A Monthly Bulletin from Immigration Compliance Group -- August 2011
Welcome to our August 2011 InFOCUS Immigration News and Update
At Immigration Compliance Group, we take great pride in creating the bridge between the employer and delivering your foreign employees to the USA by successfully navigating immigration laws and regulations. We specialize in both US and Canadian immigration for individuals and business, as well as employer compliance consultation, audits, training and policy development. As always, we welcome your feedback. If you are interested in becoming a client of our office, please call or email us and request a consultation or a proposal.
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What’s New in Immigration
1) Senators Agree on High-Skilled Immigration Reform, but Democrats Insist it Must be Comprehensive
The current employment-based immigration system is dysfunctional and needs reform, panelists and lawmakers stated at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday. Judiciary Chair Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) presided over the hearing, which heard testimony from leaders in the business, higher education and immigrant communities, as well as three American mayors.
Both Schumer and ranking member John Cornyn (R-Texas) framed reform of high-skilled immigration policy as necessary for American economic competitiveness and, in particular, for keeping foreign students who are educated in U.S. universities in the national workforce after they graduate.
“We should staple a green card to their diplomas,” Schumer said in his opening remarks, instead of requiring them to leave once their student visas expire. Some other countries are now offering top scientists and engineers huge bonuses to move there, Schumer added.
Representatives of Microsoft and the NASDAQ OMX Group testified in support of loosened immigration rules. Fourteen companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange, employing nearly 500,000 people, have foreign-born founders, said Robert Greifeld, CEO at NASDAQ.
Top tech companies continue to have trouble finding qualified U.S. workers, said Greifeld and Brad Smith, general counsel at Microsoft. The job board StartUpHire.com currently has 13,000 job openings, and Apple, eBay, Google and Yahoo all have more than 550 job openings in the San Jose area, Greifeld said.
The senior members sparred over whether reform of the employment visa system should be piecemeal, or part of a broader comprehensive package. Cornyn, addressing his Democratic colleague, said, “I think we can do just this,” arguing that the current stalemate in Congress over comprehensive reform didn’t mean that individual reforms couldn’t be achieved. But Schumer retorted that comprehensive reform is necessary because so many other stakeholders in the immigration debate want to be a part of successful legislation. For more on this: Computerworld and Politico
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2) Immigration Policy Update
On July 12, Rep. Smith introduced the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation” Act (HALT Act), H.R. 2497. The bill would take the unprecedented step of suspending several immigration law provisions relating to humanitarian relief for the remainder of President Obama’s first term. In essence, the philosophy of the bill is, “If it’s broke, take away the tools that might be used to fix it.” The HALT Act would take a broken immigration system and make it even more inflexible and unworkable in order to make a political point. This is not the way to solve our immigration crisis, but only further highlights the necessity for passing legislation that comprehensively overhauls our immigration system, and gives us the flexible and forward looking policies we need to succeed in the 21st century. We link here to a Congressional letter to President Obama Opposing the HALT Act.
House Judiciary Committee Votes to Eliminate Diversity Visa Program: 22,000 people around the world were mistakenly informed last month that they had won the lottery. There had been a technical glitch and the lottery would have to be held again, the State Department said, explaining that a computer had selected 90% of the winners from the first two days of the application window instead of the full 30-day registration period. Following this debacle on July 20th, the House Judiciary Committee voted 19-11 for a bill that would eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery program. The bill, H.R. 704 and misleadingly named it the “Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act,” sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The Goodlatte bill does not re-allocate the visas to any other category of immigration, so this bill can be seen as chiefly a bill to reduce legal immigration.
Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2164):
The centerpiece of the enforcement-without-reform agenda is expressed by a mandatory e-verify bill introduced on June 14th by Lamar Smith (R) of Texas, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
In brief, the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2164) would require the use of an electronic employment verification system for new hires. Mandatory use of the system would be phased in for different categories of employers over a period of three years. Certain categories of current employees would also have to be screened and, beyond those categories, current employers may voluntarily screen their current employees. Employers who comply with the requirements would not be liable if it was subsequently found they had undocumented workers in their workforce. The system established by this legislation would pre-empt local laws (except in the case of business licensing).Penalties for violation would be increased. The legislation would establish a pilot program for adding a biometric identifier to the system, and would increase I-9 fines tenfold.
