We will use your E-mail address to send you the information you request. Depending upon the nature of your request, one of our Case Managers may contact you using the phone number you provide. Be assured that we will not share your information with others. We adhere to strict client confidentiality. Please provide your name, email address, telephone # and describe the service you seek.

On September 23, 2009, USCIS remarkably for the first time published an inventory of I-485 data online. Applicants can more reliably estimate their expected waiting time for green cards and thus, finally make informed life decisions in career development, family, and becoming new Americans. Congratulations to USCIS, particularly Deputy Chief of Service Center Operations Robert Kruszka and his team, for working with stakeholders including the Legal Immigrant Association in particular and recognizing the importance of making this inventory public.

We link to Q&A and the Inventory Tracker. After looking at these startling numbers, there is no question that our immigration system is in need of dire reform.

On 9/22/09 USCIS launched a newly redesigned website that provides a one-stop location for immigration services and information including a new service called My Case Status, which allows immigration customers to receive alerts on the status of their applications via text message and e-mail. The case status page actually provides whether the case is: Accepted, Initial Review, RFE, Testing and Interview, Decision, Post Decision, or Document Production/Oath Ceremony. We actually think this is the best website they’ve had yet, and is quite easily navigated. Check it out and let us know what you think: www.uscis.gov.

Here’s the Case Status Fact Sheet

Charts and Graphs on national processing volume and trends

E-Notification Capability

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The energy in Washington changes as soon as Congress returns from recess, and this year the air is particularly charged with anticipation of the health care reform debate to come. In the immigration world, we are watching the debate as a barometer of what to expect later in the session when the long-promised Schumer bill, is introduced which missed its initial deadline of Labor Day.

The lead Democrat steering an immigration overhaul through the Senate said he expected to have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to highly skilled immigrant workers than those who are lower skilled and is tough on future waves of illegal immigration. More recently, however, in an interview with The Associated Press, Sen. Chuck Schumer said an immigration bill can be done by the end of the year or early next year that works out disagreements between labor and business interests on the flow of legal foreign workers.

It has been widely reported that South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham will co-sponsor legislation, and behind the scenes negotiations continue in order to bring other Republicans and Democrats onto a bill.

We link to the Immigration IMPACT article for more.

:::: Nursing Organizations Plan Merger to Form Super-Union

As reported by Nursezone.com: New, super-sized union of registered nurses could soon be a reality ― a 150,000-member-strong union called National Nurses United (NNU) that will advocate for issues important to direct care nurses.

Several months ago, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CAN/NNOC), the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) and the United American Nurses (UAN) decided to ask their members to unify into one organization. The CNA/NNOC and the UAN would ask their members to approve a merger between the two organizations; the MNA would ask its members to vote to affiliate with the other two groups.

With a unanimous approval vote by the CAN/NNOC on Sept. 10, the “super union” is one step closer to becoming a reality. Pending a vote from the UAN’s members that will come in early November, the union could be up and running by the beginning of December.

The creators of the new union say that it will be the largest union of direct care nurses ever launched.  The CNA/NNOC alone will bring 86,000 members to the new union, which would be an AFL-CIO affiliate.

Read about ir for more on this.

:::: Healthcare and Immigration Reform – Separate but Related

Health insurance reform and immigration reform are two separate but interrelated matters. The goal of health insurance reform should be making sure every taxpayer in the system has access to affordable coverage. Immigration reform should be about making sure that everyone who is living, working, and raising families in the U.S. is in the system and paying the full compliment of taxes. We need solutions on both fronts.

The Senate Finance Committee has begun marking-up health care reform legislation introduced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), a process that could take several days. Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington, says now immigration politics have become part of the health care debate. IMMIGRATION MATTERS features the views of immigrant rights groups across the country.

As we predicted, the politics of immigration has been dragged into the politics of health insurance reform. It is now crystal clear that no issue of importance can be determined smoothly and comprehensively as long as 12,000,000 people live, work and raise children in the United States but float in limbo because of our broken immigration system.

The anti-immigration side, most of who would oppose the president's approach to health care reform anyway, has lied to the public. Their claims that undocumented immigrants and their families would somehow benefit or even participate in a reformed health insurance system are patently false. Our current systems of public health insurance (Medicare and Medicaid) already do a very, very good job of excluding ineligible immigrants. Fore more on this.

::: The Baucus Health Bill – Take a Closer Look for Yourself

Read this for more detail.

:::: A New Solution? Nursezone.com Reports Community Colleges Offering BSN’s

With four-year nursing schools filled to capacity and a growing demand for more highly educated nurses, several community colleges have begun offering Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees.

“We look at this as an enhancement of preparing the nursing workforce at a higher level of education,” said Fay Raines, PhD, RN, president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. “We think having more nurses prepared at a higher level is a good thing. There is evidence that higher education is linked to better patient outcomes.” For more.

:::: Johnson & Johnson Health Channel on YouTube

To see all of the nursing videos on the new Johnson & Johnson Health Channel on YouTube, click here!

::: Do you know about the International Center on Nurse Migration?

Learn more about the International Center on Nurse Migration

Founded in 2005 as a joint endeavor between CGFNS International and the International Council of Nurses, the International Centre on Nurse Migration (ICNM) serves as a global resource for the development, promotion and dissemination of research, policy and information on global nurse migration. Here is a sampling of their information:

“Push and Pull Factors on Nurse Migration”

Get the Fact Sheet here.

