DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. THE OFFICE OF NORKA M. SCHELL, LLC AND/OR ITS MEMBERS AND/OR EMPLOYEES MAKE NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION. WHILE SOME OF THE INFORMATION IS ABOUT LEGAL ISSUES, IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
May 2, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-Agricultural Em...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-Agricultural Em...: Posted by Immigration Business Lawyer Norka M. Schell www.lawschell.com Interim Final Rule Summary The Department of Homeland Securit...
Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment H-2B Program
Posted by Immigration Business Lawyer Norka M. Schell
www.lawschell.com
Interim Final Rule
Summary
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) (jointly referred as Departments) are amending regulations governing certification for the employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment. This interim final rule revises how DOL provides the consultation that DHS has determined necessary to adjudicate H-2B petitions by revising methodology by which DOL calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and U.S. workers recruited connection with the application for certification; the prevailing wage is then used in petitioning, DHS to employ nonimmigrant workers in H-2B status. DOL and DHS are jointly issuing this rule in response to the court's order in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolasv. Solis, which vacated portions of DOL's current prevailing wage rate regulation, and to ensure that there is no question that the rule is in effect nationwide in light of other standing litigation. This rule also contains revisions to DHS's H-2B rule to clarify that DHS is the Executive Branch agency charged with making case, question about the methodology for settling the prevailing wage in the H-2B program. www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=ETA2013-003
www.lawschell.com
Interim Final Rule
Summary
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) (jointly referred as Departments) are amending regulations governing certification for the employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment. This interim final rule revises how DOL provides the consultation that DHS has determined necessary to adjudicate H-2B petitions by revising methodology by which DOL calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and U.S. workers recruited connection with the application for certification; the prevailing wage is then used in petitioning, DHS to employ nonimmigrant workers in H-2B status. DOL and DHS are jointly issuing this rule in response to the court's order in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolasv. Solis, which vacated portions of DOL's current prevailing wage rate regulation, and to ensure that there is no question that the rule is in effect nationwide in light of other standing litigation. This rule also contains revisions to DHS's H-2B rule to clarify that DHS is the Executive Branch agency charged with making case, question about the methodology for settling the prevailing wage in the H-2B program. www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=ETA2013-003
May 1, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: USCIS IMMIGRANT FEE PAYMENT TO MOVE TO USCIS ELIS
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: USCIS IMMIGRANT FEE PAYMENT TO MOVE TO USCIS ELIS: Posted by Immigration Lawyer Norka M. Schell Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC www.lawschell.com United States Citizenship and Immigr...
USCIS IMMIGRANT FEE PAYMENT TO MOVE TO USCIS ELIS
Posted by Immigration Lawyer Norka M. Schell
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is moving the existing online payment for the USCIS Immigration Fee to its Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). Customers will soon pay $165.00 USCIS Immigration Fee using USCIS ELIS after they receive their immigrant visa package from the Department of State (DOS) and before they depart for the United States. New immigrants will also use USCIS ELIS to file future applications and petitions when they become available in the system.
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is moving the existing online payment for the USCIS Immigration Fee to its Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). Customers will soon pay $165.00 USCIS Immigration Fee using USCIS ELIS after they receive their immigrant visa package from the Department of State (DOS) and before they depart for the United States. New immigrants will also use USCIS ELIS to file future applications and petitions when they become available in the system.
April 17, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS ISSUES JOINT STATEMEN...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS ISSUES JOINT STATEMEN...: PRESS RELEASES April 17, 2013 WASHINGTON, DC— A bipartisan group of U.S. senators—including Senators Charles Schumer, John McCain, Dick ...
HEARING ON COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION UPDATE
The U.S. Committee on the Judiciary published a Notice that the Hearing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation will take place on April 22, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
For more information see http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=8cbd56caad16c74c7ff47a4bf3bfabdf
For more information see http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=8cbd56caad16c74c7ff47a4bf3bfabdf
BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS ISSUES JOINT STATEMENT ON COMMON-SENSE IMMIGRATION REFORM PROPOSAL
PRESS RELEASES
April 17, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC—A bipartisan group of U.S. senators—including Senators Charles Schumer, John McCain, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Robert Menendez, Marco Rubio, Michael Bennet and Jeff Flake—released the following joint statement upon the introduction of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013:
“Our immigration system is broken and it is time for a national conversation about how to fix it. We believe common-sense immigration reform is vital in order to secure America's borders, advance our economic growth, and provide fuller access to the American dream. Our bipartisan proposal is a starting point, and will be strengthened by good-faith input and ideas from across the ideological spectrum. We look forward to multiple Senate hearings on this bill, an open committee process with amendments, and a full and fair debate in the Senate.”
The full text of the bill is available online here.
April 17, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC—A bipartisan group of U.S. senators—including Senators Charles Schumer, John McCain, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Robert Menendez, Marco Rubio, Michael Bennet and Jeff Flake—released the following joint statement upon the introduction of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013:
“Our immigration system is broken and it is time for a national conversation about how to fix it. We believe common-sense immigration reform is vital in order to secure America's borders, advance our economic growth, and provide fuller access to the American dream. Our bipartisan proposal is a starting point, and will be strengthened by good-faith input and ideas from across the ideological spectrum. We look forward to multiple Senate hearings on this bill, an open committee process with amendments, and a full and fair debate in the Senate.”
The full text of the bill is available online here.
April 12, 2013
Immigration Bill Expected to Focus on Work Skills
Posted by Norka M. Schell, Esq.
WASHINGTON — The sweeping immigration bill that a bipartisan group of senators is preparing will include a major new merit-based program for foreigners to become permanent legal residents based on their work skills, including both high-skilled and blue-collar workers, according to people familiar with a draft of the legislation.
Over time the program, just one piece of the bill, would open up many new opportunities for foreigners to settle in the United States based on their skills, a shift from the focus on family ties that is the main foundation of the current immigration system.
But the bill will also include a host of measures to eliminate, over 10 years, a backlog of 4.7 million immigrants who have applied to come here legally and have been languishing in the system, waiting for permanent resident visas known as green cards. As a result, during the next decade, millions of immigrants who have been waiting patiently for legal documents will be united with their family members here.
The bill, an intricate combination of many interlocking parts, also provides a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally. Under the plan, those immigrants would wait at least 13 years before they could apply to become citizens.
The eight senators who are drafting the legislation, including Charles E. Schumer of New York, a Democrat, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican, said this week that they had reached broad agreement on its major pieces and hoped to present it early next week.
Mr. Schumer said Thursday that all issues among the senators had been resolved. “All that’s left is the drafting,” he said.
At the crux of the legislation is an effort to bridge the gap between Democrats, who strongly support and are seeking to protect family immigration, and Republicans, who are eager to move immigration toward a system based on work skills that foreigners bring to the United States.
