Wednesday, January 24, 2007
SSB's ERIC BLAND QUOTED IN ARTICLE ON FASHION MODEL VISA
Eric Bland, managing partner of Siskind Susser Bland's Fashion, Arts and Sports Immigration Group, is quoted in The Hill on efforts to remove fashion models from the H-1B category and into a new O-3 category.
Of the 65,000 H1-B visas handed out last year, fewer than 800 went
to fashion models, immigration lawyer Eric Bland of the New York firm Siskind Susser Bland said.
Even so, that means there were 800 fewer skilled workers who came to the States.
“For every fashion model who gets in on an H1, you are taking away from a doctor or a teacher,” Bland said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:39 PM
Saturday, January 13, 2007
SPONSOR OF FASHION MODEL VISA BILL APPOINTED TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Andrew Weiner (D-NY), sponsor of a bill to take fashion models out of the H-1B category and move them into a new O visa category, has been appointed to the House Judiciary Committee, the body in the House that oversees immigration legislation.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:31 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES TIMES: CREATIVE DIRECTOR IS GRANTED U.S. VISA
Los Angeles Times: Creative director is granted U.S. visa
The LA Times reports on a renown creative director finally received a non-immigrant visa to come to the US after extensive security clearance delays. Ahmet Ahmet is a British citizen who is also a Cypriot national of Turkish descent. He is employed by Imaginary Forces, a Hollywood creative agency.
Ahmet was in the process of applying for permanent residency in the US and had to leave the US to visit his ill mother.
Ahmet's firm oversees the design of movie trailers for major films like "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Spider-Man."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:24 PM
DAVID BECKHAM SIGNED TO FIVE YEAR CONTRACT WITH LOS ANGELES GALAXY
The New York Times reports this morning that British soccer icon David Beckham has signed a $250,000,000 five year agreement to play for Los Angeles' Major League Soccer team. The announcement follows passage of a provision now known as the "Beckham" rule allowing any MLS team to avoid salary caps for one player on each team. The rule is expected to usher in the entry of other elite international soccer stars to play for the eleven year old soccer league.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:42 AM
Monday, January 8, 2007
USCIS MEMO GIVES GO AHEAD TO START PROCESSING NEW COMPETE ACT APPLICATIONS FOR ATHLETES
Michael Aytes, USCIS' Associate Director of Domestic Operations, has issued a field memorandum explaining the new COMPETE Act and instructing USCIS adjudicators to begin processing the new P-1 visas.
Public Law 109-463, Creating Opportunities for Minor League Professional, Entertainers, and Teams through Legal Entry Act of 2006 (COMPETE Act of 2006) expands the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification to include certain athletes who were formerly admitted as H-2B nonimmigrants.
The following types of athletes and performers who seek admission for the purpose of performing in a competition or theatrical ice skating production fall under the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification:
• An individual who performs as an athlete, individually or as part of a group, at an internationally recognized level of performance.
• A professional athlete employed by: (1) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage, or (2) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association.
• Individual coaches or athletes performing with teams or franchises located in the United States that are part of an international league or association of 15 or more amateur sports teams if: 1) the foreign league is operating at the highest level of amateur performance in the relevant foreign country, 2) participation in that foreign league renders the players ineligible, whether on temporary or permanent basis, to earn a scholarship or participate in the sport at a college or university in the United States under the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association;
and 3) where a significant number of players who play in the foreign leagues are drafted by major league or minor league affiliates of such sports leagues in the United States.
• Amateur or professional ice skaters who perform, individually or as part of a group, in theatrical ice skating productions or tours.
The COMPETE Act of 2006 excludes any alien athlete professional or amateur, or coach, from countries deemed state sponsors of international terrorism. Such countries are determined by the Secretary of State and applicable alien athletes or coaches will be subject of clearance procedures developed by the Department of State in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate U.S. agencies.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:03 PM
Sunday, January 7, 2007
CELEBRITY CHEFS FACE VISA TROUBLES
The New York Sun reports reports on immigration problems facing some of the hottest restaurants in the US. Some of the world's best chefs are having trouble getting approved by USCIS for O-1 extraordinary ability visas.
USCIS spokesperson Chris Bentley tells you everything you need to know:
"It would have to be someone like Wolfgang Puck."
Aside from there being no other chef in the world as famous as Puck and basically setting a standard that only one or two people in the world can meet, Bentley's comment sheds light on a more serious problem facing applicants in arts and athletics.
