LaborLess

10/17/2024

In light of the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a memo yesterday, October 16, 2024, addressing critical LCA compliance requirements for employers with H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa workers.

If you need to relocate workers due to the hurricane’s impact, here's what you need to know:

✅ SAME AREA RELOCATIONS: Employers can move workers to unintended worksites within the same area of employment, and as long as the terms and conditions of the LCA remain unchanged, there's no need to file a new LCA.

✅ SHORT-TERM PLACEMENTS: For H-1B workers, short-term placements outside the original area are allowed for up to 30 or 60 days, with wage, travel cost and some other specific requirements.

🚨🚨 NOTICE REQUIREMENTS: Employers must STILL notify employees of LCA filings, either electronically or by hard copy. Given the disaster, DOL expressly mentions electronic notice!
So, even during emergency events, it's important to stay compliant.

To me, this is yet another obvious use case for LaborLess, which enables companies (often with the support of their immigration law firms) to post LCA notices electronically without having to build their own intranet, host anything on their own site, and otherwise build an entire digital infrastructure around LCA compliance.

In fact, most of our clients are immigration law firms who use LaborLess on behalf of their employer clients to be able to post electronic LCA notices *for* them, as an added service.

Their clients are happy.

The law firms can be sure that LCA notice is provided.

And the PAF is created automatically, with everything stored in the cloud, adding automation to an otherwise manual and often messy compliance process.

So, whether you've been impacted by hurricane Milton, or have clients who have, or would otherwise benefit from automating the LCA posting process regardless of any natural disasters (or in preparation for future ones),

Check out LaborLess, comment below for more info, or DM directly!

Here's our website: https://www.laborless.com/

Here's our demo: https://lnkd.in/e-jXq4Gk

And here's the DOL memo: https://lnkd.in/eTG2aq-g

08/20/2024

An ethics rant / question: I was on a panel earlier this year about ethics and immigration tech, and one of the questions was: is it ethical to NOT stay up-to-date on with certain technologies? I'm curious to hear what others think, but for me the answer is NO.

Here's an example, literally from today.

I was on a call with a mid-sized immigration law firm that handles a pretty high volume of H-1B visas and inquiring about LaborLess to see what electronic LCA posting and public access file (PAF) management is all about.

The attorney told me their current process is that they send an email with PDF attachments and instructions to post LCA notices, and documents and another email with PAF documents and instructions on how to create it.

As I dug deeper, it turned out that:

❌ They don't actually know if the LCA notice is posted, *especially* at a third party worksite, and

❌ They also don't know if the PAF has been created, where and how it's stored, if expired PAFs are destroyed, etc.

The idea is that since they send instructions in an email, the law firm has "CYA'd" (i.e. covered their @$$)... but of course that doesn't mean the compliance process is complete from the client's perspective.

For me, LaborLess is the simple solution.

It allows a law firm to easily handle the LCA posting process on behalf of their H-1B client, to oversee and help manage PAFs, and do it all electronically.

The technology to do this, i.e. LaborLess, is available, is affordable, and would help enhance H-1B compliance.

Obviously some law firms end up deciding to stay with their current process and not leveraging LaborLess.

But while they have the right to do that, when I hear that they don't have any meaningful insight into what their client actually does from a compliance standpoint, and that there's a tool out there that MAKES THAT POSSIBLE,

It genuinely makes me wonder if their decision not to use something like LaborLess is ethical.

Given the issues with non-compliance, the fines involved, and the ease and availability of a solution, I think it's not ethical to avoid technology that makes such a meaningful difference.

What do others think?
And say what you will, but I practiced immigration law and worked with high-volume H-1B clients.

I always strived to provide the best possible service, and looked for ways to make it better. It felt like it was my duty to do that as an attorney, and that should be the standard.

And so I create posts like this to not just put law firms on notice, but to also put H-1B employers on notice, to say that THIS IS POSSIBLE.

Curious to hear opinions.

And if you want to learn more about LaborLess, DM me or check out our website: http://www.laborless.io

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04/16/2024

I left my job as a high-volume H-1B immigration attorney to eventually start LaborLess to automate LCA and PAF compliance. I'm not exaggerating when I say that LCAs and PAFs are my life 😄 So, I'm incredibly excited to get to talk about this *exact* topic tomorrow alongside two great Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP attorneys - Steve Plastrik and Lauren Randle.

So, if you're an in-house immigration or mobility professional, whether you work with BAL or not, (or even if you're a fellow immigration lawyer) and you deal with H-1Bs in any capacity especially now during cap season, please join us tomorrow, Wed, 4/17 at 1pm EST, for an in-depth discussion about LCA and PAF compliance and automation!

