Immigration News

U.S. Consulate General In Ciudad Juarez Is Closed

Friday, July 30, 2010

The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez is closed on July 30, 2010 to review its security posture. American citizens are advised to avoid the area around the Consulate General until it reopens.

The Consulate General has cancelled all scheduled appointments and services for Friday, July 30.

American citizens with appointments for passport or other services may make a new appointment via the Consulate website below. For non-immigrant visa applicants, the call center will call or e-mail applicants to reschedule appointments. Alternatively, applicants may re-schedule non-immigrant visa appointments without being charged by calling 01-800-719-2525.

Immigrant visa applicants are advised that the medical clinics where they will receive their medical exams may also close on short notice. Immigrant visa applicants will be rescheduled for their interviews at a later date.

American citizens who need emergency services only should call the Consulate General duty officer at 656 327 7877 for assistance.

American Citizens Services U.S. Consulate General Paseo de la Victoria 3650 32543 Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua CP 32543 Tel: (Oil) (52) 656-227-3000

For after-hours emergencies only, call 656-327-7877 for the duty officer. e-mail: CDJAmericancitizens@state.gov; website: http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/
This site is managed by the U.S. Department of State.
 
 

Judge Blocks Arizona Law-- For Now

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The New York Times and The Washington Post report that a judge has blocked the most controversial sections of Arizona's new immigration law from taking effect Thursday, handing a major legal victory to opponents of the crackdown.

The law will still take effect Thursday, but without many of the provisions that angered opponents - including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. The judge also put on hold a part of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.
 
 

Fact Sheets Document the Importance of Immigration to Modern America

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has completed its series of 50 state fact sheets which highlight the political and economic power of immigrants in every state.

The studies are available at the IPC website and through Seth Hoy: shoy@immcouncil.org; (202)507-7509.

The North Carolina fact sheet is illustrative of the importance of immigrants to the United States.

The foreign-born share of North Carolina’s population rose from 1.7% in 1990, to 5.3% in 2000, to 7.0% in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. North Carolina was home to 641,130 immigrants in 2008, which is roughly equal to the total population of Charlotte, North Carolina.

28.3% of immigrants (or 181,436 people) in North Carolina were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

1.9% (or 79,033) of registered voters in North Carolina were “New Americans”—naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

Nearly one-in-ten North Carolinians are Latino or Asian.

Latinos comprised 1.8% (or 77,000) of North Carolina voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians about 1% (or 43,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Although the numbers of Latino and Asian voters were relatively small, they far exceeded the margin of victory (14,177 votes) by which Barack Obama defeated John McCain.

In North Carolina, nearly half (or 46%) of the children in immigrant families were U.S. citizens in 2007, according to the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the University of Albany.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add tens of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to North Carolina’s economy.

The 2009 purchasing power of North Carolina’s Latinos totaled $12.8 billion—an increase of 1,424.0% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $6.0 billion—an increase of 743.2% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

Spending by Latinos in North Carolina generated 89,600 spin-off jobs and an additional $2.4 billion in labor income, $455 million in state tax revenue, and $661 million in federal tax revenue in 2004, according to a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

North Carolina’s 13,695 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $3.5 billion and employed 32,759 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available. The state’s 9,043 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $1.8 billion and employed 11,615 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants comprised 9.1% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 436,889 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Unauthorized immigrants comprised 5.3% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 250,000 workers), according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from North Carolina, the state would lose $14.5 billion in economic activity, $6.4 billion in gross state product, and approximately 101,414 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

North Carolina’s 12,220 foreign students contributed $276.6 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2008-2009 academic year, according to the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA).

The number of immigrants in North Carolina with a college degree increased by 84.3% between 2000 and 2008, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

38.8% of North Carolina’s foreign-born population age 25 and over who were naturalized U.S. citizens had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2008, compared to 21.9% of noncitizens and 26.0% of native-born citizens.

In North Carolina, 68.0% of all children between the ages of 5 and 17 in families that spoke a language other than English at home also spoke English “very well” as of 2008.
 
 

"Major Enhancements" to Aviation Security.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have launched two major enhancements to general aviation security: the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign, and a streamlined system for vetting passengers and crew on aircraft entering and exiting the United States through a single Department-wide process.

The "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign-originally implemented by New York's City's Metropolitan Transit Authority and funded, in part, by $13 million from DHS' Transit Security Grant Program-is a program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats and emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.

As part of the general aviation component of "If You See Something, Say Something," DHS is asking the public to report suspicious general aviation activity to TSA's hotline at 1-866-GA-SECURE.

Additionally, DHS will streamline the process for pre-screening and crews entering and exiting the United States on general aviation aircraft by allowing pilots and operators of general aviation flights to submit a single manifest to the Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS)- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) online tool for submitting general aviation data.
 
 

Lawsuit Seeks Transparency Promised by Obama Administration

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The American Immigration Council's Legal Action Center filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) seeking the public release of records concerning agency policies and procedures for the "H-1B" visa program..

AILA had pursued disclosure of the documents through two separate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, both of which were denied in full by the government.

The FOIA litigation centers on the government's H-1B visa review and processing procedures. In 2008, the USCIS has implemented new, more stringent procedures for review and processing and has dramatically increased the frequency of unannounced worksite inspections - expected to reach 25,000 visits in 2010 - in connection with H-1B cases. The USCIS has kept secret the rules and guidelines related to the review process. The absence of publicly available information on the government's heightened scrutiny of H-1B applications makes it particularly difficult for businesses to anticipate and meet agency expectations during the application process.
 
 

Answers from Allen and Pinnix: Why Has My Case Taken So Long? How are "Greencards" Allocated?

Monday, July 19, 2010

U.S. immigration law sets out limitations on the total worldwide number of immigrant visas that can be issued by category per fiscal year. Approximately 140,000 immigrant visas are allocated for employment and 480,000 for family-based petitions.

The law also establishes an annual per-country limitation of 7%, which visa issuances from any single country may not exceed. This country limitation was created to avoid visa monopolization by applicants from only a few countries. This limitation is not a quota to which any particular country is entitled. Thus, visa applicants compete for visas on a worldwide basis and within their country.

The U.S. State Department (DOS) is responsible for administering these annual numerical limitations. At the beginning of each month, the DOS Visa Office (VO) receives a report from each consular post listing totals of documentarily qualified immigrant visa applicants in categories subject to numerical limitation. Applicants entitled to immigrant status become documentarily qualified at their own initiative by filing and obtaining, for example, an approved I-140 or I-130 immigrant visa petition.

Cases are grouped by foreign state “chargeability,” “preference category,” and “priority date.” “Chargeability” is generally determined by the applicant’s birth country, “preference category” is the classification under which the individual is eligible, and “priority date” is the date on which the petition to accord the applicant immigrant status was filed.

The VO subdivides the annual preference and foreign state limitations specified by law into monthly allotments. The totals of qualified applicants that have been reported to VO are compared each month with the numbers available for the next regular allotment. Next, the VO considers a number of factors to determine how many numbers are available. These include past use, estimates of future use and return rates, and estimates from USCIS. Once this calculation is done, cut-off dates are established and visas are allocated in order of an applicant’s priority date. Cut-off dates and visa availability then are published in the monthly DOS Visa Bulletin.

If there are sufficient numbers in a particular category to satisfy demand, the category is considered “current” and reported as such in the Visa Bulletin. This means there is no backlog or wait. When, however, the total of qualified applicants in a category exceeds the supply of visa numbers available for the particular month, the category is considered to be “oversubscribed,” and a visa availability cut-off date is established. The cut-off date is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be accommodated for a visa number.

For example, if the monthly target is 3,000 and there is demand for 8,000 visas, the VO establishes a cut-off date so that only the first 3,000 numbers would be allocated. In this case, the cut-off would be the priority date of the 3,001st applicant. Only persons with a priority date earlier than a cut-off date would be entitled to apply for a visa.

When visa demand from a particular country exceeds the amount of visa numbers available under the annual numerical limitation, that country is considered to be oversubscribed. Oversubscription generally requires the establishment of a cut-off date in a particular visa category that is earlier than on a worldwide basis. This results in a separate listing of that country on the DOS Visa Bulletin.

Not all numbers allocated are actually used for visa issuance; some are returned to VO and are reincorporated into the pool of numbers available for later allocation during the fiscal year. The rate of return of unused numbers often fluctuates from month to month; demand also fluctuates. These fluctuations cause cut-off dates to slow, stop, or even retrogress. Retrogression is common near the end of the fiscal year as visa issuance approaches the annual limitations. Each year the U.S. fiscal year starts October 1 and concludes September 30.
 
 

Some Evangelical Leaders Join With Obama: Seek Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Monday, July 19, 2010

The New York Times reports that “at a time when the prospects for immigration overhaul seem most dim, supporters have unleashed a secret weapon: a group of influential evangelical Christian leaders.

“Normally on the opposite side of political issues backed by the Obama White House, these leaders are aligning with the president to support an overhaul that would include some path to legalization for illegal immigrants already here. They are preaching from pulpits, conducting conference calls with pastors and testifying in Washington — as they did last Wednesday.

