Visa Lawyer Blog

I am not very proud to announce this but, ICE stated a few days ago that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is the first law enforcement body to implement the Secure Communities program, under which every individual booked into the three largest jails in San Diego County will have biometric-fingerprints checked in a DHS system for an immigration record.

Secure Communities, which is administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), streamlines the process by which ICE determines if an individual in the prison system is a removable criminal alien. Under the program, every individual booked into the three largest jails in San Diego County has their biometrics-fingerprints-checked in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) biometric system for any immigration record. Prior to the advent of Secure Communities, as part of the standard booking process, these fingerprints were only checked for criminal history information in the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) biometric system.

If any fingerprints match those of someone in DHS's biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE and the San Diego intake site submitting the fingerprints. ICE evaluates each case to determine the individual's immigration status and takes appropriate enforcement action after offenders complete their prison terms.

Illegal Immigrants will now be more reluctant to get in touch with law enforcement, thus expect more abuse towards illegals.

Read the ICE press release here..

Recent procedures obtained from USCIS for identifying and handling Diversity Visa ("DV," also known as "lottery") Form I-485s. These procedures are designed to increase the likelihood that these applications will be adjudicated by the September 30 deadline.

The National Benefits role is very limited. Each Form I-485 is reviewed at the Lockbox against an initial evidence review checklist. Once a Form I-485 is identified as a DV application, which usually occurs at the Lockbox, but if not, should be identified promptly at NBC by reviewing the checklist, NBC stops processing the Form I-485 and sends it to the Field Office with jurisdiction over the applicant.

The ASC appointment notice for biometrics will still be generated as part of the NBC process. The Field Office has to manually schedule an interview for the DV applicant. This should result in faster processing, and avoid any delays. As you may know, applicants must complete the process by September 30 of the year they are selected for the DV. Otherwise, the visa will be lost.

They say that America is the land of opportunity, and therefore, so many people desire to Immigrate to this country.

Amid the news of an upcoming General Motors bankruptcy, the recession is not showing any signs of retreat. During these tough economic times, many institutions are trying to do their share to ease up the pain. US Citizenship and Immigration Services is not one of them. For USCIS this is business as usual.

When one applies for a US visa, whether it is for a Temporary work visa or for Permanent Residency, there is a fee charged for the processing of the application. These fees paid to the government range between $300 and $1365, depending on the type of application. While this is expensive, it is acceptable so long as it represents the actual costs of the service provided. Yet, there is a growing school of thought that USCIS currently charging fees way out of line with the actual costs.

The government should not be profiting from the fees it charges for its services. Permanent Resident and Temporary Visa applicants should not be used as cash machines for the American government. The government will already benefit from their tax dollars as they contribute to the economy. It is not right to ask immigrants to carry more than their share of the burden of paying for the general operation of government. Especially in this economic crisis.

When the government earns profits from application fees, this amounts to a form of extra taxation. Yet while other taxes in America have to be approved by Congress, visa application fees do not, making them a form of taxation without representation, and this goes against the basic principles of our democracy.

Asking individuals to cover the cost of their visa applications is fair. Using these applications to earn profits and not make any concessions in this recession is not. Immigrants are important contributors to the success of the American economy. They should be treated with respect, and not taken advantage of. We are all in this boat together.

My 2 cents.

DOS published a notice of the determination that the Abu Nidal Organization Movement (ANO) and Palestinian Liberation Front--Abu Abbas Faction (PLF) and all designated aliases will maintain designations as foreign terrorist organizations.

Abu Nidal is a terrorist organization widely known for deadly attacks in the 1980s on Western, Palestinian, and Israeli targets. They were attempting to derail diplomatic relations between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the West, while advocating for the destruction of Israel. The organization was named for a former member of the PLO who split off in a dispute over establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. Abu Nidal has been on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations for more than twenty years.

Continue reading "Governmet Notice of Continuing Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation for Palestinian Groups" »

A brief note to thank the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, and remember those who have lost their lives defending liberty.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

President Barack Obama will gather congressional leaders at the White House next month to launch a policy discussion on immigration, according to an administration official, but legislative action isn't likely until next year at the earliest. he June 8 meeting is meant to show the White House is moving on the issue -- which is key for Hispanic advocacy groups that helped Mr. Obama get elected in November.

