Wendi S. Lazar, a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, describes the unsettling state of the laws governing H-1B visas and the resulting difficulties for attorneys advising clients who hold these visas. Both the BCIS and the Department of Labor have jurisdiction over various aspects of H-1B visas, and the two agencies have produced some conflicting and inconsistent guidance and regulations regarding the duration and portability of H-1B visas after an employee has been terminated. In other areas neither agency has offered any guidance at all, leaving visa holders to choose a course of action and hope for the best, with no certainty that it is legally correct.
