If you have a case pending at one of the Service Centers, you need to know about the new and improved procedures for obtaining case status. We link to this important notice.
How many of you picked up on this during the week? Let’s hear your thoughts…
“The longer the healthcare debate drags out not only does it make it harder to get healthcare passed, it makes it harder to get immigration passed,” says Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies.
Check it out and give us your thoughts.
http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/news/2009,0817-webredesign.pdf
For the first time in several years the H1B visa program, once the most sought after among Indian professionals, is unlikely to reach its cap of 65,000 before the start of the 2010 fiscal with nearly 20,000 slots lying vacant thanks to the tattered US economy.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services reports as of August 7, 2009 that it has received approximately 49,400 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap, more than four months after it started accepting applications for visas for the 2010 fiscal year beginning October 1st
This is in contrast to previous years when the USCIS had to resort to a computerized lottery.
We link to the article in Business Standard. Contact us for your H-1B cases and questions.
USCIS has received significant funding for a substantially increased volume of random site visits to employer locations. Over the coming year, many thousands more employers will have USCIS knocking on their doors.
The FDNS (Fraud Detection and National Security Unit) of USCIS is expanding its manpower and its site visits to employers that hire foreign nationals. Sometimes the employer is called in advance – and sometimes they are unannounced visits. Also, many of these site visits can occur after the petition is approved.
FDNS visits are to verify the existence of the employer, discuss the information that the employer has provided to USCIS in their petition(s) and whether the foreign national(s) are working in compliance with the terms of their admission to the USA. This information can also be used to determine whether or not a petition will be approved. Typically, the FDNS officer will wish to speak with the HR representative, may want to also speak with the sponsored worker; the officer could have a copy of the petition and will endeavor to verify the information contained in the petition.
What’s the “take away” on this for employers: It is important that you contact your designated immigration professional should you receive notification of a site visit… AND… make sure that you are working with well-informed immigration counsel that have experience in employer compliance issues. Immigration Solutions does, and we link to our Employer Compliance page on our website.
We link to one employer’s experience (as posted on AILA Infonet).
The self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America” has never gotten so much resistance from the federal government.
The Homeland Security Department wants Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., to stop arresting illegal immigrants whose only crime was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without documents.
The thing is, Arpaio doesn’t much care.
“I’m not going to bend to the federal government, I’m going to do my job,” he said. “I don’t report to the federal government, I report to the people.”
Shifting winds in Washington have led the Homeland Security Department to rework a federal program that has allowed Arpaio’s deputies to make federal immigration arrests since February 2007.
We link to Associated Press Article
At a recent conference, Bill Gates shared his ideas about US immigration policy, noting that there should be more “exceptions for smart people.” While not the most eloquently phrased statement, it does pose an interesting question in the immigration reform debate. Are we turning away skilled workers? Or are they leaving on their own, thanks to a complicated and unfriendly system of paperwork and jumping through hoops that are never ending? We link to the article
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the DHS YouTube Channel last week and announced the redesign of DHS.gov—steps to enhance the Department’s web presence, increase transparency and provide accurate, up-to-date information to the public.
The YouTube Channel, found at www.youtube.com/ushomelandsecurity, will allow DHS to use video to highlight events, speeches, public service announcements and other related content. DHS’s emphasis on web 2.0 tools such as YouTube allows the Department to provide greater transparency and access to the public and our state, local, territorial, tribal, private sector, and international partners.
DHS announced today that it supports the FAR E-Verify regulation for federal contractors to enroll in E-Verify as of 9/8/09. This means that most federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to enroll in E-Verify. Secretary Napolitano also announced DHS’ intention to rescind the Social Security No-Match regulation that would have sent “no-match” letters to 140,000 US employers. The notices would have warned companies to resolve discrepancies or fire workers within 90 days or face criminal charges.
Form I-140 Immigration Petition for Alien Worker is used to petition USCIS to classify an alien beneficiary as eligible for an immigrant visa (green-card) based on employment. We link to the instructions