“‘I am a Christian and I am a conservative and I am a Republican, in that order,’ said Matthew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative religious law firm. ‘There is very little I agree with regarding President Barack Obama. On the other hand, I’m not going to let politicized rhetoric or party affiliation trump my values, and if he’s right on this issue, I will support him on this issue.’

“When President Obama gave a major address pushing immigration overhaul this month, he was introduced by a prominent evangelical, the Rev. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. Three other evangelical pastors were in the audience, front and center.


“‘Hispanics are religious, family-oriented, pro-life, entrepreneurial,’ said the Rev. Richard D. Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm. ‘They are hard-wired social conservatives, unless they’re driven away.

“Although other religious leaders have long favored immigration overhaul — including Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants, Jews and Muslims — the evangelicals are crucial because they have the relationships and the pull with Republicans.


“Evangelicals at the grass-roots level are divided on immigration, just as the nation is. But among the leaders, recent interviews suggest that those in favor of an immigration overhaul are far more vocal and more organized than those who oppose it.”
 
 

Utah Seeks Reform To Avoid "Going Down The Road of S.B. 1070"

Friday, July 16, 2010

Utah officials and community leaders reacted swiftly and with revulsion to the announcement this week that confidential state records had been breached to compile a list of more than 1,300 supposedly undocumented people living in Utah, including pregnant women and children.

At a press conference this afternoon, State Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff condemned the list, noting that “some call it a blacklist, but I call it a hit list.” Speaking for himself and on behalf of Governor Gary R. Herbert Shurtleff made it clear that the release of confidential information was “not the way we do things in Utah” or in this country.

He noted that the state government of Utah is trying to speak with one voice to condemn the release of information, will not be using the list to initiate actions against anyone on it, and roundly criticized those who would use lists, hate mongering and political rhetoric to stir up racism in Utah. Instead, he called on the federal government to continue to work for a truly comprehensive solution to immigration reform.

He noted that the governor has called a meeting next week to produce Utah’s recommendations for immigration reform that will help to keep Utah from going down the road of S.B. 1070. Schurtleff is also awaiting results of an internal investigation before determining how many laws at the federal and state level may have been broken and who is subject to prosecution.

Other speakers included Paul Mero, head of the conservative think tank, the Sutherland Institute, who also condemned the list, calling it “reprehensible.” He noted that the “good people of Utah won’t stand for this” and predicted that the list itself may backfire, given the controversy it has created, and serve as a tipping point for a more rational discussion on immigration reform.

Mero also noted that he believed support for comprehensive immigration reform represented a tenet of an “authentic conservative position” as fixing the immigration system went directly to what kind of people we are and what kind of world we want to live in.
 
 

USCIS Warns Haitian HRIFA Children Nearing 21 To File Adjustment

Friday, July 16, 2010

The United States Citizen and Immigration Services(USCIS) has updated the following section of the website: Green Card for a Haitian Refugee, which relates to the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA).

USCIS reminds HRIFA dependent children approaching their 21st birthday to file their Application for Adjustment of Status, Form I-485, as soon as possible and to write “expedite” on the mailing envelope and application form.

Note: that dependent children become ineligible for permanent residence as the “child” of a principal applicant if their case is not decided before their 21st birthday.

As noted on the website, principal applicants filing a Request for Advance Parole, Form I-131, for a dependent child outside of the United States, are also reminded to file as early as possible. The request for advance parole must be processed and the travel document issued in a sufficient amount of time to allow:

The dependent to travel to the United States;

The dependent to file a HRIFA adjustment application (Form I-485);

and USCIS to completely adjudicate the application before the dependent's 21st birthday.
 
 

Utah "List" Surfaces as The Slippery Slope Gains Momentaum

Thursday, July 15, 2010

In Utah a list has been anonymously mailed to federal and state agencies, legislators and news media containing the names and detailed personal information about 1,300 people, all with Spanish surnames. It claims the persons named are illegal immigrants and says they should be deported. Next to the names are purported home addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, workplaces and names of children. It identifies pregnant women and their due dates.

USA Today quotes Tony Yapias, director of the Utah Latino Project, and former director of the state Office of Hispanic Affairs as saying the list is “the most outrageous thing I've ever seen. This is the new level of the debate over immigration."

The personal details indicate the list came from a state database, says Angie Welling, spokeswoman for Republican Governor Gary Herbert. The type of information on the list has investigators focusing on the Department of Workforce Services, which handles Medicaid and food stamps; the Labor Commission, which oversees workplace safety; and the Department of Health. The release of the list violates state and federal privacy laws, Welling says.


"The Legislature and governor of Arizona have played a part in unleashing this kind of racial hatred," says Mark Potokof the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal group that tracks hate groups. He says 17 states are considering similar bills.
 
 

NJ: Informed Consent Required in Refusing Breath Test

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday that drivers who don't speak English must be informed of the consequences of refusing to take an alcohol breath test in a language they understand.

According to USA Today no other state requires translations of the statement, but some provide access to translators, and others have made some translations available by computer or in print.

Martin Perez, president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, called the ruling "a step forward" to dealing effectively with the states' population. More than 1.5 million immigrants live in New Jersey, and a quarter are believed to speak a language other than English at home.
 
 

Extension of TPS for El Salvador; Automatic EAD Extension for Beneficiaries

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Secretary of Homeland Security has extended the designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date of September 9, 2010 through March 9, 2012. Affected persons needing help with filing should contact a competent immigration attorney for assistance.
 
 

TPS Registration Period to be Extended For Haiti

Monday, July 12, 2010

On January 21, 2010, the Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated Haiti under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for a period of 18 months. DHS established a 180-day registration period, from January 21, 2010, through July 20, 2010. On July 13, 2010 a Notice will be published in the Federal Register extending the registration period through January 18, 2011. The DHS indicates that the extension is necessary to provide applicants more time to register for TPS.
 
 

Recession Era Surplus of Nurses Is Temporary

Friday, July 09, 2010

USA Today reports that an advisory published by the National Student Nurses' Association “warns that the market is ‘flooded’ with experienced RNs who have come out of retirement, delayed retirement or gone from part-time to full-time employment because of the recession”.

Juxtaposed with the fact that “a national nursing shortage looms” Allen and Pinnix attorneys believe the report is a temporary anomaly, a byproduct of the current recession.

The newspaper notes the “nursing job market tightened noticeably last year. A June 2009 survey by the association of 2,112 spring RN graduates found 44% hadn't yet landed a nursing job”.

But USA Today also notes, “when the economy improves a wave of retirements is expected. ‘Unless we are very proactive ... this could be catastrophic for the nation's health care system,’ says Beverly Malone, CEO of the National League for Nursing, a nursing educators' group.”

“Large nursing shortages are still forecast as aging Baby Boomers need more care and millions of additional Americans get insurance in 2014 under the nation's new health law. A Vanderbilt University analysis last year — before the health law passed — predicted that the U.S. will be short 260,000 nurses by 2025.”

Congress needs to act to ensure that qualified foreign nurses can easily immigrate as their services are needed, said Allen and Pinnix's Jack Pinnix.
 
 

Visa Bulletin for July: Waits Increase for Most Employment-Based Applicants

Thursday, July 08, 2010

The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Visa Bulletin for July 2010 makes clear that employment-based immigrant visa applicants will have to wait longer and longer. Across all categories with backlogs, there’s been very little movement over the last several months and no movement for unskilled “other workers.”

DOS also cautions that a cut-off date for religious worker immigrant visas may appear in September.

On the family side: immigrant visa backlogs have eased somewhat, with backlogs in most categories reduced by about six months. This improvement reflects lower demand. Nevertheless, significant waits remain for most family members. For example, unmarried sons and daughters (children over 21) of U.S. citizens must wait a little more than five years (Mexicans and Filipinos wait more than 15 years), and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens wait nine years (Mexicans and Filipinos wait 15 or more years). Because forward movement is not in “real time” these delays could be substantially longer, depending both on how many beneficiaries actually remain in line, and whether they are deemed admissible when their turn in reached.
 
 

Haitians Seeking TPS Must Register by July 20, 2010

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Haitian nationals who have continuously resided in the United States since January 12, 2010 and who meet other Temporary Protected Status ("TPS") eligibility requirements must file their first time TPS registration applications no later than July 20, 2010. TPS was granted to eligible Haitian nationals in January in response to the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. TPS designation for Haiti will remain in effect through July 22, 2011.

USCIS advises that by early April it received almost 45,000 Haitian TPS application packages; however, more than 10% were rejected. The most common reasons for rejection include: (1) inappropriate fees or a fee waiver request; (2) missing biographical information; (3) lack of signatures on forms; and (4) filing an incorrect form.
 
 

Immigration Filing Fees May Increase

Thursday, June 10, 2010

USA TODAY reports that the Obama administration is requesting rate increases on most immigration applications; the justification is an attempt to close a $200 million revenue shortfall.

Under the USCIS proposal "the fees to apply for a greencard would go from $930 to $985. The cost to replace a lost greencard would go from $290 to $365. And an application to become a temporary resident would rise $420 to $1,130".

