Personal Message from Michael Hammond

We have just been advised that the USCIS is holding a meeting this Thursday, February 18th, in Washington DC to allow questions and receive input regarding the recent Neufeld Memo. If the staffing model and the use of H-1b workers represents a large portion of your business, I strongly urge you to attend in person. At the very least, I encourage you to attend via phone. I will be attending in person. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Text of the Notice we Received This Afternoon

To: USCIS National Stakeholders
From: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services – Office of Public Engagement
Subject: Collaboration Session – Determining Employer-Employee Relationships for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions

February 18, 2010 @ 1:00pm EST

Tomich Center, 111 Massachusetts Ave NW

The USCIS Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in a collaboration session to discuss the implementation of the memo issued on January 8, 2010 which provides guidance on determining if a valid employeremployee relationship exists. A copy of the memorandum is attached along with this invitation.

We are interested in hearing feedback and input on the impact of this guidance and to understand any concerns that stakeholders may have. There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1213. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond. Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov. We hope you will be able to join in this important discussion.