Reaching the H-1B Master’s Cap Shows Need for Visa Reform
Via AILA
Another Cap Hit – Underscores the Need for Visa Reform
20,000 Slots Reserved for U.S. Advanced Degree Graduates Exhausted
Washington, D.C. – On July 28th, the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, as of July 26th, it had
received enough H-1B petitions for “foreign workers who have earned a
master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education”
to meet the exemption limit of 20,000 established by Congress for
fiscal year (FY) 2007. This is on top of having reached the overall
H-1B cap of 65,000 on May 6, more than four months before the start of
the fiscal year.
U.S. companies need high-skilled, specialized workers to stay
competitive in the global marketplace. Allowing foreign-born,
U.S.-educated workers to work for a U.S. company fuels the ability of
U.S. companies to stay at the forefront of scientific research and
innovation.
Both the House and Senate have introduced the Securing Knowledge
Innovation and Leadership Bill, (“SKIL Bill”, S.2691/H.R. 5744), a
measure that would provide much needed reform to the H-1B visa system.
“Passage and enactment of the SKIL Bill would fix the broken H-1B
system,” said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, president of AILA. “History has
shown that highly educated foreign-born professionals bring great
benefits to the U.S. economy and we urge Congress to act on this
critical issue.”
Highlights of the SKIL Bill include the following:
- Exemptions for U.S.-educated foreign workers with master’s or
higher degrees from the H-1B and employment based (E
green card
quotas so their talent can be retained in the United States. - Creation of a flexible, market-based H-1B cap so that U.S.
employers are not locked out of hiring critical talent for over a year
at a time. - Extension of foreign students’ post-graduation practical training from 12 months to 24 months.
- Removal of EB immigrant spouses and children from the annual cap,
thus making more visas available for the innovative professionals we
need.
Understanding And Managing The H1B Visa Cap
Manufacturers need to be proactive and address the current shortage of these visas.
By Jared Leung
June 28, 2006 — H1B visas are work permits that allow immigrants, including those that have received advanced degrees at accredited learning institutions worldwide, to work in the U.S. for up to six years in “white collar” positions.
Currently, there is an annual cap of 65,000
visas available for businesses hiring immigrant workers through H1B
visas. This hiring limitation presents a problem for those looking to
expand their talent pool as the cap does not adequately support the
demand for H1B visas by U.S. businesses. The 65,000 H1B visas quickly
will be filled by July or August of 2006 — meaning that immigrants
hired after this date will not be able to work legally until the next
fiscal year.
Due to the shortage of H1B visas, a provision in
the U.S. immigration reform bill has been proposed that, if passed,
will allow immigrants who have earned an advanced degree in science,
technology, engineering or math to be exempt from the cap.
Additionally,
the provision would increase the visa cap from 65,000 to 115,000 and
allow the number of H1B visas to fluctuate depending on market demand.
Until
this proposed provision of the current immigration reform bill is
passed, companies that require immigrant workers in areas such as
manufacturing, construction and telecommunications must be educated
about H1B visas. The following is a list of tips to help these
industries manage the current visa cap:
Option #1: Hire Within U.S. Borders
One
simple option is not to hire workers who require H1B visas. However,
this option poses a drawback in that if an employer eliminates hiring
those who need H1B visas, the company may cut itself off from a large
pool of potential hires, especially in the high-tech field. This may
give competitors with open immigration policies the upper hand.
Option #2: Consult Immigration Specialists
Another
option for companies hiring international employees is to consult
outside immigration experts to educate companies’ internal hiring
managers and recruiters about the H1B cap and current U.S. immigration
policies. An immigration specialist can provide expertise on a wide
range of immigration issues. For example, new hires from college or
overseas are subject to the cap, but lateral hires for an employee
already in H1B status working with a different company are not.
Additionally, foreign nationals who hold a U.S.-earned master’s degree
or higher and workers from Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Chile or
Australia have special quotas not included in the 65,000 limit.
Option #3: Use H1B Visas Wisely
It
is also important for companies to strategically plan how they are
using H1B visas to ensure they are being effective and efficient.
First, a company must know how many H1B visas it has and in which areas
foreign workers are needed. Second, it is important for companies to
review how they recruited their H1B workforce. Knowing the pattern of
H1B hires can help corporations devise a way to minimize the effects of
the H1B cap on recruitment.
