New Prevailing Wage Enforcement

New Prevailing Wage Enforcement Guidelines Now In Effect

As of October 15, 2008, the Ohio Department of Commerce began applying new guidelines to public/private construction projects with regard to requirements to pay prevailing wage rates. Ohio’s prevailing wage law (Ohio Revised Code §4115.03,
et seq.) requires payment of the local “prevailing wage” to workers working on publically funded projects. Developers and construction professionals should determine at the outset of ANY project whether prevailing wage rates apply. Read More...

New Visa Waiver Countries

New Visa Waiver Countries President Bush http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081017-5.html discussed the expansion of the visa waiver program to seven new countries "I'm pleased to stand with the representatives of seven countries -- the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea -- that have met the requirements to be admitted to the United States Visa Waiver Program. Soon the citizens of these nations will be able to travel to the United States for business or tourism without a visa."

USCIS Increases Period of Stay

USCIS Increases Period of Stay for TNs
 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased the maximum period of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico may remain in the United States from one year to three years.  This final rule changes the initial admission, and subsequent extensions, equal to the initial period of admission given to H-1B professional workers.  The TN nonimmigrant classification is a visa category available to eligible Mexicans and Canadians with at least a bachelor’s degree or appropriate professional credentials who work in certain qualified fields pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  Qualified professions identified within NAFTA include, but are not limited to accountants, engineers, attorneys, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers. This final rule will ease administrative burdens and costs on TN workers as well as benefit US employers by increasing the amount of time TN nonimmigrants will be able to work for them before having to seek an extension of status.  Spouses and unmarried minor children of TN nonimmigrants in their corresponding nonimmigrant classifications will also benefit from the new regulation.

CLE at Hotel RIU Cancun, Mexico

CLE at Hotel RIU Cancun, Mexico
November 7-8, 2008
Approved for 5.5 credit hours with the Ohio State Bar Association


November 7, 2008

8:00 – 8:20 Registration

8:20 - 8:30 Opening Remarks
Troy Morris, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

8:30 – 9:30 Medical Specials – The Effect of Robinson v. Bates
Elizabeth Gentile, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

9:30 - 10:30 Apportionment of Liability
Andrew Wachtman, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

10:30 - 10:45 Break

10:45 – 11:45 Fair Housing Act and the Multi-Unit Residential Owner
Lisa Hyre Timms, Steiner + Associates, Columbus, Ohio

11:45 – 12:00 Closing Remarks/Open Discussion
Elizabeth Gentile, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio


November 8, 2008


8:00 - 8:20 Registration

8:20 - 8:30 Opening Remarks
Angela Alexander Savino, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

8:30 – 9:30 Substance Abuse – The Chemical Dependency Effect
Angela Alexander Savino, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

9:30 – 10:30 Subrogation and Loss Recovery Basics
Troy Morris, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

10:30 - 10:45 Break

10:45 – 11:45 Immigration
Laura Jurcevich, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio

11:45- 12:00 Closing Remarks
Troy Morris, Perez & Morris LLC, Columbus, Ohio


Reserve your space today. Time is running out! Contact@perez-morris.com



Hotel Riu Cancun
Boulevard Kukulcan, Km 8.5, Manzana 50, Lote 5 Zona Hotelera, Cancún 77500 Quintana Roo, Mexico Tel: (52) -998- 848-7151 Email: hotel.cancun@riu.com www.riu.com Reservations: USA: 1-888-666-8816


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Employer Liable

DOL ALJ Finds Employer Liable for Beneficiary's Payment of Premium Processing and Filing Fees
http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=26044
In an apparent misunderstanding of the various fees related to H-1Bs, a DOL ALJ finds an employer liable for the beneficiary paying the premium processing and filing fee. Numerous other LCA issues, including benching, termination and retaliation, also are addressed. Morales Toia v. Gardner Family Care Corp., 2007-LCA-00006 (4/25/08). AILA Doc. No. 08072468. Read More...

USCIS changes interview process

USCIS changes the naturalization interview process.  While the requirements of eligibility for naturalization remain the same the process of pre-examination check-in and naturalization testing change.   

Neufeld Memo on Changes to the Naturalization Interview Process
click to view memo

A 4/25/08 Memo from Donald Neufeld, Acting Associate Director, Domestic Operations, to USCIS field offices on changes to the naturalization interview process. AILA Doc. No. 08071163. Read More...

NEW SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA

USCIS ANNOUNCES NEW SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA FOR CERTAIN IRAQI NATIONALS WHO WORKED FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
"USCIS today announced guidelines for a new special immigrant visa for certain Iraqi nationals who worked for, or were contractors of the United States government in Iraq for at least one year after March 20, 2003. Section 1244 of the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 authorizes 5,000 special immigrant visas for Iraqi employees and contractors each year for fiscal years (FY) 2008 through 2012, as well as their spouses and children." USCIS Update, July 9, 2008. Read More...

New Immigration Benefits

New Immigration Benefits

Under a new immigration law, certain family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can immediately obtain immigration benefits under new “K” and “V” visa categories implemented by the INS.

The newly created V non-immigrant status allows certain spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents (“LPR”) to reside and work in the United States while waiting to obtain immigrant (“Green Card”) status.  The most important benefit of V status is that qualifying spouses and children of LPR’s who are illegally in the U.S. at this time can immediately apply for V status and obtain employment authorization.  A person granted V non-immigrant status must still wait until his/her immigrant visa number (priority date) becomes available before applying for a Green Card.

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