|
|
||
|
National Public Radio (NPR) recently did a story on the EB-5 visa and how it is helping America’s economic growth. The EB-5 visa allows for a foreign national to obtain a permanent green card if he or she invests one million dollars (or $500,000 in certain circumstances) into a company that will employ at least 10 full time employees. To listen to the broadcast, please check out the NPR website. Last week, the 9th Circuit came down with a ruling that should have a great impact on how the USCIS adjudicates EB-1-1 Extraordinary Abilities petitions. The EB 1-1 (also known as EB 1-a) is used by highly successful foreign nationals to gain lawful permanent residency in the United States. The EB 1-1 visa requires an applicant to demonstrate that they have meet three of the requirements set out in the regulations. Increasingly, however, the USCIS service centers have been adding additional requirements to EB 1-1 applicants. The added requirements have had no foundation in the law and have hindered well credentialed foreign nationals from obtaining permanent residency. The 9th Circuit’s decision rebuffs the added requirements and clearly stated that the USCIS can only decide EB 1-1 decisions based upon the requirements stated in the regulations. With the 9th Circuit’s decision, the process for obtaining EB 1-1 immigrant visas should be less difficult and certainly more transparent. The USCIS has recently announced that a new I-485 form has been published and that all new applicants will need to use the form beginning before March 29. Additionally, the USCIS has announced a change in the location that I-485s are filed. The change in location is meant to facilitate a quicker means by which attorneys and applicants can follow their applications. Form I-485 is used by foreign nationals who possess (or are applying for) immigrant visas using form I-130 or form I-140. The I-485 allows for foreign nationals to adjust status to lawful permanent residency. A new report has cast doubt on how accurate the government’s E-verify is in detecting unauthorized employees. The report indicates that E-verify fails to identify over 50% of all unauthorized workers. As way of background, the E-verify program was created by the U.S. Government to provide a simple means by which an employer could determine whether or not a worker was authorized to work. The Government has expanded the program and now requires all federal contractors to enroll within the program. The results of the new report cast great doubt on whether the government should continue to expand the program with the haste with which they are currently expanding it. If you are interested in learning more about the e-verify system, please contact immigration attorney Chris Gafner. Beginning April 1, 2010, employers can submit an H-1B visa petition for an individual that they want to employ beginning October 1, 2010. Each year, the U.S. government imposes an arbitrary cap on 65,000 H-1B visas. In recent memory, with the exception of last year, the cap has been reached within days of the April 1st start date. Last year, the cap was reached in December. The New York Times has an excellent chart of Immigration Detention Centers from throughout the United States. The chart shows the average daily population of each detention center and also how each detention center was graded in its annual inspection. Last week the Bloom Box was officially unveiled to the world. If its proponents are correct, the Bloom Box will radically redefine how America (and the World) gets its electrical energy. The creator of the Bloom Box is K.R. Sridhar and if you listen to him on 60 Minutes, you will know why some are saying he could be the next Thomas Edison. I don’t know if he will succeed. Although I hope he does and that he is also the next Henry Ford because Henry Ford’s model T brought the car to the masses and I hope he is able to bring cheap, clean energy to the masses. Shouldn’t American Immigration policy make it easier for future-K.R. Sridhars to come into the United States to study, stay, and contribute to American society? Shouldn’t we do whatever is possible to make sure that future scientists want to come to America?