The senators are under pressure to move quickly to introduce the bill. Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, a Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday. This week, tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters rallied Wednesday on the lawn of the Capitol, calling for a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants in the country and urging Congress to move swiftly.
One major goal of the bill is to put immigrants who have been living in the country illegally at “the back of the line” behind immigrants who made every effort to follow the rules, so that no one here illegally would become legal residents or citizens until those already in the system have the chance to do so.
Also, at the insistence of Republicans — particularly Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, another member of the bipartisan group — the bill also avoids giving illegal immigrants a separate pathway to citizenship. Under the proposal, no new green cards would be created in the future exclusively for them.
Instead, in a novel compromise worked out in hard-fought negotiations, immigrants who had been here illegally would gain a provisional legal status in which they would remain for at least 10 years. They could work legally and travel, but they would not become permanent residents.
During the first decade, the aim is to clear backlogs. Then, formerly illegal immigrants could apply for merit-based green cards, along with many other foreigners applying legally. After three years with a green card, the formerly illegal immigrants would be eligible to apply to become American citizens.
Some Senate staff members stressed that the final draft of the bill is not complete, and that many details could change, although not the broad outlines and goals.
Among proposals to reduce backlogs is a plan to accelerate green card applications of foreigners living legally in the United States who have been waiting to receive their documents for 10 years or more.
Any immigrants who have been working legally in this country for 10 years would also move rapidly to receive green cards, either through the current system or later through the new merit system.
The plan would also free up additional green cards by eliminating a category of foreigners who are now eligible for those visas: siblings of United States citizens.
The bill would also remove annual limits on the number of green cards for a different category, spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents. The senators estimate that 800,000 immediate family members will move through the backlog and gain green cards over the next decade as a result of that change.
At the end of 10 years, the bill would create a program offering 138,000 merit-based visas each year to foreigners based on their work skills, but also on other considerations including family ties. Green cards will be offered to workers in three categories: high-skilled foreigners in technology and science, employees with a middle range of white collar skills, and low-wage workers. Farmworkers are not included, as they will come under a separate program.
Immigrants who will be eligible for merit green cards would include those formerly here illegally, if they have remained in good standing, learned English and passed other requirements, and remained employed for 10 years.
But other migrants would be eligible for those green cards as well, including agricultural guest workers who had been legally employed in this country for 10 years, and other temporary visa holders. There would be no special, dedicated path to citizenship for immigrants who had once lived in the country illegally. The New York Times on April 12, 2013. Authors: JULIA PRESTON and ASHLEY PARKER
April 6, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Homeland: Immigration in America Must See Video
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Homeland: Immigration in America Must See Video: By NYC Immigration Lawyer Norka M. Schell Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC Tel. (212)546-1589 www.lawschell.com As you read this ...
Homeland: Immigration in America Must See Video
By NYC Immigration Lawyer Norka M. Schell
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
Tel. (212)546-1589
www.lawschell.com
As you read this 'blog" I would like you to consider the following questions:
Who are the immigrants anyway?
What are their stories?
Why do we need U.S. Immigration Reform?
How do immigrants and immigration help us and our communities?
IMMIGRATION LAWS BACKGROUND
All stories have two sides and the story of U.S. immigration is not different.
The first one hundred years of our national existence was a period of unimpeded immigration. New settlers were important to the young nation and immigrants were welcomed. The gates were open and unguarded and all were free to come. This national policy paid rich dividends as the immigrants and their descendants contributed heavily to the growth of our nation.
During this period there was little federal legislation. An early attempt at restriction was the Alien Act of 1798, as part of the Alien and Sedition Laws, which authorized the President to expel from the United States any alien deemed dangerous. The legislation was very unpopular and was allowed to expire at the end of its two-year term. Late in 1864, Congress passed legislation designed to encourage immigration, and some of the states had active programs to promote immigration.
Even during this period of tolerance the policy favoring immigration was by no means unopposed. In the earliest days there were groups counseling restriction. As immigration continued to increased these groups gained support of other groups, and they were potent during times of economic depression. Some of the states were disturbed at the influx of immigrants and sought to impose local controls from time to time. However, some of these state statute were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court as an invasion of the exclusive federal power to regulate foreign commerce.
In 1875, Congress passed a statute barring convicts and prostitutes.
In 882, Congress adopted the first general immigration statute which imposed a head tax of 50 cents and excluded idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge. Also, in 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In 1885 and 1887, Congress passed the contract labor laws, aimed at the practice of importing cheap foreign labor under labor contracts which depressed the labor market in the United States.
In the first decade of the twentieth century there was a vast increase in immigration, more than doubling the previous decade's arrivals. During four years of this decade annual immigration exceeded a million. In addition, the new immigrants were coming from southern and eastern Europe, instead of the previous migrations from northern Europe. The antagonisms which previously had been directed against the Irish-Catholic and German migrants were transferred to this "new" immigration. The vast tide of immigrants create uneasiness, which was accentuated during periods of economic crisis. The demand for further restrictions increased.
In 1917 Congress passed another comprehensive revision of immigration laws over the veto of President Wilson. The most controversial innovation of this legislation was the literacy test. Another new feature was the creation of an Asiatic Barred Zone to shut out Orientals. Japan alone was not included, since Japanese were dealt with by the so-called Gentleman's Agreement between the Governments of the United States and Japan.
At the conclusion of World War I immigration again began to increase. There was widespread fear of inundation by a flood of immigrants from the war-devastated countries of Europe, which resulted in the Quota Law of 1921, enacted as a temporary measure. This law allocated quotas to each nationality. In 1924, a permanent policy of numerical restriction was enacted.
On June 27, 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted. The basic features of the 1952 Act were: "Every alien seeking to enter the United States was deemed an immigrant unless he established that he was a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant is one who establishes that he sought to come temporarily and originally included foreign government and international organization officials, visitors, aliens in transit to other countries, students, crewmen, treaty traders and temporary workers.
Every immigrant is deemed subject to the prescribed numerical limitations unless he is exempted from such limitations. The principal classes exempted from numerical restrictions by the Act of 1952 were alien spouses and children of American citizens, returning lawful residents, and natives of Western Hemisphere countries.
The Act established annual based on a system of national origins for immigrants who came from countries except those in the Western Hemisphere, Special racial quotas were established for Asians. The law also established preferences within the quotas for immigrants with specialized skills and certain relatives of American citizens and of resident aliens..."
As the immigration debate continues on, you are invited to listen to the debate and participate on constructive dialogue on immigration issues that will shape our immigration laws once again. http://video.pbs.org/video/2258259814
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
Tel. (212)546-1589
www.lawschell.com
As you read this 'blog" I would like you to consider the following questions:
Who are the immigrants anyway?
What are their stories?
Why do we need U.S. Immigration Reform?
How do immigrants and immigration help us and our communities?
IMMIGRATION LAWS BACKGROUND
All stories have two sides and the story of U.S. immigration is not different.
