Geygan & Geygan, Ltd.

A Cincinnati Immigration Law Firm

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Directions
      • Geygan & Geygan, Ltd.
      • Cleveland Immigration Court
      • USCIS Cincinnati Field Office
    • Why I do what I do
  • Immigration
    • Family Immigration Home
      • K-1 Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)
      • Marriage Green Card
      • Removal of Conditions on Status (I-751)
    • Investment Immigration
      • E-2 Treaty Investor Visa
      • EB-5 Visas
    • Employment Immigration
      • Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1
      • Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2
      • Employment Immigration H-1B
    • Naturalization 2021
    • Preventing Deportation
      • Immigration Court Video
      • Immigration Law Violations
      • Cancellation of Removal
      • I-212 Waivers
      • I-601 Waiver of Inadmissibility
    • Work Card or Employment Authorization Document
    • Nonimmigrant Options
      • H-1B Visas For Specialty Occupations, Like Yours
      • The B Visas: Business or Pleasure?
      • Types of Visas for Temporary Visitors
      • E-1/E-2 Eligibility Requirements
        • The E-1 Treaty Trader Visa
          • E-1 Treaty Traders Details
        • E-2 Treaty Investor Visa
    • I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
    • I-601 Waiver of Inadmissibility
    • Criminal Law and Immigration
    • Temporary Protected Status
    • USCIS Processing Times Calculator 2021
  • Legal Information
  • Archive & Site Map
  • Log In / Out

F-1 Students Rules for Summer Employment and Training

May 30, 2018 by Thomas Geygan

If you are an F-1 international student who wants to train, intern or work this summer, your first step is to talk to your designated school official (DSO).

It is illegal to work in the United States without authorization, so it is important that you speak with your DSO to make sure you follow the rules and maintain your student status.

The summer training and work opportunities available to you depend on what type of authorization you have or apply for, and whether you are eligible to take annual vacation.

Practical Training Opportunities

F-1 students at Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified colleges, universities, seminaries or conservatories can participate in summer practical training.

Curricular practical training (CPT) is a full-time or part-time training opportunity available during the school year or annual summer vacation. CPT can be authorized by your DSO but must be part of your academic programand be integral to your major field of study.

Pre-completion optional practical training (OPT) is another training option for F-1 students that can be full time during summer vacation. Pre-completion OPT must relate to your major, and you must file a Form I-765, “Application for Employment Authorization,” with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to receive authorization before beginning your training opportunity.

Summer internships require authorization if you are working and training in a position where the organization would usually hire and pay someone. If an internship is unpaid, it can still be authorized as a practical training experience. If you are unsure what authorization you need for an unpaid internship, your DSO can help.

Work Opportunities

F-1 students are eligible to receive authorization to work full time or part time on campus during summer vacation.

F-1 students who are offered work opportunities with certain international organizations may be eligible to apply for a work authorization based on an internship with an international organization.

F-1 students experiencing economic hardship may also apply for authorization to work full time during summer vacation at an off-campus job. Speak with your DSO before beginning work to ensure you are eligible to work in the United States.

Do you have specific questions about training, internships or work during the summer? Talk to your DSO or call my office (513-791-1673) if you have a case-specific question.

[contentblock id=5 img=gcb.png]

Filed Under: Alpha, Employment, Soap Box

USCIS Puts Additional Burdens On Nonimmigrant Worker Extension Petitions

October 24, 2017 by Thomas Geygan

Under updated policy guidance, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is instructing its officers to apply the same level of scrutiny to both initial petitions and extension requests for certain nonimmigrant visa categories. The guidance applies to nearly all nonimmigrant classifications filed using Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.
“USCIS officers are at the front lines of the administration’s efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration system,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “This updated guidance provides clear direction to help advance policies that protect the interests of U.S. workers.”

As before, adjudicators must thoroughly review the petition and supporting evidence to determine eligibility for the benefit sought. The updated guidance instructs officers to apply the same level of scrutiny when reviewing nonimmigrant visa extension requests even where the petitioner, beneficiary and underlying facts are unchanged from a previously approved petition. While adjudicators may ultimately reach the same conclusion as in a prior decision, they are not compelled to do so as a default starting point as the burden of proof to establish eligibility for an immigration benefit always lies with the petitioner.

The previous policy instructed officers to give deference to the findings of a previously approved petition, as long as the key elements were unchanged and there was no evidence of a material error or fraud related to the prior determination. The updated policy guidance rescinds the previous policy.

Under the law, the burden of proof in establishing eligibility for the visa petition extension is on the petitioner, regardless of whether USCIS previously approved a petition. The adjudicator’s determination is based on the merits of each case, and officers may request additional evidence if the petitioner has not submitted sufficient evidence to establish eligibility.