The discussion is on the Web and immigration is discussed starting at about 6 minutes 30 seconds in. Unfortunately, the young man is not an American citizen and didn’t realize that he would be denied citizenship and possibly deported from the United States when he applied for citizenship. Why is he facing deportation? It is because of the acts he committed while a minor. Despite paying for his crimes by serving time in detention centers, the young man is not being given a second chance by the Immigration Agency and will probably be removed from the United States. If you are a lawful permanent resident and are planning on applying for naturalization (or are planning on traveling internationally) and have been convicted of a crime, please contact an immigration attorney before moving forward. The Department of State (DOS) has recently changed its procedure for the K-3 spousal visa. Originally, the K-3 visa was meant to provide an avenue for foreign nationals who are married to a U.S. citizen to come into the United States while they wait for the adjudication of an immigrant visa (I-130). Unfortunately, the process for obtaining the K-3 visa has often become just as long as the I-130 process. Since the two applications are taking about the same amount of time, the DOS has changed its procedure. Now, when both the I-129F (for the K-3 visa) and the I-130 (for the immigrant visa) have been approved by the USCIS, the DOS will administratively close the I-129f application. This change is a logical step in lessening the DOS’s workload. Let’s hope that the change will allow the DOS and USCIS to hurry up its approval of K-3 visas where the I-130 petition lags. Seth Hoy of Immigration Impact recently discussed the benefits that Immigrants have, and can, bring to the Rust Belt’s economy. Rust Belt states have been in decline for many years, however, with the proper immigration system, the Rust Belt could reverse its decline and become economically viable again. Tyler Cowen (of Marginal Revolution) recently noticed and commented on a report about Hispanic immigration and crime rates. Many often equate Hispanic immigration with higher crime rates, however, it is evident from the report that many cities with large Hispanic populations have lower crime rates than other, commensurate cities. Massive layoffs are occurring in Washington State as many agricultural employers in the region are receiving letters from the U.S. government questioning the employment eligibility of some of their workers. One such employer, Glebber Farms has laid off over 550 employees. Given the large number of unemployed workers in the region, one would expect many Americans would come running to ask for a chance to work. However, as one agricultural employer commented, “Americans don’t stop by and ask for jobs right now. There is a 10 percent unemployment rate. And I’ve not had a single U.S. American stop by and ask for a job.” So, now that agricultural employers have work to do and no workers to do it…who exactly is benefiting??? A Boulder Restauranteur has been indicted in federal court on allegations of defrauding immigrants whom he employed at his thai restaurants located in Colorado. The restauranteur is accused of paying immigrants under the table, requiring immigrants to pay fictitious government fees, and requiring immigrants to sign “agreements” that would require an immigrant to pay $18000 to the restauranteur if the immigrant violated the terms of a contract. |
||
|
Copyright © 2010 - All Rights Reserved. One Penn Plaza, 36th Floor New York, New York 10119 Immigration Options by Profession Medical Physician Immigration, Scientist Immigration, Academic Researcher Immigration, Athlete Immigration Employment Immigration Services H-1B Visa for Specialty Occupations, O-1 Visa for Extraordinary Individuals, L-1 Visa for Executives, Management and Special Knowledge Employees, TN Visas for Canadians, EB 1-1 Visa for Extraordinary Ability Immigrants, EB 1-2 Visa for Outstanding Researchers and Professors, EB 1-3 Visa for International Managers and Executives, EB 2 Visa Advance Degrees and Exception Ability Immigrants, National Interest Waiver, EB 3 Visa for Professional and Skilled Immigrants Individual and Family Immigration Services N-400 Naturalization, K-1 Fiance Visa, Marriage Visa, I-751 Removal of Conditions, Sibling Visa, Parent Visa, Child Visa, Student Visas EB-5 Investor Visa, E-2 Investor Visa Related Sites American Citizenship Lawyer K1 K3 Visa Lawyer Disclaimer. Communication Policy. Statement of Client Rights. Environmental Policy. Attorney Advertising. Website is for Informational Purposes Only. Prior Results Do Not Guarantee Similar Outcomes. Powered by WordPress & the Atahualpa Theme by BytesForAll. Discuss on our WP Forum |
||
Governor Schwarzenegger recently sat down for an interview on Fox News. During part of a long discussion on many topics, the Governorator said that there was never a good time for immigration reform and that continuously delaying the debate on immigration reform will not produce the outcomes that are desired. The Governorator sees the need for a better means of letting needed immigrants into the United States and urges Congress to act now – lets hope that members of Congress will listen to the Governor and will start debating immigration reform.