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The Many Faces of Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman LLP

Since 1985,Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman has limited its practice to immigration law, with a special emphasis on matters relating to the employment of foreign professionals. Mr. Stern and Ms. Elkind founded the firm with the goal of providing the very best immigration advice and representation to our clients. As the firm has grown, we have continued our commitment to maintaining a high level of expertise combined with an understanding that our clients are individuals whose lives are deeply affected by the work we do. Over the years, we have developed expertise and wide-ranging experience in all facets of immigration law.

We continue to be deeply affected by our clients, some of whom are introduced within this web site.

House Passes Budget Reconciliation Bill - Bills Move Toward Conference

November 22, 2005

On November 18, 2005, the House of Representatives passed a $49.9 billion budget reconciliation package by a vote of 217-215. The House and Senate will now form a conference committee to resolve differences between their respective bills, which are significant, as the House bill provides no immigration relief provisions. The conference could take place as early as the first week of December, when lawmakers return from Thanksgiving recess.

The Senate Version:

The Senate version provides temporary relief from the H-1B visa blackout and the employment-based immigrant visa backlogs, in exchange for increased fees on some petitions. Some of the immigration-related provisions included in the bill are as follows:

Impose a new $500 fee on immigrant visa (I-140) petitions for the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories.
Recapture unused employment-based visas from prior years for immediate allocation of up to 90,000/year. (Estimates indicate there are only 90,000-100,000 unused numbers to be tapped.)
Exempt spouses and minor children from counting against the annual cap on employment-based immigrant visas. (Estimates are that this would lead to an annual increase of 80,000-90,000 employment-based immigrant visas.)
Allow individuals to apply for adjustment of status before an immigrant visa is deemed currently available.
Recapture approximately 300,000 unused H-1B numbers dating back to FY 1991, effectively raising the cap from 65,000 to 95,000 for at least 10 years.
Impose a new fee on the recaptured H-1B visas so that the fees on the original 65,000 H-1B allotment remain unchanged but the additional 30,000 available annually carry an additional $500 fee.
Impose a new $750 fee on L-1 visas.

The House Version:

The House version merely imposes a $1,500 fee increase on L visas without any of the immigration relief provisions provided by the Senate bill.

We will keep you updated on any new legislative developments as they become available.

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