:::: 31 More Days for E-Verify

(9/25/2009) We just learned moments ago that the House-Senate conferees for the Legislative Branch appropriations bill have agreed to the language for the conference report. The new language also includes a "Continuing Resolution" to fund the government through October 31st (current funding for all federal discretionary programs was set to expire on September 30, 2009). The "CR" also extends E-Verify's authorization for an additional 31 days according to information on the House Appropriations Committee website.

:::: E-Verify Regulations for Federal Contractors

There’s a lot of discourse and interpretation concerning the new E-Verify regulations for Federal Contractors. We released our 2nd NewsFLASH with some of the most asked FAQ’s on the topic that you can check out here.

For more USCIS FAQs

We would highly recommend that you consult with immigration counsel for guidance and compliance solutions if you are a federal contractor with a contract containing an E-Verify clause requirement.

:::: Federal Contractor Designation Changes with E-Verify

DHS has released some modifications to the FAR E-Verify enrollment, introducing 2 options to choose from when enrolling for the first time or when updating your profile on the ‘Maintain Company’ page, as follows:

◦ Federal Contractor with E-Verify Clause

◦ Federal Contractor without E-Verify Clause

If you selected the ‘Federal Contractor’ designation when you enrolled or updated before September 8th, you will notice that your designation has been changed to either Federal Contractor without (if you signed up before 9/8/09 and did not take the refresher tutorial or the Federal Contractor tutorial) or with E-Verify Clause if you enrolled in either refresher tutorial.

If you selected Federal Contractor after September 8th, you are now designated as a Federal Contractor with E-Verify Clause.

:::: DHS Webinar on E-Verify for Federal Contractors

Our firm participated in the USCIS webinar, one of many scheduled through the month of September, and we were pleasantly surprised — it’s terrific and we highly recommend it.  They walk you through their presentation and also walk you through the actual E-Verify log on and inquiry process.  They answered questions through email and also opened up for a 1/2 hour of live Q&A — very well organized.  For information by telephone, you can call:  888 464.4218.  We will shortly be receiving a transcript of Q&A and links to their presentation and we will share these when received.

If you are interested in setting up a presentation for your organization, or interested in scheduling a live speaker for an event or conference, you can do so by calling the above telephone number or emailing:  E-Verify@dhs.gov

In the meantime, we wanted to share a few resources that we think are worthy, as follows:

1)  Where can you find the law:  Federal Register. 

2)  The link to the DHS webpage for E-Verify for Federal Contractors.

3)  FAQ Link

4)  Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Information

5)  How do I complete Form I-9?  https://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/E3eng.pdf

6)  USCIS Supplemental Guide 9/8/09 for Federal Contractors

We will continue to provide any and all information and resources that we feel are informative on this topic.

::: Missouri Roofing Company Pleads Guilty to Hiring Illegals – Fined $450,000

The owner of a southwest Missouri roofing company pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to hiring illegal aliens as a result of a worksite enforcement investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Russell D. Taylor, 31, of Bolivar, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury. He pleaded guilty Sept. 14 before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England, Western District of Missouri. Taylor operated a business as Taylor-Made Roofing, aka Taylor-Made Contractors.

Taylor admitted that from August 2006 through April 2008, he hired, contracted and sub-contracted for hire to obtain illegal aliens to work for him.

By pleading guilty, Taylor also agreed to forfeit to the government $185,363, which represents the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the offense. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the government and Taylor agreed that a fine of $36,000 is appropriate, representing a $3,000 fine for each of the 12 illegal aliens who worked under the supervision of Juan Pacheco-Herrera. Pacheco-Herrera pleaded guilty in a separate but related case to harboring illegal aliens.

The government and the defendant also agreed that five years of probation is a reasonable and just sentence in this case. As a condition of his probation, Taylor must implement an employment-compliance plan and pay the $185,363 money judgment in monthly installments during the first 30 months of probation. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the U.S. Probation Office completes its investigation. For more.

The reminder to employers could not be stronger -- ICE will continue to focus its resources on auditing and investigating employers who they suspect are hiring undocumented illegal aliens. Contact Immigration Compliance Group for your compliance services and solutions.

::: IT Upgrades at USCIS and Possible Biometrics Added to E-Verify

The new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said today he wants to emphasize public engagement, transparency and information technology modernization of the immigration agency during his term.

To meet those goals, Alejandro Mayorkas said he has created a new Office of Public Engagement and is debuting a new, interactive Web site Sept. 22nd that will allow for public feedback on agency policy and proposals. The updated Web site also will allow for greater ease of use and more access to information about pending requests and applications.

Mayorkas told reporters at an informal news conference today that the agency is taking steps to prepare for Congress’ action on comprehensive immigration reform and for the possible expansion of the E-Verify employment verification program to all employers. But the agency has not yet developed detailed plans or budget estimates.

“We are not assuming anything, but we want to be prepared,” Mayorkas said. For E-Verify, for example, the agency is evaluating the possibility of adding a fingerprint biometric, as suggested by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others, he said. The evaluations are in the early stages, and no cost estimates or feasibility studies are available at this time, he said. For more.

 

::::: Bill Gates Moves On…Continuing Coverage!


::::: First Look at Amazon’s Oregon Data Center

Amazon.com has confirmed that a major data center under construction on the Columbia River in Oregon belongs to the company. Work at the site, however, has quietly come to a halt.

::::: Microsoft Courier Heats up:

Late Tuesday night (9/22/09) the tech world's entire concept of what cool should be was upended when Microsoft’s tablet project codenamed Courier, came to light.