Rather than looking at the evidence and applying the actual legal standard, examiners frequently base their decisions on their personal knowledge gleaned from reading People, watching The Food Network and reading Sports Illustrated. I suspect Mr. Bentley knows nothing about the culinary world other than having purchased Wolfgang Puck frozen dinners at the local supermarket. His statement was irresponsible and, unfortunately, is typical of the thinkng at USCIS.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:25 AM
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
LABOR CERT CONFUSES ALASKAN HOCKEY FANS
One of the requirements for a labor certification is for an employer to show that it has recruited to find a qualified and immediately available worker to fill a position. Normally, we think of labor certifications for "normal" jobs like computer programmers, people in construction fields, etc. But labor certifications are often used in arts and sports, though there are often alternatives. The Alaskan Daily News in Anchorage, Alaska reports on how a labor certification for a university hockey coach made a lot of sports fans nervous.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 2:22 PM
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Of the 65,000 H1-B visas handed out last year, fewer than 800 went
to fashion models, immigration lawyer Eric Bland of the New York firm Siskind Susser Bland said.
Even so, that means there were 800 fewer skilled workers who came to the States.
“For every fashion model who gets in on an H1, you are taking away from a doctor or a teacher,” Bland said.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:39 PM
Andrew Weiner (D-NY), sponsor of a bill to take fashion models out of the H-1B category and move them into a new O visa category, has been appointed to the House Judiciary Committee, the body in the House that oversees immigration legislation.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:31 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES TIMES: CREATIVE DIRECTOR IS GRANTED U.S. VISA
Los Angeles Times: Creative director is granted U.S. visa
The LA Times reports on a renown creative director finally received a non-immigrant visa to come to the US after extensive security clearance delays. Ahmet Ahmet is a British citizen who is also a Cypriot national of Turkish descent. He is employed by Imaginary Forces, a Hollywood creative agency.
Ahmet was in the process of applying for permanent residency in the US and had to leave the US to visit his ill mother.
Ahmet's firm oversees the design of movie trailers for major films like "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Spider-Man."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:24 PM
DAVID BECKHAM SIGNED TO FIVE YEAR CONTRACT WITH LOS ANGELES GALAXY
The New York Times reports this morning that British soccer icon David Beckham has signed a $250,000,000 five year agreement to play for Los Angeles' Major League Soccer team. The announcement follows passage of a provision now known as the "Beckham" rule allowing any MLS team to avoid salary caps for one player on each team. The rule is expected to usher in the entry of other elite international soccer stars to play for the eleven year old soccer league.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:42 AM
Monday, January 8, 2007
USCIS MEMO GIVES GO AHEAD TO START PROCESSING NEW COMPETE ACT APPLICATIONS FOR ATHLETES
Michael Aytes, USCIS' Associate Director of Domestic Operations, has issued a field memorandum explaining the new COMPETE Act and instructing USCIS adjudicators to begin processing the new P-1 visas.
Public Law 109-463, Creating Opportunities for Minor League Professional, Entertainers, and Teams through Legal Entry Act of 2006 (COMPETE Act of 2006) expands the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification to include certain athletes who were formerly admitted as H-2B nonimmigrants.
The following types of athletes and performers who seek admission for the purpose of performing in a competition or theatrical ice skating production fall under the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification:
• An individual who performs as an athlete, individually or as part of a group, at an internationally recognized level of performance.
• A professional athlete employed by: (1) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage, or (2) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association.
• Individual coaches or athletes performing with teams or franchises located in the United States that are part of an international league or association of 15 or more amateur sports teams if: 1) the foreign league is operating at the highest level of amateur performance in the relevant foreign country, 2) participation in that foreign league renders the players ineligible, whether on temporary or permanent basis, to earn a scholarship or participate in the sport at a college or university in the United States under the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association;
and 3) where a significant number of players who play in the foreign leagues are drafted by major league or minor league affiliates of such sports leagues in the United States.
• Amateur or professional ice skaters who perform, individually or as part of a group, in theatrical ice skating productions or tours.
The COMPETE Act of 2006 excludes any alien athlete professional or amateur, or coach, from countries deemed state sponsors of international terrorism. Such countries are determined by the Secretary of State and applicable alien athletes or coaches will be subject of clearance procedures developed by the Department of State in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate U.S. agencies.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:03 PM
Sunday, January 7, 2007
CELEBRITY CHEFS FACE VISA TROUBLES
The New York Sun reports reports on immigration problems facing some of the hottest restaurants in the US. Some of the world's best chefs are having trouble getting approved by USCIS for O-1 extraordinary ability visas.
