Global HR News Business Immigration Trends and Reform

1. April 2013 Global HR NewsBusiness Immigration Trends and Reform

2. With You Today Ethan Kaufman, Esq. ekaufman@fragomen.com +1 212 891-7510 Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP 7 Hanover Square New York, NY 10004-2756 Phone: (212) 688-8555 Fax: (212) 446-0373 E-Fax: (212)208-4443

3. Agenda

4. Agenda • Business Immigration Trends • H-1B Cap • Visa Quota • Business Immigration Reform

5. Business Immigration Trends

6. H-1B Cap FY 2014 • 65,000 Annual Ceiling • Fiscal year (October 1st – September 30th) • 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

7. 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?

8. Quota Retrogression As Of April 2013 7 7

9. Business Immigration Reform

10. 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, 2013 9

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

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

13. “Gang of Eight” Negotiations on CIR • Bi-Partisan Team of Senators • “Our Gang”: • 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.) • 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

14. “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

15. “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

16. Durbin-Grassley H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act • 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Thank You