There would be no increase in applications for U.S. citizenship (N-400).
 
 

Secretary Napolitano Announces "Aviation Security Milestone"

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced that 100 percent of passengers traveling within the United States and its territories are now being checked against terrorist watchlists through the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Secure Flight program—a major step in fulfilling a key 9/11 Commission recommendation.

Before Secure Flight, airlines conducted passenger watchlist checking.

99 percent of passengers will be cleared by Secure Flight to print boarding passes at home by providing their date of birth, gender and name as it appears on the government ID they plan to use when traveling when booking airline tickets. Individuals found to match watchlist parameters will be subjected to secondary screening, a law enforcement interview or prohibition from boarding an aircraft, depending on the specific case.

The Transportation Security Administration began implementing Secure Flight in late 2009 and expects all international carriers with direct flights to the U.S. to begin using Secure Flight by the end of 2010.
 
 

Raleigh USCIS Field Office Evacuated

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

WTVD News is reporting that authorities are investigating a suspicious package at the Raleigh U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Field Office.

According to police, three female employees who work in the mail room complained of itchy eyes and nausea. A manager notified police of the situation. The employees were decontaminated before being taken to the hospital.

Authorities evacuated everyone from the building as a precaution, and a hazmat team began decontaminating the interior just after 10 a.m. today. Police say the package arrived Monday. It had an oily substance on its exterior and was isolated to the mail room.

The building where the package was delivered is also known as the Application Support Center and offers the fingerprinting services required for "greencard" and citizenship applications. The only other ACS office is in Charlotte.
 
 

Alamance Sheriff's Department Come Under Federal Immigration Investigation

Friday, June 04, 2010

The Burlington, N.C. Times-News reports that the U.S. Department of Justice “is commencing an investigation concerning allegations of discriminatory policing and unconstitutional searches and seizures” by the Alamance County Sheriff’s department, according to a letter sent to County Attorney Clyde Albright, sheriff’s spokesman Randy Jones said yesterday.

In April 2009, Katy Parker, the legal director of the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, reviewed thousands of documents related to the 287(g) illegal immigration enforcement program Sheriff Terry Johnson began in early 2007 at the county jail. The program, from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, trains and authorizes detention officers to perform federal immigration duties.

Parker disputes an assessment by Jones’ about the ACLU’s findings related to the 287(g) documents. “It is completely untrue that the records provided to the ACLU did not reveal any wrongdoing” by the sheriff’s office, Parker said. “We have real concerns about disproportionate arrests of Latinos for nothing other than no operator’s license and charges like driving while license revoked. And the reason we have concerns is because arrests for these offenses and nothing more begs the question, why was the person pulled over in the first place?”
 
 

Calder Plans CLE on Padilla v. Kentucky

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Allen and Pinnix’s immigration attorney Lynn Calder served as the course planner for the North Carolina Bar Association’s June 2 continuing education program: “When Issues Collide: The Seriousness of Immigration Consequences of Criminal Pleas Finally Recognized-- Padilla v. Kentucky Places New Responsibilities on Defense Counsel". The program was presented “live” at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary and was also webcast. It will be replayed through September at sites in Burlington, Cary, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Hendersonville, Hickory, Jacksonville, Rocky Mount, and Wilmington. Calder was also a panelist for the session “Practical Effects of the Decision.”
 
 

Guide Published to Arizona's New Immigration Law

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer meets today with President Obama to discuss border security and Arizona's new immigration law SB 1070. Currently approximately 22 states are considering similar legislation. Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the constitutionality of the law and opponents are mounting a boycott of the state. Numerous polls show that a majority of the public both supports the Arizona law and comprehensive immigration reform.

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has developed a Q&A Guide to the Arizona immigration law. This guide provides key answers to basic questions about Arizona's law. The guide may be may viewed in its entirety at: Q&A Guide to Arizona's New Immigration Law (IPC Special Report, June 2, 2010)
 
 

Selective Service Registration For U.S. Citizens Living Abroad

Friday, May 28, 2010

Allen and Pinnix reminds U.S. citizens residing abroad that the 1980 presidential proclamation reinstituting registration under the Selective Service Act, provides that U.S. citizens ". . .who are to be registered and who are not in the United States on any of the days set aside for their registration, shall present themselves at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate for registration before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States or before a registrar duly appointed by a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States."

American citizens residing abroad can obtain further details from the
nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
 
 

Thursday, May 27, 2010

On May 20, 2010, the U.S. Department of State advised increased consular fees begin on June 4, 2010. The new schedule includes the following increased visa application fees:

Most nonimmigrant visas and adult BCCs: $140
Petition-based (I-129) nonimmigrant visas, to wit: H,L,O,P,Q,R: $150
K category: $350
E category: $390

The State Department plans to examine the possibility of offering expedited visa service for a higher fee.

Note: the new fees do not eliminate or otherwise impact existing visa reciprocity fees.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has been advised by its Rome District Chapter that, as to pending visa applications, “the fee in force on the date of the interview is the fee which must be paid by the applicant”. In early June 2010 many consular posts will publish their local procedures regarding the payment of supplemental fees in cases for which interviews have been scheduled, on or after, June 4, 2010.
 
 

Warning: Third Country H-1B Applicants May Face Problems in Canada

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Third country nationals (TCNs) with foreign degrees who have not been previously issued H-1B visas from their home consulate may find it increasingly difficult to obtain their visa at a U.S. post in Canada and should consider returning to their home country for visa issuance. It seems that U.S. consular posts in Canada are increasingly reluctant to issue visas to such TCNs because of the posts’ distrust of degrees not from the U.S. or Canada and the posts’ inability to properly authenticate them. While not official policy, the U.S. Embassy’s website for consular processing in Canada warns that officials may refuse to issue such visas and especially discourages such TCNs who last entered the U.S. on a visitor visa.
 
 

Immigration Case Backlog Growing

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The number of cases awaiting resolution before the Immigration Courts reached a new all-time high of 242,776 at the end of March 2010, according to data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The case backlog has continued to grow — up 6.3 percent — since TRAC's reported four months ago, and nearly a third higher (30.4%) than levels months ago.

Wait times have continued to inch upward. The average time these pending cases have been waiting in the Immigration Courts of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is now 443 days.

Wait times continue to be longest in California with 627 days, up from 619 days four months ago. Massachusetts average wait times inched up from 612 days to 616 days over the same time period. Nebraska moved up to third place, with an average time of 513 days pending cases have been waiting in the Omaha Immigration Court — up from 498 days four months ago.

Among nationalities, and limiting comparisons to the 50 countries with the most individuals in queue, Armenians with cases pending before the Immigration Courts currently had the longest wait times of 938 days — more than twice the national average of 443 days. Other nationalities within the top five in terms of the length their cases had been pending were Indonesia (731 days), Lebanon (688 days), Albania (830 days), and Iran (594 days).

A factor cited in the growing number of backlogged cases is the increased time required to decide some of them because of new requirements imposed by Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions.
 
 

Twelve States Considering Laws Similar to Arizona

Thursday, May 06, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center, (IPC) the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council has issued a “Fact Check” noting that Arizona's controversial new immigration law, SB 1070, is the latest in a long line of efforts to regulate immigration at the state level.

The IPC found the Arizona’s law among the “most extreme and punitive”, other states have also attempted to enforce federal law through state-specific measures and sanctions. Oklahoma and Georgia have recently passed measures, “with mixed constitutional results”, aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration through state enforcement. Legislators in 45 states introduced 1,180 bills and resolutions in the first quarter of 2010 alone, compared to 570 in all of 2006.

Although the IPC found that some of the state laws are beneficial to immigrants, it noted that “others, including Arizona SB 1070 are overreaching and misguided”. Twelve states - Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Utah - have introduced or are considering introducing similar legislation. The IPC says “this leap into federal enforcement, however, represents a disturbing trend fueled by the lack of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level”.

Additional information may be found at wsefsaf@immcouncil.org.
 
 

Calder Nominated for AILA Board

Monday, May 03, 2010

The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s national Secretary Leslie Holmanhas announced the nominations for AILA's 2010 national elections as determined by the Nominating Committee. The Committee was chaired by AILA’s Immediate Past President Charles H. Kuck.

There are eight At Large Director terms which will expire in July 1, 2010. Seven of these seats will be filled for a three-year term. The eighth seat will be filled for a one year term, to complete the three year term initially held by the Secretary , this slot became vacant when Holman was elected national Secretary in June 2009. The eighth seat will be filled by the person whose total of votes is eighth in number of those seeking election to the Board.

Allen and Pinnix’s Lynn Calder is among the candidates for the offices of Director on the Board, as selected by the Nominating Committee. The results of the election will become be announced at AILA’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on July 1, 2010.
 
 

AILA Leaders Vote to Move Arizona Board Meeting

Monday, April 26, 2010

Allen and Pinnix attorney Jack Pinnix, a member of the Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), voted with his board colleagues to instruct AILA's Executive Committee to move the Association’s fall 2010 conference, previously scheduled for Arizona, to another state.

