On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The new legislation includes a
provision that will treat all Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”)
recipients as “Dependent Employers” for H-1B purposes. This will mean that these employers
will have to make the following additional attestations when
submitting the Labor Condition Application for an H-1B worker:
1. That the placement of the H-1B worker, either directly with the
employer or indirectly with a contractor, did not and will not
displace a U.S. worker in an essentially equivalent job from 90 days
before until 90 days after the date of filing of the visa petition;
2. That the Employer has taken good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers
at a compensation level and under procedures consistent with
industry-wide standards; and
3. That the Employer has offered the job to any U.S. worker who is qualified.