The first one hundred years of our national existence was a period of unimpeded immigration. New settlers were important to the young nation and immigrants were welcomed. The gates were open and unguarded and all were free to come. This national policy paid rich dividends as the immigrants and their descendants contributed heavily to the growth of our nation.
During this period there was little federal legislation. An early attempt at restriction was the Alien Act of 1798, as part of the Alien and Sedition Laws, which authorized the President to expel from the United States any alien deemed dangerous. The legislation was very unpopular and was allowed to expire at the end of its two-year term. Late in 1864, Congress passed legislation designed to encourage immigration, and some of the states had active programs to promote immigration.
Even during this period of tolerance the policy favoring immigration was by no means unopposed. In the earliest days there were groups counseling restriction. As immigration continued to increased these groups gained support of other groups, and they were potent during times of economic depression. Some of the states were disturbed at the influx of immigrants and sought to impose local controls from time to time. However, some of these state statute were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court as an invasion of the exclusive federal power to regulate foreign commerce.
In 1875, Congress passed a statute barring convicts and prostitutes.
In 882, Congress adopted the first general immigration statute which imposed a head tax of 50 cents and excluded idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge. Also, in 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In 1885 and 1887, Congress passed the contract labor laws, aimed at the practice of importing cheap foreign labor under labor contracts which depressed the labor market in the United States.
In the first decade of the twentieth century there was a vast increase in immigration, more than doubling the previous decade's arrivals. During four years of this decade annual immigration exceeded a million. In addition, the new immigrants were coming from southern and eastern Europe, instead of the previous migrations from northern Europe. The antagonisms which previously had been directed against the Irish-Catholic and German migrants were transferred to this "new" immigration. The vast tide of immigrants create uneasiness, which was accentuated during periods of economic crisis. The demand for further restrictions increased.
In 1917 Congress passed another comprehensive revision of immigration laws over the veto of President Wilson. The most controversial innovation of this legislation was the literacy test. Another new feature was the creation of an Asiatic Barred Zone to shut out Orientals. Japan alone was not included, since Japanese were dealt with by the so-called Gentleman's Agreement between the Governments of the United States and Japan.
At the conclusion of World War I immigration again began to increase. There was widespread fear of inundation by a flood of immigrants from the war-devastated countries of Europe, which resulted in the Quota Law of 1921, enacted as a temporary measure. This law allocated quotas to each nationality. In 1924, a permanent policy of numerical restriction was enacted.
On June 27, 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted. The basic features of the 1952 Act were: "Every alien seeking to enter the United States was deemed an immigrant unless he established that he was a nonimmigrant. A nonimmigrant is one who establishes that he sought to come temporarily and originally included foreign government and international organization officials, visitors, aliens in transit to other countries, students, crewmen, treaty traders and temporary workers.
Every immigrant is deemed subject to the prescribed numerical limitations unless he is exempted from such limitations. The principal classes exempted from numerical restrictions by the Act of 1952 were alien spouses and children of American citizens, returning lawful residents, and natives of Western Hemisphere countries.
The Act established annual based on a system of national origins for immigrants who came from countries except those in the Western Hemisphere, Special racial quotas were established for Asians. The law also established preferences within the quotas for immigrants with specialized skills and certain relatives of American citizens and of resident aliens..."
As the immigration debate continues on, you are invited to listen to the debate and participate on constructive dialogue on immigration issues that will shape our immigration laws once again. http://video.pbs.org/video/2258259814
April 3, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al...: IMMEDIATE RELEASE USCIS has temporarily suspended adjudication of certain Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural work...
Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al v. Solis, 2:09-cv-00240-LDD (E.D. Pa) - Suspension of Adjudication of Most H-2B Petitions Following Court Order
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USCIS has temporarily suspended adjudication of certain Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural workers while the government considers appropriate action in response to the Court order entered March 21, 2013 in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al v. Solis, 2:09-cv-00240-LDD (E.D. Pa). http://www.dol.gov/eta/regs/unifiedagenda/fall2010/1205-AB61.htmThe Court’s order granted a permanent injunction against the operation of the portion of the 2008 wage rule related to certain prevailing wage determinations and gave the Department of Labor (DOL) 30 days to come into compliance with the Court order. Following the Court’s order, DOL announced that it can no longer make prevailing wage determinations based on the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey four-tier wage system. DOL will, however, continue to process prevailing wage requests not subject to the court order, including prevailing wage determinations using applicable Collective Bargaining Agreements, acceptable private wage surveys, or Service Contract Act or Davis Bacon Act wages. DOL intends to comply with the Court order within 30 days by promulgating a revised wage rule.
Accordingly, USCIS has temporarily suspended adjudication of H-2B petitions that are accompanied by temporary labor certifications (TLCs) issued by DOL when those TLCs are based on OES four-tier prevailing wage determinations. USCIS has also suspended premium processing for all H-2B petitions until further notice. Petitioners who have already filed H-2B petitions using the premium processing service, and who receive no agency action on their cases within the 15-calendar-day period, will receive refunds.
USCIS will be issuing notices on all pending petitions in order to determine the source of the prevailing wage determination (PWD). USCIS will not consider these notices as an "agency action" for premium processing purposes.
If it is determined that your pending petition is accompanied by a TLC that is based on a PWD utilizing applicable Collective Bargaining Agreements, acceptable private wage surveys, or Service Contract Act or Davis Bacon Act wages, USCIS will resume adjudication of your H-2B petition.
In addition, USCIS will adjudicate H-2B petitions that are filed with TLCs issued by DOL on or after March 22, 2013.
Furthermore, USCIS will continue adjudicating H-2B petitions for non-agricultural temporary workers on Guam if the petitions are accompanied by TLCs issued by the Guam Department of Labor (GDOL).
Finally, USCIS may adjudicate an H-2B petition if it can be resolved on issues unrelated to the OES four-tier prevailing wage determination.
Once a revised prevailing wage rule is promulgated, USCIS will resume adjudication of all H-2B petitions.
For information on H-2B petitions, please contact the Law Offices of Norka M. Schell at (212)564-1589 or visit our website at www.lawschell.com
March 21, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: FedEx Settled Charges of Hiring Discrimintation
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: FedEx Settled Charges of Hiring Discrimintation: Posted by Norka M. Schell, Employment Discrimation Attorney www.lawschell.com RELEASE Shipping giant FedEx settled charges of hiring di...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: USCIS ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL BEGIN ACCEPTING H-1B ...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: USCIS ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL BEGIN ACCEPTING H-1B ...: Posted by Attorney Norka M. Schell, NYC Immigration Attorney Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC www.lawschell.com U.S. Citizenship and...
USCIS ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL BEGIN ACCEPTING H-1B PETITIONS ON APRIL 1, 2013
Posted by Attorney Norka M. Schell, NYC Immigration Attorney
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announces that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013 and Premium Processing for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions will begin April 15, 2013.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will considered cases accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked. The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2014 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000.