USCIS spokesperson Chris Bentley tells you everything you need to know:
"It would have to be someone like Wolfgang Puck."
Aside from there being no other chef in the world as famous as Puck and basically setting a standard that only one or two people in the world can meet, Bentley's comment sheds light on a more serious problem facing applicants in arts and athletics.
Rather than looking at the evidence and applying the actual legal standard, examiners frequently base their decisions on their personal knowledge gleaned from reading People, watching The Food Network and reading Sports Illustrated. I suspect Mr. Bentley knows nothing about the culinary world other than having purchased Wolfgang Puck frozen dinners at the local supermarket. His statement was irresponsible and, unfortunately, is typical of the thinkng at USCIS.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:25 AM
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
LABOR CERT CONFUSES ALASKAN HOCKEY FANS
One of the requirements for a labor certification is for an employer to show that it has recruited to find a qualified and immediately available worker to fill a position. Normally, we think of labor certifications for "normal" jobs like computer programmers, people in construction fields, etc. But labor certifications are often used in arts and sports, though there are often alternatives. The Alaskan Daily News in Anchorage, Alaska reports on how a labor certification for a university hockey coach made a lot of sports fans nervous.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 2:22 PM
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The LA Times reports on a renown creative director finally received a non-immigrant visa to come to the US after extensive security clearance delays. Ahmet Ahmet is a British citizen who is also a Cypriot national of Turkish descent. He is employed by Imaginary Forces, a Hollywood creative agency.
Ahmet was in the process of applying for permanent residency in the US and had to leave the US to visit his ill mother.
Ahmet's firm oversees the design of movie trailers for major films like "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Spider-Man."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:24 PM
The New York Times reports this morning that British soccer icon David Beckham has signed a $250,000,000 five year agreement to play for Los Angeles' Major League Soccer team. The announcement follows passage of a provision now known as the "Beckham" rule allowing any MLS team to avoid salary caps for one player on each team. The rule is expected to usher in the entry of other elite international soccer stars to play for the eleven year old soccer league.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:42 AM
Monday, January 8, 2007
USCIS MEMO GIVES GO AHEAD TO START PROCESSING NEW COMPETE ACT APPLICATIONS FOR ATHLETES
Michael Aytes, USCIS' Associate Director of Domestic Operations, has issued a field memorandum explaining the new COMPETE Act and instructing USCIS adjudicators to begin processing the new P-1 visas.
Public Law 109-463, Creating Opportunities for Minor League Professional, Entertainers, and Teams through Legal Entry Act of 2006 (COMPETE Act of 2006) expands the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification to include certain athletes who were formerly admitted as H-2B nonimmigrants.
The following types of athletes and performers who seek admission for the purpose of performing in a competition or theatrical ice skating production fall under the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification:
• An individual who performs as an athlete, individually or as part of a group, at an internationally recognized level of performance.
• A professional athlete employed by: (1) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage, or (2) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association.
• Individual coaches or athletes performing with teams or franchises located in the United States that are part of an international league or association of 15 or more amateur sports teams if: 1) the foreign league is operating at the highest level of amateur performance in the relevant foreign country, 2) participation in that foreign league renders the players ineligible, whether on temporary or permanent basis, to earn a scholarship or participate in the sport at a college or university in the United States under the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association;
and 3) where a significant number of players who play in the foreign leagues are drafted by major league or minor league affiliates of such sports leagues in the United States.
• Amateur or professional ice skaters who perform, individually or as part of a group, in theatrical ice skating productions or tours.
The COMPETE Act of 2006 excludes any alien athlete professional or amateur, or coach, from countries deemed state sponsors of international terrorism. Such countries are determined by the Secretary of State and applicable alien athletes or coaches will be subject of clearance procedures developed by the Department of State in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate U.S. agencies.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:03 PM
Sunday, January 7, 2007
CELEBRITY CHEFS FACE VISA TROUBLES
The New York Sun reports reports on immigration problems facing some of the hottest restaurants in the US. Some of the world's best chefs are having trouble getting approved by USCIS for O-1 extraordinary ability visas.
USCIS spokesperson Chris Bentley tells you everything you need to know:
"It would have to be someone like Wolfgang Puck."
