Reminder: February 20th is Effective Date of Export Control Licensing Certification on USCIS Visa Form I-129

This is a reminder that February 20, 2011 is the effective date for completion of the new "Certification Pertaining to the Release of Controlled Technology or Technical Data to Foreign Persons in the United States" contained in the new I-129 Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker forms submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

Part 6 of the new I-129 form requires employers submitting certain visa petitions for foreign workers to certify as follows:

With respect to the technology or technical data the [employer] will release or otherwise provide access to the [foreign employee], the [employer] certifies that it has reviewed the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and has determined that:

(1) A license is not required from either the U.S. Department of Commerce or the U.S. Department of State to release such technology or technical data to the foreign person;

         or

(2) A license is required from the U.S. Department of Commerce and/or the U.S. Department of State to release such technology or technical data to the beneficiary and the petitioner will prevent access to the controlled technology or technical data by the beneficiary until and unless the petitioner has received the required license or other authorization to release it to the beneficiary.

Because of concerns and other inquiries raised by immigration attorneys and the business community about this new export certification requirement, USCIS announced that they would delay the original effective date of December 22, 2010 to February 20, 2011.