April 2013 Global HR News Business Immigration Trends and Reform

With You Today 1 Ethan Kaufman, Esq Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP 7 Hanover Square New York, NY Phone: (212) Fax: (212) E-Fax: (212)

Agenda 2

3 ► Business Immigration Trends H-1B Cap Visa Quota ► Business Immigration Reform

Business Immigration Trends 4

5 H-1B Cap FY 2014 ► 65,000 Annual Ceiling  Fiscal year (October 1 st – September 30 th )  6,800 for citizens of Chile and Singapore ► 20,000 additional visas allocated to holders of advanced degrees from U.S. universities ► H-1Bs valid as of October 1st ► April 1 filing date  Applicant must qualify when filed ► Cap met April 5, 2013 ► Highest levels since 2008  2008: 163,000 filings in first 5 days  2013: 124,000 filings in first 5 days ► FY 2014: Lottery

6 H Cap Considerations ► Business Visitors will receive special scrutiny in light of H-1B Cap ► Requirements  temporary visit  On foreign payroll  Activity in U.S. benefits foreign employer  No local employment ► Cap exemptions & prior H-1B? ► Remember options for Chile, Singapore, Canada Australia ► EAD eligible?

Quota Retrogression As Of April 2013 Employment-Based All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA – Mainland BornINDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES 1stCCCCC 2ndC01APR0801SEP04CC 3rd01JUL0722APR0708DEC0201JUL0708SEP

Business Immigration Reform 8

9 The National Conversation on Immigration ► Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) considered by President Bush ► Momentum behind the push for immigration reform is stronger now than it has been at any time since 2007 ► Driving force behind this new momentum is the Latino vote  Latino voters favored President Obama over Mitt Romney by 71 percent to 28 percent  Key Republicans reconsidered position on immigration ► President Obama pushed immigration reform as an early agenda item  Inaugural speech -- January 21, 2013  “Now’s the time” speech, Las Vegas, NV -- January 29, 2013  State of the Union address -- February 12, 2013  Meeting with Business leaders on Common Sense Immigration Reform – March 13,

10 Five Key Areas of Activity 1. White House Comprehensive Reform Bill 2. Senate “Gang of 8” Negotiations on CIR 3. Immigration Innovation Act of 2013 (I-Squared Act) 4. Durbin-Grassley H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act 5. House Bi-partisan Negotiations on CIR 10

White House Comprehensive Reform Bill ► Drafted to encourage Congress to enact CIR legislation ► Four parts 1. Continuing to strengthen border security 2. Cracking down on employers that hire undocumented workers 3. Creating a path to earned citizenship 4. Streamlining our legal immigration system ► Strong on green cards, silent on H-1Bs ► No high skilled provisions 11

“Gang of Eight” Negotiations on CIR ► Bi-Partisan Team of Senators ► “Our Gang”: ► Four Basic Pillars  Path to citizenship tied to increase border security  Reform/streamline immigration system  Employment verification system  Improving process for admitting future workers ► Strong on green cards, silent on H-1Bs ► Includes but does not focus on high skilled immigrants ► Agreement between AFL-CIO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce  John McCain (R-Ariz.)  Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)  Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)  Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)  Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)  Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)  Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)  Jeff Flake (R.-Ariz.) 12

“I-Squared” ► Immigration Innovation Act of 2013 introduced 1/29/2013  Orin Hatch (R-Utah)  Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)  Marco Rubio (R-Fl)  Chris Coons (D-Del) ► Increase the annual H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000 ► “Uncap” the existing H-1B exemption for those with advance degrees from U.S. universities ► Establish a market-based escalator, and de-escalator, so that the supply can rise and fall according to shifts in demand ► Increase the existing H-1B training and scholarship fee by $1000, and add a $1000 fee for employment-based green cards, to be devoted through state-level funding to improved STEM education ► Employment authorization for H-4 spouses 13

“I-Squared” (continued) ► "Recapture" green card numbers that were previously authorized by Congress but that were not issued, and therefore expired ► Roll over unused green cards to the following fiscal year, so that processing delays or other obstacles will no longer result in the waste of needed green card numbers ► Exempt certain categories of persons from the green card cap:  spouses and minor children of employment-based green card recipients  those who have earned an advanced degree in a STEM field from a U.S. university  those with "extraordinary ability"  outstanding researchers ► Eliminate "per country" limits on employment-based green cards, and increase those limits for family-based green cards 14

► Recruitment/no displacement attestations for all H-1B employers ► Prohibition on placement of H-1B employees (and L-1 employees in some cases) at customer sites without first obtaining a waiver from the Department of Labor ► Increased likelihood of government compliance audits ► Prevailing wage requirement for L-1s ► Higher calculation of prevailing wages for H-1Bs 15 Durbin-Grassley H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act 15

House Bi-Partisan Negotiations on CIR ► House Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform, February 5, 2013 ► Bi-partisan group of negotiators have been working behind the scenes to put together a comprehensive reform proposal ► House bill under discussion 16

Timeline for Senate Action ► January 28, 2013 – “Gang of Eight” announces CIR ► February 13, 2013 – Senate Committee on the Judiciary holds first hearing on comprehensive immigration reform ► February/March 2013 – potential second committee hearing, focusing on economic and business issues ► March 2013 – drafting of CIR Senate bill ► April 2013 – introduction of CIR bill ► May 2013 – markup of bill in Committee ► Summer 2013 – potential floor debate 17

Thank You