Mr. Obama has embraced the general concept of creating a program to provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S., while continuing to tighten the border with Mexico.

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US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), along with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) today introduced legislation to re-emphasize family unity in the US immigration system. The Reuniting Families Act would help legal immigrants reunite with their families and end decade-long waiting times for legal immigrant visas.

Senator Schumer said: "No matter our disagreements about how to reform our immigration laws, we can at least agree that families should not be made to suffer in the process. We can have a policy that is tough, but fair, and emphasizing family unity as a principle is key to ensuring that fairness."

The legislation would reinforce the historical emphasis on families in the immigration system and reduce current wait times in the family immigration system by:

* Helping an estimated 322,000 spouses and children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents who are waiting in line to reunite with their families by reclassifying them as immediate relatives
* Addressing the decades-long backlogs for certain countries by raising the per-country immigration limits from 7 percent to 10 percent of total admissions
* Protecting widows, widowers and orphans by allowing them to continue to wait in line for a visa after the death of the sponsoring relative.
* Utilizing an estimated 400,000 family-sponsored and employment-based visas that went unused between 1992 and 2007.
* Respecting the contribution of Filipino World War II veterans by reducing their children's waiting times for an immigrant visa.
* Promoting family unity by allowing more people who are already eligible for an immigrant visa to efficiently use our legal family immigration system.
* Providing equal treatment for stepchildren and biological children by allowing stepchildren under the age of 21 to immigrate upon their parents' marriage (current age limit is 18).

We welcome this legislation. It seems that we are on the right track for Immigration Reform, or something close.

BusinessWeek featured an excellent story about O1 visas, often known as the Genius visas. While the spotlight is now on H1B visas or the debate on Immigration Reform, it is important to cover this important and often overlooked visa.

O1 visas are awarded to immigrants with extraordinary abilities in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics. The program, for what are officially called O-1 visas, began in 1990 as lawmakers sought to separate these applicants from the pool of those seeking H-1B visas, the visa program for skilled immigrants used by many technology companies. While H-1B applicants must hold at least a bachelor's degree and possess some specialized skill, O-1 visas are allotted to a more elite crowd: those who can prove to U.S. immigration officials that they are the very top in their fields.

According to the U.S. State Dept.—which makes the grants to successful applicants—9,014 O-1s were awarded in 2008, up 40% from 2004. Among current O-1 visa holders are Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, Canadian author Jennifer Gould Keil, Israeli concert pianist Inon Barnatan, and members of the New York dance companies Merce Cunningham and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane.

Click here to read more and watch the short movie

The information that is provided in this post is relevant as of Friday May 15, 2009. This is coming from our local AILA chapter Chair.

As many of our readers know, at the conclusion of the Marriage based adjustment of status interview, the immigration officer, upon approval, used to stamp the immigrant's passport with the I-551 (Green Card) stamp. This used to be an immediate proof that the case has been approved and the applicant could work and travel using this stamp. As the actual production of the Green Cards became so fast, the practice of stamping applicants' passports stopped as well in most states across the nation.

The stamp mentioning temporary evidence of I-551 or permanent resident status is valid for a year. It is valid proof of permanent resident status for employment and travel purposes. There is no need to worry about traveling on such a simple looking stamp. The ink used is security ink. The Port of Entry (POE) officers can quickly determine if a stamp is genuine. Those with genuine stamps can travel in the same manner as individuals who have received the Form I-551 or the plastic green card. The temporary stamp, which is valid for one year, can be renewed if needed. (Recently, in late January 2009, we have heard that some airlines in Europe are requiring applicants with I-551 stamps to also obtain a travel document in order to board. This may be due to the airlines not fully understanding documentary requirements under U.S. law).

It seems that things are changing, hence the recent notice from USCIS. According to the notice we received, the Green Card Facility in KY is undergoing renovation. USCIS' card production capability will be reduced over the next several months. They will expand the use of ADIT Temporary Green Card stamps as temporary evidence of LPR status.