Option #4: Identify H1B Applicants Early
Companies
may choose to interview college interns to identify potential H1B
applicants early. Internship programs are a way to evaluate foreign
graduate students prior to their graduation. Through internships a
company can plan ahead to meet the cap.
International students
in the U.S. are allowed Optional Practice Training (i.e., a work
permit) for up to 12 months after graduation so they can start
employment shortly after they graduate while they await H1B status.
Option #5: Recruit Immigrants Laterally
Since
H1B employment transfer cases are not subject to the cap, companies
also have the option of directing their resources to recruit lateral
hires. It is advantageous for companies to hire immigrants with prior
experience. In addition to providing the company with a competitive
advantage, an immigrant’s experience with a previous employer may also
strengthen his or her green card application in the future.
Due
to fear of a backlash from an electorate afraid of outsourcing, it is
not clear that Congress will raise the cap in this election year.
Therefore, it is more important than ever for companies to learn how to
manage those H1B visas that are available. Even more importantly —
especially in the current political environment, employers should keep
up lobbying efforts in Congress, emphasizing that these workers are
vital to American competitiveness and pushing Congress to increase the
number of H1B visas to allow the law of supply and demand to control
the import of critical talent to the U.S
High Skill, Low Priority
Via LaTimes.com (Editorial)
07/24/2006
Though it’s making fewer headlines, reform of high-skilled immigration is also urgently needed.
ONE OF THE UNITED STATES’ greatest economic assets is its ability to
attract and stimulate the world’s most innovative minds. High-skilled
immigrants have long played a key role in the country’s technological
prowess. But that magnetism is being threatened by inadequate visa
policies and this year’s volatile immigration debate.
The H-1B visa, good for six years, is the main legal means for
employers to bring skilled and specialized workers from abroad. College
grads make up 98% of H-1B recipients; 48% hold advanced degrees; and a
large portion work in technological R&D. They supplement a
native-born workforce that earns an inadequate number of science
degrees (one-third of all doctorates in science and engineering awarded
in the U.S. go to foreign-born students).
At
the height of the dot-com boom, Congress raised the cap for H-1Bs to
195,000 per year, though that quota was never reached. Since then, the
cap has fallen to 65,000. Next year’s limit was filled within the first
two months of eligibility, far earlier than ever before. Because the
2006 fiscal year begins in October, that leaves a gaping 16-month hole
during which no business can hire skilled foreigners.
This
policy discourages talented international students from staying in the
U.S. after graduation. Besides the 65,000 H-1Bs, those with recent
advanced degrees from U.S. institutions can compete for an additional
20,000 visas. That’s only a tiny percentage welcomed from one of the
most dynamic segments of society. And those who apply typically have to
leave the country one year after graduating, because that often comes
before the next H-1B batch is doled out.
H-1B opponents argue
that the visas are abused by the tech sector to suppress labor costs,
thereby displacing American jobs. But both Silicon Valley and the
Southern California aerospace industry complain of labor shortages,
while a national unemployment rate persistently under 5% suggests the
economy needs all the brains it can get. Today’s H-1B engineer is
tomorrow’s green-card-holding entrepreneur, creating jobs that might
otherwise be shipped overseas. And though enforcement is less than
perfect, H-1Bs do mandate that immigrants receive the same wage as
qualified Americans.
The Senate has been considering a bill,
both as part of comprehensive immigration reform and separately, that
would increase the H-1B quota to 115,000, extend the grace period at
the end of a student visa from one year to two and more than double the
annual quota for high-skilled green cards (permanent residency for
workers and their families) from 140,000 to 290,000. This would
drastically reduce the multiyear bottleneck facing many desirable
immigrants.
Congress should decouple this sensible bill from the
looming train wreck of immigration reform. The next generation of tech
innovation could depend on it.
Langberg: Tech visas come with obligation for valley leaders
By Mike Langberg
Via Mercury News
Silicon Valley’s lobbyists in Washington are reviving a touchy topic
that’s been largely dormant since the tech bubble burst in 2001:
whether we need to continue importing thousands of foreign engineers
and other skilled professionals on temporary H-1B visas.
