Seeing Differences and Beyond; H-2B Cap Reached
Posted by admin on January 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Dear Friends,
The subway in Japan can be an exotic place, especially when you are a six year old who has spied an American: “Mommy, mommy foreigner! Foreigner!” Being seen as different was one of my least favorite things about living in Japan. Similarly, a Japanese friend told me about the sideways looks she got in Boston where she lived. Being seen as different makes you feel uncomfortable – at the very least. This coming Monday the United States celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, a person who dedicated his life fighting for the rights of those who looked different from the majority of other Americans. Therefore, it is especially fitting that, the following day, the United States celebrates as we inaugurate our first African-American President. Though people around the world will continue to stare at those who appear different, it is wonderful that the United States has proven that we can also see beyond those differences.
H-2B Cap Reached
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on January 8 that it has enough petitions to fill the H-2B cap for the second half of Fiscal Year 2009. You cannot get any more H-2B workers with start dates prior to October 1, 2009. We can still help out with J Trainees or J Interns for this period.
We have positions available in the New York area for the Spring and Summer of this year.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with citizenship, h-2b, immigration, j1, japan, united states, usa
Holiday Shopping and Updated I-9 Form
Posted by admin on December 12, 2008 · Leave a Comment
December 12, 2008
Volume 6, Number 39
Dear Friends,
Shopping is one of the Holiday Season’s requisite activities here in the US. And a young lady I know (my 11 year-old daughter) has a clear opinion on this important pass-time. “If I had a free day I would shop ’til I drop! I would go to San Francisco’s Westfield Mall. They have all the best shops in the world and they have food on the bottom level when you get hungry. When I’m done eating, I can continue shopping. What a perfect day that would be!” Unless you are Daddy and have to pay for it.
Updated I-9 Form
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Employment Eligibility Verification Form, the I-9, will be updated. The new form will require all documents used for verifying work eligibility to be current. The new forms will not go into use until after being published in the Federal Register for 45 days.
We are starting to get more new open positions from Country Clubs in the New York area that will begin in the spring of next year.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with christmas, holidays, i-9, immigration, j1, new york, united states citizenship
Thanksgiving International; H2B Visa Cap Numbers
Posted by admin on November 26, 2008 · Leave a Comment
November 26, 2008
Volume 6, Number 37
Dear Friends,
As people from around the world come to the United States to live and work, they often adopt many of our – formerly foreign – customs. Like tomorrow’s celebration of Thanksgiving. While, back in Algeria or Albania for example, one would never consider eating a turkey with cranberry sauce, once in the United States, people from everywhere can be found at a Safeway grocery store purchasing “Stove Top Stuffing,” gravy and pumpkin pies – items that can’t even be found back “at home.” I believe it is safe to say that most of these newcomers learn to enjoy our traditional meal on Thanksgiving day – even if they can’t quite understand the other Thanksgiving tradition that us Americans can’t live without: 6 hours of football on television.
H2B Visa Cap Updates
This week the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service updated their cap numbers for the H visa, and as of, November 21, there were already 4,663 H-2B applicants approved with another 5,602 pending of the 33,000 available for the second half of the 2009 fiscal year which does not begin until April 1 of 2009. (The J Visa which we use, does not have a formal numerical cap nor does it require the job to be seasonal – it is always available.)
We are now accepting applications for a variety of hospitality-related jobs located in the New York area and the Mid-West for the spring of 2009.
Hope you enjoy your turkey this week, with or without the football,
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with citizenship, h2b, immigration, thanksgiving, usa, visa
The Election’s Afterglow; Obama on Immigration
Posted by admin on November 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment
November 14, 2008
Volume 6, Number 35
Dear Friends,
The afterglow of the Obama Presidential victory seems to continue filtering down from around the world. Here in the US though, it is not as one of my South American friends thought – Obama is not viewed in the US as the new Martin Luther King. On the contrary, Obama won because he appealed to all Americans of all racial backgrounds. Listening to my friends from Jamaica and Japan and Poland and Brazil and India, it seems he appeals internationally as well. From each of those countries I heard the same comment: “Congratulations on Obama.”
Obama on Immigration
How will the Obama victory affect international visas for foreigners interested in coming to the US for work experience? While it is hard to say exactly, one thing for sure is that the economy of the US is not great right now. Because of this it would be difficult for anyone in the government to justify additional visas for foreigners wanting to work in the US. But Obama does encourage international exchange so the J program should continue to thrive.
Another of our host companies from the New Jersey area is looking for applicants with Food and Beverage as well as Culinary experience for the coming Spring and Summer season.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with election, immigration, j1, obama, usa, visa