ILW.com reports about a new Documentary "Made in L.A." follows the remarkable journey of three Latina immigrants working in L.A.'s garment factories and their struggle for self-empowerment as they wage a three-year battle to bring a major clothing retailer to the negotiating table. The film is scheduled to air nationally after Labor Day on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007 at 10 p.m. on PBS.
Who doesn't know 5-year-old Youssif by now?, an Iraqi boy who had gone out to play on a January day when he was suddenly grabbed by masked men, doused in gas and set on fire. As a father to a young boy myself I became outraged and very upset after reading the international reports on the story.
The good news is that several aid organizations quickly offered their services to help this boy and the family. It seems that the family had to make a decision on whether to leave their homeland or stay inside Iraq for treatment. If they chose to leave, could they get visas to travel to the United States or leave Iraq safely? In such cases Medical B2 visas could be the fastest way to secure entry to the US. The emergency situation is clear and evidenced by the worldwide reaction. The only questions is if the family can overcome section 214(b) and show the Consul they have every intention to return to Iraq. I hope that with the aid organizations' support that will not be an issue.
CNN reports that The Children's Burns foundation says it will cover all medical costs -- from surgeries for Youssif to housing costs to any social rehabilitation that might be needed for him. Surgeries will be performed by Dr. Peter Grossman, a plastic surgeon with the affiliated-Grossman Burn Center who is donating his services for Youssif's cause.
Officials are still trying to get the appropriate visas for his travels. Youssif could be in the United States for up to a year for the various treatments he needs. B2 visa for medical reasons should cover that amount of time.
Like many others donating their services for this cause, our law firm is offering free legal support to Youssif and his family in assisting them to enter the US quickly. Our hearts go out to this family and we hope things will get better, bringing back the smile to Little Youssif's face.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced its new, online NEXUS application system on August 16, 2007. The use of the NEXUS card is an alternative to a passport for travel between the US and Canada. According to the CBP, "[t]he system helps [its] officers accomplish their dual mission of securing the borders while facilitating trade and travel."
NEXUS is designed to expedite the border clearance process for low-risk, pre-approved travellers into Canada and the United States.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are cooperating in this joint venture to simplify border crossings for members, while enhancing security.
Continue reading "NAFTA Visas - Online NEXUS application system" »
Channel 10 contacted one of our leading Hospitality clients, Tower 23 Hotel to discuss the recent SSA No Match rules, hiring workers in this day and age and working with us, their immigration lawyers to make the entire process even possible.
An illegal immigrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her U.S.-born son has been deported to Mexico. Elvira Arellano became an activist and a national symbol for illegal immigrant parents as she defied her deportation order and spoke out from her religious sanctuary. She held a news conference last week to announce that she would finally leave the church to try to lobby U.S. lawmakers for change.
She had just spoken at a Los Angeles rally when she was arrested Sunday outside Our Lady Queen of Angels church and deported.
From the AP:Illegal immigrant mother of U.S.-born boy deported to Mexico
“If my deportation served to unite people, to prompt them to rise up, to bring together religious and community leaders to fight for legalization, that's what's important,” Elvira Arellano, 32, said Monday. She talked to reporters inside an apartment in Tijuana, where she has been staying since her deportation Sunday.
It will certainly be tough for her to return to the US now, current laws will bar her from the US for at least 10 years unless she can get a waiver.
As I previously discussed in this Blog, On August 10, 2007, DHS released an advance copy of the final ICE "No-Match" regulation, "Safe Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter." Publication of the final rule in the Federal Register is expected the week of August 13, 2007. The final rule will become effective 30 days after publication.
The final rule expands the definition of "constructive knowledge" to include the failure to take reasonable steps to address three situations: (1) an employee's request for the employer's sponsorship of the employee for a labor certification or visa petition; (2) receipt of a no-match letter from the Social Security Administration ("SSA"); and (3) receipt of a notice from DHS (usually after an I-9 audit) that the employee's employment authorization documents presented in connection with completion of the I-9 form do not match DHS records.
Continue reading "Summary of the ICE No-Match Regulation" »
There may be no immigration reform coming up but, new—and potentially costly—demands on employers to ensure that their workforces are legal are coming up.
The New rules describe the obligations of employers when they receive no-match letters from the Social Security Administration or receive a letter regarding employment verification forms from the Department of Homeland Security. The rule also provides “safe harbors” employers can follow to avoid a finding the employer had constructive knowledge that the employee referred to in the letter was an alien not authorized to work in the US. Employers with knowledge that an immigrant worker is unauthorized to accept employment are liable for both civil and criminal penalties.
The clock would start ticking when companies receive a letter from the Social Security Administration indicating that employees’ names or Social Security numbers on tax forms don’t match federal records.If work authorization or identity can’t be confirmed within about two months, companies would have to fire employees or face steep fines.
Currently, an employer is not compelled to do anything with what are called “no-match” letters. The document states explicitly that no assumption should be made about a person’s legal standing.
Many of our clients are in the Food services and processing, hospitality and construction industries, we expect them to be hit hard by all this. Proper planning will be required on employer's part from now on.
A crackdown on illegal immigration will have to go forward without help from Congress, the Bush administration said Friday.