Many U.S. engineers believe the H-1B program is nothing more than a
back door for greedy corporate bosses to get low-cost workers who can
be quickly sent home if they complain.
Employers, on the other hand, say they have lots of jobs they can’t
fill, and argue that U.S. tech companies will lose ground to foreign
competition without H-1B talent or will be forced to move even more
operations overseas.
Whatever the truth about H-1Bs, Silicon Valley companies need to do more to resolve the issues surrounding these visas.
The dispute, meanwhile, is likely to land in the lap of Congress.
Rep. John Shadegg, a Republican from Arizona, is planning to
introduce a bill this week or next that would nearly double the number
of H-1B visas granted every year to 115,000 from 65,000 — a key goal
of lobbying groups including TechNet and AeA, formerly the American
Electronics Association.
This would complement a similar bill introduced in the Senate last month by Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas.
Also in D.C., the H-1B process is getting new scrutiny. The
Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress,
released a report last week criticizing federal agencies for lax
enforcement of H-1B rules.
The IEEE-USA, a group representing engineers, seized on the GAO report as further evidence the H-1B program is a failure.
AeA, meanwhile, added fuel to the H-1B fire last week by sending
every member of Congress a position paper arguing that criticisms of
the H-1B program are “myths,” three of which are worthy of debate.
The first AeA myth is that foreign nationals steal American jobs.
“High-tech companies are increasingly seeking skilled labor to feed
a growing industry and cannot find it,” the position paper says.
“Visit the website of many American technology companies and you will
find thousands of unfilled U.S.-based positions. Foreign nationals are
critical for filling this void.”
Norman S. Matloff, a professor of computer science at UC-Davis and a
longtime H-1B critic, counters that claims of low unemployment among
engineers don’t count underemployment.
For example, many Silicon Valley professionals were driven out of
the tech industry during the downturn from 2001 to 2004. A former
software engineer now working as a teacher or a real estate agent
doesn’t count in the statistics, and may be making significantly less
money.
Current engineering vacancies could reflect employers unwilling to
hire older engineers, even if they’ve retrained themselves, when the
companies can hold out for the alternative of cheaper H-1B labor.
The AFL-CIO, in a February position paper, argued that H-1Bs and
other loopholes allow employers “to turn permanent jobs into temporary
jobs. . . . As a result, working conditions for all professional
workers have suffered: pressures caused by employer exploitation of
professional guest workers coupled with increases in outsourcing
continue to have a chilling effect on any real wage increases for
professionals, even those not directly or immediately impacted.”
AeA’s second myth is that foreign nationals are paid less than U.S. workers.
“The vast majority of companies (hiring H-1B workers) play by the
rules, pay market wages and do not wish to see the integrity of the
program called into question by a minority of infractors,” the
position paper says.
AeA cites several supporting studies, although Matloff and other
critics cite competing studies and even interpret the same studies in
different ways.
It’s impossible to settle the question definitively, in part because
immigration laws don’t require H-1B employers to disclose sufficient
data.
AeA’s third myth is that H-1B employers are bound to their U.S.
employers “and are therefore little more than indentured servants.”
Legally, H-1B visa holders are free to take other jobs in the United
States, and some do. But any H-1B hoping for a “green card,” the
much-sought-after ticket to permanent residence, must restart the
application process if they switch employers. Given the glacial pace of
green-card approvals, this can create a de facto obligation to stay put.
Last week’s report by the GAO said the U.S. Department of Labor
isn’t doing enough to verify even the minimal protections built into
the current H-1B law.
From January 2002 through September 2005, the GAO reported, the
Labor Department approved 99.5 percent of the 960,563 applications it
received for H-1Bs — a suspiciously high number.
“We do not know the true magnitude of the error rate in the certification process,” the GAO report concluded.
Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr., president of the IEEE-USA, issued a statement in response to the GAO’s findings:
“Implementation of the H-1B program fails every test of the
principles its advocates have asserted. Employers can and do give
preference to H-1Bs over U.S. workers. Employers who choose to do so
can easily manipulate the system to pay below-market wages.”
Silicon Valley’s tech leaders have a broader immigration agenda with
some laudable objectives, such as making it easier for bright foreign
students to study at U.S. universities and for those students to remain
when they graduate.
