Last week, The Startup Success Podcast interviewed Eric Ries of StartupVisa.com about the techie communities grassroots effort to create a visa explicitly for startup founders. In the rather lengthy interview, Eric Ries discusses the impetus behind the visa, the obvious need for the visa and his experiences discussing the visa with influencers on Capital Hill. He also addresses many of the concerns that other techies might have with the visa.
The Startup Visa has been introduced as legislation by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) & Richard Lugar (R-IN) and similar legislation has been introduced into the House. The legislation has been endorsed by over 100 American Venture Capitalists.
To listen to Eric Ries’ interview, click here.
Given the recent earthquake (and its many aftershocks) in Chile, the USCIS has issued a press release reminding Chileans of the many possible immigration accommodations that may be made to them. These accommodations, which can be made upon request, include emergency work authorization for certain students, expedited processing of immediate relative petitions, expedited processing of appropriate work authorization, and the granting and extension of humanitarian parole, among others.
To read the press release, please visit the USCIS website.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has recently ordered I-9 inspections on 180 companies located in the Southeast. These companies are being requested to provide documentation showing that their employees are authorized to work in the United States. Additionally, the inspections will examine whether a company has properly collected and maintained the proper paperwork. Failure to maintain adequate records could result in fines being levied against those companies. There is no word how these 180 companies were selected.
If you would like to ensure that your company has properly maintained its I-9 documentation, please contact the firm to discuss what steps can be taken.
 The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that Greece has been added to the Visa Waiver Program. The visa waiver program allows foreign nationals from select countries to enter into the United States for tourist and/or select business reasons without first obtaining a visa. Recipients of the VWP can remain in the United States for only a temporary period – often only up to ninety days.
For a more complete discussion of the Visa Wavier Program, please visit the firm’s VWP webpage.
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 local New York City immigration fraudster has recently been ordered to pay $3 million in restitution and penalties. The fraudster, Miriam Mercedes Hernandez, was charged by the New York Attorney General’s office for defrauding immigrants by charging them each up to $15,000 for a visa that she claimed she could get through political connections.
Lets hope the Attorney General keeps up the pressure against these dubious fraudsters.
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.
If you are interested in sponsoring a worker for an H-1B, please contact Gafner Law Firm to learn more about your options.
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?
 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.
The discussion is on the Web and immigration is discussed starting at about 6 minutes 30 seconds in.
Last week, the New York Times ran a great story about a judge trying to help out a young man who was once a juvenile delinquent, but has turned into a model citizen of the community.
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.
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Immigration Insight Blog Immigration Insight is maintained by Immigration Attorney Chris Gafner and is meant to shed light on, and create talking points about, current immigration issues. If you would like a specific topic discussed, please contact the firm.
This blog, like the rest of this website, is not legal advice. Immigration Law Blog Directory
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