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President
Signs into Law the DOJ Bill : H1B Extensions Now Easier!
Posted
Nov 04, 2002
We are delighted to announce that President George W. Bush finally signed
the "21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act"
(H.R. 2215), on Saturday, November 2, 2002. This new law contains some
immigration law provisions more favorable than previously existed for H1B
extensions, J-1 physician waivers, and EB-5 entrepreneurs. A public law
number has not yet been assigned.
The H1B extension provisions for lengthy adjudications should be extremely
helpful to many of our MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom
readers. This provision allows for extensions of H1B status beyond the
standard six-year limitation if the person is the beneficiary of a labor
certification, which has been filed and pending for one year or longer. If
this condition is satisfied, it is possible to extend the H1B status in
one-year increments for as long as it is necessary. There is no longer the
requirement that the person should have an I-140 or I-485 pending as imposed
under the AC21 law.
The extension of the Conrad State 20 program, which allows waivers of the
J-1 two-year home residency requirement for physicians willing to work in
underserved areas has also been broadened. In addition to the extension of
the program until 2004, the number of waivers available per participating
state increased from 20 to 30 per year. Beneficial provisions have also been
added to help certain EB-5 entrepreneurs.
For more information on the immigration aspects of this new law, including
provisions regarding H1B extensions, J-1 physician waivers and immigrant
investors, readers can refer to our earlier articles available on
MurthyDotCom.
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See also :
©
The
Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C.
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