The President has taken Executive Action in an attempt to fix our country’s broken immigration system…or at least to bandage it.

What will H-1B season be like now?  Will the Immigration Accountability Executive Action plan (IAEA) have any effect to alleviate the concerns faced by cap-subject employers petitioning for H-1B workers? 

While the details regarding implementation of the IAEA remain unclear, parts of the IAEA may indirectly relieve some of the pressure that comes with H-1B cap season.  That is because the IAEA opens up the possibility for employment authorization through a few other channels. 

In addition, don’t forget that there are and have long been many other working statuses for highly skilled workers other than the H-1B.  For a summary of possible alternatives to H-1B status, please see the article that Robert Whitehill and I co-authored, Visa Options: Hiring in the Wake of Executive Action, which was recently published in the Legal Intelligencer.  (Note that a subscription to the Legal Intelligencer may be required for full access to the article.). 

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

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Catherine Wadhwani is a partner in Fox Rothschild’s Immigration Practice Group.  She may be reached at cwadhwani@foxrothschild.com.