U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has redesigned the Permanent Resident Card—commonly known as the “Green Card”—to incorporate several
major new security features. State-of-the-art technology prevents counterfeiting, obstructs
tampering, and facilitates quick and accurate authentication of the card. Beginning today,
As of May 11, 2010, approximately 18,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were filed. Additionally, USCIS has received 7,600 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. Still fewer visas than expected, sign of the times. We expect filings to pick after the May graduations and into the summer.
So what is this H1B Cap all about?
The current law limits to 65,000 the number of aliens who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-1B status each fiscal year (FY). The numerical limitation was temporarily raised to 195,000 in FY2001, FY2002 and FY2003. In addition, excluded from the ceiling are all H-1B non-immigrants who work at (but not necessarily for) universities and non-profit research facilities. This means that contractors working at, but not directly employed by the institution may be exempt from the cap. Free Trade Agreements allow a carve out from the numerical limit of 1,400 for Chilean nationals and 5,400 for Singapore nationals. Laws also exempt up to 20,000 foreign nationals holding a master’s or higher degree from U.S. universities from the cap on H-1B visas.
This is a summary from AILA. The following immigration-related bills were introduced into the House of Representatives and the Senate in March and April:
E-Verify Loan Origination Act of 2010 (H.R. 4744)
Introduced by Rep. Marchant (R-TX) on 3/3/10
After a week full of outrage about the Arizona Immigration law, we are happy to report about an opposite spirit coming all the way from the state of New York.
Gov. David Paterson stepped into the immigration debate Monday, saying he would create the nation’s first “pardon panel” to investigate requests of legal immigrants facing deportation because of past convictions.
Paterson, proposing the measure as the nation is embroiled in conflict over an Arizona law that critics say would encourage racial profiling, said he would pardon immigrants if they meet requirements including rehabilitation and demonstrate they’re not a danger to society.
The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2010 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Winners should start finding out very soon. Notifications to the randomly-selected diversity visa or “green card lottery” winners are being sent between May and July 2010.
How does it all work?
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and fellow Democrats on Thursday unveiled a “framework” for a sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration laws. In wake of the furor over Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, Democrats said the first step toward reform must be bolstered border security.
The REPAIR Proposal, which still needs to be drafted into a formal bill, addresses seven main areas for immigration reform. These include achieving operational control of the nation’s borders to prevent future illegal immigration, finding and removing individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States, halting unauthorized employment using a biometric employment verification system, and maximizing the nation’s economic prosperity through reforms to the legal immigration system.
Among the document’s many recommendations is the proposal to provide an immediate green card to foreign students graduating from a U.S. educational institution with an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), who have an offer of employment in a field relevant to their degree. Further, REPAIR would strive to eliminate the family-based immigration backlog over a period of eight years by increasing the per country family immigration quotas from 7 to 10 percent. The REPAIR Proposal would also implement a two-step process to legalize undocumented individuals living in the United States who do not have criminal convictions and who do not pose a threat to national security.
This past week we saw people from all walks of life debating about this unreasonable law. Even Arizona law enforcement personnel feel that this is going to create more harm than good. The shine of light to the Arizona law – if there is one – is that it has shaken our nation’s leaders into dealing with the need for immigration reform. In large numbers in Arizona and nationwide, people have turned out protesting the law. For more information about the new Arizona Law email me.
Arizona’s new immigration law is a bad idea whether you are an anti or a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform. The reasons are different for each but the idea of a state taking crazy measures points to the failure of congress and the administration to take meaningful action to correct what is becoming a system that is failing the immigrant community and our entire nation.
What does the Arizona law do?
Arizona’s law orders immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the United States illegally.
San Diego Restaurant, The French Gourmet Inc., indicted recently for knowingly making false attestations on I-9 Forms, hiring employees unauthorized to work in the U.S., and employing those aliens after learning of their ineligibility to work. U.S. v. The French Gourmet Inc. is the case, and you can read it here:
In May 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed a criminal search warrant at, The French Gourmet, and have taken workers suspected of being illegally in the country into custody. ICE has arrived at worksites with both criminal and civil warrants. It has searched businesses, frozen bank accounts, and arrested not only employees but also employers. This recent indicment sends a clear message to employers.
With all the recent mess in this country the recent news about Americans giving up their Citizenship is interesting.
The Federal Register, the government publication that records such decisions, shows that 502 expatriates gave up their U.S. citizenship or permanent residency status in the last quarter of 2009. That is a tiny portion of the 5.2 million Americans estimated by the State Department to be living abroad.
Still, 502 was the largest quarterly figure in years, more than twice the total for all of 2008, and it looms larger, given how agonizing the decision can be. There were 235 renunciations in 2008 and 743 last year. Waiting periods to meet with consular officers to formalize renunciations have grown.
Visa Lawyer Blog