To keep that agenda on track, valley companies should balance their
demand for H-1Bs with a commitment to making the program more
transparent. They should also support clearly visible programs to
retain and retrain their existing employees, so we can accept at face
value their requests for more temporary foreign workers.
Jobs that get you US visas (NEWS.COM.AU)
Via News.com.au
07/17/2006
By Tara Weiss
WHAT is the easiest way to legally enter the US? Love. Fall in love with an American citizen, get married and you’re in. Unfortunately, not everyone can rely on romance. Only select few like Australians can breeze into the country.
Most people have to work their way into the US. But to do that, you need to find a job, a company willing to sponsor you and then apply for one of the country’s precious H1B visas.
With up to 100,000 applications filed each year (that’s where the US Government cuts it off), getting one of the 65,000 H1Bs given out annually is a bit like winning the lottery.
The same is true for other highly coveted visas like the L1 work visa, which enable multinational firms to transfer employees and executives to the US. For would-be immigrants, such visas can often lead to the ultimate golden ticket: a US green card, 140,000 of which are available each year.
Clearly, there just aren’t enough visas or green cards to go around. “Those caps are both backed up,” says Crystal Williams, deputy director for programs at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. That means it can take years to legally enter the US workforce.
That is unless you happen to be a university professor, nurse, physical therapist or work in any one of several professions that are in such great demand you’re practically guaranteed a US visa. It also helps if your home nation has signed a free trade agreement with the US.
“(But) need is the very first step,” says Chris Bentley, a spokesperson with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“We’re looking for people that have some type of skill and whose job is in demand here in the US.”
In the late 1990s, software engineers and other IT specialists were in demand. Now, immigration lawyers say, they’re a dime a dozen and aren’t usually successful getting into the country.
Topping America’s most wanted list these days: academics. Bentley says that someone petitioning to teach Medieval History is more likely to get approved than an accountant because the professor position is specialised and more difficult to fill.
“With other professions, employers have to test the labour market to see if someone else is qualified and willing to do the job that’s offered,” says Elizabeth Kirberger an immigration attorney who practices in New York.
“With a college professor, the standard is different. Employers get to pick the most highly qualified, but there’s no particular standard for that. You flesh out (the argument for that) in the application.” That’s because there aren’t enough American professors to fill the available jobs.
The same goes for nurses and physical therapists. According to The American Hospital Association, the country will need 2.8 million nurses by 2020, but only 2 million will be available.
Still, foreign nurses should be mindful of a few caveats. According to Greg Siskind , founding partner of the immigration law firm Siskind Susser, nurses aren’t eligible for temporary work visas. They can only enter the country as green card applicants; a process that can take two years. While that may sound like an eternity, foreign nurses have a relatively easy time finding hospitals and companies willing to sponsor them.
“As an employer, hiring two years ahead of time is not ideal. But because of the shortage, employers are willing to do it,” says Mr Siskind.
You’re also in luck if you’re especially talented in the arts or in sports. Artists and athletes can get in with virtually no hold-up. But you can’t just brag your way into the US.
But remember, immigration is ultimately a numbers game. The limited number of H1Bs and green cards available each year is first divvied up into categories and further divided among certain nationalities. Immigration officials can reconfigure the numbers based on need and demand. For instance, the quota for nurses from India may get maxed out before the quota set for Scandinavian nurses.
Aside from professions, some nationalities have a breeze coming into this country.
“If you’re Australian you’re sitting pretty,” says Mr Siskind. “They can bypass the whole H1B process.”
Last year, Congress created a new visa class: the E-3, which is solely for Australian workers. That means there are up to 10,000 slots for our friends down under – that’s separate from the 65,000 cap. There’s also an exemption for workers from Singapore and Chile because of the free trade agreements with those countries.
While the demand will continue to exceed the supply of US visas and green cards, achieving the “American Dream” is still possible. But working toward that goal is a lot easier when you know which jobs can get you in the country to begin with.
Backlog holds up legal path into U.S.
Via The Charlotte Observer
07/15/2006
Millions forced to wait for thousands of visas
Members of the Morales family have been waiting almost two decades for green cards.
Family patriarch Miguel Morales Alcala gained legal permanent residence through a 1986 amnesty. He has since tried to get residency for his wife and six of his children.