In the Senate, Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced a companion bill (S. 1196), along with nine co-sponsors, also on June 14th. According to a press release from Sen. Grassley’s office, S. 1196 would go even further than the House bill. For example, all employers will have to begin using the system within one year of the date of enactment of the bill (the House bill phases in use of the system over three years, depending on the type of employer) and employers will have to check current employees within three year of the law’s passage.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill Introduced in the Senate
While some in Congress continue attempts to enforce a way out of our immigration problems, others, like Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), are offering balanced solutions that address not just one, but many facets of our broken immigration system. On June 22, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced, the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011,” S. 1251,” a bill which offers a comprehensive framework for reform legislation. Praises to him for being relentless on this topic. Among other things, the bill would create a process by which undocumented immigrants now in the U.S. could gain legal status, incorporate the DREAM Act and AgJOBS; and reform the legal immigration system by creating more family unity opportunities and by creating a commission that would adjust the number of visas available in the employment immigration system. Regarding enforcement, the bill would among other things require employers to use an electronic employment verification system.
Joining Senator Menendez as an original co-sponsor of the bill were: Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL), Democratic Policy Committee Chair Charles Schumer (D-NY, also Chair of the Immigration Subcommittee), Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray (D-WA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and Senators John Kerry (D-MA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). (In other words, the bill has the support of all of the Democratic leadership in the Senate.). The Forum applauded the introduction of the Senate bill in this press release.
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3) USCIS To Launch “Transformation” to Electronic Forms Filing December 2011
USCIS will release the electronic I-539 stand-alone application thru their "Transformation" program December 2011 and will include requests for change of status or extension of stay for foreign nationals holding B-1 (Business Visitor), B-2 (Tourist), F (Student), J (Exchange Visitor), and M (Vocational Student) visas. For more, click here.
For the Presentation, click here.
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4) Federal Change of Address Procedures
Changing an address with the various Federal immigration components can be confusing, and failure to properly make an address change can lead to denials and other adverse immigration consequences. The Ombudsman's Office encourages immigration benefits applicants and petitioners to promptly notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and/or the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) of any change in address. Mail forwarding is not always rapid or reliable. For more, click here.
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5) Manila Visa Reissuance Program
The Nonimmigrant Visa Unit at the US Consulate/Manila has announced the establishment of a Non-Immigrant Visa Re-issuance Program. The purpose of the program is to allow some applicants an expedited visa issuance process if they have previously held the visa that they are seeking to extend.
If one qualifies for the program, an applicant needs only to schedule an appointment, appear at the Embassy at the appointed time, and then have the application screened and give 10-print finger scans. The applicant will not have to participate in an interview.
At this time it does not appear that the VRP will be available to H-1B holders because of a condition that one did not stay in the US for more than 6 months. Here is the full list of conditions:
- I am a Philippines passport holder.
- I have previously been issued, in Manila, a full-validity visa (a visa good for five or ten years).
- My visa is still valid... or it has expired within the last twelve months.
- I have in my possession all of my passports covering the entire period of time since I received that full-validity visa.
- I have not been refused a U.S. visa in the last twelve months.
- My visa is not annotated "clearance received".
- I have not ever stayed in the U.S. longer than 6 months (even if the Department of Homeland Security approved the extension of stay).
- I have not ever been arrested or convicted for any offense or crime, even if subject of a pardon.
- I can provide the visa control number from my visa (located in the upper right hand corner of the visa).
If you are able to meet all of the above conditions, you are eligible for a VRP appointment. Please go online or contact the call center to schedule the VRP appointment.
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6) Understanding How Congress Works
This overview describes the basics of how our Congress works. Covering the two chambers - Senate and The House of Representatives and their exclusive powers as well as responsibilities of different people and committees in each chamber.
We link here.
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7) Putting A Face on the Issues
This story took us by surprise when it hit the news on July 22nd... former Washington Post reporter Jose Antonio Vargas’s revelation in the New York Times magazine that he is an undocumented immigrant.
Within minutes of it appearing on the Times’ website, it burned across Twitter like wildfire, pushed along each time with passionate endorsements from influential journalists. Meanwhile, ABC News blasted excerpts from its exclusive interview with Vargas, which was aired on “World News”, “Nightline”, Good Morning America” - amongst others.