The vote was taken during an emergency telephonic meeting just moments after Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the harshest anti-immigration bill passed in the U.S. in more than a decade.

AILA President Bernie Wolfsdorf explained, “We cannot in good conscience spend association dollars in a state that dehumanizes the people we represent and fight for. What Governor Brewer has done by signing this bill into law is to validate all of the irrational fears by people who are not willing to acknowledge the economic and cultural benefits of immigration to our country.”

“If Arizonans are serious about ending illegal immigration, they should be the first in line at the United States Capitol to urge Congress to the do the right thing and pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Wolfsdorf concluded.
 
 

Police Chiefs Warn Arizona Style Legislation Will Undermine Public Safety

Friday, April 23, 2010

The News & Observer reports that “Raleigh Police Chief Harry Patrick Dolan was among a trio of police chiefs from around the country who warned that an immigration bill before the Arizona state legislature would undermine public safety.”

“The bill would require police to ask the immigration status of anyone they suspected to be undocumented and allow citizens to sue law enforcement agencies if they felt agents weren’t sufficiently enforcing immigration laws, according to The Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police.

The other two chiefs were George Gascon of San Francisco and Richard Myers of Colorado Springs. The chiefs said they were concerned that other states are considering similar legislation.


“Gascon, who was formerly police chief in the Mesa, Ariz., worried that such a law would essentially require racial profiling by officers. He noted that rank-and-file police officers would inevitably come up with their own characteristics based on physical appearance and accent to determine if someone might be in the country illegally.

"It would have a negative impact on community policing and public safety," Gascon said. "Neighbors [in Hispanic neighborhoods] would be more hesitant to report crimes if they think their neighbors and family are here without authority."

Dolan said that if the N.C. legislature mandated such a law that it would stretch already severely limited resources and distract police departments from their core mission: the reduction and prevention of crimes against people and property.

Dolan said stemming illegal immigration is a federal responsibility.”
 
 

Although ICE Rebuked It Targets 180 Companies in the South

Friday, April 23, 2010

The enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), made headlines recently for, in effect, failing to prioritize genuine threats to the community. In a leaked memo first reported in The Washington Post, ICE’s director of Detention and Removal Operations complained about dwindling noncriminal deportations and outlined to field offices a new policy that emphasized high enforcement quotas rather than focusing enforcement on serious criminals. The memo caused quite a stir and outraged many because it represented a major shift in the Administration’s central immigration policy of prioritizing enforcement on the most dangerous undocumented immigrants. ICE quickly moved to distance itself from the memo, reiterating its commitment to the removal of serious criminal offenders first and denying that it sets quotas. Nevertheless, immigration communities were not persuaded.

A week later, the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a damning assessment of ICE’s “287(g)” programs, named after a provision in the immigration laws that delegates ICE federal enforcement powers to local law enforcement authorities. The OIG found that 287(g) programs have not prioritized serious criminal immigrants and that performance standards by which local officers are evaluated focus on the number of immigrants encountered, not the seriousness of their crimes.

For years, immigration, civil rights, and law and order advocates repeatedly have called for the termination of 287(g) and other programs that deputize local police officers to enforce immigration law. They have called for the termination of these programs for a variety of reasons, including ICE’s failure to put into place mechanisms to prevent racial profiling. Community groups also have argued that these programs inherently undermine community relations by breeding mistrust and interfering with neighborhood policing. The report’s findings of widespread misuse of these programs provide further support for these claims.

The OIG’s report found fundamental flaws in the 287(g) programs, despite the Obama Administration’s efforts to revamp ICE guidelines and oversight. Inconsistency among jurisdictions – there are some 66 programs in 23 states – poor training of deputized officers, inadequate public outreach, and inaction against law enforcement agencies in the face of program violations, are some of the deficiencies cited by the OIG.

Meanwhile, ICE continues to step up its workplace enforcement activities. In early March, ICE announced that it issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 180 businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. Employers beware. Even those who do not knowingly hire unauthorized workers can be breaking the law by not complying with I-9 employment eligibility verification requirements and completing forms properly. Employers also must take care not to violate the anti-discrimination provisions that prohibit discriminatory practices in the recruitment, hiring, and firing of persons authorized to work in the United States. With fines as steep as $100 to $1000 per violation, prudent employers should audit their employment processes and records.

 
 

Roll Call: Democrats Will Push Immigration Reform

Thursday, April 22, 2010

On April 21, 2010 Roll Call reported “Democratic leaders are pushing ahead with plans to move comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year — even if it means punting on energy legislation until next Congress.”

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) agreed during a Tuesday afternoon meeting that a “moral imperative” exists to move immigration reform in 2010.”

“During the meeting, Reid “reiterated his intention to move forward” this year on immigration reform, one aide said, adding that Pelosi agreed it is a top priority, even beyond energy legislation.”
 
 

TIPS Re: International Travel After Marriage To A Foreign National

Friday, April 09, 2010

Newlyweds often want to honeymoon outside of the United States. Planning well in advance can lessen inconveniences and minimize the chance that the foreign national partner will be stranded abroad.

If the foreign national plans to return to the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa, other than an H-1B or L-1, the newlywed must evaluate whether s/he risks being treated as an intending immigrant at the port of entry and being denied readmission.

If the couple files an application for a green card for the foreign national spouse prior to departing the U.S., the application will usually be deemed abandoned unless the foreign national returns using a travel document (“advance parole”) which must be approved and issued in advance of the travel by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The principle exception is the green card applicant re-entering on a valid H-1B or L-1 visa.

Although a foreign national may choose to change her name when she marries, keep in mind there are a number of identity documents to update. If planning a honeymoon right after the wedding, it may be best to travel using the maiden name since the bride will not have had time to get a new passport, drivers license, social security card, and in some states, the registered marriage certificate. To avoid postponing a trip outside the U.S., the newlywed can travel abroad using the current passport; again, if an application for a green card is pending the foreign national spouse will also need an unexpired H-1B or L-1 visa in his or her passport or a travel document (advance parole), filed with and approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before departing the U.S., to reenter the U.S. after travel abroad.

Other options? Honeymoon in Las Vegas, Wilmington, Asheville, Miami or New Orleans!!

Allen and Pinnix, P.A., with over 30 years experience in U.S. immigration law, can help you avoid costly errors and delays in planning your international travel after marriage. Contact our office at 919-755-0505 for a confidential consultation with one of our experienced immigration attorneys.
 
 

Evaluating Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Investor Visas: EB-5 vs. E-2

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

In recent years, the immigrant investor program (also called the EB-5 program) has gained popularity and media attention as a viable option for those of means to obtain lawful resident status. Even those traditionally less-well-off financially have considered the program in light of ever growing immigrant visa backlogs and the devaluation of the dollar (which means fewer and fewer euros and yen are needed to meet the $1 million investment requirement (or $500,000 in certain cases)). Nevertheless, various issues have deterred would-be eligible applicants from applying for an investor green card including the uncertainly of USCIS interpretations of program requirements, and, more recently, USCIS’ fixation on the source and chain of custody of funds used for the investment.

Naturally, U.S. law requires that the funds used for investment in an American enterprise be legitimate. But, in the EB-5 context, proving legitimacy may not always be straightforward. For example, gift or inheritance capital may have been omitted from tax records and may be hard to trace; other funds, especially when commingled with old money, may be difficult to segregate and hard to document. Another deterrent for EB-5 applicants is the requirement that once becoming permanent residents, immigrant investors become subject to U.S. taxation on their worldwide income.

In light of these and other issues, potential immigrant investors may want to consider the E-2 treaty investor classification instead. E-2 nonimmigrant status resembles green card status in many ways. E-2 nonimmigrant investors may remain in the United States indefinitely (with appropriate extensions), are not required to maintain ties abroad, can be engaged in self-employment if in furtherance of the investment, and their spouses can obtain work authorization.

Who is eligible for E-2 status? Treaty investor status is available to certain nationals where a "Treaty of Freedom, Commerce and Navigation" exists between the U.S. and the country of the applicant’s nationality. (Certain bilateral investment treaties also may confer eligibility.) For an eligible individual to qualify for E-2 visa status, he or she must meet a number of requirements, including issues governing ownership and control of the investment, the individual’s duties associated with the investment, and the investment itself (it must be active and “at risk”). Significantly, however, there is no specific amount of capital that must be invested in a business; instead, the rules require that the investment be substantial and “proportional” to the overall capitalization of the enterprise. In practical terms, this means that an investment for a small business can be as little as $100,000, or even less, depending on the particular business and its location. E-2 nonimmigrant status may be worth considering for would-be EB-5 investors who are eligible.

Allen and Pinnix attorneys urge investors to consider not only the business consequences of their decisions, but how their choices may affect family members, especially minor children who cannot maintain derivative E-2 status once they turn 21.
 
 

DHS Inspector General Exposes Abuses in 287(g) Enforcement; AILA Calls For Termination of Program

Monday, April 05, 2010

On April 2, 2010 the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General issued a comprehensive report confirming civil rights abuses in a federal program that "deputizes" state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration law. The Inspector General tells of local officers arresting individuals who have committed no offense - including even victims - for the sole purpose of identifying whether they have lawful immigration status.

