Immigration Provisions of H.R. 1268 (Nick Name: Special Spending Bill), Enacted 05/11/2005
This bill which the President signed into law on May 11, 2005 has four provisions which are related to the immigration. Brief summary is as follows:
H-2B for Returning Former H-2B Workers:
Eligible aliens: Those aliens who worked in the U.S. in a H-2B nonimmigrant status during one of the previous three years.
Effective date: March 25, 2005. This provision expires on October 1, 2006.
Procedures: Regular H-2B filing procedures, plus certification of "Returning Worker" by the Visa Posts or Department of Homeland Security, depending on where the visa or status is applied.
Filing fee: $185 H-2B filing fees plus $150 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee.
E-3 Specialty Occupation Special Visa for Australian Nationals:
Eligible aliens: Specialty Occupation. The definition of the specialty occupation is same as H-1B visa.
Procedure: The procedure is identical to Singapore & Chile National H-1B1 visas: DOL attestations and E-3 petition filing.
Annual cap: 10,500.
Filing fees: The benefits of this special visa for the Australian nationals are twofolds: (1) Not subject to the H-1B cap which is currently unavailable to other aliens until October 1, 2005. (2) Only $185 filing fee for the petition. They are not required to pay $1,500 or $750 American Worker Training charges or $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection fees.
50,000 Recaptured Special Employment-Based Visa Numbers for Schedule A Occupations:
Eligible aliens: (1) Nurses (2) Physical Therapists (3) Performing Artists of Exceptional Ability.
REAL ID, Driver License Restriction, and Procedural Restrictions in Asylum and Removal Proceedings: Please see the full text. The immigration provisions are located at the end of the legislation from page 72 to page 93.
http://www.immigration-law.com/HR1268.pdf