USCIS uses the information provided in Part C of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (Form I-129, pages 17 through 19) to determine whether a petition is subject to the 65,000 H-1B numerical limitation (the “cap”). Some petitions are exempt from the cap under the advanced-degree exemption provided to the first 20,000 petitions filed for a beneficiary who has obtained a U.S. master's degree or higher.
Unless otherwise exempt from the cap, petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who have obtained a U.S. master's degree or higher will be counted against the regular cap once USCIS has received sufficient petitions to reach the advanced-degree exemption. In addition, petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations. Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are exempt from the cap until December 31, 2014. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap also do not count toward the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:
• extend the amount of time that a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.
• change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers
• allow current H-1B workers to change employers
• allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announces that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013 and Premium Processing for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions will begin April 15, 2013.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will considered cases accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked. The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2014 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000.
USCIS uses the information provided in Part C of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (Form I-129, pages 17 through 19) to determine whether a petition is subject to the 65,000 H-1B numerical limitation (the “cap”). Some petitions are exempt from the cap under the advanced-degree exemption provided to the first 20,000 petitions filed for a beneficiary who has obtained a U.S. master's degree or higher.
Unless otherwise exempt from the cap, petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who have obtained a U.S. master's degree or higher will be counted against the regular cap once USCIS has received sufficient petitions to reach the advanced-degree exemption. In addition, petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations. Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are exempt from the cap until December 31, 2014. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap also do not count toward the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:
• extend the amount of time that a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.
• change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers
• allow current H-1B workers to change employers
• allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position
USCIS advises that it anticipates that it may receive more petitions than the H-1B cap between April 1, 2013, and April 5, 2013. USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public of the date on which the numerical limit of the H-1B cap has been met. This date is known as the final receipt date. If USCIS receives more petitions than it can accept, USCIS will use a lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit. USCIS will reject petitions that are subject to the cap and are not selected as well as petitions received after it has the necessary number of petitions needed to meet the cap. The lottery for the H-1B cap was last used in April 2008.
In addition, H-1B cap cases can continue to request premium processing concurrently. Due to the historic premium processing receipt levels combined with the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first five business days of the filing season, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice. To facilitate the prioritized data entry of cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases, including H-1B petitions seeking an exemption from the fiscal year cap for individuals who have earned a U.S. master's degree or higher on April 15, 2013.
For more information on the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program and current Form I-129 processing times, contact us at (212)564-1589 or visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f537eff29cb6d310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
March 13, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Visa Bulletin For April 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Visa Bulletin For April 2013: FAMILY-BASED PREFERENCES Family-Sponsored All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA- mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES F1...
Visa Bulletin For April 2013
FAMILY-BASED PREFERENCES
| Family-Sponsored | All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 08MAR06 | 08MAR06 | 08MAR06 | 01AUG93 | 15FEB99 |
| F2A | 15DEC10 | 15DEC10 | 15DEC10 | 01DEC10 | 15DEC10 |
| F2B | 08APR05 | 08APR05 | 08APR05 | 22FEB93 | 15JUL02 |
| F3 | 22JUL02 | 22JUL02 | 22JUL02 | 22MAR93 | 01OCT92 |
| F4 | 01MAY01 | 01MAY01 | 01MAY01 | 01SEP96 | 15AUG89 |
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
| Employment- Based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | C | C | C | C |
| 2nd | C | 01APR08 | 01SEP04 | C | C |
| 3rd | 01JUL07 | 22APR07 | 08DEC02 | 01JUL07 | 08SEP06 |
| Other Workers | 01JUL07 | 01AUG03 | 08DEC02 | 01JUL07 | 08SEP06 |
| 4th | C | C | C | C | C |
| Certain Religious Workers | C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Targeted EmploymentAreas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs | C | C | C | C | C |
March 11, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: New Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: New Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9: By: NYC Immigration Attorney Norka M. Schell Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC www.lawschell.com The E-Verify or Electronic Verificati...
New Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9
By: NYC Immigration Attorney Norka M. Schell
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
The E-Verify or Electronic Verification system originated in 1996 as the "Basic Pilot" system. This is a program in which employment eligibility of all newly hired employees will be confirmed electronically by access to SSA's and Department of Homeland Security's databases.
The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published last week a new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.
What has changed on the I-9 Form?
The E-Verify or Electronic Verification system originated in 1996 as the "Basic Pilot" system. This is a program in which employment eligibility of all newly hired employees will be confirmed electronically by access to SSA's and Department of Homeland Security's databases.
The new I-9 Form is available immediately. Employers should complete the new I-9 Form for new hires and for reverification purposes. It is not necessary to complete a new form for existing employees if a previously properly completed I-9 Form is being maintained by the employer.
Employers who need to make necessary updates to their business processes to allow for use of the new Form I-9 may continue to use other previously accepted revisions (Rev.02/02/09) and (Rev. 08/07/09) until May 7, 2013 date. After May 7, 2013, all employers must use the revised Form I-9 for each new employee hired in the United States.
For more information, please contact our office at (212)564-1589.
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
The E-Verify or Electronic Verification system originated in 1996 as the "Basic Pilot" system. This is a program in which employment eligibility of all newly hired employees will be confirmed electronically by access to SSA's and Department of Homeland Security's databases.
The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published last week a new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.
What has changed on the I-9 Form?
- The new I-9 Rorm has English and Spanish versions.
- The instructions to the new version of the I-9 Form are more clear.
- The I-9 Form has extra fields that make the form more friendly.
- The I-9 Form also describe clearly the information employees and employers must provide in each section.
The E-Verify or Electronic Verification system originated in 1996 as the "Basic Pilot" system. This is a program in which employment eligibility of all newly hired employees will be confirmed electronically by access to SSA's and Department of Homeland Security's databases.
The new I-9 Form is available immediately. Employers should complete the new I-9 Form for new hires and for reverification purposes. It is not necessary to complete a new form for existing employees if a previously properly completed I-9 Form is being maintained by the employer.
Employers who need to make necessary updates to their business processes to allow for use of the new Form I-9 may continue to use other previously accepted revisions (Rev.02/02/09) and (Rev. 08/07/09) until May 7, 2013 date. After May 7, 2013, all employers must use the revised Form I-9 for each new employee hired in the United States.
For more information, please contact our office at (212)564-1589.
March 6, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Hearing on “Enhancing American Competitiveness thr...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Hearing on “Enhancing American Competitiveness thr...: PRESS RELEASE March 5, 2013 Statement of Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security H...