But the wait became such an ordeal that he ended up paying a coyote $7,000 to smuggle his family into the U.S. from Mexico.
“It’s such a long time,” Morales, 66, said from his Charlotte home. “They told me I could bring my children, but we’re still waiting and wondering when we can get the papers.”
Often lost in the debate over illegal immigration is the massive list of applicants waiting to legally move to the United States.
The wait for a visa can take years, even decades, as several million people worldwide petition for limited spots.
Many immigration lawyers and advocates argue that immigration limits are too restrictive and it should be made easier for people to come here legally.
At the same time, advocates for more restrictive immigration rules acknowledge the process is cumbersome, but say limits benefit the country.
“There are way too many people than we can absorb,” said Ron Woodard, director of NC Listen, an immigration reform group. “Would-be immigrants need to understand that just because you’re a nice person willing to work hard doesn’t mean you can come to America.”
Continue reading
US Senate Examines Economics of Immigration
Via VOANews.com
07/12/2006
The Bush administration – pressing Congress to complete immigration reform legislation, is highlighting the contributions immigrants make to the U.S. economy.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez appeared
before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday to discuss the impact
immigrants have on the U.S. economy.
There may be no better spokesman on the issue than Gutierrez.
The 53-year-old Commerce Secretary was born in Havana, Cuba, and
fled to the United States with his family when he was six. He learned
English, became a U.S. citizen, and later studied business
administration. He took an entry-level sales job at the cereal
manufacturing company Kellogg’s, where he rose through the ranks to
become Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer before
President Bush nominated him to his current post.
More than just Latinos illegally call U.S. home
July 10, 2006
Via SignonSanDiego.com
Nearly one-quarter are from other nations
Driving around San Diego, an undocumented nanny nervously checks her
rear-view mirror, hoping she isn’t about to get pulled over. She has no
driver’s license, but she needs to get to and from work and to shuttle
around the children she cares for. So she drives anyway, always looking
over her shoulder.
In a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco, an
undocumented bartender wonders when he will see his family again. He
has made a few visits home in the seven years he’s lived here
illegally, always managing to sneak back into the country. But security
has grown tighter. If there is a family emergency and he has to go
home, he’s not sure he can return.
Home isn’t Mexico, though. The bartender is Irish.
So is the nanny.
They are among the estimated 2.5 million
undocumented immigrants in the United States who are not from Latin
America but from Asia, Europe, Canada, Africa, the Middle East and
elsewhere. They make up nearly a quarter of the nation’s undocumented
population, yet in the current immigration debate, they have been all
but invisible.
In Congress, the focus has been on stopping
illegal immigration at the southern border, where most illegal entrants
are from Latin America. In the anti-illegal immigration lobby, most of
the ire has been directed at Latinos, primarily Mexicans, with activist
groups scouting the Mexican border and some recently picketing the
local Mexican consulate.
New US law could cripple Indian hospitals
Via Rediff.com The irony is that Tamil Nadu is running short of nurses because nursing graduates from the state — and from across India — are bound for greener pastures in the US. In the last few years, nursing has become the easiest route to the US Green Card as American hospitals are frantically scouting for nurses from developing countries, especially India and the Philippines. Every year, India produces more than 30,000 nursing graduates. Nursing school authorities say almost all of these nursing graduates are also training to take the CGFNS (Commission of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools), TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language), TWE (Test of Written English) and TSE (Test of Spoken English) examinations. To be considered for nursing assignments, Indian nurses have to take the above mentioned four tests, and must have valid nursing licences from recognised institutes. In the last one year, scores of American hospitals have put in requests with manpower consulting agencies and nursing schools across India for recruiting nurses. A number of nursing colleges in India are also tying up with hospital groups in America for supplying nurses. As a result, the quality of health services across Indian hospitals is suffering because of shortage of nurses. “Every nursing graduate wants to go abroad. They do not want to serve the country. The rush of Indian nurses to countries like the US is putting our healthcare system in malady,” says Annamma Mathew, a nursing superintendent who earlier worked with St John’s Medical College, Bangalore. Mathew, who now works in a private hospital in Coimbatore, says Tamil Nadu is one of the