Visa Lawyer Blog

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published on its website an expanded list of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degree programs that will qualify eligible foreign national students for extended optional practical training (OPT). All foreign students in F-1 nonimmigrant status who have been enrolled on a full-time basis for at least one full academic year in a college or University certified by the ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) are eligible for up to 12 months of OPT to work for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the student’s major area of study.

However, under an interim regulation published in 2008, F-1 students who graduate with a degree in one of the approved STEM degree programs are eligible to remain in the U.S. and extend the OPT period for an additional 17 months. The Revised STEM degree list, available on the ICE website at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/stem-list-2011.pdf, adds 50 degree programs which will now qualify for the 17 month OPT extension. Degree programs in agricultural and nutrition sciences, neuroscience, mathematics and computer science, psychology, pharmaceutics and drug design, and business statistics are among those that have been added to the list of approved degree programs. The ICE announcement indicates that the expansion of the degree list is part of the administration’s effort to address shortages of scientists and technology experts in certain STEM fields.

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Much has been said about the Management Consultant TN category, some classify it as the most difficult to obtain. In this installment of the TN Visa coverage, Attorney Andrew Despositio we will go over what it takes to be a Management Consultant for a company.

The Management Consultant is a great way to work with almost any company, since companies are constantly seeking consultations on how to best manage their business. The Management Consultant is perfect for the professional who has a lot of experience working for different types of businesses or just one business. It is a great position for a person who wants to help a fledgling company increase their revenue, or for a well-established company seeking new ways to generate more revenue. If you have a background in Physics, you can be a Management Consultant. If you have a background in Engineering, you can be a Management Consultant. If you have a background in Internet Marketing, Public Relations, or Social Media even, you can be a Management Consultant. The Management Consultant is the most versatile TN position available. However, there are a few parts of the Management Consultant TN visa that must be addressed before applying as one.

What it means to be a Management Consultant

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Today, during a speech from El Paso, Texas, President Obama laid out his vision for improving the United States immigration system.

While the speech focused on a wide range of immigration reform issues, President Obama highlighted several topics that are of critical importance to the economy and to the business community. As the economy continues to recover, the President made clear that immigration reform is vital to this cause. He recognized that “in a global marketplace, we need all the talent we can get – not just to benefit those individuals, but because their contributions will benefit all Americans.” This emphasis was echoed by the President’s top advisors: “We can’t out-educate, out-innovate and out-build our competitors without an immigration system that works for our economy.”

The White House also released a Blueprint for Building a 21st Century Immigration System, which documents the Administration’s immigration policy goals.

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Arizona will appeal directly to the US Supreme Court in a bid to overturn an injunction blocking key parts of the state’s controversial immigration law, state officials announced today.

Gov. Jan Brewer said she and Attorney General Tom Horne had decided to take the case directly to the nation’s highest court, asking it to examine whether US District Judge Susan Bolton acted correctly when she issued her injunction in Phoenix last summer.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction on April 11. Arizona could ask all active judges on the Ninth Circuit to rehear the appeal, but state officials decided it would be faster to take the case directly to the Supreme Court. Expect another showdown.

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Here we go again. When Obama’s Democratic Party controlled the House and Senate, Congress failed to pass an immigration bill that would have provided a path to Residency and later Citizenship for some illegal immigrants who entered America as children. The DREAM Act died in the Senate in December due to a Republican filibuster.

With Republicans now controlling the House and holding a stronger minority in the Senate, the chances for any comprehensive immigration reform are considered non-existent.

Obama travels to Texas on Tuesday to make the case that his administration has worked hard to secure the border and the time has come for Congress to deal with the 10.8 million people already in the U.S. illegally.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a final rule that adopts, without change, an interim rule to improve the integrity of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. USCIS received approximately 75 public comments in response to the interim rule, which has been in effect since April 3, 2009.

The main changes made by the interim rule and adopted by the final rule include: prohibiting employers from accepting expired documents; revising the list of acceptable documents by removing outdated documents and making technical amendments; and adding documentation applicable to certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United States. The list of acceptable documents that employees may present to verify their identity and employment authorization is divided into three sections: List A documents, which show identity and employment authorization; List B documents, which show identity only; and List C documents, which show employment authorization only.

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Eric Holder vacated the BIA’s order and remanded the matter to the BIA to determine whether and how the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act impacts respondent’s eligibility for cancellation of removal, see Matter of Dorman.

DOJ Secretary Eric Holder announced that he has vacated — or essentially wiped out — a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals in reference to a recent case in which the BIA applied DOMA’s Section 3. In his decision, Holder listed the criteria the BIA should consider:

1) whether respondent’s same-sex partnership or civil union qualifies him to be considered a “spouse” under New Jersey law;

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Expect more states to follow this trend. Virginia has joined the list of states requiring certain companies contracting with the state to enroll in and use the E-Verify program. SB 1049, recently approved by Governor McDonnell, adds a new section 2.2-4308.2 to the Code of Virginia.

A spokesperson for the Governor’s office stated that the acceleration of the E-Verify requirement was due in part to recent upgrades in the E-Verify system, including the launch of the E-Verify Self-Check tool, which went live March 21. Provided by the Department of Homeland Security, this new web tool is available to workers for the purposes of checking the accuracy of their information in the relevant databases (Social Security Administration and DHS). The initial release is available only to individuals with addresses in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Self-Check tool asks certain questions aimed to verify the identity of the individual. Once verified, the individual can then confirm whether or not the relevant databases accurately reflect his or her appropriate work authorization status.

The new provision will apply to employers that have more than an average of 50 employees for the previous 12 months and that are entering into a contract to perform work for, or provide services to, any agency of the Commonwealth if the value of the work or services is in excess of $50,000. Affected employers must enroll in and utilize the Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program to verify the employment eligibility of new hires performing work pursuant to those contracts.

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This was long overdue but here are the latest on the Tri Valley story. A federal grand jury here has indicted the president of a Pleasanton, Calif., university on 33-criminal counts, charging her with an array of violations, including visa fraud, money laundering and alien harboring, as a result of a two-year investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Tri-Valley University President Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, who also served as the school’s chief executive officer, is accused of engaging in a two-year scheme to defraud the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by submitting phony documents in support of Tri-Valley University’s applications to admit foreign nationals on student visas. The indictment further alleges that after obtaining such approvals, Su fraudulently issued visa-related documents to student aliens in exchange for “tuition and fees.”

Su was taken into custody Monday morning at her Pleasanton, Calif., home by HSI special agents. She made her initial appearance here in federal court shortly after her arrest.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has fully implemented the Secure Mail Initiative (SMI), which uses U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation to deliver certain immigration documents in a safe, secure and timely manner. This is made possible by a partnership between USCIS and the USPS. The SMI enables USCIS to confirm delivery of permanent resident cards and documents pertaining to travel and employment authorization. With USPS tracking information, USCIS customers can easily stay up-to-date on the delivery status of their documents and USCIS can confirm that these essential documents were delivered to the proper address.

SMI provides USCIS customers many benefits, including:

* The ability to track the status of their documents with USPS tracking information

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