In one case, a supervisor recounted how a state highway patrol officer transported an accident victim to a jail to determine the victim's immigration status. The officer did not take him to a hospital. The victim was not even brought to the jail to be charged with a state crime. The sole -and improper--purpose of the officer's actions was to determine whether the victim was deportable.

The Inspector General found that, under this deputizing program, some local police have launched operations with the aim of detaining individuals for minor offenses and violations of local ordinances so they could identify unauthorized immigrants. Police apprehended immigrants even when they had no prior arrests on state or local charges. The report confirms what community groups have alleged for years: that officers arrest individuals for minor offenses, such as fishing without a license or driving with broken taillight, as a pretext to initiate deportation proceedings.

The Inspector General found widespread lack of adequate training, guidance, monitoring or oversigh in so called 287(g) programst. "The report noted that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to provide accurate information about the program to Congress and the public. The American Immigration Lawyers Association urges Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to immediately terminate the 287(g) program and calls upon Congress to end its funding.
 
 

Study: Foreign Workers Boost U.S. Economy

Saturday, April 03, 2010

The March 22, 1010 issue of Newsweek reports ”While immigrants are blamed for dragging down American wages and stealing jobs, University of California, Davis, economist Giovanni Peri comes to a different conclusion.

"In a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, Peri trowels through nearly five decades of immigration data and finds that foreign workers have boosted the economy, jacking up average income without crowding out American laborers. For each percentage of the workforce that is foreign-born, he found an almost 0.5 percent bump in average wages. In California, where the percentage of immigrants in the workforce has jumped more than 25 points since 1960, that means an almost 13 percent bonus—roughly $8,000.

"Immigrants, Peri says, push native-born workers into better-paying positions, expanding the size of the job pie so unskilled Americans aren't left out”.
 
 

U.S. Brain Drain Due To Restrictive Immigration Policies

Monday, March 22, 2010

“Silicon Valley may be the cradle for tech start-ups, but some foreign-born executives, engineers and scientists are leaving because of better opportunities back home, strict immigration laws here and the dreary California economy with its high cost of living, USA TODAY reported today.

“ Fewer foreign students are coming to the Valley to earn engineering and science degrees, according to the Silicon Valley Index, which takes the economic pulse of the Valley each year.

“Foreign-born students earned 16.6% of the total degrees awarded in science and engineering programs from local colleges and universities in 2007, compared with 18.4% in 2003, the study says.

"’We're in the midst of a massive brain drain’, says Vivek Wadhwa, a senior research associate at Harvard Law School who has done extensive research on the topic.’For the first time, immigrants have better opportunities outside the U.S.’ Often, a lack of work visas blocks foreign talent from staying. Only 120,000 to 140,000 temporary work visas are available each year in the U.S.”
 
 

IMMIGRATION ALERT-- Test the Waters? “Extraordinary Ability” Employment-Based Visas Can Be Approved in 15 Calendar Days

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Some highly skilled professionals, even those who hold long-term, nonimmigrant visa status (G-4 international workers, O extraordinary ability nonimmigrants, E treaty trader and investors) and who are not currently seeking a job change, may want to consider exploring their green card options by applying for an extraordinary ability immigrant visa. While this visa category is reserved for those foreign nationals with top credentials, visa are immediately available – there is currently no backlog for any country – and individuals can self-petition – they do not need an offer of employment. Moreover, under rules that were issued in June, these cases can be processed under “premium processing.” In other words, for an additional $1,000 filing fee, USCIS will adjudicate the case within 15 calendar days.

Jack Pinnix, Allen and Pinnix's Senior immigration attorney warns that this category clearly is not available to everyone. But, eligible foreign nationals can complete this first step in the two-step green card process and find out if obtaining a green card this way is a viable option.
 
 

Obama Commits to Immigration Reform in 2010 Provided GOP Helps

Monday, March 15, 2010

President Obama announcement yesterday that his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering and that he would proceed with an overhaul of the immigration system this year if he could attract necessary Republican support. After meeting with Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Senator Lindsey Graham Republican of South Carolina, the President stated that he will continue to be their partner in trying to move forward a proposal to reform the U.S.immigration system.
 
 

USCIS on Immigration Benefits Available to Chilean Nationals

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reminded Chileans of U.S. immigration benefits available to eligible Chilean nationals.

Temporary relief measures available to nationals of Chile may include:

The grant of an application for change or extension of nonimmigrant status on behalf of a Chilean national who is currently in the United States, even in cases where the request is submitted after the individual's authorized period of admission has expired;

Re-parole of individuals granted parole by USCIS;

Extension of certain grants of advance parole, expedited processing of advance parole requests;

Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization due to severe economic hardship for F-1 students;

Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relative(s) of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs);

Expedited issuance of employment authorization where appropriate; and

Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without documents in coordination with the Department of State

For more information on USCIS humanitarian programs, visit www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.
 
 

Greece Will Soon Join Visa Waiver Program

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

On March 9, 2009 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the designation of Greece as a member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

Greece joins 35 nations participating in VWP, which was established as a pilot program in 1986 to help eliminate unnecessary barriers to travel; it was made permanent in 2000. VWP visitors are able to visit the United States without visas for up to 90 days.

"Our efforts to guard against terrorism while enhancing legal travel and trade depend upon close collaboration with our international partners," said Secretary Napolitano. "I commend our partners in Greece for committing to strong screening and security standards and enhanced information sharing for travel by Greek citizens to the United States as we work together to protect our citizens and strengthen our economies."

Greek citizens will be able to visit the United States without visas in approximately 30 days.
 
 

Bi-Partisan "Start-Up Visa Act" Would Help Create American Jobs

Friday, March 05, 2010

To stimulate the economy, the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), have introduced the Start-Up Visa Act of 2010 which incentivizes job creation through the promise of legal residence status-that is, "drives job creation and increases America's global competiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States."
 
 

Duke Researcher Calls for Visa Reform

Thursday, March 04, 2010

On February 24, 2010 The New York Times reported that Intel and 24 venture capital firms plan to invest $3.5 billion in American start-ups over the next two years to combat America “losing its competitive edge as other countries invest more heavily in technology education and innovation”.

Additionally ”Intel, Google, Cisco Systems, Microsoft and 13 other employers pledged to add jobs in 2010 — specifically by hiring 10,500 graduates of American colleges, largely those with computer science and engineering degrees”.

The Times reports that “ some analysts say they doubt that more venture capital for American start-ups is the solution”.

“If they were really serious about it, they would be fixing visa systems so foreign students would stay here,” said Vivek Wadhwa, an executive-in-residence at Duke University, where he researches the impact of globalization on engineering and the competitive advantage of the United States”.

Paul S. Otellini, Intel’s CEO noted in a speech at the Brookings Institution that “Fewer than 10 percent of college graduates in the United States have engineering degrees, compared with more than one-third in India and China, and more foreign-born graduates of United States universities are returning to their home countries"
 
 

Recent Statistics Confirm America Remains a Nation of Immigrants

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Citizenship Statistics from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:

2001-2010: During the decade, the United States welcomed more than 5.6 million new citizens, including more than 744,000 people during fiscal year 2009 and more than 138,000 in the current fiscal year. Since September 2001, USCIS has assisted more than 55,000 members of the military to become naturalized U.S. citizens.

1991-2000: Approximately 5.6 million individuals became U.S. citizens during this period, doubling the number from the previous decade. The late 1990s also marked another shift in naturalization demographics, with those of Mexican decent yielding the most naturalized citizens, followed by Vietnamese and Filipinos.

1981-1990: Nearly 2.3 million people were naturalized during the 1980s, nearly half of whom came from Asia. Together, Canada and Mexico accounted for more than one quarter of the remaining new citizens.

1971-1980: The United welcomed approximately 1.5 million new citizens during the 1970s. The Philippines, Cuba, and China were the leading countries of origin. This trend represented a shift from the 1960s, when the largest number of new citizens came from Europe. An estimated 66,000 members of the U.S. military were naturalized during this decade.

1908: The United States naturalized approximately 25,975 individuals.

1907: The United States naturalized approximately 7,941 individuals.
 
 

"E-Verify" May Hurt U.S. Workers and the Recovery

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) charges that E-Verify, the federal web-based employment verification program, program harms jobless U.S. citizens.

IPC notes that as Congress “works on bills to extend unemployment benefits and create jobs, they are likely to face considerable pressure to include E-Verify amendments”.

An IPC "fact check" concludes: “the program harms U.S. citizen and legal immigrant workers who will be ensnared by database errors and forces U.S. businesses to bear additional costs associated with the program. Small businesses - which employ approximately 50% of the U.S. workforce - would be disproportionately affected. At a time when the U.S. economy is still struggling to recover from recession and the national unemployment rate hovers around 10%, expanding E-Verify before improving it would be a costly and chaotic mistake. “

The IPC “fact check” is found at: How Expanding E-Verify Would Hurt American Workers and Business
 
 

ABA President Asks For Maintenance of the Categorical Approach to Determine Consequences of Convictions.