Hearing on “Enhancing American Competitiveness through Skilled Immigration”
PRESS RELEASE
March 5, 2013
But attracting the
world’s best and brightest is decidedly in the interests of all
Americans. Just think of the incredible economic windfall that America
experienced through the arrival of scientists fleeing Nazism in the 1930s and
1940s. This was one of the factors that enabled the post-war economic
boom. Today, talented individuals have many options worldwide as to where
to relocate. America needs to regain its place as the number one
destination for the world’s best and brightest. That should be our goal.
March 5, 2013
Statement
of Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte
Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security
Hearing on “Enhancing American Competitiveness through Skilled Immigration”
Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security
Hearing on “Enhancing American Competitiveness through Skilled Immigration”
Chairman Goodlatte: The contributions of
highly-skilled and educated immigrants to the United States are
well-documented. Seventy-six percent of the patents awarded to our top
patent-producing universities had at least one foreign-born inventor.
According to a recent report, these foreign-born inventors “played especially
large roles in cutting edge fields like semiconductor device manufacturing,
information technology, pulse or digital communications, pharmaceutical drugs
or drug compounds and optics.”
A study by the
American Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New American Economy
found that an additional 100 immigrants with advanced STEM degrees from U.S.
universities is associated with an additional 262 jobs for natives. The
study also found that immigrants with advanced degrees pay over $22,000 a year
in taxes yet their families receive less than $2,300 in government benefits.
The United States has
the most generous legal immigration system in the world – providing permanent
residence to over a million immigrants a year. Yet, how many of those
immigrants do we select on the basis of the education and skills they can bring
to America? Only 12% -- barely more than one out of 10 -- and that is
including the immigrants’ family members.
Given the outstanding
track record of immigrants in founding some of our most successful companies,
how many immigrants do we select on the basis of their entrepreneurial
talents? Less than 1% -- and that is only if they already have the
hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to participate in the investor visa
program.
Does any of this make
sense, given the intense international economic competition that America
faces? Does any of this make sense, given that many talented foreign
graduates of our best universities are giving up hope of getting a green card
and are packing up and moving home to work for our competitors? Does any
of this make sense, given that Indian nationals with advanced degrees sought
out by American industry have to wait over eight years for a green card?
Does any of this make sense, given that Australia, the United Kingdom and
Canada each select over 60% of immigrants on the basis of skills and
education? The answer is clearly not.
It is as if we
purposely add weights to handicap our horse in order to give our competitors a
better shot at the winner’s circle. This just doesn’t make sense as
national economic policy. The House of
Representatives acted last year to rechart our course. We voted by over a
hundred vote margin to pass legislation by former Chairman Smith that
redirected 50,000 or so green cards a year from winners of the diversity visa
lottery toward foreign students graduating from our universities with advanced
degrees in STEM fields. That bill would have made all Americans
winners. Unfortunately, at the direction of the White House, the bill
died in the Senate.
In this new Congress,
we can rechart our nation’s course anew. We should look at all aspects of
high-skilled immigration policy. We can look for ways to improve our
temporary visa programs for skilled workers – such as H-1B and L visas.
We can look for ways to improve our temporary visa program for entrepreneurs –
the E-2 program. We can look for ways to offer green cards to aspiring
entrepreneurs that don’t demand that they themselves be rich but that instead
rely on the judgment of the venture capitalists who have funded them. We
can look for ways to reduce the backlogs for second and third preference
employment-based green cards. And we can seek to help the United States
retain more of the foreign students who graduate from our universities.
Of course, at the
same time, we need to ensure that whatever we do brightens rather than darkens
the career prospects of American students and American workers. Even
newly-minted PhDs are not immune to sometimes bleak employment prospects.
March 5, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: PROVISIONAL WAIVERS INTRODUCED BY USCIS
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: PROVISIONAL WAIVERS INTRODUCED BY USCIS: Posted by the Immigration Attorney Norka M. Schell Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC www.lawschell.com U.S. Citizenship and Immigratio...
PROVISIONAL WAIVERS INTRODUCED BY USCIS
Posted by the Immigration Attorney Norka M. Schell
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent this bulletin at 03/04/2013 10:21 AM EST
Beginning March 4, certain immigrant visa applicants who are the spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives), and have been unlawfully present in the United States, can start applying for provisional unlawful presence waivers through a new process.
The new provisional unlawful presence waiver process is for certain individuals who seek a waiver of inadmissibility only for unlawful presence. They can now apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver while in the United States and before departing for their immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. Under the current process, which continues to remain in effect, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States have to travel abroad and be found inadmissible at their immigrant visa interview before they can apply for an inadmissibility waiver.
The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members go through the process of becoming lawful permanent residents of the United States. For eligibility details and information on the process, please visit: http://www.uscis.gov/provisionalwaiver
STAY CONNECTED TO www.lawschell.com FOR UPDATES.
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent this bulletin at 03/04/2013 10:21 AM EST
Beginning March 4, certain immigrant visa applicants who are the spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives), and have been unlawfully present in the United States, can start applying for provisional unlawful presence waivers through a new process.
The new provisional unlawful presence waiver process is for certain individuals who seek a waiver of inadmissibility only for unlawful presence. They can now apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver while in the United States and before departing for their immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. Under the current process, which continues to remain in effect, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States have to travel abroad and be found inadmissible at their immigrant visa interview before they can apply for an inadmissibility waiver.
The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members go through the process of becoming lawful permanent residents of the United States. For eligibility details and information on the process, please visit: http://www.uscis.gov/provisionalwaiver
STAY CONNECTED TO www.lawschell.com FOR UPDATES.
February 23, 2013
Justice Department Reaches Settlement With Avant Healthcare Professionals LLC To Resolve Immigration -Related Unfair Employment Practices
Posted by Norka M. Schell, NY Immigration Attorney
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with Avant Healthcare Professionals, LLC, a healthcare staffing company based in Casselberry, Fla., resolving allegations that the company posted discriminatory job advertisements on the internet.
According to the department investigation, hundreds of Avant Healthcare Professionals' internet-based job postings contained discriminatory language, permissibly preferring foreign-trained individuals seeking permanent residence or H-1B visa sponsorship over U.S. workers. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of citizenship or immigration status unless required by law, regulation or government contract. None of those limited exceptions applied to Avant's recruitment efforts.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Avant has agreed to pay $27,750 in civil penalties, to change its internal policies and written procedures to incorporate the INA's anti-discrimination protections, and to be subject to reporting and compliance monitoring requirements for a period of three years.
"Federal law protects authorized U.S. workers from illegal and discriminatory preferences," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Employers have a statutory obligation to monitor their online job postings to ensure that they do not violated the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practice (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protection against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC's worker hot line at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-2372525, TDD for hearing impaired), call the OSC's employer hot line at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php, email to osccrt@usdoj.gov or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC
www.lawschell.com
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with Avant Healthcare Professionals, LLC, a healthcare staffing company based in Casselberry, Fla., resolving allegations that the company posted discriminatory job advertisements on the internet.
