Mark A Ivener, A Law Corporation

Category: LCA


H-1B Powerball?

Last month the country was in a frenzy when the Powerball Lottery jackpot reached $1.6 billion and thousands of people throughout the country lined up at gas stations and convenience stores to spend whatever spare money they could spare for a chance at a life of riches. How strange it must to observers from overseas… Read More

BALCA Holds That Institutions of Higher Education Need Not Include Other Types of Entities in Wage Surveys

In Matter of University of Michigan, 2015-PWD-00006 (Nov. 18, 2015), the Department of Labor’s Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) ruled in favor of an employer, the University of Michigan, that argued its wage survey of institutions of higher education was sufficient in determining the prevailing wage for a Senior Associate Regulatory Analyst. The… Read More

USCIS Issues Final Guidance on When To File Amended or New H-1B Petitions After Matter of Simeio Solutions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued final guidance on July 21, 2015, on when to file an amended or new H-1B petition after the precedent decision in Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC (Simeio). USCIS said that Simeio, issued on April 9, 2015, represents the USCIS position that H-1B petitioners must file an amended or… Read More

Agencies Investigate H-1B Outsourcing Firms; Layoffs Provoke Controversy

Several companies have been in the spotlight recently due to hiring H-1B workers and laying off U.S. workers in similar positions. According to reports, the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Justice (DOJ) are investigating several companies for possible labor and immigration law violations. The companies include several Indian outsourcing firms that provided H-1B workers to… Read More

DOL Labor Certification Registry Goes Live

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced implementation of the Labor Certification Registry (LCR) on the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s (OFLC) iCERT Visa Portal System website. The LCR is intended to provide the public with access to “appropriately redacted” copies of H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, H-2A, H-2B, and permanent labor certification documents issued by OFLC,… Read More