The Post, the paper that hired Vargas as an intern, put him on a team that won a Pulitzer Prize and was the intended home for Vargas’s revelation, could have been at the center of all the buzz. But last week, for reasons that no one at the paper is owning up to, it got cold feet. The article could have been problematic for the Post, because it not only reveals that the paper broke the law by employing an illegal immigrant, but that Vargas told a mentor, Post assistant managing editor Peter Perl, about his immigration status. It is not clear whether Perl told anyone else at the paper.
More on this story:
The Huffington post
and Define American
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8) Report on the New American Fortune 500
Anyone who fails to recognize that immigration fuels a sizable chunk of the U.S. economy would be well-advised to read the report released this week by the Partnership for a New American Economy, entitled The “New American” Fortune 500. According to the report, two in five Fortune 500 companies (41%) “had at least one founder who was either an immigrant or raised by someone who immigrated to the United States.” Collectively, these companies had $4.2 trillion in annual revenues and employed 10.9 million people worldwide.
The report concludes that in order to compete globally,
“We must modernize our own immigration system so that it welcomes, rather than discourages, the Fortune 500 entrepreneurs of the 21st century global economy. We must create a visa designed to draw aspiring entrepreneurs to build new businesses and create jobs here. We must give existing American companies access to hire and keep the highly skilled workers from around the world whom they need to compete. And we must stem the loss of highly skilled foreign students trained in our universities, allowing them to stay and contribute to our economy the talent in which we’ve invested.”
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What’s New in Healthcare
Two New Nurse Bills Introduced
Two recent bills have been introduced in the US Congress, both of which purport to ease the immigration process for healthcare professionals.
HR 1929 has been introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). Rep. Sensenbrenner has long been harsh on legalization of the undocumented, but sensible on immigration for professionals. Rep. Sensenbrenner has submitted versions of HR 1929 in past Congressional sessions, although none have ultimately become law. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) is a co-sponsor of the bill.
HR 1929 calls for 20,000 immigrant visas to be issued to Registered Nurses. Nurse’s immediate families would also get immediate immigrant visas, but they would not count against the 20,000 cap. In order to use these special visas, employers would be charged an additional $1,500, which would go to funding US nursing programs. These visas also would be available for Physical Therapists. This bill is very similar to several prior bills, such as the Schedule EX visa in the mid-2000s that allowed a one-time visa quota of 50,000 visas for nurses and their families.
Representative Lamar Smith’s Bill to extend the H-1C Visa, H.R. 1933, that expired in December 2009, passed in the house on 8/1/2011. The Bill extends the H-1C temporary visa program but would lower the quota from 500 to 300 visas per year in health professional shortage areas. The H-1C program had been around since the mid-1990s and allows 14 special hospitals the opportunity to employ nurses. These 14 hospitals are mainly in Texas, which explain Rep. Smith’s sponsorship. The H-1C program expired in December 2009. Nurses would now be able to stay for up to six years (two three year terms). The bill now moves on to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.
The Affordable Care Act: One Year Later
Reforms under the Affordable Care Act have brought an end to some of the worst abuses of the insurance industry. These reforms have given Americans new rights and benefits, by helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, allowing young adults under 26 to stay on their parent’s health insurance, and giving patients access to recommended preventive services without cost.
Many other new benefits of the law have taken effect, including 50% discounts on brand-name drugs for seniors in the Medicare “donut hole,” and tax credits for small businesses that provide insurance to employees. More rights, protections and benefits for Americans are on the way through 2014. See major parts of the law on the interactive timeline,
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Opportunities Abound: Up and Coming Nursing Specialties
Geriatrics, primary care or informatics: for a vibrant career with a very promising future, nurses might want to consider one of these three specialties. The demand for nurses in these areas is expected to increase, as more people need more health care and the government requires health care organizations to implement and use certain types of technology. For the article, click here.
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Nursing Technology - Specialty by Specialty
Talk about technological innovations is often focused on universal tools like the electronic medical record and computerized order entry. But not all health care technology is made equal--in fact, certain tools are more beneficial to some specialties than they are to others.
For the article, click here.
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Disclaimer/Reminder: This newsletter does not constitute direct legal advice and is for informational purposes only. The information provided should never replace informed counsel when specific immigration-related guidance is needed. Copyright © 2011 Immigration Compliance Group.
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Copyright © 2011 Immigration Compliance Group.
