Visa Lawyer Blog

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The government has tens of billions of dollars left in the eye-popping $700 billion bank bailout fund created last fall, prompting a debate in Congress over what to do with it. The question of what to do with the money will grow more pressing in coming months as Congress takes a step back to consider the fate of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

Lawmakers had rushed to approve the money in October 2008 as Wall Street sat on the brink of collapse. Since then, even as the economy continues to wobble and high unemployment threatens the prospects for a speedy recovery; major banks have repaid $70 billion in assistance and expressed growing optimism about their ability to function without government assistance.

The Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, estimated on Thursday that the government has about $328 billion left in the fund that hasn’t been spent or legally committed. According to GAO, the government has disbursed approximately $339 billion and promised $102 billion more. That leaves some $259 in the fund plus the $70 billion banks have repaid.

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USCIS has announced that the H1B cap count continues to inch forward, with an approximate count of 45,000 as of July 3, 2009. This is a slight increase over the last count. As of this writing, both the advanced-degree and regular caps remain open for FY2010.

We will continue to provide updated H-1B cap count information, as and when it is made available.

Employers can still file fresh H-1B petitions considering that H-1 cap is still there.

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USCIS announced on June 22, 2009 that the premium processing service will resume for I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) cases. This service was suspended since July 2, 2007. The USCIS announcement advises that they will accept premium processing requests for all EB1, EB2, and EB3 cases, except for EB1 Multinational Executive Transferees and EB2 National Interest Waiver cases.

USCIS will charge an additional $1000 filing fee for the premium processing service. USCIS will take one of the following action within 15 calendar days in-lieu-of this fee: approve the case, issue a notice of intent to deny (NOID), issue a request for evidence (RFE), or open an investigation for fraud / misrepresentation. They also provide a dedicated telephone number and email address to facilitate communication regarding the case.

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Legislation to ease immigration into the United States could be passed by the US Senate before the summer break, a leading US politician said yesterday in Dublin, though it would then face a battle to gain the support of a majority of the US House of Representatives. However, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez from New York, a leading figure on immigration in Washington, said Ireland had no chance of reaching a bilateral deal with the United States to deal with undocumented Irish living illegally there.

US president Barack Obama made it clear in Washington in recent days during meetings with congressional leaders that he wants comprehensive immigration reform – which has been tried before and failed.

US senator Chuck Schumer (New York) is bringing legislation to the Senate by the end of July, said Ms Velazquez, one of a number of members of Congress in Ireland this week. “It is important because the speaker of the house has made it clear that she wants the Senate to pass the legislation first and then the house will take it,” she told The Irish Times.

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Employers are receiving ample H-1B RFE in FY 2009-10. This is a major concern for the IT consulting and staffing companies. The problem of the unanswerable RFE generally stems from an H1B petition that was filed without awareness of the current USCIS expectations and adjudication standards. Petitioner has to submit various proofs relating to the beneficiary intended employment. A common problem is the work location/s of the H1B employee/s. It is obvious for a consulting company to file H1B petitions that provide their headquarters office/principal place of business as the work location. This generally is done because they do not know where the individual will really be working on the start date requested in the H1B petition. A project assignment would be located and matched with the employee sometime after the H1B has been filed.

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The Nebraska Service Center (NSC) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has informed American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that all applications for reentry permits will be denied if the fingerprinting is not completed within 120 days of filing. The NSC issued an advisement in June 2009 regarding a change in procedures related to requests for rescheduling biometrics (fingerprinting) appointments for applications for reentry permits. Reentry permits are travel documents used by U.S. permanent residents (green card holders) who need to remain outside of the U.S. in excess of one year. The procedures for requesting expedited fingerprinting have not changed. Applications for reentry permits must be filed from within the United States and the subsequent biometrics appointment must also be completed inside the United States. This request must occur before the appointment date. A request for rescheduling must be accompanied by a reasonable excuse for the inability to appear for the scheduled appointment. Rescheduled appointments are set within a maximum 30-day time frame. Applicants should plan their travel accordingly, as the announcement is absolute with respect to the 30-day time frame.

We will keep you posted for the changes pertaining to biometrics procedure for reentry permits.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said that it had begun an audit of 652 U.S. companies to verify whether their employees were eligible to work. Violations could lead to fines, as well as civil and criminal charges.

The Obama administration announced a crackdown on Wednesday on hundreds of companies suspected of employing illegal immigrants, signaling a shift in strategy: going after employers instead of workers.

However, it is yet to know what steps the government would pursue if it verified that an employer had hired illegal workers, or how severe penalties might be. It remains to be seen how much pressure the new policy could put on employers. Focus is on the eminent cases of employers who hire undocumented workers, and sometimes even assist in falsifying their paperwork to avoid detection.

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We just updated our readers a few days ago about the new I-9 form, when the recent notice from the government came out. Federal officials Wednesday notified more than 650 businesses around the country, including nearly 50 in Los Angeles, that their records will be audited as part of a widening effort to find companies that hire illegal immigrants. The number of notices issued is the largest ever in a single day and exceeds the total sent out in all of fiscal 2008.

Is this Obama’s new plan on cracking down on employers, well that remains to be seen. The notices are the government’s first step in what could be a lengthy investigation. Immigration agents plan to review the I-9 forms and identification documents at all 652 companies. Those with significant numbers of undocumented workers may be fined. And if agents believe the businesses knowingly hired illegal immigrants or find “a pattern of egregious violations,” criminal investigations could be launched.

The message is clear, Employers who hire illegal workers are going to be on the hook as well, not just the illegal employees.

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On June 26, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the current edition of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009. USCIS has requested that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the continued use of the current version of Form I-9. Once the extension request is approved, USCIS will update Form I-9. At that time, employers will be able to use either the Form I-9 with the new revision date or the Form I-9 with the 02/02/09 revision date.

Read more here..

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U.S. President Barack Obama says he is committed to passing comprehensive reform of the country’s immigration laws. The president told a gathering of Hispanics the nation’s borders must be strengthened to stop illegal immigration.

President Obama said that while immigration is vital for America’s future, illegal immigration cannot continue.

“The American people believe in immigration,” he said. “But they also believe that we cannot tolerate a situation where people come to the United States in violation of the law.”
At the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference, Mr. Obama said the millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally should have the chance to become citizens.

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