Below, we reprint a notice  posted on the website of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) tracking the number of H-1B petitions filed as of almost 30 days following  the opening of the FY 2010 H-1B quota. As of April, 2009, 45,000 petitions have been filed toward the visa quota of 65,000, reflecting dramatically the economic slowdown we have been experiencing. By contrast, within only 5 days of the quota opening up on April 1, 2008 for Fiscal 2009 (just last year), almost 160,000 total H-1B petitions  for special-occupational workers had been filed.   

Cite as “AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 09042065 (posted Apr. 27, 2009)”

On April 23, 2009, Assistant U.S. Senate Majority leader, Dick Durban, and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley introduced the H-1B and L-Visa Reform Act which provides among other thing that employers make a “good faith” effort to recruit American workers before hiring  H-1B employees. The bill would also enhance the Department of Labor’s authority to initiate H-1B audits, which are now only initiated pursuant to the filing of a complaint with the Department of Labor. The bill would also seek to reform the L-visa standards by enhancing Department of Labor authority to investigate and penalize L-1 abuses. It is impossible to assess the legislation at this point before the proposed bill-language is published, but we encourage readers to stay tuned.