Here's what we're going to discuss:

⚙️ OVERVIEW OF LCAs & PAFs in case anyone in the audience is fairly new at it),

⚙️ HOW TO DEAL WITH REMOTE WORKER LCA COMPLIANCE, especially as more people work remotely than ever before

⚙️ HOW TO PROTECT EMPLOYEE PRIVACY, especially when their home *is* an official worksite, which means it becomes public information on the LCA,

⚙️ FDNS SITE VISITS, which no one likes lol, and

⚙️ PAF TRENDS, in terms of maintaining, destroying, etc.
Please register here, and join us tomorrow at 1pm EST! 👉 https://lnkd.in/ezwAvwrS 👈

04/12/2024

🤯 🥳 Holy cow... LaborLess just recently passed 1,000 H-1B petitioners who have posted electronic LCA notices and created and managed electronic PAFs using our platform!!

And so, because we're in the midst of H-1B cap season, if you're still posting paper LCA notices and creating paper PAFs, *or* if you're an immigration law firm that's sending email instructions to post paper LCA notices and create paper PAFs, 🙏 *please please* check out LaborLess!

I quite literally left my career as an immigration attorney specifically so that I could launch LaborLess.

Because after doing high-volume H-1Bs as an attorney, and having to deal with the awfully manual and often non-compliant process of sending email attachment LCA notices and instructions to print PAFs,

Without really knowing if a client is actually posting,

I couldn't believe there was not platform to post LCA notices and automatically create, store and manage PAFs.

That's how LaborLess was born.

We've been growing year over year, and to date have helped 1,000+ H-1B petitioners post their LCA notices and generate PAFs. Kind of mind-blowing.
So, if you're an in-house team dealing with a manual LCA and PAF process and wish you could digitize and automate it,

Or, if you're an immigration law firm that would like to provide electronic LCA and PAF services (and potentially even charge for it as an added service),

Don't fall behind, and check out LaborLess at the link below.

And of course leave a comment if you have any questions or send me a DM.

Good luck to everyone submitting their H-1B applications this cap season!

Electronic LCA Notices and PAF management. Posting electronic Labor Condition Applications and maintaining electronic Public Access Files has never been easier. LaborLess takes the busy work out of LCA compliance with just a few clicks.

02/13/2024

It's crazy that 9 years ago I was the baby in this photo helping corporate clients with their H-1Bs and starting to think about the inefficiencies with LCA compliance (which ultimately led me to launch LaborLess and automate LCA posting and PAF compliance).

At the time:

❤️ I was proud to be an immigration attorney at Erickson Immigration Group - I was working in an industry I loved and focused on during law school.

❤️ I loved talking to foreign national employees on the phone, helping them better understand their options in case their H-1Bs didn't work out.

❤️ I enjoyed going to tech events after work hours to network and market the firm, and building my brand even BEFORE I passed the bar, to develop business for the firm (I eventually brought in a client before I was even barred!!)

🤔🤔 But the thing that left the strongest impression on me was the glaring holes in tech and automation - they may not have been huge holes, but they were holes nonetheless.

And holes meant opportunity.




Right now we're in the middle of H-1B cap season.

Which means there are thousands of law firm and in-house immigration professionals dealing with H-1B compliance.

So here's my request:

Whether you're a law firm or employer,

If your LCA process includes emails from immigration counsel with a PDF and instructions to print it out, physically post it, and then manually confirm with the law firm that it's been posted... and / or storing PAPER public access files...

✅ Consider LaborLess as a way to automate and digitize your LCA process.

Check out our demo here: http://www.laborless.io/demo

And if you're interested in learning more, please comment below, send me a DM, or reach out through the website!

Oh, and if you KNOW someone who might be interested, please tag them i the comments below! 👇👇

02/01/2024

Pinch me!! Ok, so first of all, a dream of mine is coming true... I'm going to India 😮 🇮🇳 And second of all, I'm going not just for vacation, but I'll be speaking about immigration compliance technology, something I've devoted my live to over the past 7 years!

I'm super honored to be speaking at the xpath.global Talent Mobility Summit this year on March 14th in Bangalore, India.

I'll be speaking alongside Elena Antoneac and a number of other amazing global mobility, global tax, and tech experts.

We'll be focusing on one of the most important aspects of talent mobility, which is compliance.

As for me, I'll be talking about H-1B visa compliance - specifically LCA and PAF compliance - especially as we get into the thick of H-1B cap season, and companies with high volumes of H-1Bs are in the midst of planning and prepping.

This is the very core of the vision behind LaborLess - helping companies automate their H-1B compliance - so I'm honored to be able to share some of my expertise on the subject and talk about the role tech plays in the process.

If you'll be in attendance, please let me know!

And if not, but if you live in Bangalore, please reach out!!

I'll be there for about two weeks, and I'd love to meet folks who live there and explore the city (and maybe surrounding areas?) through the lens of locals 😊

01/17/2024

If you're an immigration law firm and you'll be filing H-1B cap cases this year, offering electronic LCA posting (and automated PAF management) to your employer clients can transform your practice... AND benefit the client. Here are 3 reasons why:

📌📌 YOUR FIRM CAN NOW POST LCA NOTICES *ON BEHALF OF* YOUR CLIENTS

Physical LCA posting requires an employer print and post pieces of paper at each H-1B worksite (and with remote workers, that worker needs to print and post them at home).