At a joint news conference, Secretary Chertoff and Gutierrez put the onus on Congress for any consequences that may be suffered by employers as result of the stepped-up enforcement effort.
"Our hope is that key elements of the Senate bill will see the light of day someday, but until Congress chooses to act, we are going to be taking some energetic steps of our own," Chertoff said. The steps will "significantly strengthen our hand with respect to immigration enforcement."
The administration rolled out a proposed rule that will require employers to fire employees unable to clear up problems with their Social Security numbers 90 days after they've been notified of such discrepancies in so-called "no match letters." Employers who fail to comply will face possible criminal fines and sanctions. It seems that this rule will be effective in 30 days. In addition, Chertoff said he will try to use the department's regulatory authority to raise fines on employers by about 25 percent. Current fines are so modest that some companies consider them a cost of doing business.
Recognizing that the crackdown could hurt some industries, particularly agriculture where more than half of workers are believed to be undocumented, Gutierrez said the Labor Department will try to make existing temporary seasonal agriculture worker and non-agriculture worker programs easier to use and more efficient.
I hope that the H2B and H2A visa programs will be improved and visas will no longer be subject to the limited cao they are subject today. Employers will need to pay a closer look at the hiring practices at their companies, otherwise they will start paying fines and serving time.
I have been following the latest BBS world reports about the fact that Pop star Lily Allen has had her US work visa cancelled after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. Well now we know it, even big stars can not have their way with our USCIS agency (unless your are Russel Crowe of course:))
Lily was held at the airport in LA for five hours in connection with an arrest for an alleged assault in London in June.
Read the BBC story
"Lily was questioned and her work visa was revoked," Allen's spokesman said. "She was detained for five hours but not strip searched. Understandably she was upset by it."Allen will need a new work visa before she returns to the US on 6 September, when she is due to play in San Diego.
If she decides to stop by our office while visiting San Diego, I would say that she has a pretty good chance to fight the visa revocation as she was never convicted of her London incident. Even if she was a 212(3)(d) waiver could help her appeal the denial.
Call us Lily when you visit San Diego:))
The Dream Act is a bill that has been introduced several times in the United States Congress that would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrant students.
ILW.com the leading immigration online news source reported the following, and you can see why we need this act to pass ASAP.
The "Save Juan" campaign, http://actonadream.net/ founded by high school kids in an attempt to save their classmate Juan Gomez and his brother from removal proceedings has resulted in extensive media coverage, including the recent Time news story headline which asks, "Can Two Kids Alter Immigration Law?". http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1649483,00.htmlJuan Gomez puts a human face on the plight of nearly a million
similarly situated high school students undocumented through the
actions of their parents. Perhaps, come fall, the bi-partisan
DREAM Act legislation sponsored by Sen. Durbin will be enacted,
allowing these individuals to fully realize their potential and
contribute to the US economy.
We have learned from AILA member Jan Peterson that the following might happen once the October Visa Bulletin will be published:
The priority date information listed is to be taken as educated predictions, not carved in stone. Expect the following: 1. Worldwide, other than India and China, EB1, EB2, EB4 and EB5 immigrant visa categories will be current as of October 1, 2007. It may be necessary to retrogress them later in 2007 or 2008. 2. EB1 for India and China will likely be current in October, 2007. 3. EB2 for India and China will likely have a cut-off date in October 2007 close to the cut-off dates for January 2007, which were: India - January 8, 2003; China -April 22, 2005. 4.EB3 cut-off dates for October 2007 also will likely have a cut-off date close to the cut-off dates for January 2007, which were: Worldwide (other than India and China) -August 1, 2002; India -May 8, 2001; China - April 22, 2005. Please note that these are predictions subject to change depending on the number of cases approved by USCIS during the next two months.
18,000 EB-3 for Indians have been processed in this fiscal year with 8,000 of those cases approved in June and 7,000 in July.
Also, approximately 40,000 cases were received at the Texas Service Center on July 2nd and 35,000 were received in Nebraska.
From time to time clients contact me trying to determine if they still qualify for a visa, despite some criminal activity in the past. " I was young and stupid and now I will be paying for this".
I learned recently that the Department of State is implementing a new policy with respect to immigrant visa (IV) and non-immigrant visa (NIV) applicants with a history of arrests or convictions for drunk driving.
Consular officers will now refer certain IV / NIV applicants with prior drunk driving arrests or convictions to panel physicians to evaluate whether the applicants are inadmissible to the U.S. under the physical or mental disorder ground of inadmissibility. See INA § 212 (a) (1) (A) (iii). Under this law, any foreign citizen is inadmissible to the U.S. if he or she has or has had a physical or mental disorder that poses a threat to others.
Continue reading "US Visas and DUI convictions" »
Jacob Sapochnick is recognized as one of the most innovative, up and coming Immigration Lawyers in the nation. He devotes 100% of his practice to Immigration Law, representing Corporations, Hotels, Restaurants, and other organizations, as well as, entrepreneurs, and individuals worldwide. He also provides legal support and representation in family sponsored immigration matters.
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San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: 619. 819.9204
Fax: 619.393.0467
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email: info@h1b.biz
