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USCIS through its International Division recently opened up an adjudications office in Anaheim, CA for paper-based applicaton processing received from its international offices referred to as the International Adjudication Support Branch (IASB).  The branch office will provide USCIS with greater flexibility in handling to seasonal and periodic fluctuations in the worklod of the international office throughout the year.

Initially the office will focus on processing I-601 non-health related waivers of inadmissibility for USCIS’ office in Ciudad Juarez.  We link to Q&A

Politico reports that President Obama has invited members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to discuss immigration reform at the White House on June 8th.  An unnamed administration official stated, “The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year.”

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AILA has recently published an excellent Powerpoint on why the system is broken.

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Business Week Magazine started a conversation about a hot topic this month.  We link to the first article in a series that will examine immigration issues amid a recession by Moira Herbst.

USA Today pubilshed a very frank and interesting article where they addressed the important issue of the limitations that are put on skilled immigrant visas and how this hurts USA competitiveness.

Around this time every year, thousands of foreign students graduate with degrees in science, engineering and technology from US universities; they want to stay in America, work and contribute to the economy.  So, do we welcome them and say “terrific”…NO!  The government tell them to take their brainpower and skills with them to other countries and companies that compete with the USA.  To read more

Pretty self-defeating immigration policy isn’t it!

This summary was prepared by the White House and sets forth proposed changes in the 2010 budget for immigration related funding.

92% of the requested budget is within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Coast Guard.  We link above to the specifics.

The Washington Times reported today that on the thorniest of political issues, Obama has embraced the enforcement-first position on immigration that he criticized during last year’s campaign.  He’s now saying that he can’t move forward with the type of comprehensive bill he wants until the voters are convinced that the borders can be enforced.

We quote:  “If the American people don’t feel like you can secure the borders then it’s hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows and on a pathway to citizenship who are already here, because the attitude of the average American is going to be….Well, you’re just going to have hundreds of thousands of more coming in each year.”

…Music to our ears to hear Obama state on his 100th day in office that he was moving “full steam ahead on all fronts” on immigration reform.  He told Telemundo reporter that he hopes to convene working groups to start building a framework for how immigration legislation might be shaped.  He further stated yesterday that Congress and DHS are aligning their priorities to focus on the root causes of undocumented immigration.  Obama stated at his 100th day news conference yesterday:

“We want to move this process.  We can’t continue with a broken immigration system.  It’s not good for anybody.  It’s not good for American workers.  It’s dangerous for Mexican would-be workers to cross a dangerous border.”

We link to articles and videos for more.

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece points out that an infusion of innovators is even more needed in a recession. “Companies founded by immigrants include Yahoo. eBay and Google. Half of Silicon Valley start-ups were founded by immigrants, up from 25% a decade ago. Some 40% of patents in the US are awarded to immigrants. A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation found that immigrants are 50% likelier to start businesses than natives. Immigrant-founded technology firms employ 450,000 workers in the US.