Neera Bahl joined Dixit & Youn, LLP as an associate in 2005. Before joining the firm, Ms. Bahl interned at the Jimmy Carter Center (Human Rights Division); worked as a Constituent Representative for U.S. Rep. Denise Majette (GA Dem. '04-'05), focusing on immigration issues; and served as law clerk for Fulton County Superior Court Judge Gail S. Tusan. Licensed in Georgia , she received her J.D. from John Marshall Law School – Atlanta (2000). Ms. Bahl has a background in science. She served as a Sr. Research Specialist for 16 years at the Emory Univ. Dept. of Dermatology, and for 5 years at the Univ. of Alabama . She received her M.A. in English from Punjab University (1979); B.Ed. in Psychology from D.A.V. College (1977); B.S. in Chemistry & Biology from D.S. College (1976). Ms. Bahl's interest in immigration law stems from her personal background, having lived through the process by migrating from India to the U.S. in 1979.

“This continuing failure to connect the dots between meeting valid labor needs and our immigration laws is inexcusable. Placing America at a competitive disadvantage is unacceptable,” said Kathleen Campbell Walker, President of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA). “Maxing out on a cap four months before the applicable period even begins
shows how little relation there is between immigration policy and the needs of the economy.”
Walker added, “This issue of whether the government should allow more seasonal workers to be
granted visas is a no brainer that should have been solved by now. An increase in this cap, tied to documented labor needs, would only serve to help make legality the norm and enable U.S.
employers to hire needed workers. But Congress is unfortunately unable to muster the political
gumption to proceed with even the most basic solutions. Just last month, Congress passed on a
chance to add a one-year fix to the H-2B nonimmigrant visa program to the $517 billion omnibus
spending bill that passed the House.”

According to the USCIS statement, USCIS will reject petitions for new H-2B workers seeking
employment start dates prior to October 1, 2008, that arrive after January 2, 2008. USCIS will
apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions which are subject to the cap and were received on January 2, 2008.

The H2B visa category allows a U.S. employer in an industry with peak load, seasonal, or intermittent needs to augment her/his existing labor force with temporary workers. In addition, U.S. employers may use H2Bs if there is a one-time occurrence that necessitates a temporary increase in workers. Before filing an H2B petition, however, an employer must obtain a temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor, which may not be filed more than 120 days in advance of the need for the employee. In extraordinary circumstances, a petitioning employer may request an extension of H2B status for not more than twelve months at a time, with a maximum stay of three years.

The H2B numerical limitation, often referred to as the "cap," has been set by Congress at 66,000 per year. This number is divided into two halves by the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005. Filings for H2B workers can be made up to six months in advance of the proposed start date. If a petition is approved for the purpose of extending a foreign national's H2B status or for a change or addition of employers or a change in the terms of employment, then the foreign worker is not counted against the H2B cap. A worker who changes nonimmigrant status to H2B is generally counted against the H2B numerical limitation.

The cap of 33,000 H2B visas for the first half of FY2008 was reached on September 27, 2007 with a start date of employment no earlier than October 1, 2007. The second half of the cap was reached on January 3, 2008 as stated above.