This new policy will not do anything to protect the interest of the U.S. worker, it will only further slow down the adjudication process and burden U.S. employers with requests for information already provided for.  This requirement shows a lack of respect for the adjudication process, by not respecting the work of the previous adjudicator.

If you have a new or renewal non-immigrant case that you would like our help with, please call our office at 513-791-1673.

[contentblock id=5 img=gcb.png]

Filed Under: Employment Visas

USCIS Defines affiliate and subsidiary for the purpose of filing fees

August 28, 2017 by Thomas Geygan

USCIS issued a policy memo with definitions of “affiliate” and “subsidiary” to be used for determining the appropriate ACWIA fee. Memo states that H-1B employees of the parent company should not be counted toward the total number of full-time equivalent employees when determining the ACWIA fee.

Filed Under: Employment, Employment Visas, Green Card

USCIS maybe planning on interviewing even more people

August 28, 2017 by Thomas Geygan

On August 25, 2017, Politico reported that USCIS is planning a change in policy to require interviews for all employment-based adjustment of status applicants and will be expanding the interview requirement to other categories. On August 28, 2017, the same reporter tweeted what appears to be the first page of a USCIS press release confirming that, effective October 1, interviews will be phased in for all employment-based adjustment applicants and for all I-730 refugee/asylee petitions. The press release also states that this is part of an “incremental expansion of interviews for benefits that lead to permanent residence,” thus signaling that the interview requirement could be expanded to other categories. An August 25 NBC News article provides some additional context as to what the future might hold.

[contentblock id=5 img=gcb.png]

Filed Under: Asylum, Employment, Green Card

New I-9 Form Be Aware Avoid Fines

August 25, 2017 by Thomas Geygan

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced that another revised version of the Form I-9 is now available and ready for use. As many of you are aware, employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for every employee hired on or after 1986 continuing in their employment and have a reasonable expectation of employment. The Form I-9 is used for employment eligibility verification by confirming the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. Employers must complete and sign Section 2 of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification within 3 business days of hire of their employee (the hire date means the first day of work for pay).

Employers may continue to use the version of the Form I-9 with a revision date of November 14, 2016 for new hires until September 17, 2017. On September 18, 2017, any previous versions of the form will no longer be valid for newly hired employees and employers will be expected to be fully transitioned to the new form, which will not have an expiration date until August 31, 2019. You do not have to update or redo employee Form I-9s on file if the information is otherwise accurate. Employers only must ensure the new Form I-9 is used for all new employees moving forward after September 17, 2017.

Changes with the new Form I-9 are focused on the instructions and revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents. Key changes to the new form include:

  • The name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices has been changed to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
  • “The end of” has been removed from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
  • The Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) has been added to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer can select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Sections 2 and 3. E-Verify users can also select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented this document for the Form I-9.
  • All certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) have been combined into selection C #2 in List C.
  • All List C documents have been renumbered except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C changed from List C #8 to List C #7.

In support of this enforcement activity, ICE released the “ICE Guide to Administrative Form I-9 Inspections and Civil Monetary Penalties.” That agency field manual provides insight into the administrative procedures and penalty scheme for administrative inspections for the agency’s special agents and forensic auditors. This “fine guideline” only briefly discusses the remedial impact of “auditing” a company’s Forms I-9 PRIOR to ICE serving a Notice of Inspection on the company.

There have been countless seminars over the last several years talking about the need for Human Resource (HR) professionals to “audit” their own Forms I-9, and even describing how this auditing should be done. Here is the bad news–companies that audit their own Forms I-9 are not significantly reducing the potential fines and in many situations may actually make matters worse, because much of this audit work perpetuates previous errors made by the same person who is now auditing the forms.

In a recent AILA Seminar on work site enforcement issues, an ICE representative made it quite clear that self-audits typically result in more difficult situations for the employer than if an audit is done by a qualified, experienced, independent auditor, such as an attorney. Examples of massive mistakes made by self-auditing after attending a self-taught “training session” include: redoing all the Forms I-9 and throwing away the originals, separating copies of documents from Forms I-9 and throwing them away, making changes to Forms I-9 without initialing and dating the Forms, and inserting backdated information in Forms I-9 making them appear to be completed timely. Each one of these “mistakes” in auditing has led to massive fines by ICE and even findings of unlawful employment of aliens.

[contentblock id=5 img=gcb.png]

Filed Under: Employment

Next Page »

Client Resources

May 15, 2017

 

More Posts from this Category

Featured Posts

Biden administration considers migrant restrictions similar to Trump policies.

Asylum rates drop as immigration cases are fast-tracked.

Contact Us

Geygan & Geygan, Ltd.

8050 Hosbrook Road, Suite 107
Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
Tel 513-791-1673
Fax 513-791-1683
info@geygan.com

Disclaimer and Privacy Policy

Lawyer Thomas Geygan | Featured Attorney Immigration

Copyright © 2023 · Enterprise Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in