Visa Lawyer Blog

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Practicing Immigration Law in San Diego, just 20 minutes from the largest International crossing border in the world can be very exciting. The stories I hear from clients and our Government workers are amazing. Stories of government employees corruption are not new, and from time to time we hear of a big fish getting caught in the system. A recent New York Times article covers the San Diego and other cities immigration corruption situation.

If you can get a corrupt inspector, you have the keys to the kingdom,” said Andrew P. Black, an F.B.I. agent who supervises a multiagency task force focused on corruption on the San Diego border.

The smugglers use any ruse available to lure border workers but seem to favor deploying attractive women as bait. They flirt and charm and beg the officers, often middle-aged men, to “just this once” let an unauthorized relative or friend through. And then another and another.

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered the commencement address at UPenn, noting that accepting immigrants is one of our nation’s greatest historic strengths. Here is what he had to say at the Ceremony:

Let me ask everyone here who can trace their families back to the Mayflower to raise their hands. Congratulations, you are related to America’s first immigrants. And the rest of us are the descendants of immigrants, too.

“And the word I was thinking of, the key to innovation is immigration. Our nation’s greatest historic strength is that we’ve always welcomed the best and brightest from every corner of the globe. eBay, Google, Levi’s, Budweiser, they were all started by immigrants. It’s the story of New York, and it’s the story of Penn – which has the highest percentage of international students in the Ivy League.

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McCain is pressing the all the correct keys today in Silicon Valley. John McCain joined Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in pushing for comprehensive immigration reform, including guest worker permits to bring employees to California’s Silicon Valley and the state’s vast agricultural fields.

Asked by Silicon Valley panelists on what he would do to grant more visa for skilled technology workers, McCain broadly advocated the comprehensive immigration reform plan he had backed with Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy in Congress.

Responding to a question about so-called H1-B visas for Silicon Valley workers, McCain said: “We have to attract the best and brightest minds. It isn’t just H1-B visas. In our agricultural sector, they can’t find workers as well. We need a temporary agriculture (worker) program.”

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Only a few days ago, I reported on the massive ICE raid on the local bakery, The French Gourmet, and they did it again. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered UCSD student housing to search an apartment without first notifying the university. What a surprise!

This behavior underscores a trend in the accelerating number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on workplaces, homes and schools nationwide—unnecessarily rough treatment of detainees that makes not only the threat of deportation, but detention itself a source of fear and anxiety.

Last Thursday morning, ICE agents entered the off-campus graduate housing unit of student Jorge Narvaez, 21, a legal U.S. resident. Earlier that morning, agents had carried out a criminal search warrant at the French Gourmet, a Pacific Beach bakery and bistro, and were proceeding on to suspected illegal workers’ homes. “They asked me what’s my legal status,” he said. “I had nothing to hide, so I let them in my home. I went outside and they went through all my stuff.”

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ICE posted an interactive map and list of SEVIS approved schools to its website. The list of schools is organized by state.

If you are interested in studying in the US, changes are you will need an F-1 student visa. US immigration law allows for the admission as nonimmigrants those who are coming to the US to participate in a full time course of study. Most students enter in F-1 status, although the J-1 visa (for exchange visitors participating in a program approved by the State Department) and M-1 visa (for vocational students) are also sometimes available.

A prospective student must first identify a school that is qualified to sponsor a student for a visa. Here is the most recent list of SEVIS approved schools by State. Click here

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The nation’s severe nursing shortage, now in its ninth year, challenges hospitals’ ability

to operate at full capacity to care for their communities. The American Hospital Association (AHA) issued a statement in support of the Emergency Nurse Supply Relief Act. If this Bill will pass thousands of Nurses will be able to enter the US and join hospitals, desperate for skilled nursing professionals.

The letter states: The long-term solution to our nursing shortage requires a substantial expansion of ourdomestic supply through a considerable increase in nursing school capacity and completion rates. Meanwhile, immigrant nurses are needed in substantial numbers to fill

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Felony cultivation of marijuana in violation of Cal. Health & Safety Code §11358 is categorically an aggravated felony drug trafficking crime under INA §101(a)(43)(B).

In August 1999, Petitioner, a lawful permanent resident, was convicted of felony cultivation of marijuana under Cal. Health & Safety Code §11358. Petitioner was charged with deportability for having been convicted of a controlled substance. The immigration judge concluded that Petitioner’s conviction constituted an aggravated felony which rendered him ineligible for relief from removal. The BIA affirmed and Petitioner was deported to Mexico in August 2004. In November 2004, Petitioner was arrested in California and indicted under INA §276 as a previously deported alien found in the U.S. without the permission of the Attorney General or DHS.

Petitioner moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that his prior deportation was invalid because the IJ failed to inform him that he was eligible for cancellation of removal.

Read the Decision here Download file

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U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a deadly brain tumor, doctors treating him at Massachusetts General Hospital said Today. Sen Kennedy is a true Icon, Kennedy’s contributions to the U.S. Senate are historic, where he has represented Massachusetts since 1962.

On May 16, 2008 Kennedy wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security expressing outrage about the recent ICE raids targeting Illegal immigrants parents at their children’s schools. Read the Letter below
We all wish Sen. Kennedy a quick recovery.

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ComputerWorld’s Patrick Thibodeau is doing an excellent job covering H1B and the Green Crisis in the past two years. I was happy to be interviewed for his H1B article coverage in early April. His most recent article regarding the need for Green Card Fix is right on the money.

He states: Fixing the permanent residency, or green card employment-based, visa program has been a top legislative goal of high-tech industry proponents, on par with their efforts to raise the H-1B cap.

And Lofgren, who heads the U.S. House Subcommittee on Immigration, is in the position to move legislation to the head of the class. But it remains to be seen whether she can jump over the legislative stalemate created by lawmakers who want comprehensive immigration reform or nothing at all. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) has introduced three bills in the past few weeks to help foreign nationals already working in the U.S. obtain permanent residency.

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The recent number of raids, arrests, and criminal indictments against employers for worksite violations across the State by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) branch of the Department of Homeland Security are clear indications that employers are on the frontline of the government’s efforts to stop illegal immigration.

Today Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed a criminal search warrant at a popular Pacific Beach bakery and restaurant, The French Gourmet, and have taken workers suspected of being illegally in the country into custody. I actually like the place and often get baked goods for the weekend. Recent raids against employers believed to have unauthorized workers have been based on ongoing criminal investigations by ICE. ICE has arrived at worksites with both criminal and civil warrants. It has searched businesses, frozen bank accounts, and arrested not only employees but also employers. I can only wonder why this little place was targeted and investigated. Read the Story here

So what can I advice the Owners of the French Gourmet?

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