Facebook be careful, DHS now offers a social network website called Our Border that allows for an open dialogue with a wide network of people interested in Southwest border issues. The website offers groups such as Comprehensive Immigration Reform, USCIS, CBP, and ICE.
I guess they have a lot of resources from our filing fees:))
Any Immigration attorney with clients from the Philippines, China and Mexico, knows about the suffering of families from these countries due to the lengthy visas backlogs. Now immigrants across the country are suing the federal government to try to get their adult children into the country without another lengthy waits, sometimes decades.
Under U.S. immigration law, children 21 and older cannot immigrate under their parents’ applications for green cards. Under the Child Status Protection Act of 2002, aimed at preventing children from “aging out” due to lengthy processing times, means these grown children should be allowed into the country soon after their parents file new paperwork on their behalf. But the government argues that many of those who aged out during the wait are now new applicants and must start from the beginning. They want them to start all over, this will result in many years of wait for these relatives.
The waiting crisis resulted in other social crisis. The dilemma has prompted many immigrant parents to urge their adult children to remain single while the lawsuits are pending or until they get green cards. That’s because permanent residents cannot apply for their married children to get green cards and must wait to become U.S. citizens to be able to do so.
U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson, Southern District of Texas has announced sentencing and convicting of a Houston based Immigration attorney for money laundering and conspiring to engage in visa fraud. Kenneth L. Rothey, of Houston, pleaded guilty last Tuesday and was sentenced to 14 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison.
Rothey was a fugitive living in China from 2005 until July 2008 The ICE investigation, initiated in May 2001, lead to the indictment and subsequent extradition of Rothey from China to United States.
Evidence submitted in court said that Rothey and others created an illusory business relationship with Chinese and U.S. companies by entering into contracts of sale in exchange for a fee. On paper, each of the eight US companies was shown as a Chinese subsidiary. Rothey and members of his firm prepared and presented fraudulent petitions and supporting documents on behalf of their clients to the former INS. Ten Chinese clients were willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain permanent resident status through employment-based visas.
United States DOL has advised AILA of that the iCERT system will be taken out of service on Tuesday, August 25, from approximately 5:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT for system upgrades. DOL will be adding many new features to the application in order to better serve our needs.
Salient features in the new release include:
• The ability to Withdraw Certified LCAs on-line
President Barack Obama gave a new hope to Immigration reform movement yesterday, when he attended in a White House meeting with more that 100 immigration supporters, and indicating to go ahead with reform soon. However, there is no set deadline but it is expected to hear something in this fall unlike Mr. Obama’s earlier indication for the year to come.
The session was officially hosted by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who has been sharply criticized by immigrant advocates in recent days for putting too much emphasis on enforcement and too little on reform legislation and making the immigration system more humane.
The meeting was attended by advocacy groups, religious organizations, unions, employers and law enforcement. United Farm Workers Union President Arturo Rodriguez said participants delivered blunt messages to Napolitano that she needed to adjust her public message “Very frankly, one issue was that we want to make sure you’re communicating the importance of immigration as much as you are communicating the importance of enforcement,” Rodriguez said. “We are a nation of laws. We all understand that, but simultaneously we are a nation of immigrants as well that treats people with dignity and respect. We delivered that. I think she got that message loud and clear from everybody.”
US economy is finally coming out of recession and one of the worst financial crisis since the economy meltdown. This was declared recently by Ben Bernanke, Chairman of Federal Reserve. Bernanke added that situation is improving in rest of the world too including US.
Bernanke stressed that despite much progress in stabilizing financial markets and trying to bust through credit clogs, consumers and businesses are still having trouble getting loans. The situation is not back to normal, he said. Restoring the free flow of credit is a critical component to a lasting recovery.
“Although we have avoided the worst, difficult challenges still lie ahead,” Bernanke told the gathering. “We must work together to build on the gains already made to secure a sustained economic recovery.” The remark made by Fed chief’s is crucial as it two years after the financial crisis broke out and about one year after it showed its effect across US.
The immigration system mirrors the economy, now we know it. H1B visas are still available with more than 15,000 are up for grabs. The numbers are pretty much unchanged since late May.
As of August 14, 2009, approximately 45,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn. We will keep you posted with any changes in this area.
According to a recent Newsweek article, Immigrants irrespective of their legal status are actually good for the job market, and boost the economy.
Lou Dobbs, take note: immigrants are good for our economy. The most skilled create jobs in technology and engineering, says Duke professor Vivek Wadhwa, who estimates that in 2005 immigrant-founded engineering and tech companies employed 450,000 people and generated $52 billion in sales. But even the least skilled more than repay their costs in schools and health care. Two highly respected Australian economists, Maureen Rimmer and Peter Dixon, studied the issue for the libertarian Cato Institute. “The net impact on U.S. households from tighter border enforcement is unambiguously negative,” they found, because even low-skilled immigrants expand the economic pie and create jobs farther up the ladder. Cato’s Dan Griswold says the study shows a $250 billion difference between the most and least restrictive immigration policies.
From time to time we like to share stories about cases that were resolved successfully. We do this to educate our clients, and bring hope to many others in the same situation.
This is a story about an American guy that fell in love with a girl from Ukraine. The problem was that the girl from Ukraine entered the US illegally. As a result, even marriage to the US citizen guy, could help her to stay. Absurd, but true. So the only way for the spouse to become legal one day, way to depart the US and face the US Embassy abroad, by seeking a waiver.
An Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (Form 601) becomes necessary when a visa applicant has been determined to be “inadmissible” based on one more visa ineligibilities.
Recently AILA shared some information about special immigrant religious workers. USCIS reminds special immigrant religious workers, who have a pending or approved Form I-360, to file their Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status,(Form I-485), on or before Aug. 31, 2009. Special immigrant religious workers who wish to file a Form I-360 petition with an I-485 application should also file on or before Aug. 31, 2009.
USCIS is issuing this reminder because the U.S. Department of State recently published its September 2009 Visa Bulletin, stating that visas for the employment based fourth preference category, which includes special immigrant religious workers, will become unavailable effective Sept. 1, 2009. As a result, USCIS will reject Form I-485 applications submitted on or after Sept. 1, 2009, because an immigrant visa will not be immediately available, as required by INA 245(a).
USCIS will only accept properly filed Form I-485 applications based on pending or approved Form I-360 petitions seeking the special immigrant religious worker classification of either minister (SD-1) or non-minister (SR-1) or I-485 applications filed concurrently with I-360 petitions seeking SD-1 or SR-1 classification through Aug. 31, 2009.
Special immigrant religious ministers, who are not subject to the Sept. 30, 2009 sunset date, and who do not file on or before Aug. 31, 2009, must wait until visas for fourth preference special immigrant religious workers become available before they can apply to adjust status.
Visa Lawyer Blog