Special Registration: 5 Countries Added to Round 4; Extension for Rounds 1 & 2

Nationals of Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Jordan must register with the INS between

February 24, 2003 and March 28, 2003 if they are:

o       Male, age 16 or older

o       Not citizens or permanent residents of the US nor holders of A or G visas and have not entered unlawfully or through parole

o       Did not have an application for asylum filed on or before January 16, 2003

o       Last entered the US on or before September 30, 2002 and will remain after March 28, 2003

The INS also extended registration for nationals of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen who failed to register previously. These nationals may now register January 27, 2003 through February 7, 2003.

We accompanied many of our clients to Special Registration and found that the later in the period that one registers the longer one can expect to remain in line. On one of the final registration days the Boston INS office was open until 11PM for Special Registration.

H-1B Visa Numbers Revert to 65,000 Per Year Beginning October 1, 2003

Effective October 1, 2003, H-1B visas will be limited to 65,000 per year.  While the resulting delays will not be felt for another ten to twelve months or so, we advise our clients to adjust their recruitment efforts in the coming months so that they can file H-1B petitions at least six months before the impact is felt. The good news here is that if the law is not changed, there will be no need to file the $1,000 “Training Fee” beginning October 1, 2003.  Meanwhile, we invite our clients and friends who are members of organizations affected by the availability of H-1B workers to let us know whom to contact within their organizations to make them aware of developments in the effort to improve the law.  We also recommend contacting your US Senators to call attention to this issue. As President of the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association two years ago, I led a successful effort to increase the H-1B numbers, and will be happy to use contacts developed then to work for improvements in the future.