Articles Posted in Immigration News

On Thursday, March 12, 2009, United States Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the “Immigration Fraud Prevention Act of 2009.” This Act would make it a Federal crime to defraud individuals – citizens and non-citizens alike…in connection with any matter arising under the Immigration Laws. Accordingly, it would make it a felony to falsely misrepresent that one is an attorney or accredited representative in any immigration matter.

As a result of complaints from law enforcement officials regarding the growing amount of fraudulent immigration specialists operating throughout the country, this bill was introduced. Charles H. Kick, President of AILA, stated that the bill is a wonderful first step towards addressing this pervasive problem. Additionally, Larry Drumm, Chair of AILA’s Consumer Protection and Authorized Practice of Law Action Committee chimed in by stating that “immigration law is stunning complex and filing the wrong documents, missing a deadline, or failing to fully disclose all of the facts in a case can mean the difference between legal status, deportation, and in the case of some asylum seekers, even death.”
This is a very serious issue and the need for a strong federal law and a commitment to root out this problem are what is needed.

The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) has issued a correction to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) processing times published on February 20, 2009.

The current processing time for Form I-485, Employment Based petitions is 8/15/07.

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on February 20, 2009 with processing dates as of December 31, 2008.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center

The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Business Committee prepared a list of frequently asked questions about the H-1B provisions included in the new economic stimulus bill – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The list discusses the impact of the H-1B provisions on H-1B employers, provides an explanation as to the restrictions that are placed on TARP fund recipients, and offers advice to affected employers on how to complete Labor Condition Applications (LCA) for H-1B foreign workers.

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a multi-million dollar stimulus bill designed to jumpstart the United States’ economy. For the business immigration world, the bill includes the Sanders H-1B amendment . This amendment heavily burdens recipients of Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds with strict regulations for hiring foreign workers under the H-1B program. The President of AILA, Charles H. Kuck, said, “The misguided signal it sends is that immigrants are part of the problem rather than an integral part of the solution.” In other words, the H-1B program works to bring foreign-born talented individuals to the United States to help create new jobs and bolster the United States’ economy. Passage of the amendment means that it is going to be harder for TARP recipients to successfully petition for top level talent under the H-1B program and thus it works counter to the ultimate goal of economic growth for the United States.

The economic stimulus bill has been approved by the Senate and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama early this week.

NOTE – THE SANDERS H-1B AMENDMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THOSE RECIPIENTS OF TARP FUNDS.

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on January 23, 2009 with processing dates as of November 30, 2008.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Vermont Service Center

Since 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S.-VISIT program has utilized biometric technology at major U.S. ports of entry to facilitate visitor entry. Last week, DHS announced that upgraded biometric technology is in place at major U.S. ports of entry. The upgrade is a change from a two to a ten fingerprint collection standard. According to DHS, the 10 fingerprint collection standard makes the entry process faster and more accurate.

Currently, certain non-U.S. citizens arriving at U.S. air, land and sea ports of entry with nonimmigrant visas or those traveling without a visa as part of the Visa Wavier Program (VMP) are subject to U.S.-VISIT procedures.

As of January 18, 2009, the following additional non – U.S. citizens will be required to provide biometrics when entering or re-entering the United States:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a Supplemental Final Rule that provides additional background and analysis for the department’s No-Match Rule. The regulation clarifies what steps reasonable employers can take to resolve discrepancies identified in ‘no-match’ letters issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Additionally, it provides guidance to help businesses comply with legal requirements intended to reduce the illegal employment of unauthorized workers.

At the present moment, implementation of the No-Match Rule has been stayed following a preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. This Supplemental Final Rule addresses the issues raised by the Court, including a more detailed analysis of how the department developed the no-match policy and a detailed economic analysis of the rule. Within the next few weeks, DHS intends to return to the District Court to request that the injunction be lifted so that implementation of the rule can proceed.

According to DHS, the No-Match Rule details steps employers may take when they receive a “no-match” letter and guarantees that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will consider employers who follow those steps to have acted reasonably. If an employer follows the safe harbor procedures in good faith, ICE will not use the employer’s receipt of a no-match letter as evidence to find that the employer violated the employment provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by knowingly employing unauthorized workers.