The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced additional requirements for employers who have received funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or under Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act before hiring a foreign national to work in the H-1B specialty occupation category.

On February 17, 2009, the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) was signed into law by President Obama as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

This legislation was enacted to ensure that companies who receive funding as part of the federal government bail-out package do not displace U.S. workers.

Companies that have received funding from the federal government who also seek to hire new H-1B workers are deemed to be “H-1B dependent employers.” 

H-1B dependent employers must make additional attestations to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) when filing the Labor Condition Application (LCA) as part of the H-1B visa application. 

An example of this attestation on the LCA, is if a company has over 50 employees, that no more than 15% of its employees are allowed to be in H-1B visa status.