worst hit by the shortage of nurses. “Last year the Tamil Nadu government advertised for some 1,500 nurses in the primary health centres. But the Health Department did not get enough applications,” says Mathew. “Indian nurses want to go abroad, especially to Europe, the Gulf and the US because the pay packets there are very good compared to the pitiable salaries that Indian hospitals offer to nurses,” Mathew adds. A nurse in an Indian hospital earns a starting salary of less than $2,000 a year. In the US, that figure is at least $36,000. Vineeta Ramachandran, director of Kochi-based nursing recruitment agency Nurses Abroad, says the sad state of Indian hospitals and poor pay are the main reasons for the exodus of Indian nurses abroad. “Added to this, the new Immigration Bill in the US would open throw open the gates to Indian nurses. I am getting 15 applications every day from nurses who want to go abroad,” Ramachandran says. Last month, Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback sponsored a proposal in the US Senate that aims to remove the limit on the numbers of nurses who can immigrate to America. Moving the new provision in the Immigration Bill, Brownback said it was needed to help America cope with a growing nursing shortage. Health experts in India say the new, relaxed US immigration provisions for nurses would have an impact on countries like India and the Philippines, which are already sending thousands of nurses to America every year. Says Dr Paul Abraham, who heads a Bangalore-based non-governmental healthcare organisation called Centre for Health and Social Action: “The exodus of nurses from countries like India to the US will surely strain the health systems (in those countries).” “In India, already many hospitals are reeling under severe shortage of nurses. Now I think every Indian nurse would try to go to the US if the new immigration rule comes into force,” Dr Abraham says. He says international standards prescribe the nurse-patient ratio per shift to be 1:5 in a general ward and 1:1 in the intensive care unit. “But in India, the nurse-patient ratio is pitiable. For instance, the J J Hospital in Mumbai has a 1:70 nurse-patient ratio. That is, one nurse is forced to take care of an average of 70 patients who visit the hospital daily,” he says. What is the way out? “(There are) no short cuts,” says Dr Abraham. “The government has to sanction more nursing colleges. And a condition has to be laid down that a nurse should work compulsorily five years in India before she goes abroad,” he says. Agrees Madhu Devan, member, Trained Nurses Association of India: “The pay scales of nurses in India also have to go up. The government should also increase the number of nursing institutes across the country.” Some states are waking up to the crisis. Kerala — that has produced more nurses than any other state in India — now has 85 nursing schools. In 1991, it had only 45. The Maharashtra Nursing Council has granted official recognition to 70 more nursing colleges in the last two years. More and more young men are also opting for a nursing career because of the bright job prospects abroad. Suju Mathew, son of a Kerala school teacher, opted for nursing studies. “I have joined for the three year nursing degree course in a Mangalore college. In my class, there are 10 boys and 30 girls,” he says. Does Suju like to work as a nurse? “Yes, but not in India,” says the 19 year old. “I want to go to America. And nursing is the only solution.”
July 05, 2006
The GOP’s immigration shame
Republicans choose divisive campaign politics over urgently needed policy.
HOW CAN YOU TELL WHEN a governing party is running out of steam? When
it controls all branches of government yet abandons even the pretense
of addressing an issue most members claim is a “crisis.”
That’s what the GOP-led House did Tuesday in announcing that
discussions over reconciling its enforcement-centric immigration bill
with the Senate’s legalization-focused version will be pushed back to
September at the earliest, and only after completing more hearings.
Instead of naming negotiators and attempting in good faith to bridge
the chasm between the bills, House leaders are busy naming locations
for “field meetings” that can deliver maximum demagogic effect in the
run-up to the November election.
These meetings are nonsense. Congress held more than a dozen hearings
on immigration last year before passing HR 4437. That punitive bill
filled the streets with millions of protesters angry that it did little
to address the nation’s need for a legal supply of labor or the
estimated 11 million-plus illegal residents of this country, besides
turning them into felons.
The
Senate version, a flawed piece of work in its own right after too many
compromises, at least offered a system (however torturous) by which
millions of underground workers could finally come into the open
without fear of immediate incarceration or deportation. Most of the
last-minute amendments to the Senate bill brought the legislation
closer to the version passed by the House. But Republicans there prefer
clinging to the dangerous fantasy that a massive, militarized wall must
be approved before discussions can even begin over what to do with the
millions of indispensable, but vilified, workers already here.
