The new U.S. administration has significantly hardened the country’s policies on various aspects of immigration. With this new approach are we building bridges or walls?

1. Day 2 : Global Immigration Conference
Building bridges or walls?
US immigration update from DC

2. A New Paradigm for Immigration to the United States?
Presenter: Anindita Chowdhury, USILAW, Inc.
Building Bridges or Walls?
Trump Administration / U.S. Immigration Update from
Washington, D.C

3. TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION PLAN
• Reduce Illegal Immigration
• Build AWall OnThe Southern Border
• Deport 11 Million UndocumentedWorkers
• End Birthright Citizenship For Children Born to Foreigners in the U.S.
• Reduce Legal Immigration
• Reduce the number of ImmigrantVisas
• Restrict the ways and means of work visas
• Make Legal Immigration More DifficultThrough Administrative Measures

4. THE SHIFTING SANDS OF U.S. IMMIGRATION
• Presidential Executive Action Immediately AfterTaking Office
• Banned any visitors from seven largely Muslim countries including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan,
Libya, Somalia, andYemen from entering the United States
• Stayed by Appeals Court but Supreme Court has allowed parts of a 2nd Executive Action
directive to stand
• Full Supreme Court will decide the fate of the Executive Action shortly
• Administrative measures intends to impact the H-1B and L-1 visa programs
• “Our country’s immigration policies should be designed and implemented to serve, first and
foremost, the U.S. national interest…Visa programs for foreign workers … should be
administered in a manner that protects the civil rights of American workers and
current lawful residents, and that prioritizes the protection of American workers -- our
forgotten working people -- and the jobs they hold.” -Trump Executive Action

5. LEGISLATION ON CAPITOL HILL
• US Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Assistant Democratic Leader Senator Dick
Durban (D-IL) introduced legislation that would reform the manner in which H-
1B and L-1 visas are granted
• Ban for all H-1B dependent companies from filing any additional H-1B visas
• A preference based allocation of these work visas, beginning with students who have
advanced degrees from United States colleges to those employers who are willing to pay in
the highest bands of prevailing wage (level IV)
• Zoe Lofgren, a Democratic congresswoman fromCalifornia has also introduced
a bill that got a lot of attention in India
• Wages for H-1B visas to be raised to a minimum of $130,000 per year

6. “Buy American, Hire American”
• H-1B Overhaul
• H-1B visas should be reserved for the “most-skilled and highest-paid
applicants, and they should never, ever be used to replace Americans.”
• President has instructed the USCIS to:
“to create higher wages and employment rates for workers in the United States, and to
protect their economic interests” by “rigorously enforc[ing] and administer[ing] the laws
governing entry into the United States of workers from abroad.”

7. RAISE ACT
• Legislation Introduced by in the Senate of the United States by SenatorsTom
Cotton (Republican fromArkansas) and David Purdue (Republican fromGeorgia)
• The highlights ofThe Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy
(RAISE) bill include:
1. Creating a merit based immigration system that favors English speakers and high skilled
workers
2. Reducing overall immigration to the United States by 50% from current levels
3. Limiting family based immigration to the immediate nuclear family
4. Reducing refugee admissions
5. Eliminating the Diversity Lottery program

8. Administrative Actions
• New USCIS Policy Memorandum on Computer Programmer
Positions
• Introduced in the late hours of March 31, 2017 when most companies have
finalized all the H Cap cases for the year
• USCIS reminds officers that a Level IWage Level for a Computer
Programmer will “likely contradict a claim that the proffered position is
particularly complex, specialized, or unique compared to other positions
within the same occupation.”
• There has been a huge increase in the number of RFEs generated forWage
Level 1 positions
• I-485 Interviews
• No DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Renewals After
October 5, 2017

9. Additional Administrative Measures
• Increases in SiteVisits and Now Includes L1 Positions
• USCIS announced onApril 3, 2017 that H-1B dependent companies will be subject to
significant new scrutiny to ensure that these companies make a “good faith effort to recruit
U.S. workers”
• USCIS will focus on:
1. Cases where USCIS cannot validate the employer’s basic business information through
commercially available data;
2. H-1B-dependent employers (those who have a high ratio of H-1B workers as
compared to U.S. workers, as defined by statute); and
3. Employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another company or
organization’s location.

10. Level 1 Wage Issues
• Presidential Directive Through “Buy American, Hire American” Has Directed
Administration Officials to:
“suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or
highest-paid petition beneficiaries.”
• Executive or Legislative Action Has Not Been Announced but There Has
Been An Increase In The Type of RFEs and Includes Wage Level
Designations
• Wage Level I RFEs ask the petitioner to demonstrate that the “LCA provided with
Wage Level 1 Designation properly corresponds to the proffered position”
• RFEs have also been issued when Wage Level II is designated in the RFE and request
additional evidence since the USCIS deems that “Wage Level II certification does not
show that he position is more complex or specialized than similar positions within
the occupation”
• In this environment, it is critical for companies to have a broad based
approach that takes into account Job Duties, Educational Qualifications of
the Beneficiary and the proffered Salary

11. ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES
• Increases in Site Visits and Now Includes L1 Positions
• USCIS announced on April 3, 2017 that H-1B dependent companies will be
subject to significant new scrutiny to ensure that these companies make a
“good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers”
• USCIS will focus on:
1. Cases where USCIS cannot validate the employer’s basic business
information through commercially available data;
2. H-1B-dependent employers (those who have a high ratio of H-1B workers
as compared to U.S. workers, as defined by statute); and
3. Employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another
company or organization’s location.

12. NEW VISA RULES DIRECTIVES BY STATE DEPARTMENT
• State Department Issued New Rules on September 18, 2017 Effecting
Everyone Who Travels to the United States on a Visa
• Most particularly applicable to those on B1, B2 and F-1 visas (non-dual intent
visas)
• Those Who Change Stated Plans for Visit to the United States Within
3 Months of Entering the United States Will Deemed to Have
Deliberately Lied
• If a person enters the U.S. on a B-2 visa and marries within 3 months of entry
• Similarly, a person entering the U.S. on a F-1 Visas and then applying for a H-
1B visa
• Sanctions in Such Cases Can Include Deportation or Difficulty in
Getting Visas Renewed

13. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, APPLY THE LAW
• Foreign Nationals Should NOT Voluntarily Sign:
1. Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status
OR
2. Form I-275, Withdrawal of Application for Admission
• Have Your Immigration Lawyer on Speed Dial
• As a group, we are here to help you and honored to do so
• Many Law Firms, like USILAW, offer 24 hour access

14. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO
• Companies Should Regularly Update Their VIBE Information Through
Dun and Bradstreet (D&B)
• There Should Not Be Discrepancy in Any Information Presented to the
USCIS
• For example, be consistent on the number of revenues and employee counts
• Make Sure All Relevant Paperwork is in Order
• Ensure Public Access File Compliance
• Audits I-9s
• Ensure adherence to Simeio regulations

15. LEGISLATIVE LANDSCAPE
• There is Some Consensus Among Some Republicans and Democrats
That the H-1B Visa System Needs to be Revamped
• There is an emerging consensus that H-1B visas will be earmarked for high
paying jobs and the current lottery system will be discarded
• The Grassley-Durbin Bill may be the starting point of such efforts since both
are senior Senators from their respective parties
• Congress Has Been Fairly Dysfunctional and Major Legislation Like
Immigration Reform May be Hard to Pass
• Economists Point to the Fact That as Baby-Boomers Retire, the U.S.
Will Need Its Immigrant Workforce in Greater Numbers

16. THANK – YOU ALL
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17. Thank You