According to the department investigation, hundreds of Avant Healthcare Professionals' internet-based job postings contained discriminatory language, permissibly preferring foreign-trained individuals seeking permanent residence or H-1B visa sponsorship over U.S. workers. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of citizenship or immigration status unless required by law, regulation or government contract. None of those limited exceptions applied to Avant's recruitment efforts.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Avant has agreed to pay $27,750 in civil penalties, to change its internal policies and written procedures to incorporate the INA's anti-discrimination protections, and to be subject to reporting and compliance monitoring requirements for a period of three years.
"Federal law protects authorized U.S. workers from illegal and discriminatory preferences," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Employers have a statutory obligation to monitor their online job postings to ensure that they do not violated the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practice (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protection against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC's worker hot line at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-2372525, TDD for hearing impaired), call the OSC's employer hot line at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php, email to osccrt@usdoj.gov or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Justice Department Reaches Settlement with FTD Inc...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Justice Department Reaches Settlement with FTD Inc...: Postad by Norka M. Schell, Immigration Attorney Law Offices of Norka M. Schell, LLC DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Justi...
February 21, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: USCIS Updated Version of Form I-881
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: USCIS Updated Version of Form I-881: Form I-881. A December 14, 2012, version of Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (...
USCIS Updated Version of Form I-881
Form I-881.
A December 14, 2012, version of Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 of Public Law 105-100, NACARA),16 has been released by USCIS. The agency also continues to accept previous versions, including the July 8, 2011, version.
The new Form I-881 expires on December 31, 2014. The form and its instructions have changed very little from the July 8, 2011, version. As with Form I-829, USCIS has removed the bar code from the form. On the instructions, USCIS has corrected the lettering of the items in Part I, Who Is Eligible to Apply, so that the second item (“A Guatemalan national who:”) is letter “B” rather than a second letter “A”; the agency has updated references to this item accordingly throughout the rest of the document. USCIS has also changed the presentation of some information, making it easier to comprehend, e.g., the “where to file” information on page 7 is now in a table, and the reasons for denial of an application for suspension of deportation or an application for special rule cancellation of removal on pages 7 and 8 are now set out in list format. Additionally, much of Part VIII, Address Notification Requirements, Penalties, Forms, Privacy Act Notice and Paperwork Reduction, has been updated to be consistent with other forms. A few other minor technical changes, such as replacing “biometrics” with “biometric services” are also found on both the form and instructions. For more information, please visit our website at www.lawschell.com
The new Form I-881 expires on December 31, 2014. The form and its instructions have changed very little from the July 8, 2011, version. As with Form I-829, USCIS has removed the bar code from the form. On the instructions, USCIS has corrected the lettering of the items in Part I, Who Is Eligible to Apply, so that the second item (“A Guatemalan national who:”) is letter “B” rather than a second letter “A”; the agency has updated references to this item accordingly throughout the rest of the document. USCIS has also changed the presentation of some information, making it easier to comprehend, e.g., the “where to file” information on page 7 is now in a table, and the reasons for denial of an application for suspension of deportation or an application for special rule cancellation of removal on pages 7 and 8 are now set out in list format. Additionally, much of Part VIII, Address Notification Requirements, Penalties, Forms, Privacy Act Notice and Paperwork Reduction, has been updated to be consistent with other forms. A few other minor technical changes, such as replacing “biometrics” with “biometric services” are also found on both the form and instructions. For more information, please visit our website at www.lawschell.com
February 15, 2013
CHANGE OF NON-IMMIGRANT STATUS
By Norka M. Schell, Esq
www.lawschell.com
When a person is present in the United States in one non-immigrant (temporary) status, and latter on he or she decides to engage in a different primary activity only permitted under a different non-immigrant status, the law requires that this person changes his or her non-immigrant status FIRST before engaging in the activity. For instance, a person who comes into United States as a tourist and decides to attend school, or a foreign student who decides to take up other than school-approved employment. In such situations, the non-immigrant has two options:
(1) he or she may file an application with the United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services to request a change of status to a non immigrant classification appropriate to the proposed activity, or
(2) he or she leaves the United States and apply for the appropriate visa at the U.S. consulate abroad, and then re-enter the U.S. in the correct non immigrant classification.
Keep in mind that the application for change of status must be filed with the United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services before the person's authorized stay expires.
If you need assistance with change of non immigrant status, please contact one of our offices at
(212)564-1589 or (551)265-4395 to speak with a lawyer.
www.lawschell.com
When a person is present in the United States in one non-immigrant (temporary) status, and latter on he or she decides to engage in a different primary activity only permitted under a different non-immigrant status, the law requires that this person changes his or her non-immigrant status FIRST before engaging in the activity. For instance, a person who comes into United States as a tourist and decides to attend school, or a foreign student who decides to take up other than school-approved employment. In such situations, the non-immigrant has two options:
(1) he or she may file an application with the United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services to request a change of status to a non immigrant classification appropriate to the proposed activity, or
(2) he or she leaves the United States and apply for the appropriate visa at the U.S. consulate abroad, and then re-enter the U.S. in the correct non immigrant classification.
Keep in mind that the application for change of status must be filed with the United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services before the person's authorized stay expires.
If you need assistance with change of non immigrant status, please contact one of our offices at
(212)564-1589 or (551)265-4395 to speak with a lawyer.
February 11, 2013
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Proposal Introduc...
IMMIGRATION AND POLICY: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Proposal Introduc...: Posted by Norka M. Schell, NY Immigration Attorney www.lawschell.com Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a problem that has been punted f...
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Proposal Introduced by Bipartisan Senate Group
Posted by Norka M. Schell, NY Immigration Attorney
www.lawschell.com
Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a problem that has been punted from year to year, from Congress to Congress, from Administration to Administration. The status quo, which has resulted in the presence of more than 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, is simply unacceptable. We need Congress to create the legal foundation for bringing the millions of illegal immigrants in this country out of shadows. Making sure these people become full taxpayers and pay their fair share will both benefit our economy and make it easier to enforce the laws aginst unscrupulous or exploitive employers. A fair pathway to earned legal status will mandate that illegal immigrants meet a number of requirements--including undocumented immigrants to register under the program, submit biometric data, pass criminal background and national security checks, and pay fees and penalties before becoming eligible for a provisional legal status. President Barack Obama and several U.S. senators are fully committed to Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The following are the frameworks for Comprehesive Immigration Reform introduced by a bipartisan group of senators and President Barack Obama.
CREATING A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRANTS ALREADY HERE THAT IS CONTINGENT UPON SECURING THE BORDER AND COMBATING VISA OVERSTAYS
A comprehensive plan would continue improvements in border security by providing Border Patrol with the latest technology, infrastructure, and personnel needed to prevent, detect, and apprehend every unauthorized entrant. Also with an eye on increased border security, the framework calls for an increase in the number of unmanned aerial vehicles and surveillance equipment used along the border, improvement in radio interoperability, and increase in the number of agents at and between ports of entry. This, the outline indicates, will substantially lower the number of successful undocumented border crossings while continuing to facilitate commerce. The summary also suggests that a reform plan must improve Border Patrol training with respect to strengthening prohibitions against racial profiling and inappropriate use of force. Border communities will be given a mechanism to ensure that they have a meaningful opportunity to share input on the workings on the border.