But when you move to electronic LCA posting, it doesn't actually matter who does the "posting" (i.e. uploading the LCA notice to your online posting bulletin), which means that an immigration law firm can do it on behalf of their client... as a service! This means:

(1) the employer no longer has to deal with this, which makes them happy;

(2) the immigration law firm can directly control when the posting happens and thus move H-1B cases along more quickly instead of emailing with employers back-and-forth;

(3) remote workers are no longer asked to print and post pieces of paper on their fridge!

🗂️🗂️ PUBLIC ACCES FILES ARE CREATED AUTOMATICALLY AND NOT LEFT "FOR LATER"

According to 20 CFR § 655.760(a), PAFs are to be made available "within one working day after the date on which the (LCA) is filed." Well, during cap season, PAFs aren't always created within 24 hours... because there's just so much to do.

Why risk it? Instead, by using an electronic LCA notice posting system, you can automatically compile a PAF at the time an LCA notice is posted and therefore certainly within that 24 hour period.

This means no more confusing emails with PAF instructions to clients, and no more uncertainty on the law firm's part as to whether or not the employer actually created the PAF. It's easier for the law firm and a sign of relief for the client.

💰💰 LAW FIRMS CAN CHARGE FOR THIS SERVICE, AND MOST EMPLOYER CLIENTS WILL HAPPILY PAY!

Law firms often charge their client a fee to post their LCA notices for them via LaborLess since it's providing an extra service *and* taking the annoying LCA posting / PAF process off their hands.

In other words, law firms don't have to shoulder the cost of the tech and simply pass that cost along. In our experience, employers are happy to pay because they often hate the LCA / PAF process!
As cap season is upon us, get onboard with LaborLess and offer your clients an enhanced, and automated LCA / PAF compliance experience.

Check out our demo here: https://lnkd.in/e-jXq4Gk

And comment below 👇👇 (or DM me) if you're interested in learning more.

12/15/2023

I've been a panelist, speaker and occasional podcast guest in the immigration space for a while, but yesterday I had a first-time experience: an IN-PERSON podcast recording at the awesome startup offices of Litify!

I had the opportunity to sit down with Alfredo Sánchez, who is a founding member at Litify, and who has helped the company scale tremendously from a small startup focused on PI attorneys 7 years ago to now working with tons of mid-size and large law firms, including immigration law firms.

Litify helps these law firms develop custom, all-encompassing case management platforms, on top of Salesforce.

It's been crazy to watch Salesforce become a player in the immigration law (and broader legal) industry - it seems to give law firms the flexibility to build whatever workflow, automation, features, etc., they want while having the reliability of Salesforce as the foundation.

So it was a real pleasure for me to sit down with Alfredo and talk about everything from:

🎤 Immigration attorney mindset as it relates to investing in tech,

🎤 To the importance of immigration law firm "R&D" to explore new tech and even try it out,

🎤 To my own journey going from immigration attorney to employee at a tech company to marrying the two and building my own immigration tech company, LaborLess, to solve the H-1B compliance problem 😊
Interestingly, I was more nervous than I typically am when I speak in front of hundreds of people or go live on social media lol.

I guess improvising and speaking to a live audience is easier for me 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

Though their cool offices, really nice team, and Litify Llama (made me think of the Liberty Mutual Emu commercials 😂) made it much easier.

I'll definitely share a link to the conversation when it comes out!

In the meantime, check out Litify to if you're interested in custom-designed immigration law firm tech,

And of course LaborLess for your LCA posting and PAF automation needs (http://www.laborless.io)

12/07/2021

We're super excited to be sponsoring our FIRST-EVER conference: the virtual AILA Tech & Innovation Summit - tomorrow, December 8, 2021!!! 🎉🎉

First, the details:

📆 We're sponsoring the LAST SESSION OF THE DAY, from 5:30 - 6:30pm EST, which is about how law firms can use tech creatively to not just become more efficient, but also make $$$. That's what law firms who use LaborLess do, so it was a perfect match.

🎭 As a sponsor, our CEO Roman Zelichenko, JD will have 4 minutes to speak at the beginning of the session... and it's not going to be the usual pitch, bur rather something funny instead (hint: it's going to rhyme).

🗣 The speakers for that sessions will be none other than Jared Jaskot, Julie Pearl and Justin Estep, which is surely going to be a lively discussion.

🙏🏻 So if you can, please come to this conference and support the immigration tech movement! It's very reasonably priced, especially given the content, and will even include an unprecedented panel with USCIS representatives, including the agency's CTO, CIO and others.

NOT to be missed.

Here's the link to sign up: https://lnkd.in/eBfPPrpU