Visa Lawyer Blog

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The House voted Sunday night on the Senate bill for health care reform, passing it 219 to 212. President Obama won a historic victory in the struggle for health care reform Sunday as the House of Representatives passed a sweeping bill overhauling the American medical system. What does this mean for Immigration? Big hope for the future, but a lot of work remains to be done.

Tens of thousands of people turned out on Washington’s National Mall on Sunday to support the Obama administration in its next big battle, a renewed effort to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.

Speaking by video to the crowd, President Obama said he would do “everything in my power” to get a bipartisan deal within the year.

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Senators Charles E. Schumer and Lindsey O. Graham may have the answer. In a great article published by the Washington Post, they outline their idea and hope to work closely with President Obama to get it done.

The answer is simple: Americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration and support legal immigration. Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed to making this country more vibrant and economically dynamic. Once it is clear that in 20 years our nation will not again confront the specter of another 11 million people coming here illegally, Americans will embrace more welcoming immigration policies.

Our plan has four pillars: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs; fulfilling and strengthening our commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here.

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As you may know, USCIS requires photographs and fingerprints for certain applications, this process is called Biometrics. Until the Biometrics step is complete, an applicant can not proceed with the rest of the application, get his work permit or be scheduled for his Naturalization interview if it a Citizenship Application.

In many cases, applicants can not make it to the assigned fingerprints/biometrics date assigned by USCIS. Failure to show up can be detrimental to the case in hand, and can result in case termination.

A recent update from the San Diego AILA chapter may be useful to readers of this Blog and is applicable in all 50 states.

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We are all still shocked from the recent events in Ciudad Juarez. The story of the Couple slain by drug gang while heading home from birthday party is a scary precedent. For unknown reasons, a drug gang followed the family car through the streets and riddled it with bullets, authorities said. When it was over, 35-year-old Enriquez and Redelfs, who was 34, were dead. Enriquez was an employee at the busy US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez.

In light of the recent shootings of US Consulate officials in Ciudad Juarez Mexico, the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez will be closed for the next few days. The U.S. State Department has also updated its warning on travel to Mexico to say it had authorized the departure of dependents of U.S. government personnel from consulates in Ciudad Juarez and five other northern border cities.

The USCIS office at Ciudad Juarez has informed that the Teletech call center has been advised to reschedule all of today’s waiver appointments to March 26th, 2010, which was previously scheduled as an administrative day. The applicants will be notified by email or phone, or they may contact the call center at 1-800-919-1754 in the United States and 01-477-788-7070 in Mexico.

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When faced with trying to have a U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident, or nonimmigrant visa holder perform services in Mexico, it is critical to analyze the following issues first:

· Does the company have any operating entities in Mexico?

If so, some Mexican consulates will indicate that FM-3 visa applications should be made through Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INM).

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President Barack Obama on Thursday assured immigration advocates frustrated by the wait for a promised overhaul of U.S. immigration laws that he remains committed to fixing a system he has said is broken. What remains unclear is whether Congress will send him a bill this year.

Obama also met separately later in the day with Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who gave the president an outline of a bill they are drafting. Obama said afterward in a statement that he “looked forward to reviewing their promising framework.”

Obama said he told the senators and the advocacy groups that “my commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering, and that I will continue to be their partner in this important effort.”

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2011 is 65,000. Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.

USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap. If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.

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Great tip from AILA for our H1B filers trying to beat the rush. Because you cannot submit an LCA earlier than six months prior to the beginning date of the period of intended employment (20 CFR § 655.730(b)), if you want your LCA in hand before April 1, then set your employment start date on the LCA for a date in September, and set the expiration date for a date no more than three years hence. File the I-129 with a start date of October 1, but with an expiration date that coincides with the expiration date of the LCA. You will lose a couple of days on the back end of the petition by doing this, but you will get the LCA filed and back before April 1.

Example:

LCA start date: 9/1/10

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We are a few hours away from the biggest Awards ceremony in Hollywood and the world. So what part do Immigrants play in the biggest show on earth? Talent is the one universal passport, and Hollywood has always had a place for immigrants — from German maestro Fritz Lang, who headed west when Hitler’s minister of propaganda pressured him to take over Germany’s top studio, to Polish Roman Polanski, who directed Los Angeles’ definitive film noir, “Chinatown,” and Taiwan-born Ang Lee, who became the first nonwhite to win an Academy Award for directing for “Brokeback Mountain,” his reinvention of the western.

As Hollywood tries to stave off commercial stasis, the industry has been undergoing another chapter in its love affair with foreign writers and directors, particularly those from the Far East and Latin America. The international box office now accounts for more than 60% of a film’s box office gross.

Of course, in this age of globalization, it’s unclear what it even means to be a Hollywood immigrant anymore. “It doesn’t matter where you live,” says Paramount Classics chief John Lesher. “We all talk on the phone. We see each other at film festivals. You can edit a movie in Brazil, and your editor can be in London, and you can put it together seamlessly in perfect time.”

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What a great initiative introduced recently. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced legislation to drive job creation and increase America’s global competiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States.

The StartUp Visa Act of 2010 will allow an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two year visa if he or she can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to dedicate a significant sum – a minimum of $250,000 – to the immigrant’s startup venture.

The StartUp Visa Act of 2010 would amend immigration law to create a new EB-6 category for immigrant entrepreneurs, drawing from existing visas under the EB-5 category, which permits foreign nationals who invest at least $1 million into the U.S., and thereby create ten jobs, to obtain a green card. After proving that he or she has secured initial investment capital and if, after two years, the immigrant entrepreneur can show that he or she has generated at least five full-time jobs in the United States, attracted $1 million in additional investment capital or achieved $1 million in revenue, then he or she would receive permanent legal resident status.

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