The Stamps will be valid for 12 months (previously only 30 days validity was given). Work permits and travel documents (advance paroles) will be collected at the interview from the clients. The stamp will be the only proof of work and travel authorization in such cases. It looks like this policy will continue for the next 6-12 months. This is a nationwide policy and is not taking place only in San Diego.

We will keep you posted with more information as it becomes available.

Truly sign of the times. According to USCIS As of May 11, 2009, approximately 45,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

In this pace, there will be plenty of H1B visas to carry us through September.

The American Immigration Policy Center issued an excellent Fact Sheet about H2A farm orkers and the need for reform.

The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security (AgJOBS) Act has long served as a blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform. AgJOBS, which combines an earned legalization program for farmworkers with a reform of the H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program demonstrates a successful model for compromise where workers and employers have come together to resolve their differences. The dysfunctional U.S. immigration system is currently standing in the way of addressing deeper structural problems that impact U.S. workers and U.S. competitiveness in a globalized market. As Congress proceeds, here are a few facts about the current challenges at the intersection of immigration policy and agriculture, and why addressing these issues is critical to the nation’s economy.

Here is an interesting fact :Most farmworkers are not authorized to work legally in the U.S.

According to the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), conducted biannually by the Department of Labor, the share of seasonal agricultural workers who reported that they were unauthorized has increased dramatically in the last two decades, rising from 7% in Fiscal Year (FY) 1989, to 16% in FY 1990-91, to 28% in FY 1992-93. In the most recently published NAWS survey from FY 2001-02, 53% of all seasonal agricultural workers admitted they were not authorized to work in the U.S. However, many experts suggest that the number may actually be closer to 75%.

Read the Fact-sheet here

The H-2B visa program is vital to America’s small businesses and thus to America’s economic recovery. The H-2B program is capped at 66,000 visas per year. This is the same arbitrary number set by Congress in 1990. The visa allotment is split equally between the winter and summer seasons. Small business owners rely on the H-2B program because it is the only way they can legally hire workers for temporary and seasonal positions when they cannot find Americans to hire.

Small and seasonal businesses hire American workers and they do hire every qualified
American who applies for a seasonal or temporary short-term position. Nevertheless, even in this economy, positions remain unfilled, leaving these businesses desperately in need of workers. This is not surprising since these jobs typically involve low-skilled and semi-skilled labor, involve work at remote locations, and are only short-term in duration.

Unlike the hiring of American workers, small business owners must go through a tough application process to hire foreign workers through the H-2B program. Employers must prove to the U.S. Department of Labor that there are no available U.S. workers to fill vacant short-term positions. H-2B workers go home at the end of the season. They cannot, and do not, stay in the U.S. permanently through this program.

Without access to more temporary H-2B workers, many small businesses will be extremely short-staffed this year and could be forced to close. For small businesses, relief must come now so that America’s employers can get the seasonal temporary workers they need to help in America’s economic recovery.

RELIEF NEEDED:

• An H-2B visa returning worker extension will go a long way in helping small and
seasonal businesses survive in the short term. The extension would provide
emergency relief by exempting from the cap H-2B returning workers who already
have successfully participated in the program in one of the previous 3 years.
• Without Congressional relief soon, many U.S. businesses will be forced to limit their
services or close their doors permanently rather than be a part of the economic
recovery.

CURRENT LEGISLATION:

• H-2B relief has been introduced in the House by Rep. Stupak (D-MI), and in the
Senate by Sen. Mikulski (D-MD), as the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses
Act of 2009 (H.R. 1136/S. 388).

I was shocked when the June 2009 visa bulletin came out. The cutoff date for India in the EB2 category has retrogressed to January 1, 2000. The June Visa Bulletin will become effective as of June 1st. Thus, the May Visa Bulletin, with an EB2 India cutoff date of February 15, 2004 remains effective through May 31, 2009.

Why is this happening clients ask? The high level of demand in the EB2 India category, and the need to keep within the annual limits set by law. The DOS stated that it is currently not possible to estimate whether this retrogression will continue for the rest of the fiscal year. My predication is that it will get worse before it will get better. We will keep you posted.

