Glühbirne]

Hey, I just started reading this thread because I was talking with a friend of mine and he told me that he knew of some guys that were here illegally and went lback to Mexico and returned with visas.

I told him that should not have happened because it's not the law. He said they told the consulate they had been here illegally. I don't know it that is true or not. They are seasonal agricultural workers. The area is almost pure agricultural and all of the work is done by immigrants.


Yes, it is quite true. It's all on an individual basis. It depends on how long they told the consulate they'd been here and how long ago. If they would have told the consulate, "I was there last month," then they would have been denied. But if they said, "I was there six years ago for 9 months working on a peach farm," the chances are high they could have been granted the visa.

I know this is true because I have dealt with it in my job and I have personal experience with it.

The reason it is possible is because the criteria for a work visa is different. The standards are lower because they have to be. The kind of people who are needed for these kind of work are poor, illiterate, lowest-class young Mexican men. And when you start dealing with that population, about 75% has been illegal to the US at one point or another during thier life. If they denied everyone the H2A or H2B because of the ten year bar, then the program wouldn't work because the only people who'd qualify would be those who aren't able to work the fields anyway. They companies can't afford to go to other countries that are further away because the travel costs would make it too expensive, not to mention the cultural and linguistic barriers. It's easy to deal with Mexican workers because although foreign, the culture and language is quite familiar. They are our neighbors after all.