Aside from there being no other chef in the world as famous as Puck and basically setting a standard that only one or two people in the world can meet, Bentley's comment sheds light on a more serious problem facing applicants in arts and athletics.
Rather than looking at the evidence and applying the actual legal standard, examiners frequently base their decisions on their personal knowledge gleaned from reading People, watching The Food Network and reading Sports Illustrated. I suspect Mr. Bentley knows nothing about the culinary world other than having purchased Wolfgang Puck frozen dinners at the local supermarket. His statement was irresponsible and, unfortunately, is typical of the thinkng at USCIS.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:25 AM
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
LABOR CERT CONFUSES ALASKAN HOCKEY FANS
One of the requirements for a labor certification is for an employer to show that it has recruited to find a qualified and immediately available worker to fill a position. Normally, we think of labor certifications for "normal" jobs like computer programmers, people in construction fields, etc. But labor certifications are often used in arts and sports, though there are often alternatives. The Alaskan Daily News in Anchorage, Alaska reports on how a labor certification for a university hockey coach made a lot of sports fans nervous.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 2:22 PM
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Public Law 109-463, Creating Opportunities for Minor League Professional, Entertainers, and Teams through Legal Entry Act of 2006 (COMPETE Act of 2006) expands the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification to include certain athletes who were formerly admitted as H-2B nonimmigrants.
The following types of athletes and performers who seek admission for the purpose of performing in a competition or theatrical ice skating production fall under the P-1 nonimmigrant visa classification:
• An individual who performs as an athlete, individually or as part of a group, at an internationally recognized level of performance.
• A professional athlete employed by: (1) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage, or (2) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association.
• Individual coaches or athletes performing with teams or franchises located in the United States that are part of an international league or association of 15 or more amateur sports teams if: 1) the foreign league is operating at the highest level of amateur performance in the relevant foreign country, 2) participation in that foreign league renders the players ineligible, whether on temporary or permanent basis, to earn a scholarship or participate in the sport at a college or university in the United States under the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association;
and 3) where a significant number of players who play in the foreign leagues are drafted by major league or minor league affiliates of such sports leagues in the United States.
• Amateur or professional ice skaters who perform, individually or as part of a group, in theatrical ice skating productions or tours.
The COMPETE Act of 2006 excludes any alien athlete professional or amateur, or coach, from countries deemed state sponsors of international terrorism. Such countries are determined by the Secretary of State and applicable alien athletes or coaches will be subject of clearance procedures developed by the Department of State in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate U.S. agencies.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:03 PM
The New York Sun reports reports on immigration problems facing some of the hottest restaurants in the US. Some of the world's best chefs are having trouble getting approved by USCIS for O-1 extraordinary ability visas.
USCIS spokesperson Chris Bentley tells you everything you need to know:
Rather than looking at the evidence and applying the actual legal standard, examiners frequently base their decisions on their personal knowledge gleaned from reading People, watching The Food Network and reading Sports Illustrated. I suspect Mr. Bentley knows nothing about the culinary world other than having purchased Wolfgang Puck frozen dinners at the local supermarket. His statement was irresponsible and, unfortunately, is typical of the thinkng at USCIS.
USCIS spokesperson Chris Bentley tells you everything you need to know:
"It would have to be someone like Wolfgang Puck."Aside from there being no other chef in the world as famous as Puck and basically setting a standard that only one or two people in the world can meet, Bentley's comment sheds light on a more serious problem facing applicants in arts and athletics.
Rather than looking at the evidence and applying the actual legal standard, examiners frequently base their decisions on their personal knowledge gleaned from reading People, watching The Food Network and reading Sports Illustrated. I suspect Mr. Bentley knows nothing about the culinary world other than having purchased Wolfgang Puck frozen dinners at the local supermarket. His statement was irresponsible and, unfortunately, is typical of the thinkng at USCIS.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:25 AM
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
LABOR CERT CONFUSES ALASKAN HOCKEY FANS
One of the requirements for a labor certification is for an employer to show that it has recruited to find a qualified and immediately available worker to fill a position. Normally, we think of labor certifications for "normal" jobs like computer programmers, people in construction fields, etc. But labor certifications are often used in arts and sports, though there are often alternatives. The Alaskan Daily News in Anchorage, Alaska reports on how a labor certification for a university hockey coach made a lot of sports fans nervous.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 2:22 PM
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# posted by Greg Siskind @ 2:22 PM
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