IN FRATERNAM MEAM: QUALIFYING FOR AN H-3 TRAINING VISA

IN FRATERNAM MEAM

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

QUALIFYING FOR AN H-3 TRAINING VISA

Due to a high demand by U.S. employers, H-3 visas for fiscal year (FT) 2008 ran out in unprecedented time. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received over 123,000 petitions on the first two days (April 2 & 3, 2007) for the limited number of 65,000 FY 2008 H-1B visas. USCIS conducted a lottery to determine which of these petitions it would adjudicate, and returned applications received on or after April 4, 2007. Due to the foreclosure of obtaining a new H-1b visa for FY 2008, many people are inquiring about alternatives, like the H-3 training visa.

An H-3 trainees is an alien who has been invited by an individual or organization to come to the United States temporarily for a training program other than to graduate medical education or training H-3 visas are valid for up to two years. Unlike H-1Bs, H-3 applicants must prove that they intend to return to their home country and will pursue a career outside the United States that will benefit from the proposed training.

Most importantly, the employer is required to prove to the USCIS satisfaction that an actual training program exists that is purposeful and not just just incident to productive employment. The training program cannot be used for the purpose of recruiting and training aliens to displace U.S. workers. A company's well-established training program with a set itinerary and detailed illustration about its objectives, measures of evaluation, training staff and facility has a better chance of approval from a newly created program containing only cursory details.

Other than receiving classroom instruction, the trainee is not allowed to engage in productive employment that might displace U.S. workers, unless it is incident and necessary to the training. A practice teaching internship as an assistant teacher in a Montessori Teaching Training Program would be acceptable as it is an indispensable part of training to observe classes and obtaining hands-on understanding of Montessori teaching methods. On the other hand, training programs consisting of a high percentage of on-the-job training with very little academic training are unlikely to be approved.

In addition, the beneficiary cannot posses substantial training and expertise in the proposed field. The immigration stature involved contemplates the training of an individual so that he acquires additional skills in the occupation, not repetitious experience through day-to-day application of his skills.

Clear evidence of the unavailability of the proposed training in the alien's home country must also be submitted as the petitioner's mere assertion that training cannot be obtained outside the United States is not sufficient. For instance, a training program in the United states for Filipino caregivers would likely fail this requirement because caregiver trainings are readily available in the Philippines. It is commonly known that caregivers are in such high demand in this country that the beneficiary also faces an uphill fight to prove that the training will benefit his career as a caregiver in the Philippines and that he will return to his home country.

In light of the exhaustion of H-1B visas, the USCIS is likely to increase the level of scrutiny of H-3 petitions to prevent abuse of the program. Employers and alien workers seeking H-3 visas should consult a knowledgeable;le and experienced immigration law firm.

(Source: FILIPINAS MAG by: Attorneys Robert l. Reeves and May Zhang)

posted by infraternam meam @ 7:49 PM

1 Comments:

At 12:04 AM, fularani said…

Informative post!!
Hey guys, are you planning to make US visa application?
The U.S. H3 visa is a temporary visa designed to allow people to enter the U.S. for training for up to two years. Interested one can contact XIPHIAS Immigration (India) for exclusive guidance & assistance on entire visa process.