Friday, February 26, 2010

On January 22, 2010 American Bar Association President Carolyn B. Lamm urged U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to maintain the categorical approach to determine the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.

She explained that in removal proceedings, immigration judges are routinely called on to make determinations about how to classify a past conviction. Under the categorical approach for doing this, immigration adjudicators rely on the criminal statute and the record of conviction rather than conducting a new factual inquiry into the basis for the conviction.

The decision in Matter of Silva-Trevino transforms this legal determination into a re-trial of the criminal case requiring de novo fact finding on the conduct underlying the criminal court conviction, but without the due process protection integral to criminal trials. The Board of Immigration Appeals has cut back on the categorical approach in cases involving classification of crimes as meeting the “aggravated felony” ground for deportation.

“The categorical approach provides uniformity and predictability while Silva-Trevino creates uncertain consequences that will disrupt plea negotiation and the settled expectations of criminal defendants, courts and prosecutors,” she wrote. “It is fundamentally unfair to force immigrants to relitigate their criminal cases in immigration court hearings that are not governed by formal rules of evidence, where the Sixth Amendment right to appointed counsel and to a trial by jury do not apply, and where the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule and Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination do not apply with full force.” Lamm concluded.
 
 

I-9 Compliance: Steps Employers Can Take to Avoid Liability

Monday, February 22, 2010

With worksite enforcement a priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employers take heed: even employers that have not been accused of knowingly employing undocumented workers can expect site visits and can be held liable for clerical violations and subject to steep civil fines. Well-intentioned employers often find inadvertent paperwork errors or technical violations during their internal audits; some seemingly harmless errors and omissions are actually considered substantive violations that carry significant fines. For example, the failure of an employer to ensure that an individual employee checks the Form I-9’s box for “citizen,” “lawful permanent resident,” or “authorized to work until a specified date” is a substantive violation. An employer’s failure to provide the date of hire in the attestation portion of the I-9, while a technical violation, is still actionable even if other parts of the form are dated.


Audit I-9s. Human resource personnel and others involved in the I-9 process should consider auditing their actual I-9 files as well as their compliance procedures. Updating and/or appropriately correcting technical violations on previously completed I-9 forms may be necessary.

Re-verifying certain employees also may be required. While such remedial actions may not shield an employer from liability and fines, the amount of such fines will be mitigated by a number of factors, including the employer’s good faith, the seriousness of the violation, and the employer’s previous violations.

Develop a Compliance Plan. Employers also may want to consider developing an immigration compliance plan that sets forth procedures for implementing and monitoring the verification of an employee’s authorization to work in the United States. Such a plan should include appropriate employee training, reporting obligations, as well as safeguards to ensure that whatever plan is implemented does not run afoul of U.S. anti-discrimination laws. In addition to good business practice, I-9 compliance also may impact a company’s ability to compete for contract work. Some major corporations are requiring immigration compliance provisions and certified audits in their vendor contracts; a company with a history of immigration law violations may jeopardize its ability to win such contracts. I-9 compliance is also an issue when an employer is involved in corporate re-structuring and where I-9 liabilities of an acquired corporation are assumed. This could mean serious violations and fines.

This area of immigration compliance can be confusing and complex, and can have unintended legal consequences. Employers are wise to take preventive measures and to consult with an immigration attorney before embarking upon this alone.
 
 

Needed: More Relief for Haitians

Friday, February 19, 2010

Shortly after the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated much of Port-au-Prince, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suspended deportations of Haitians and extended temporary protected status (TPS) to tens of thousands of undocumented Haitians already in the United States. TPS is granted by DHS to individuals already in the U.S. who are nationals of countries subject to environmental disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Beneficiaries are granted employment authorization and a stay of removal while in TPS status. DHS also put into place new procedures to accommodate the thousands of Haitian orphans waiting to finalize their adoptions.

And, just recently, 200 critically injured children were given humanitarian visas to enter the United States for medical treatment. USCIS also has stated that it would take additional steps to assist Haitian foreign nationals during the crisis, and, where appropriate, would work to issue favorable adjudications for applications for change or extension of nonimmigrant status, grant an additional period for advance parole and authorize nonimmigrant students’ requests for off-campus employment and work authorization, among other measures.

But, what about the immediate relatives of Haitian U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are still in Haiti? There are thousands of Haitians who could be eligible for immediate relief as close relatives of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The majority of these close family members eventually will be allowed to obtain green cards and immigrate to the United States but many face years of waiting due to extensive visa backlogs. One option discussed during the weeks immediately after the catastrophe is the acceleration of the cases already approved. Another option could include offering humanitarian “parole” to those who have a future basis to become lawful permanent residents. These individual could live and work in the United States while they waited here for their visas to become available, rather than in Haiti. In addition, they could send money back to Haiti, an important source of foreign remittances and aid. Such an option would help alleviate the crisis in Haiti

On February 13, 2010 The News & Observer (Raleigh) featured the plight of 3 Haitians brought to North Carolina for medical treatment.

“The three burn patients entered the country as humanitarian parolees, a designation that lets them stay as long as care is needed. They were flown to North Carolina on January 26 when hospitals in Florida were strained with the massive influx of badly injured earthquake victims”.

“Once treatment ends, however, the patients may find a difficult path to permanent residency, immigration experts said”.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Executive Director Crystal Williams said humanitarian parole can be renewed repeatedly, and the Haitian patients would likely remain in North Carolina for the long recovery period typical for burns. Even after they're discharged from the hospital, Cairns said, the Haitians will need rigorous rehabilitation that probably would not be available in their crumbled homeland.

Jack Pinnix, senior partner in Allen and Pinnix, P.A., is quoted as noting: “A more permanent solution is less likely. The Haitians would probably have to follow the same steps all other immigrants go through to establish legal residency, tapping some sort of sponsorship through an employer or a close family member”.

The News & Observer notes “Such avenues may not exist for the burn patients, who were plucked from the rubble almost randomly and, because of the nature of their injuries, hastened to the burn center in Chapel Hill.”

Although much aid has been sent to Haiti from a myriad of countries and individuals, numerous obstacles impede delivering it. Moreover, there continues to be concern that if the situation in Haiti destabilizes further, a mass exodus will occur. Federal officials repeatedly have stated that they want to prevent desperate Haitians from risking the dangerous journey to the United States on small boats bound to Florida, and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano cautioned that Haitians who arrived to the U.S. after January 12, 2010 will not be eligible for TPS and will be repatriated to Haiti.

Carving out additional immediate relief for Haitian nationals not only makes sense but is the right thing to do.
 
 

Greater ‘Lead Time’ Needed to File H-1B Petitions With USCIS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Allen and Pinnix is advising our business clients that they need to allow for greater ‘lead time’ to file H-1B petitions.

The statutory limitation was reached for H-1B filings subject to the “cap”, at the beginning of the filing period in both 2007 and 2008. In 2009, because of the recession, the 65,000 cap was not reached until late December; as early as April 17, 2009 the USCIS reported that 20,000 applications had been filed for the U.S. advanced degree holder cap. However, observers note that during the last quarter of the year there was a substantial increase in filing, which likely reflects a degree of economic recovery.

As the economy continues to recover, employers who need H-1B workers should assume that the quota will be reached much earlier than last year.

2009 saw U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) delays and intractable glitches in issuing Labor Condition Attestations (LCAs), a prerequisite to filing H-1B petitions. And, there are now new e-filing requirements for obtaining a prevailing wage determination that must be considered in calculating H-1B preparation time. Formerly, the prevailing wage was obtained through the State Workforce Agency (SWA), by mail or fax, and was generally received within 7 to 14 days.

Now, the prevailing wage determination must be obtained electronically from the U.S. Department of Labor. Because of this new requirement, it is anticipated that obtaining a prevailing wage determination could take a minimum of 30 days. Once the prevailing wage determination is received, a petitioning employer should allow an additional 7 days, assuming no errors at the Department of Labor , for processing the LCA.

This means that the prevailing wage request must be submitted electronically to DOL at least 45 days in advance of filing the H-1B petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
 
 

THAI INDICTED FOR DEFRAUDING FOREIGN NATIONAL EMPLOYEES AND HARBORING ILLEGAL ALIENS

Friday, February 12, 2010

According to the U.S. Attorney for Colorato Opas Sinprasong, was indicted on February 10, 2010 on charges of defrauding his foreign national employees, harboring illegal aliens, and other immigration and tax related charges.

According to the indictment, Opas Sinprasong was a citizen of Thailand who was in the United States in E-2 status. While in the United States he ran Thai and Japanese restaurants.

From 2001 through 2008, Sinprasong sponsored Thai nationals’ admission to the United States as E-2 specialty workers for his restaurants.

The indictment alleges that Sinprasong typically paid the E-2 workers “under-the-table” while deducting portions of a $3,000 “visa preparation fee” and other fees from their payment check. Once these fees had been fully paid through such deductions, the defendant helped the Thai employees obtain Social Security numbers and then started to report a portion of their wages and placed them on the official payroll of the restaurants.