House
GOP leaders can barely conceal their preference for divisive politics
over sound policy. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois has reportedly
conveyed to President Bush that hard-line enforcement politics is
polling particularly well this season. One Republican congressional
aide told the Associated Press: “The discussion is how to put the
Democrats in a box without attacking the president.” This is what
passes for Republican leadership nowadays.
Summer and fall will
be gut-check time not just for Bush, who has tried in his vague though
periodically eloquent way to make immigration reform his signature
domestic accomplishment this year, or for pro-reform GOP senators such
as John McCain of Arizona, but for the American people. When the
vulnerable party in power chooses to adopt a campaign strategy that
demonizes a class of people, how it fares will say much about who we
are.
Twelve years ago, Republicans were swept into Congress on
a platform bursting with energy and ideas, with many measures enacted
within the GOP’s first 100 days in power. If inaction and xenophobia
are all the party has left, this could be its last 100 days.
Celebs bend visa lines like Beckham
Via Miami Herald.com
Accommodating U.S. State Department officials bend over backward to grant visas to elite figures in sports, science, arts, education and business.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – International soccer star David Beckham and wife Victoria, formerly Posh Spice of the Spice Girls, don’t wait months or years to enter the United States legally.
Beckham’s status, bankroll and his attorney see to that. He receives approval for his visa within two weeks. Accommodating U.S. State Department officials grant him after-hours appointments and have asked him to pose for photos.
As an ”alien of extraordinary ability,” Beckham is eligible for an O-1 work visa reserved for elite figures in sports, science, arts, education and business.
These and companion visas for family and support personnel have no caps on the number who can arrive. Their numbers have more than doubled over the past decade.
Meanwhile, specialty workers with four-year degrees can’t always bend the bureaucracy like Beckham. Demand for visas from these workers, with professions such as computer programming, engineering and
accounting, has surged. But the cap, briefly raised a few years ago, remains at 65,000 — what it was in 1992. The 2007 cap was filled May 26, a record four months before the fiscal year begins.
Currently, Congress is debating whether to increase these visas to help relieve the backlog, as well as granting legal status to some of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
Immigration ”law is really geared toward helping the rich and famous,” says David Whitlock, a partner who heads immigration practice at Fisher & Phillips in Atlanta.
Most industrialized countries have an immigrant pecking order, notes Alan Gordon, a Charlotte, N.C., immigration lawyer who recently helped a Canadian racing phenom enter the country.
DEPP SKIPPED LOTTERY
”How did Johnny Depp get to live in France? Did he go through a lottery system?” asks Gordon. “No. It’s because he’s spending money.”
Indeed, countries have always welcomed the elite.
”And maybe rightly so,” says Steve Hader, a lawyer with the Charlotte office of Moore & Van Allen who helped set up Beckham’s upcoming visit to the United States. “Maybe you want the best and the brightest.”
The Beckhams stand to make money on their upcoming summer trip, so they are required to secure work visas, not tourist credentials. He launched a youth soccer academy in Los Angeles last year, with the hope
of identifying talent to compete for U.S. teams on the world stage. Victoria has a fragrance and clothing line ”and still performs,” Hader says.
Some 11,960 esteemed scientists, doctors, musicians, professors, athletes and captains of industry and their family and support personnel arrived in 2005, up more than 145 percent since 1995, according to the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Hader has prepared O-1 visas for A-list singers, actors, actresses, scientists and even a celebrity chef. Client confidentiality precludes him from revealing names. Beckham gave the OK because he wants the
press for his academy.
O-1 applicants must be international superstars in their professions. The State Department recognizes Academy Awards, peer adulation, press coverage in ”major newspapers,” and/or ”a high salary . . . in relation to others in the field,” among other factors.
Beckham plays for the Spanish club Real Madrid and is captain of England’s national team in this year’s World Cup. Beckham was memorialized in the 2002 movie Bend It Like Beckham for his signature long kick, with the ball curving in flight. The fact Beckham is married to one of the Spice Girls is an added bonus, or curse, depending on which side of the paparazzi you’re standing.
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Corporate Immigration Compliance For Our Time
08/08/2006
VIA ILW.com
Hector A. Chichoni answers the question: “What can HR professionals do to keep their employer compliant?”