Dear Editor:
Ali Alexander's Feb. 14th letter to the Editor misstates the law on the H-2B options available to employers to hire non-agricultural non-professional workers. H-2B is by regulation available only for a small group of seasonal and temporary workers. This is known to the immigration lawyers in the ILW.COM readership, but is not known to the nonspecialist readers -- and is unbelievable because it is so idiotic The only option available to the employer who wants to hire a non-professional skilled or unskilled worker is permanent labor certification. This is a process that takes two or more years and does not confer any reight to work or to be present in the US while the application is pending at the Department of Labor. Because of the "gotcha" rules in the 1996 act, an employee who is not eligible to adjust status under 245(i) cannot get permanent residence based on such a labor certification, even if the employer holds the job offer open for the necessary years. A person who was illegally inside the country cannot travel to a consulate abroad to get the immigrant visa, because overstays of more than 6 months are barred from reentering for 3 years and overstays of more than 1 year are barred for 10 years. Immigration restrictionists castigate "illegal immigrants" and their employers as not wanting to follow the law. These restrictionists have intentionally written the laws so that there is no legal option for many. Having written such inhumane laws, they then deceive the public by stating that the law-breaking desires of the immigrants are to blame. It appears that Mr. Alexander was unaware of the availability of a legal option for non-professional workers in the H-2B category.

Eleanor Kaplan Adams, Esq.
San Diego, CA

                        

Share this page   |   Bookmark this page

The leading immigration law publisher - over 50000 pages of free information!
© Copyright 1995- American Immigration LLC, ILW.COM