The indictment says that the defendant devised a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Thai employees. As part of the scheme, Sinprasong allegedly used a duel payroll system whereby he concealed from his payroll records the substantial overtime hours he directed the Thai employees to work, which was typically between 26 and 32 hours of overtime each week. As a result, Sinprasongallegedly failed to report all of the wages paid to the Thai employees and failed to pay the Thai employees the overtime wages required by federal law. The defendant filed employer’s quarterly federal tax returns with the IRS as required, but the returns were materially false in that they failed to report the total wages paid to the Thai employees. By failing to report all of the wages paid to the Thai employees, the defendant evaded paying the employer’s portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes due and owing on the unreported wages.

The indictment also alleges that Sinprasong filed false immigration applications and harbored illegal aliens.

If convicted, he faces not more than 20 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud. He faces not more than 5 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine for each count of failure to pay employee federal payroll taxes. Sinprasong faces not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine for each count of false swearing in an immigration matter. Lastly, the defendant faces not more than 10 years imprisonment and a fine of not more than $250,000 for each count of harboring illegal aliens. Thew indictment also seeks forfeiture of property.
 
 

ABA Calls for the Creation of New Immigration Courts

Friday, February 12, 2010

The New York Times reports that on February 8, the American Bar Association “endorsed a recommendation for a separate immigration court system that would be similar to federal courts that decide tax cases”.

The Times notes “immigration courts are not courts at all in the way Americans generally think of them. They are part of the Department of Justice, not the federal judiciary, and the judges, although they wear robes and sit in formal courtrooms, are employees of the attorney general”.

"The courts have become 'an overwhelmed system choked by an exploding caseload,' said Lawrence Schneider, a principal author of the report, which was ordered 18 months ago by the association’s immigration commission, a nonpartisan panel of lawyers who monitor immigration laws and recommend changes."

“In 2008, the report found, Homeland Security agents detained 378,582 immigrants and deported more than 358,000. Last year, the report found, with enforcement continuing at a similar pace, 231 immigration judges heard more than 300,000 cases, an average of more than 1,200 for each judge, or about three times the load of federal district judges”.
 
 

Finding: Training Police to Enforce Immigration Law Doesn’t Make Communities Safer

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has issued an “ Immigration Fact Check” entitled "What Happens When Local Cops Become Immigration Agents?" The report concludes that 287(g) programs can be very costly to police departments. For instance, three months after Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopia County partnered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the office created a $1.3 million deficit. By the end of the first month of the partnership, deputies began working 4,500 extra hours every two-week pay period (compared to 2,900 extra hours previously). In April 2007, deputies worked more than 9,000 overtime hours at a cost to the county of $373,757.

The report notes that staffing the immigration beat pulls police officers away from their other duties. In Maricopa County in 2006 and 2007, patrol cars arrived late two-thirds of the time on more than 6,000 of the most serious calls for service. In order to staff the immigration team, Sheriff Arpaio pulled deputies off patrol beats and used them to staff the human-smuggling unit. Every patrol district lost deputies. Armed with fewer deputies, the districts’ response times to emergency calls increased.
 
 

Remembering Ben Gim

Monday, February 01, 2010

Ben Gim, 87, a long time friend of the immigration attorneys at Allen and Pinnix and a former national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association died on January 16, 2010. The following is from a tribute written by Ben's daughter Jennifer Fukui which was posted by AILA.

Ben was a “noted immigration lawyer and human rights advocate. . .a generous friend, a passionate advocate, a world traveler, and a sophisticated, yet understated gentleman.

“Born to Chinese immigrant parents, Y. Henry and Louise Gim, on September 22,1922. Ben spent his early childhood in Mackay, Idaho. The family moved to Salt Lake City at the onset of the Depression in 1929. Both of Ben's parents died before Ben reached teen age. Ben's older sister, Helen, kept the family of four siblings together through the Depression years.

“Ben . . . attended the University of Utah, where he was a star debater. He left college to serve for three years in the United States Army in the European theater during World War II.

“After the War, Ben enrolled in the University of Utah Law School. Whether apocryphal or not, Ben loved to tell the story of Dean of the University of Utah Law School advising Ben, after he had completed his first year with high marks, that Ben "did not have a Chinaman's chance" of practicing law successfully in Utah. Heeding this advice, Ben transferred to Columbia Law School in New York, graduating in 1949, with support of the GI Bill. Ben was always grateful to Eleanor Roosevelt.

“During his studies at Columbia, he was one of only two Asian students. When Ben graduated from law school, there were virtually no job opportunities for Asians in New York law firms. He only knew of two other Asian lawyers practicing in New York City at that time.

“After several interviews, a partner in a "white shoe" Wall Street firm told Ben that no firm would hire a Chinese lawyer. Thus, Ben took a job with the Treasury Department in the Bureau of Narcotics. He began his legal career as the first Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York of Asian ancestry. He then set up his own firm, Gim & Wong and practiced immigration law on Park Row in Chinatown, New York, for nearly 50 years. He did not set out to be an immigration lawyer, but that was the kind of lawyer the residents of Chinatown needed.

“In 1957, Ben was the first Asian American to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. In 1990, the New York Law Journal published a profile of Ben and that case, which involved three Chinese kids claiming to be the children of a Chinese American man, who were kept on Ellis Island and threatened with deportation on the basis of discriminatory and technically flawed blood tests. During his career Ben argued a number of important immigration cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“He was an immigration law lecturer at Columbia University Law School, the Practicing Law Institute, the Federal Bar Association and the State Bar Association of New York. He served as president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in the mid-1970s, the first Asian American to do so. Throughout his career, Ben gave generously of his time as pro bono advocate for struggling immigrants and as a mentor for other immigration lawyers.

“In recognition of his many legal achievements, Ben was identified by the National Law Journal as one of the 20 best immigration lawyers in the United States. He was honored by numerous organizations, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, the National Law Association, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association. The State of Texas made Ben and Honorary Texas Citizen.

“In honoring Ben, the American Immigration Law Foundation, said he was "a pioneer in his field, … a true role model. Ben's devotion to the cause has brought honor and respect to the immigrant experience in American. He will forever be an inspiration to us all." In awarding him the Wiley A. Branton Civil Rights Award, the National Bar Association, said that Ben was "on the cutting edge" of social and civil justice.

“Ben is survived by his wife Cindy, his daughter Karen, his daughter Jennifer Fukui, his brother Wever, his sister Betty, his brother-in-law Jun Kurumada, and numerous nephews and nieces. His parents, his sister Helen, and his first wife Alberta, preceded Ben in death".
 
 

State Department Helps Provide Information About U.S. Citizens in Haiti

Monday, January 25, 2010

To Ask For or Provide Information About U.S. Citizens in Haiti Email the Task Force at:

Haiti-Earthquake@State.Gov , OR

From the U.S. or Canada, call 888-407-4747;

Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 202-501-4444.

For U.S. Citizens in Haiti Seeking Assistance or Reporting Their Status/Whereabouts call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672

OR

Email the Embassy at ACSPaP@state.gov.

For All Nationalities and Locations use the Person Finder to find and share information about missing persons in Haiti.
 
 

Senate Hopeful Calls for Path to Citizenship for Contributing Foreign Nationals

Monday, January 25, 2010

Writing in The New York Times Sunday Op-Ed section, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. noted ”four simple steps we must take immediately to put us, and the nation, on a better course:

First, cut taxes for businesses — big and small — and find innovative ways to get Americans back to work.

Second, we should pass a more focused health reform bill that restructures current health care costs before spending more, prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, enacts responsible reform on malpractice suits and extends health coverage to all children.

Third, we should reform our immigration policy to ensure that those who contribute to our economy, especially foreign math and science graduates of American universities, have a clear path to citizenship.

Finally, we need to address budget deficits now rather than waiting for some ideal future economic situation.

Currently Ford is pondering a run for the U.S. Senate from New York.
 
 

BIA Allows Immigration Judges To Decide Portability Issues

Friday, January 22, 2010

On January 21, 2010 the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision which expanded the powers of immigration judges who are considering deportation of individuals with approved work-related visa petitions and who have pending permanent residence applications; Matter of Neto. The issue was whether an immigration judge has the authority to decide whether the approved visa petition - issued for one job - remains valid when the individual changes jobs.

In Neto the Board overrules an earlier BIA decision that denied judges this authority and will now allow them to decide whether a new job is acceptable.

The American Immigration Council's (AIC) Legal Action Center filed an amicus brief in the case. Mary Kenney an AIC attorney said the decision ”will impact hundreds if not thousands of individuals in removal proceedings and will ensure that they have a full and fair opportunity to demonstrate to an immigration judge that they are eligible to become legal permanent residents"
 
 

287(g): The Fall-Out

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

On January 19 The Herald-Sun (Durham) reported that at a recent Police Executive Research Forum held in the Research Triangle Park, Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said the problem of undocumented immigrants being victimized by crime and then being too afraid to report it to police is of deep concern to him and other law officers nationwide.

Chief Lopez said fear among immigrants regarding reporting crime is prevalent nationwide. He noted that the problem exists in Durham, but has diminished.

