Labor Immigration Law

The California Service Center (CSC) has issued guidance on what kind of documentation is satisfactory to show that an H-1B beneficiary has completed his or her degree requirements.  It is important to note that an H-1B visa application must be filed only after all degree requirements are met, even if the diploma has not been awarded yet.  The H-1B filing window opens on April 1 and will likely remain open only for a few days, in effect making it impossible for most May graduates to apply for H-1B because of failure to complete all coursework and meet all requirements as of the H-1B filing date.

However, in cases where the requirements are met prior to filing but the diploma is not yet awarded, CSC has advised that it would accept the following:

• a final transcript; or
• a letter from the Registrar; or
• a letter executed by the person in charge of the records of the educational institution where the degree was or will be  awarded (with proper documentation that such person is in fact authorized to issue such letters).

USCIS has released some numbers about the student and exchange visitor visa programs.  As of December 31, 2008, there were 1,046,468 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors and their dependents.  Out of this number, there were a total of 722,272 active F or M students and 94,027 dependents.  There were 179,408 J-1 exchange visitors and 50,761 J-2 dependents.

Among the countries with the highest number of foreign students, South Korea leads the list with 110,083 students, India is second with slightly below 100,000 students and China is a close third with approximately 90,000.   The leading major continues to be Business with 145,873 international students, followed by Engineering.

The U.S. Department of State reported yesterday that it has issued a record high number of F, J and M visas for the fiscal year 2008 – 710,631 in total.  This represents a 9.1 percent increase in comparison to fiscal year 2007 and a 26 percent increase in comparison to fiscal year 2001.

Among some of the other interesting statistics related to student and exchange visitor visas – there was a 40 percent increase in student and exchange visitor visas issued to Chinese nationals over fiscal year 2007, which in itself, was 40 percent higher than fiscal year 2006.   Also, visas issued to nationals from Middle East countries increased by 26 percent in fiscal year 2008 in comparison to fiscal year 2007.

These statistics may suggest a reversal of the downward trend following the events of 9/11.  The student and exchange visitor visa numbers dropped significantly in the years following 9/11, but the trend seems to be correcting itsel and the significant increases seem to suggest that the U.S. still remains a desirable place to study and engage in cultural exchange programs.