Comprehensive immigration reform would also include an entry/exit tracking program for airports and seaports in order to ensure that temporary visa holders are leaving as they should.
The framework additionally suggests that input from communities along the southwest U.S. border will be critical to determining the security of the border. It calls for the creation of a commission comprised of governors, attorneys general, and community leaders living along the southwest border to monitor the progress of securing the border and to make a recommendation regarding when border security measures ultimately proposed in a comprehensive reform bill have been achieved.
While the border security measures are being worked on, the framework suggests that the bill would require those "who came or remained in the United States without our permission to register with the government." Included in this process would be passing a background check and paying a fine and back taxes. This would earn undocumented immigrants probationary legal status, which will permit them to live and work lawfully in the United States. Persons who have a serious criminal background or others who pose a threat to national security will be ineligible for legal status and subject to deportation, and undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes would face immediate deportation. Permanent resident status would not be issued to these persons with probationary status until the security measures outlined in the bill were accomplished. Once the security measures have been implemented and deemed successful, then those with probationary status would be added tot he end of the queue for permanent resident status. In addition, they would be required to pass an additional background check, pay taxes, learn English and civics, and demonstrate a history of work in the United States and current employment, among other requirements, in order to earn the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent resident status. Exceptions to the end-of-the-line requirement would be made for people who were brought to the United States as minors as well as for certain agricultural workers who commit to the long-term stability of the agricultural industries would earn a path to citizenship through a different process under a new agricultural worker program.
IMPROVING THE LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM AND ATTRACTING THE WORLD'S BEST AND BRIGHTEST
Under the pillar, the focus is to retaining U.S.-educated PhD and master's degree recipients with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math by putting those degree recipients on a fast-track for permanent resident status. Also, an effort would be made to eliminate the backlogs in both family and employment-based visas as a way to encourage lawful immigration.
STRONG EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION
This pillar gives attention to finding a means to ensure that persons not authorized to work in the United States are not hired, thus discouraging unlawful entry for employment purposes. This synopsis indicates that a vast majority of undocumented persons entering the United States do so for purposes of obtaining employment. The agreement calls for an effective employment verification system which prevents identity theft, ends the hiring of unauthorized workers, and provides employers with a fast and reliable method to confirm whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States. The system would also be crafted with procedural safeguards to protect U.S. workers, prevent identity theft, and provide due process protections.
ADMITTING NEW WORKERS AND PROTECTING WORKERS' RIGHTS
This fourth pillar looks at trying the availability of low-skilled foreign labor to actual need for workers. Employers would be required to demonstrate that U.S. workers are unavailable to fill openings and would provide a separate plan for the agriculture and dairy industries. The system would also have to be able to respond quickly to changing needs so that businesses are not harmed.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S VISION FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY
Key elements under the border security aspect of the President's immigration reform proposal include strengthening and improving the infrastructure at ports of entry, utilizing public/private partnerships to facilitate processing of foreign visitors, and continuing the use of technology along the borders. The plan also calls for partnership with local border communities by establishing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) liaisons along the southern and northern borders "to improve communication and collaboration with border communities, boost funding to tribal government partners to reduce illegal activity on tribal lands, and strengthen training on civil rights and civil liberties for DHS immigration officers."
With respect to criminal aspects for border security, the plan calls for establishing new criminal penalties to combat transnational criminal organizations that traffic in drugs, weapons, and money and the smuggle people across the borders. The plan also expands the scope of existing law to allow for the forfeiture of the tools and proceeds of such organization. Penalties would also be established for persons trafficking in passports, immigration documents, and schemes to defraud, including those who prey on vulnerable immigrants through notario fraud. The plan additionally calls for strengthening penalties to combat human smuggling rings.
The proposal includes provisions to better target convicted criminal noncitizens in federal or state correctional facilities in order to remove them from the United States at the end of their sentences without letting them reenter communities, though the process would include a means to protect individuals with a credible fear of returning to their home countries. Also along removal lines, the proposal creates a streamlined administrative removal process for noncitizens who overstay their visas and have been determined to be threats to national security and public safety.
Improvements to the immigration courts by way of any increase in immigration judges and staff as well as an investment in training for such court employees are called for in the President's proposal as is a mandate for DHS to consider and expand alternatives to detention and reduce overall detention costs.
PATHWAY TO EARNED CITIZENSHIP
The President's earned citizenship plan would require undocumented immigrants to register under the program, submit biometric data, pass criminal background and national security checks, and pay fees and penalties before becoming eligible for a provisional legal status. Those who were brought to the United States as children without a lawful means of entry will be eligible for earned citizenship, and those who attend college or service honorably in the United States Armed Forces for at least two years would be given an expedited opportunity to earn citizenship. Other individuals seeking earned citizenship must wait until the existing legal immigration backlogs are cleared before getting in line to apply for lawful permanent resident status. In order to apply for permanent resident status, potential applicants would need to pay their taxes, pass additional criminal background and national security checks, register for Selective Service (where applicable), pay additional fees and penalties, and learn English and U.S. civics. Persons whose provisional lawful status has been revoked or denied, or whose application for adjustment of status has been denied, will have the opportunity to seek administrative and judicial review of those decisions.
CRACKING DOWN ON EMPLOYERS HIRING UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
The first bullet under this aspect of the President's reform plan calls for a mandatory employment verification program. The program would be phased in over a five-year period, there would be exemptions for certain small businesses, and failure to utilize the program would carry significantly-increased penalties for employers. Employees would also be subject to penalties for committing fraud and identity theft. In order to combat fraud and identity theft, a fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant, tamper-resistant social security card would be established, and any document that a worker uses to establish identity and/or employability would have to be fraud-resistant and tamper-resistant. There are also worker protections in the proposal and a "labor law enforcement fund" to help ensure the industries that employ significant numbers of immigrant workers employ with labor laws."
www.lawschell.com
Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a problem that has been punted from year to year, from Congress to Congress, from Administration to Administration. The status quo, which has resulted in the presence of more than 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, is simply unacceptable. We need Congress to create the legal foundation for bringing the millions of illegal immigrants in this country out of shadows. Making sure these people become full taxpayers and pay their fair share will both benefit our economy and make it easier to enforce the laws aginst unscrupulous or exploitive employers. A fair pathway to earned legal status will mandate that illegal immigrants meet a number of requirements--including undocumented immigrants to register under the program, submit biometric data, pass criminal background and national security checks, and pay fees and penalties before becoming eligible for a provisional legal status. President Barack Obama and several U.S. senators are fully committed to Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The following are the frameworks for Comprehesive Immigration Reform introduced by a bipartisan group of senators and President Barack Obama.