"Many of these individuals don't report crimes now, but it could be a lot worse," Lopez said. "We've been very fortunate that this community has come forward to some extent. And we also have partners in this community who are trusted by the undocumented populations that we can go to, speak to and get messages to in order to keep them safer. And it also keeps other citizens safe in the city."

The Chief said it's unacceptable for undocumented immigrants to be targeted by criminals.

"They should not be victims of crime, and we are interested, because when an individual may attack an undocumented person, they're often only attacking that person because they believe they're undocumented. But it could be that they are attacking an American citizen, and not realizing it."

The forum is a national organization of police executives based in Washington.
 
 

SSA’s Policy on SSN Issuance for USCs Born to Undocumented Parents

Monday, January 18, 2010

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently obtained clarification from the Social Security Administration (SSA) regarding problems undocumented families have getting SSN cards issued to their U.S. citizen children.

AILA: Are SSNs issued automatically to USC children born in US hospitals?

SSA: Yes, if the parents choose Enumeration at Birth (EAB), which is a request made while mother and newborn are in the hospital.

AILA: Are there any restrictions on undocumented parents requesting or receiving SSNs or SSN cards for their USC children?

SSA: If the SSN is requested through Enumeration at Birth (EAB) then there are no restrictions.

AILA: What happens if a USC newborn is issued an SSN through Enumeration at Birth but the SSN Card is lost or misplaced?

SSA: A replacement SSN card can be issued but only a relative with acceptable evidence of identity can apply for a replacement card on behalf of the USC child.

AILA: Can a non-citizen parent without valid status apply for an SSN for his/her USC newborn outside an Enumeration at Birth request?

SSA: No. A person filing an application on behalf of a numberholder or someone entitled to be a numberholder must submit the same types of identification documents required for the numberholder. For non-citizens, U.S. immigration documents are the only acceptable type of identification document, unless the applicant meets the requirements to be issued a non-work-authorized SSN. Foreign passports are not acceptable unless they contain current immigration entries, such as an I-94 or a stamp or visa indicating it is temporary evidence of permanent resident status.

AILA: If Enumeration at Birth (EAB) was not utilized, what options are there for SSA to issue SSN and card to USC child if the parents are undocumented?

SSA: Another relative, who is able to submit documents SSA accepts, could apply, or the child can apply once he or she is old enough to sign his or her name (no age limits apply).
 
 

TPS for Haitians; Instructions for Adopting Parents

Monday, January 18, 2010

On January 15 the Administration announced that Haitian nationals in the United States, prior to the earthquake, will be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The USCIS Director indicated that the registration process will begin upon official notice being published in the Federal Register, probably during the week of January 18.

The registration period will run for 180 days, and TPS eligibility will be for 18 months. Fees will be required for the I-821, the biometrics, and the I-765 if a work authorization is desired and the I-131 if travel permission (“advance parole”) is sought. Applicants may apply for fee waivers.

As proof of nationality, the USCIS is  primarily looking for a passport (an expired one is acceptable) or birth certificates. The USCIS has already indicated that secondary evidence would be considered.

The USCIS noted that, if adopting parents were in the Haiti at the time of the earthquake, they may go to the U.S. embassy to complete the adoption process, and the government of Haiti will waive the exit visa requirement. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are working on the issues related to adoptions by parents not in Haiti. They urge parents not to travel to Haiti at this time.
 
 

DHS Secretary Announces Streamlined Citizenship Application Process for the Military

Friday, January 15, 2010

WASHINGTON—On January 15, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano  announced an expedited path to citizenship for persons serving in the armed forces.

“The foundation of our national security is the patriotic service and extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces,” said Secretary Napolitano.

The change reduces the time requirements for naturalization through military service from three years to one year for applicants who served during peacetime, and extending benefits to members of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of the U.S. Armed Forces. Service members who have served honorably in an active-duty status or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve for any time since Sept. 11, 2001, can file immediately for citizenship.

Additional information for immigration programs available to the military may be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/military.
 
 

TPS for Haiti: NOW!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A personal note: Chuck Kuck AILA's immediate past President posted the following message earlier today. His thoughts closely mirror my own, and those of our colleagues across the country; I could not have said it better. President Obama has promised extensive humanatrian aid, there should be no delay, absolutely no delay, in granting TPS to Haitian citizens who are in the United States.
     Jack Pinnix

Haiti, the poorest nation in our hemisphere, and the one of poorest nations in the world, was hit by yet another natural disaster--a 7.0 earthquake. This after a Haiti has endured four major storms in 2008, from which it has yet to recover. Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike - pounded Haiti in August and September 2008, killing a total of 793 people and leaving more than 300 others missing, according to government figures. The country was also gripped by a tense political standoff in April 2008 amid riots over skyrocketing food prices. UN troops are a regular sight throughout much of the country.

Frankly, I cannot imagine a worse situation in a country. Certainly, if ever there were the need for a country and a people to be given a helping hand, this is the time, and this is the country. Attorney General Holder, Secretary Napolitano, Please grant TPS designation to Haitians currently in the United States. Temporarily stop deportations to Haiti. Give this country a chance at recovery, without burdening it further. Allow the nationals of that country currently in the United States to help that country recovery by allowing them to come forward and secure a work permission in the United States.

The reality is that failure to move forward with TPS Designation for Haiti now will be considered by many to be racist. Honduras has had TPS for YEARS since the one Hurricane which devastated that country. El Salvador has enjoyed such designation for numerous years as well since the earthquakes in that country. Yet, Haiti, which appears to be at the center of Mother Nature's wrath for the last 18 months, remains forsaken, its nationals abandoned.

Attorney General Holder, Secretary Napolitano, we are waiting. Do what is right and do it now.
 
 

Analysis: Short Sighted Immigration Policy Will Harm the Ecconomy and National Security

Friday, January 08, 2010

The New York Times reported yesterday that Shi Yigong (Dr. Shi), a former Princeton University molecular biologist is optimistic that China can meet is goal of reversing “the drain of top talent that accompanied its opening to the outside world over the past three decades.”

The Times article notes that: “China’s spending on research and development has steadily increased for a decade and now amounts to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product. The United States devotes 2.7 percent of it’s G.D.P. to research and development, but China’s share is far higher than that of most other developing countries”.

In less than two years Dr Shi’s Tsinghua University “ has recruited about 18 post-doctoral fellows, almost all from the United States. Each has opened an independent laboratory. Within a decade”, Shi predicted “Tsinghua’s life sciences department will expand fourfold”.

Senior Allen and Pinnix immigration specialist Jack Pinnix believes that this is but one indicator of the consequences of a short sighted U.S. immigration policy that risks our national security and economic development by frustrating the retention of the best and brightest of the world’s scientists and scholars. “Quota restrictions must be liberalized and the U.S. immigration laws reformed if the U.S. is to compete in the 21st century observed Pinnix.”
 
 

AILA Praises Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

In a statement issued on December 14, 2009 The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) called Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill “an important step in creating momentum for an overhaul of our nation's broken immigration system.

AILA said the bill “contains many core principles which immigration advocates consider vital to any comprehensive immigration reform bill, including a pathway to legalization for undocumented workers and students, family unity and labor provisions, smarter and more effective enforcement, and worker verification systems that work”.

"We know how dedicated Rep. Gutierrez is to immigration reform," commented AILA president Bernie Wolfsdorf. "Gutierrez has long been a strong and vocal leader in the CIR movement. We look forward to analyzing this new CIR bill and hope to work with him and other members of Congress to fix our nation's dysfunctional immigration system and help spur the country back to economic recovery."

AILA noted that, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and members of the Congressional Black Caucus immediately endorsed the bill “as a solution to both stem illegal immigration and promote legal migration that will protect and strengthen our nation's economic and national security”.
 
 

FY 2010 H-1B Cap Reached

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

On December 22 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H-1B cap for fiscal year 2010 has been reached with cap-subject H-1B cases received on and before December 21, 2009.

All cases received on December 21, 2009 will be subject to a computer-generated random selection process to determine which cases will be counted under the 2010 quota and which cases will be returned to the petitioner.
 
 

U.S. and Canadian Citizens Need Documentation to Enter the U.S.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminds travelers that they will need approved travel documents to enter the United States when returning from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) was implemented June 1, 2009 at land and sea ports of entry, requiring travelers--including U.S. and Canadian citizens-to present an approved travel document to establish identity and citizenship when entering the United States. The approved documents include a passport, a U.S. passport card, a NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST trusted traveler program card, and a state-or providence-issued enhanced driver's license. U.S. and Canadian citizen travelers under age 16, or under age 19 traveling in a school or other official group, need to present only a birth certificate as alternative proof of citizenship for entry into the United States.

WHTI document requirements for air travel have been in effect since January 2007. Almost all travelers flying back to the United States need to present a passport or NEXUS card.

The immigration attorneys at Allen and Pinnix, P.A. note that the CBP reminder is applicable to all entries from Canada.
 
 

Allen and Pinnix, P.A.

333 Fayetteville St.
Suite 1200
Raleigh, NC 27602
PH:  919-755-0505
FAX: 919-829-8098
info@allen-pinnix.com
 
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