Visa Lawyer Blog

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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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On Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti experienced an earthquake of devastating proportions. This set of questions and answers provides information for United States citizens in the process of adopting a child from Haiti.

Questions and Answers
Q. I am in the process of adopting a child from Haiti, what can I do to bring the child to the United States?
A. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has authorized the use of humanitarian parole for the following categories of orphans in Haiti:
Category 1 Cases
Description: Children being adopted by U.S. citizens prior to Jan. 12, 2010, who have been legally confirmed as orphans available for inter-country adoption by the Government of Haiti (GOH) through an adoption decree or custody grant to suitable U.S. citizen adoptive parents.

Required Criteria:
* Evidence of availability for adoption MUST include at least one of the following:
o Full and final Haitian adoption decree; or
o GOH custody grant to prospective adoptive parents for emigration and adoption; or
o Secondary evidence in place of the above.

* Evidence of suitability MUST include one of the following:
o Approved Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition; or
o Current FBI fingerprints and security background check; or
o Physical custody in Haiti plus a security background check.

Please note, some of the children in this category will receive immigrant visas and others will receive humanitarian parole, depending on the completeness of the cases. Those who enter with immigrant visas will enter as aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Those who enter with humanitarian parole will need to have their immigration status finalized after arrival through an application for adjustment of status.

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ComputerWorld reports about a New Jersey judge that has ordered the shutdown of three H-1B opposition Web sites.

Middlesex County Superior Court Judge James Hurley ordered firms that register domains and provide hosting services — GoDaddy Inc., Network Solutions, Comcast Cable Communications Inc. and DiscountASP.Net, to disable the three sites, ITgrunt.com, Endh1b.com, and Guestworkerfraud.com. Facebook Inc. was also ordered to disable ITgrunt’s Facebook page.

The order was made in response to a libel lawsuit filed by IT services and consulting firm Apex Technology Group Inc., based in Edison, N.J. against the three Web sites opposing the H-1B visa program. Such attacks on H1B supporters increased last year as the economic situation was gloomy, and prospects for employment were not looking good. Yet, we all know that the H1B program is not the cause of all evil and in fact is a boosting factor in creation of new jobs and opportunities for American workers. Lets hope that the antis will take it easy in 2010, and focus on the real issues at stake.

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As security at International airports tightens, we remind our readers about ESTA. On the one-year anniversary of implementing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection reminds U.S.-bound travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries of the ESTA requirement. Beginning January 20, CBP will initiate a 60-day transition to enforced ESTA compliance for air carriers; VWP travelers without an

approved ESTA may not be allowed to board a U.S.-bound plane.

ESTA is an electronic travel authorization that all citizens of VWP countries must obtain prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP. ESTA has been mandatory since Jan. 12, 2009 for all nationals of VWP countries traveling to the U.S under the VWP.

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Some good news for visa holders that are about to loose their visa sponsored jobs or already lost the visa job. In a decision issued today by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in Matter of Neto, which empowers immigration judges who are considering deportation of individuals with approved work-related visa petitions and pending permanent residence applications. The issue at stake is whether an immigration judge has the authority to decide whether the approved visa petition – issued for one job – remains valid when the individual changes jobs. Without a valid visa petition, the individual will not be eligible for permanent residence.

In 2000, Congress passed the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act, which allowed applicants for permanent residence based on approved visa petitions the flexibility to change jobs. However, in 2005, the BIA decided in Matter of Perez-Vargas that an immigration judge had no authority to decide whether a new job was the same as or similar to the old job, which determines validity of their visa petition. This left these applicants for permanent residence in limbo, stripping them of the ability to benefit from the 2000 law while in removal proceedings because the judges couldn’t, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service wouldn’t, determine the validity of their visa petition.

Today, in Matter of Neto, the BIA overruled its own earlier decision that denied judges this authority and will now allow them to decide whether a new job is acceptable, thus keeping the individual’s eligibility for permanent residence intact. In which case, the visa petition remains valid and the immigrant worker can proceed with an application to become a lawful permanent resident – potentially saving them from deportation.

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