Home Ownership

Help for First-time Homeowners

BY ANNA CHANG-YEN

Buying your first home can be both exciting and intimidating. Homeownership offers many people a kind of personal freedom they’ve never had before, but it also comes with major financial responsibilities. Government programs make it easier to take the plunge of homeownership.

Who Is a First-Time Buyer?

The definition of first-time buyer varies by program. It is important to note that the term can be used very broadly and does not only apply to buyers who have never owned a home before. For the purposes of some tax and government programs, a first-time buyer is anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years. Read carefully the guidelines for any program before applying for assistance.

Education

The federal government helps first-time homeowners by providing money to state-run programs. Buyers who receive assistance through these programs must attend a housing counseling class approved by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing counseling is a great way to understand the financial commitment you make when you sign your name to the mortgage papers — before you sign on the line.

Down Payment Assistance

Because a massive down payment can be an obstacle to homeownership, many programs for first-time buyers focus on helping them with the down payment. Most financial assistance programs for first-time buyers are run through individual states. For example, in New York, the Home Investment Partnerships Program provides up to $10,000 in down payment assistance and $2,000 in closing cost assistance to low-income first-time buyers in the form of a deferred, forgivable, interestfree loan. At the federal level, Fannie Mae’s HomePath Ready Buyer program, announced in April 2015, provides a closing credit of 3% to first-time buyers of a HomePath home.

Loan Programs

The FHA loan program may be ideal for first-time buyers with little cash to close the deal. FHA allows down payments as low as 3.5 percent of the purchase price, which has helped many people become homeowners for the first time.

Tax Benefits

First-time homebuyers will find that tax deductions can help make their new home more affordable. Mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance and property taxes may all be deductible, lessening a homeowner’s financial tax burden. In general, home ownership expenses that are not deductible include homeowner’s insurance premiums, homeowner’s association dues, closing costs and maintenance and repair costs. Consult a tax advisor for more information about how homeownership can change your tax situation for the better.

Free Consultation

Need assistance? We will be happy to meet with you and share our guidance. Schedule an appointment today. For a free consultation on buying a home, down payment assistance or tax issues, call us at 855-768-8845.p

Old & New Immigrants: Their Rights

The Biden Administration Is Already Supporting Employment-Based Immigration, But Uncertainty Remains

BY LESLIE DELLON

Business immigration has already benefited from the change in administrations. On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order directly replacing a Trump-era executive order that wreaked havoc on the H-1B visa category.

Biden’s ‘Made in America’ Order

The recent executive order adopted “Buy American” policies and revoked President Trump’s “Buy American Hire American” (BAHA) executive order. BAHA—issued in April 2017—specifically targeted H1B workers. This visa category is for jobs that require a worker to apply a body of highly specialized knowledge acquired through a bachelor’s or higher degree in a “specific specialty” or equivalent at the entry level. Government agencies frequently cited BAHA in support of various Trump administration efforts to change the rules around the H-1B program. The Biden administration also is maintaining employment authorization for H-4 spouses of H-1B workers who are at certain stages in the green card process. The Trump administration stated repeatedly that it would rescind the Obama-era regulation authorizing these spouses to work. However, the proposed rule to rescind was withdrawn on January 25. It had been pending review within the executive branch and had not even been issued for public comment.

Trump’s Remaining Visa Bans

But uncertainty remains. President Trump extended the “nonimmigrant visa ban” until March 31, 2021. This ban, accomplished by presidential proclamation, suspended the entry to the United States of foreign nationals on H-1B and certain other nonimmigrant visas with a few exceptions. A court found the nonimmigrant visa ban to be unlawful. But it only precluded the ban from being enforced against the parties who filed the suit, including members of two organizations that sued on behalf of their members. It is unclear whether President Biden will allow the ban to expire or revoke it. Also unknown is whether the president would revoke it outright or issue new restrictions. Two final rules affecting the adjudication of H-1B visa petitions have been delayed from taking effect in March for further review. One of these rules would have changed how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to file H-1B petitions subject to the annual “cap.” The change would have given preference to jobs with the highest wages in the particular occupation and area of employment. There are four wage levels that are supposed to correspond to the education, experience, and supervision required. Level 1 is “entry level;” Level 2 “qualified;” Level 3 “experienced;” and Level 4 “fully competent.” The continued on page 20

Employment-Based Immigration/

continued from page 20 result could have substantially reduced the number of recent foreign graduates who could work in the United States, as USCIS expects no Level 1 and likely only 75% of Level 2 wage registrations to be selected with the new system. Many of those who commented on this rule maintain that the change conflicts with the law establishing the H-1B category. With the effective date to be delayed until December 31, registration will now begin on March 9 under the same random selection process USCIS used in 2020. Similarly, the Department of Labor (DOL) delayed the effective date of a rule that changes the way that the “prevailing wage” rate is calculated until May 14, 2021. While this rule applies beyond the H-1B visa category, it will affect how a U.S. employer determines the required wage when filing an H-1B petition. Wage levels for a particular data source (the Occupational Employment Statistics survey) that many employers use to identify the “prevailing wage” will be set at higher percentiles than before. An employer of an H-1B worker must pay the higher of the “actual wage level” paid to other workers with “similar experience and qualifications for the specific employment,” and the “prevailing wage level” for the “occupational classification in the area of employment.” The delay does not change the July 1 start date for DOL to implement the first in a series of new prevailing wage rates. Many commenters had questioned the assumptions and data underlying DOL’s changes. The Biden administration also appears to be interested in wage issues, stating in a summary that its immigration bill “incentivizes higher wages for non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.” This language is concerning, as it overlooks existing legal requirements and protections. However, the expectation is that the new administration will give more careful consideration to facts and figures than to rhetoric.

Biden’s Proposed Business Immigration Changes

Other major changes that the Biden administration announced were included in an immigration bill it sent to Congress (but not yet publicly available) are: •End the practice of requiring separate immigrant visa numbers for the spouse and children of the principal applicant. *Currently, for example, a “principal,” who is a skilled worker, and her noncitizen spouse and three children (the “derivatives”) are approved for green cards based on the principal’s eligibility. One visa number is issued to each of them. Since there is an annual limit of 140,000 on employment-based visa numbers, using employment-based numbers for derivatives substantially depletes the annual supply. If only one visa number was assigned to the principal and her derivatives, then more numbers would be available during the year for other workers. •End the per-country limitations on visa numbers. Each country is limited to a certain percentage of employmentbased visa numbers in addition to the annual limit. This has created backlogs of many years for many born in India and China. This proposal is more controversial than the proposed change in counting derivatives, as removing the per-country limits would create longer waiting periods for noncitizens born in other countries if the annual limit remains fixed at 140,000. Provide a faster path to a green card for noncitizen graduates with advanced STEM degrees from U.S. universities. •Prevent children of H-1B workers who are also in backlogs for immigrant visa numbers (for green cards) from becoming ineligible (“aging out”) when they become 21 years old. •Create a pilot program “to stimulate regional economic development” by allowing certain governmental entities to petition for foreign workers. •Various measures to “protect workers from exploitation and improve the employment verification process.”

The Biden administration has recognized that America is strengthened by having both American and foreign workers. But this administration must not allow the hateful messaging of the past four years to distract it from achieving the balance that Congress intended of welcoming employment-based immigration while protecting American workers.p

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