Visa Lawyer Blog

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Our daily update continues, the following topics were discussed today at the Senate:
• A Coleman amendment to allow local government officials to inquire about immigration status was narrowly defeated, 48-49.

• A Dorgan amendment to sunset the new worker program also was defeated, 48-49.

• A Sanders amendment to dramatically increase H-1B fees was passed, 59-35.

• A Vitter amendment to prevent legalization for the undocumented was defeated, 29-66.

In general, this “bargain” bill is unacceptable and unworkable in its current form. However, while the process is still very much in flux, AILA are working closely with our allies to improve the bargain as much as possible during Senate floor debate over the next few weeks. We will keep you posted about amendment information as it becomes available.

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We continue to update our readers with the recent developments from the Senate. The summary is courtesy of the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association.

Today, the Senate passed Senator Feinstein’s amendment on unaccompanied alien children and Senator Bingaman’s amendment to halve the number of Y visas. Two troubling amendments proposed by Senators Cornyn and Coleman are slated for consideration on Thursday. Details of all the day’s proceedings are included below.

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As promised, we continue to uodate you with the daily developments in US Immigration Law and the upcoming reform. I wish to thank AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) which I am a member of, for the continued updates and strong advocacy efforts.

Today, the Senate began formal debate and consideration of amendments to S. 1348. In a 31-64 vote, the Senate defeated the Dorgan/Boxer amendment that would have eliminated the Y visa new worker program. However, other amendments to curtail the program are likely to follow, beginning with possible consideration of the Bingaman amendment on Wednesday morning. Senator Bingaman’s (D-NM) amendment would cut the number of Y visas from 400,000 down to 200,000 annually.

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Theses are exciting and historic times in Immigration law. In order to keep you apprised of the important legislative proceedings during the CIR debate in Congress, each evening I will try to post the Congressional News and a daily summary of events.

I will also inform about upcoming votes on amendments. Below you will find today’s CIR Daily Update. Please email me with any questions, I know we are all trying to guess what will happen.

CIR Daily Update 5/21/07: Senate Votes to Proceed with Floor Debate
The Senate voted today to begin formal consideration of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Immediately following this vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) agreed to extend debate by one week and indicated that the Senate will resume debate after the Memorial Day recess. Consideration of amendments to the placeholder bill S. 1348 is expected to begin tomorrow with a substitute amendment that would replace the current contents of the bill with the “Grand Bargain” legislation negotiated last week.

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It seems like a deal has been reached and the countdown begins for new Immigration Reform.

Key senators in both parties and the White House announced agreement Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border.

The plan would create a temporary worker program to bring new arrivals to the U.S and a separate program to cover agricultural workers. Skills and education-level would for the first time be weighted over family connections in deciding whether future immigrants should get permanent legal status. New high-tech employment verification measures also would be instituted to ensure that workers are here legally.

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Advance copy of final rule, scheduled for publication on 5/17, regarding prohibition of substitution of aliens on labor certification applications, limited validity period for labor certifications, and payment of costs of obtaining the certification.

So what is in the regulations:

1. The regulation prohibits the practice of substituting beneficiaries in labor certification cases. This prohibition will not affect any substitutions that are approved either by the DOL or the USCIS prior to the effective date of the regulation (July 16, 2007). Additionally, the explanation of the regulation states that the prohibition does not apply to substitution requests that are in progress as of July 16, 2007.

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Recently I have been getting numerous inquiries to process K1 Fiancee visa from the Philippines and Thiland? It is typical to get such requests this time of year as the desire to process the visa and marry in the summer is very popular with clients. The K1 Fiancee visa is the only option for an American citizen to bring a fiancee to the US as most of the Asian nationals will be denied entry visas to the US.

There is a local company right here in San Diego that matches such women to older guys all across the US. CNN covered this story recently and you can get an idea in the link below. The Fiancee visa is a great visa to unite loving couples, but can also be a trap for innocent immigrant women.

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Just like I told many of my clients last month, the Visa Bulletin for June 2007 brings good news for many of you. The immigrant visa cutoff dates moved forward significantly in EB2 for China and India, as well as in EB3 for all countries of chargeability. This means that if a person’s priority date is before the cutoff date as shown in the June 2007 Visa Bulletin, s/he has until June 30, 2007 for the I-485 adjustment application to be received at the USCIS. Those categories that had previously been current remain current.

Click here for the most recent visa bulletin.

Let’s hope that this is a sign for more positive changes in the up coming weeks.

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We often receive calls from frustrated employees on H1B visas complaining that employers are not paying them the required wages. Many are about to loose their jobs and want to learn more abot their rights.

The DOL’s Administrative Review Board recently addressed what circumstances constitute termination of employment for purposes of the employer’s H-1B obligations.

In its analysis of the case, Amtel Group of Florida v. Yongmahapakorn, the Board ruled that the employer had not effected a bona fide termination of its H-1B employee, because there was “no evidence that employer notified the USCIS that it had terminated (the H-1B employee) and that employer provided (the H-1B employee) with payment for her transportation home.”
As a result, the Board decided that the employer was not justified in withholding the salary otherwise due to the employee. The Board then ordered the employer to pay the prevailing wage for the employee until the expiration of the authorized period of stay for H-1B employment. This is an important precedent for employers to keep in mind when considering termination of H-1B workers. H1B workers are just like any other worker and deserve to be treated fairly.

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We all expect an announcement from the USCIS regarding proposed fee increases in the very near future. The USCIS had scheduled a press conference to announce the fee changes for Thursday, May 10, 2007, but has postponed it. No new date has been announced. American Immigration Lawyers Association, which I am a member of, and other groups are aggressively exploring litigation strategies, as well as other ways to address the expected fee increases.

As you can see from the summary below, the fee increase is unrealistic and will impose an extreme hardship on many applicants. We call for an immediate revision of this proposed unreasonable rule.

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