Visa Lawyer Blog

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A client found out the hard way about aggressive debt collectors making harassing phone calls and using abusive language. They would call sometimes three or four times a day. The client bought a fridge on credit and stopped paying when she lost her job. Collection agents said she owed $4,500 and threatened to seize her furniture and car and “send immigration to the house.” They contacted her neighbors and boss about her debt, all in violation of the law.

Attorney Sergei Lemberg, a recognized expert on Fair Debt Collection Practices has written an excellent article on this issue and we are featuring this article below. For more information click here: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

In today’s economy, it’s all too easy to get behind in paying your bills. For many people, simply juggling living expenses involves racking up more debt. To make matters worse, people with the best of intentions get crushed under the burden of mountains of debt, and then are subjected to calls, letters, and harassment by bill collectors. In these stressful times, it’s more important than ever to understand bill collectors and your rights.

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Most lawyers that are versed in the H1B visa process, are getting busier and busier these days. As we are nearing the April 1, 2010 filing deadline for the H1B visa. Many speculations out there as to when will the Cap be reached this year. The economy is still in recovery mode, and employers are careful before hiring. Yet, many Immigration experts feel the Cap will be met early this year, but when is the big question.

With drastic changes to the Labor Condition Application process (now taking more than 7 days to process), as well as unreasonable denials, planning early is the key to a successful H1B case this year. But in this post, I want to go back to the basics, the Cap and the legislative background.

Background

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From time to time we can provide most up to date information from different Consular Posts across the globe. The following update is from the US Embassy in Istanbul Turkey and is provided by our AILA liaison committee. Here are the questions and answers:

What are the scheduling/interview waiting period for NIV appts (Turks)? Scheduling waiting period for NIV appts (Iranians)? Times of year that waiting generally increases?

Current wait time for an NIV appt. is approx. 15 days for Turkish nationals. Ankara is

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I was recently interviewed by the Latin America News Dispatch about the current situation in Mexico and our work with E2 investors fleeing from that country.

One option available to wealthy Mexicans who flee the violence in their country is to apply for an E-2 or Investor’s Visa. Since 1994, Mexico has been a so-called Treaty Country, making its residents eligible for E-2 visas. While the State Department only says that the investment needed must be “substantial,” based on our experience a recommended investment varies between 50,000 to 100,000 dollars.

According to the article, not many of these visas are granted every year. In 2009, the U.S. granted Mexico only 2,499 treaty investor and treaty trader visas. This is a small number compared to the 7,598 student visas and 6,020 exchange visitor visas approved for Mexicans in 2009, according to State Department statistics. Yet we feel that demand for such visas is only increasing. We will continue to provide guidance to our clients in this complex area of Immigration Law.

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In recent weeks our East Coast H1B and L clients reported problems at the Newark port of entry. Problems were reported by applicants from India coming back from vacation or travel for Business. In 2 cases, workers were sent back home, visa revoked by the officer. What is going on?
The AILA U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Liaison Committee received reports from AILA members that CBP inspectors at the Newark, New Jersey airport port of entry were apparently assisting in an investigation involving certain H-1B nonimmigrants from India and certain H-1B petitioner companies. The inspectors’ questions focused on who the individuals worked for, how their pay was computed, who paid their salary, their job duties, and what they were paid. In some cases, the individuals were subjected to expedited removal and visa cancellation.

After inquiring with CBP headquarters (“HQ”) about these incidents, the CBP Liaison Committee was advised by HQ that several of these cases involved companies under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and/or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) for ongoing fraud. CBP HQ noted that they use as much advance information as possible to target specific individuals who warrant additional inspection. HQ also noted that recent enforcement cases reviewed ranged from simple documentary deficiency to visa/petition fraud. Upon an inadmissibility finding, the determination to either allow the applicant to withdraw his or her application for admission or to subject the applicant to expedited removal is based on “the totality of the circumstances and reviewed on a case by case basis.”
Individuals with pending I-751 petitions returning to the United States via the Newark airport port of entry, who have a I-751 filing receipt documenting that an I-751 has been properly filed or an ADIT Legal Permanent Resident stamp, will be sent to secondary inspection for further interview to verify the validity of the I-751 Petition. It is unclear if CBP will undertake a substantive review of the I-751 Petition.