Click here for the June 2009 Bulletin

As attorneys that handle numerous I-601 waiver cases, we are following the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez very closely. Clients are worried about their waiver appointments and are confused about any potential delays. The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez will re-open consular operations on a rolling basis. The Consulate’s American Citizen Services unit will resume full operations effective today.

Immigrant visa operations will resume on May 18. The panel physicians will reopen on May 11 to accommodate applicants with consular appointments on or after May 18. Applicants whose appointments were cancelled have been rescheduled for the period June 5 - June 12. Please see the link above for an updated list of rescheduled appointments.

Applicants who have I-601 waiver appointments scheduled after May 7 should proceed to the Consulate as scheduled. Even if previously notified that their appointments were cancelled, applicants should attend their regularly scheduled appointments. Applicants wishing to reschedule should contact the call center at 01-900-849-4949 (from Mexico) or 1-900-476-1212 (from the U.S.).

We will keep you posted.

Continue reading "I-601 Waiver Attorney about Ciudad Juarez Operations During H1N1 Flu Outbreak " »

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced information on the number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program.

USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; however, they continue to accept advanced degree petitions since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable. Congress mandated that the first 20,000 of these types of petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas.

At this rate, there will be H-1Bs available until sometime in August. Today there are 20,000 H-1B slots that are up for grabs. Last year, employers submitted so many H-1B petitions that an individual's chance of obtaining H-1B status was only about 40%. The same thing could happen next year leaving many students with no visas.

I think that the H-1B petition submissions will rise significantly in June-July 2009. Therefore, F-1 students who wish to work in the U.S. need to plan ahead and fast.

The Swine Flu saga continues. Mexico reported three new deaths from the swine flu epidemic Saturday and urged citizens not to let their guard down against a virus that has killed 19 in people in Mexico and is spreading across Asia and Europe.

Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said Mexico's confirmed swine flu cases jumped to 473, including the 19 deaths. The previous death toll in Mexico was 16. A Mexican toddler also died in Texas days ago, for a worldwide total of 20.

In accordance with measures announced by the Government of Mexico to limit the congregation of large crowds to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez advise that most consular services are being suspended. The dates listed below may change. The Embassy and Consulate General will monitor the H1N1 situation continuously during the week and will update information on our website if the dates of the suspension of service change.

Immigrant Visa operations in Ciudad Juarez have been suspended from April 30 to May 8. Immigrant visa and waiver applicants who have April 29 appointments should proceed to the Consulate. The panel physicians are closed. Those applicants who have consular immigrant visa appointments after May 8 and have not yet obtained their medical exams should not come to Juarez until the panel physicians have re-opened.

All non-immigrant visas operations in Mexico have been suspended until May 6.

Consular services for U.S. citizens throughout Mexico will be limited to emergency assistance and to citizenship applications (passports and consular reports of birth abroad, or CRBA). Anyone with passport or CRBA appointments are encouraged but not required to reschedule to a later date. For more complete information on consular operations during the flu outbreak, as well as the latest travel advisory and warden messages, visit http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/h1n1.html.

Several thousand immigration rights advocates marched in Los Angeles, San Diego and hundreds gathered in the rain in San Francisco on Friday, but crowds in California appeared much smaller than in previous May Day demonstrations.

Marches in downtown Los Angeles took on a festive atmosphere with people carrying signs and banging drums while vendors sold food, cotton candy and ice cream from pushcarts with ringing bells. One group walked to a building housing federal immigration offices and blared salsa music from loudspeakers.

Immigrants and supporters in San Francisco's Dolores Park hoped to keep immigration reform on Obama's agenda. They held signs calling for amnesty for undocumented immigrants and an end to immigration enforcement raids. Many argued that allowing undocumented immigrants to become citizens and take a more active role in the economy will improve the country's financial outlook. Dozens of students participated, many calling for passage of the DREAM Act, which was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate in March, and would make undocumented immigrants brought into the U.S. under the age of 15 eligible for in-state tuition.

Read more...