Immigrants Made American Fashion

Immigrants and American Fashion

Some of the most popular American fashion icons – Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren – were children of immigrants from Eastern Europe whose parents worked in New York City’s garment industry. Calvin Klein, DKNY, and Ralph Lauren are among the most recognizable global clothing brands. Levi Strauss, founder of Levi’s and blue jeans, was an immigrant from Germany. Levi’s, of course, popularized the iconic blue jeans, which are synonymous with American.

The fashion baton has been passed onto Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants. This Fusion article showcases the creativity and innovations of Asian Americans and Latino Americans who are becoming the icons of fashion.

EB-1 Case for Career Transition

Matter of K-S-Y: From Player to Coach

The AAO decided the Matter of K-S-Y in March of this year, finding in favor of the beneficiary judo coach. The judo coach was able to petition as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1), based upon his expertise as a judo athlete. Alien of Extraordinary Ability is a pathway to Permanent Residence and does not tie the individual to a specific employer. The court decided that “area of expertise” may include the field in its entirety and not just one specific occupation within the general field.

The case specifically concerned a judo athlete making the transition from athlete to coach. Many coaches in sports begin as players and later make the transition when they retire as an athlete to a coaching position. The court recognized that athlete to coach is not the only career transition that may occur within an area of expertise, pointing to athlete to broadcaster and musician to instructor as other possibilities.

The EB-1 category is created for a petitioner to apply as an individual of “extraordinary ability.” This is a high standard to meet. The petitioner could not merely rely being an excellent judo athlete in his performance days. He had also taken many steps to establish himself as a coach. There are currently calls for USCIS to adopt this case as a precedential decision.

H-1B Visas Without Cap

Universities Get Creative: H-1B Visas After the Lottery

H1b 2016

H-1B visas are normally subject to a lottery. Specialized jobs that require a Bachelor’s degree generally qualify for the H-1B visa. However, with a demand thrice the amount of the supply of 85,000, nearly 2/3rds of H-1B visa applicants are left on the sidelines without a visa and a lost job opportunity. For many individuals, the H-1B visa is the best and sometimes, only option. There are more than 85,000 visas available in the category. The reason for that is cap-exempt H-1B visas.

Certain institutions are exempt from the lottery, meaning that they can apply for the H-1B visa at any time of the year for a beneficiary. Instead of filing on April 1 for an October 1 start date and subjecting themselves to the randomness of a lottery, they are able to procure H-1B visas if their applications meet the standards for an H-1B visa.

Babson is among 6 US universities that is endeavoring to keep their talent in the United States by petitioning for beneficiaries as entrepreneurs through university-created residence programs. Programs of the sort are popular at universities throughout the United States. Using the program to connect the cap-exempt H-1B visa for foreign graduates is innovative. It is being called a “legal loophole,” but the paucity of visas totally incommensurate with supply has created an atmosphere where employers and universities will invent creative ways to obtain H-1B visas for their desired individuals.

EB-1 Cut Off Date

EB-1 Cut Off Expected for India and China

The Employment-Based 1 Category is usually one of the categories that you can rely on being current, meaning that someone with an approved I-140 in EB-1 can file for adjustment of status or for permanent residence through the consulate abroad. However, that is going to change for the remainder of the Fiscal Year for China and India. Charlie Oppenheimer, the guru of Department of State’s visa availability, forecasts that EB-1 for China and India is going to retrogress back to January 1, 2010 when the visa bulletin is released for August 2016. The EB-1 dates for China and India will reset on October 1, 2016, the first day of Fiscal Year 2017. The reason for retrogression is that there are strict visa quotas for each category and preference that cannot be exceeded each year.

VIBE – Business Immigration

VIBE!

Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises.

USCIS uses VIBE to verify its information for employer-based petitions. Businesses are required to provide some information about their operations in immigration petitions, such as number of employees, net income, and location. VIBE verifies that information for USCIS and the adjudicator looking at the petition. An adjudicator cannot deny a petition for a discrepancy that VIBE detects. Instead, he or she is supposed to send a Request for Evidence so that information can be verified. USCIS stresses that only public information is available for VIBE.

A company does not have to update its information in a database. However, it may verify and correct information by contacting Dun and Bradstreet, which is the independent information provider for VIBE.