Best Advice

Applicants should thoroughly prepare for their trip to the United States and their inspection upon application for admission by reviewing all pertinent documents to their petition and to consider carrying evidence to support the assertions made in the petition filed on their behalf by their employer.

Similarly, employers must be prepared for telephone inquiries from CBP officers at ports of entry to confirm the assertions made in any nonimmigrant petition and supporting documentation. Finally, employers must be advised that the government may review information in any public venues such as websites and other media for consistency with petition content. Thus, keeping such public information accurate and current is essential.

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This information is available from our AILA liaison and is an important clarification for those that practice in the H2B area of law.

USCIS’ and DOL’s regulations both allow for the certification of more than one position (DOL) and filing for multiple beneficiaries (USCIS) if all H-2B workers will be performing the same service, for the same period of time, and in the same location. 8 C.F.R. §214.2(h)(2)(ii).

DOL regulation at 20 C.F.R. §655.4 defines the area of intended employment as “the geographic area within normal commuting distance of the place (worksite address) of the intended employment of the job opportunity for which the certification is sought.” It further offers the use of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as a reasonable measure in determining the “same area of intended employment.” The CSC uses this definition in establishing the regulatory requirement at 8 C.F.R. §214.2(h)(2)(ii).

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In connection with the recent story about ten Americans charged with trafficking in Haiti but defended their plan to bus 33 children into the Dominican Republic. We remind our readers that moving Children between countries, and exploring adoption options must be still regulated by International law. Any attempts to move children unofficially will be deemed suspicious and subject to greater scrutiny. According to the group, the children did not have any passports. Government approval is needed for any Haitian children to leave the country.

The Department of State is actively involved in addressing the potential for trafficking in persons, particularly children, in post-earthquake Haiti. The disaster in Haiti has displaced many people and separated numerous children from their families, posing great risk and higher vulnerability to human trafficking. The Department has acted swiftly to mobilize coordinated efforts both on the ground in Haiti and in Washington to prevent and combat trafficking in persons as part of the USG’s emergency response and long-term planning for recovery.

Currently, the Department of State and its partners are intensifying efforts on five different fronts, including: support for protection of vulnerable children (led by UNICEF with the government of Haiti, the Red Cross, and other international and non- governmental organizations), such as registration of unaccompanied and separated children, tracing, and family reunification; helping remobilize the Haitian Police’s Child Protection Brigades; preventing the trafficking of displaced Haitians; educating Haitians about the risks of giving away children in times of crisis; and, rebuilding the capacity of Haitian NGOs already working to protect child domestic servants, known in Haiti as restaveks. We will keep monitoring this situation and keep you posted.

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Recently USCIS issued a fact sheet on humanitarian parole that includes questions and answers and guidelines on filing.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides a number of humanitarian programs and types of protection for individuals in need of shelter and/or aid from disasters, oppression, emergency medical issues and other urgent conditions. Humanitarian parole is one such program.

Humanitarian parole enables an otherwise inadmissible individual to enter the U.S. temporarily

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In his first State of the Union address, President Obama urged Congress to work together to confront the nation’s problems. He touched on many domestic issues, but Immigration was not covered much this evening.

He said:

” And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system, to secure our borders, and enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nations. In the end, it’s our ideals, our values that built America, values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe, values that drive our citizens still.”

Let’s hope the President is committed to fix the Broken system, sooner than later.

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The Department of Homeland Security now offer Haitian nationals, who were already here when the earthquake struck, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. That status, which would allow them to legally work, will not cover Haitians who leave their country following the devastating quake that resulted in as many as 150,000 deaths. Many Haitians flee the country, thinking they will be accepted in the US at any time and given a right to stay and work. TPS is not a right to enter, rather a relief for those illegals that are already here.

What is TPS?

Congress established a provision for short-term protection known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The provision sets forth criteria for the extension of temporary protection to people from certain countries experiencing political or environmental upheaval. For decades, during periods of civil strife, economic upheaval, or natural disaster, the Attorney General–in consultation with other agencies–exercised his or her discretion not to force nationals of countries experiencing these calamities to leave the United States. Individuals who were in the country illegally could present themselves and receive work authorization; those in proceedings had their cases put on hold; while those who already had orders of removal were not returned until the situation had stabilized. The relief was extra-statutory and was called “extended voluntary departure.”

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