CREATING A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRANTS ALREADY HERE THAT IS CONTINGENT UPON SECURING THE BORDER AND COMBATING VISA OVERSTAYS
A comprehensive plan would continue improvements in border security by providing Border Patrol with the latest technology, infrastructure, and personnel needed to prevent, detect, and apprehend every unauthorized entrant. Also with an eye on increased border security, the framework calls for an increase in the number of unmanned aerial vehicles and surveillance equipment used along the border, improvement in radio interoperability, and increase in the number of agents at and between ports of entry. This, the outline indicates, will substantially lower the number of successful undocumented border crossings while continuing to facilitate commerce. The summary also suggests that a reform plan must improve Border Patrol training with respect to strengthening prohibitions against racial profiling and inappropriate use of force. Border communities will be given a mechanism to ensure that they have a meaningful opportunity to share input on the workings on the border.
Comprehensive immigration reform would also include an entry/exit tracking program for airports and seaports in order to ensure that temporary visa holders are leaving as they should.
The framework additionally suggests that input from communities along the southwest U.S. border will be critical to determining the security of the border. It calls for the creation of a commission comprised of governors, attorneys general, and community leaders living along the southwest border to monitor the progress of securing the border and to make a recommendation regarding when border security measures ultimately proposed in a comprehensive reform bill have been achieved.
While the border security measures are being worked on, the framework suggests that the bill would require those "who came or remained in the United States without our permission to register with the government." Included in this process would be passing a background check and paying a fine and back taxes. This would earn undocumented immigrants probationary legal status, which will permit them to live and work lawfully in the United States. Persons who have a serious criminal background or others who pose a threat to national security will be ineligible for legal status and subject to deportation, and undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes would face immediate deportation. Permanent resident status would not be issued to these persons with probationary status until the security measures outlined in the bill were accomplished. Once the security measures have been implemented and deemed successful, then those with probationary status would be added tot he end of the queue for permanent resident status. In addition, they would be required to pass an additional background check, pay taxes, learn English and civics, and demonstrate a history of work in the United States and current employment, among other requirements, in order to earn the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent resident status. Exceptions to the end-of-the-line requirement would be made for people who were brought to the United States as minors as well as for certain agricultural workers who commit to the long-term stability of the agricultural industries would earn a path to citizenship through a different process under a new agricultural worker program.
IMPROVING THE LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM AND ATTRACTING THE WORLD'S BEST AND BRIGHTEST
Under the pillar, the focus is to retaining U.S.-educated PhD and master's degree recipients with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math by putting those degree recipients on a fast-track for permanent resident status. Also, an effort would be made to eliminate the backlogs in both family and employment-based visas as a way to encourage lawful immigration.
STRONG EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION
This pillar gives attention to finding a means to ensure that persons not authorized to work in the United States are not hired, thus discouraging unlawful entry for employment purposes. This synopsis indicates that a vast majority of undocumented persons entering the United States do so for purposes of obtaining employment. The agreement calls for an effective employment verification system which prevents identity theft, ends the hiring of unauthorized workers, and provides employers with a fast and reliable method to confirm whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States. The system would also be crafted with procedural safeguards to protect U.S. workers, prevent identity theft, and provide due process protections.
ADMITTING NEW WORKERS AND PROTECTING WORKERS' RIGHTS
This fourth pillar looks at trying the availability of low-skilled foreign labor to actual need for workers. Employers would be required to demonstrate that U.S. workers are unavailable to fill openings and would provide a separate plan for the agriculture and dairy industries. The system would also have to be able to respond quickly to changing needs so that businesses are not harmed.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S VISION FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY
Key elements under the border security aspect of the President's immigration reform proposal include strengthening and improving the infrastructure at ports of entry, utilizing public/private partnerships to facilitate processing of foreign visitors, and continuing the use of technology along the borders. The plan also calls for partnership with local border communities by establishing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) liaisons along the southern and northern borders "to improve communication and collaboration with border communities, boost funding to tribal government partners to reduce illegal activity on tribal lands, and strengthen training on civil rights and civil liberties for DHS immigration officers."
With respect to criminal aspects for border security, the plan calls for establishing new criminal penalties to combat transnational criminal organizations that traffic in drugs, weapons, and money and the smuggle people across the borders. The plan also expands the scope of existing law to allow for the forfeiture of the tools and proceeds of such organization. Penalties would also be established for persons trafficking in passports, immigration documents, and schemes to defraud, including those who prey on vulnerable immigrants through notario fraud. The plan additionally calls for strengthening penalties to combat human smuggling rings.
The proposal includes provisions to better target convicted criminal noncitizens in federal or state correctional facilities in order to remove them from the United States at the end of their sentences without letting them reenter communities, though the process would include a means to protect individuals with a credible fear of returning to their home countries. Also along removal lines, the proposal creates a streamlined administrative removal process for noncitizens who overstay their visas and have been determined to be threats to national security and public safety.
Improvements to the immigration courts by way of any increase in immigration judges and staff as well as an investment in training for such court employees are called for in the President's proposal as is a mandate for DHS to consider and expand alternatives to detention and reduce overall detention costs.
PATHWAY TO EARNED CITIZENSHIP
The President's earned citizenship plan would require undocumented immigrants to register under the program, submit biometric data, pass criminal background and national security checks, and pay fees and penalties before becoming eligible for a provisional legal status. Those who were brought to the United States as children without a lawful means of entry will be eligible for earned citizenship, and those who attend college or service honorably in the United States Armed Forces for at least two years would be given an expedited opportunity to earn citizenship. Other individuals seeking earned citizenship must wait until the existing legal immigration backlogs are cleared before getting in line to apply for lawful permanent resident status. In order to apply for permanent resident status, potential applicants would need to pay their taxes, pass additional criminal background and national security checks, register for Selective Service (where applicable), pay additional fees and penalties, and learn English and U.S. civics. Persons whose provisional lawful status has been revoked or denied, or whose application for adjustment of status has been denied, will have the opportunity to seek administrative and judicial review of those decisions.
CRACKING DOWN ON EMPLOYERS HIRING UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
The first bullet under this aspect of the President's reform plan calls for a mandatory employment verification program. The program would be phased in over a five-year period, there would be exemptions for certain small businesses, and failure to utilize the program would carry significantly-increased penalties for employers. Employees would also be subject to penalties for committing fraud and identity theft. In order to combat fraud and identity theft, a fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant, tamper-resistant social security card would be established, and any document that a worker uses to establish identity and/or employability would have to be fraud-resistant and tamper-resistant. There are also worker protections in the proposal and a "labor law enforcement fund" to help ensure the industries that employ significant numbers of immigrant workers employ with labor laws."
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