Congress Passes Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act (S. 2840)
Via AILA.org
On 09/28/08, the House passed the Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act (S. 2840) by a 416-0 vote.
The measure, introduced by Sen. Schumer (D-NY), would require that USCIS process and issue a citizenship decision within six months of receiving an application from a current or former member of the armed forces, or their surviving dependents. If a decision is not made within that time frame, USCIS would be required to explain the delay and provide a new decision target date.
The bill would also establish an FBI liaison office inside USCIS and processing deadlines for other naturalization applications.
The Senate passed the measure by voice vote on 09/24/08, and it now heads to the president for final approval.
Could you pass the new citizenship test?
VIA CNN.com
Story Highlights
McCain hits Obama over immigration ad
Via Boston.com
“John McCain’s campaign is going after Barack Obama for a
Spanish-language TV ad that appears to misleadingly link McCain to
comments made by conservative radio talk show icon Rush Limbaugh.”
Appeals court upholds Arizona immigration law
VIA Associated Press
09/19/2008
“PHOENIX (AP) – A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld an
Arizona law that penalizes businesses that knowingly hire illegal
immigrants and requires them to verify the employment status of their
workers.”
[KEYWORD = KNOWING]
Judge Rejects H-1B Visa Injunction
Via SlashDot
Judge Rejects H-1B Visa Injunction
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Failed WTO talks could tighten H-1B norms
Expressing disappointment over the failed World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks for a global trade deal, the US on Monday said one of the main casualties was in was the relaxation of rules regarding H-1B visas or the non-immigrant visa that is meant for skilled workers.
Speaking at at seminar organized by CII, US department of commerce assistant secretary (market access and compliance) David Bohigian said, “India missed an opportunity by not being able to get past the Special Safeguard Mechanism, to discuss other market opening issues.”
“One casualty is that H-1B visas in Mode 4 ((movement of professionals across borders to supply services) and the potential to raise the cap on H1B visas is not being discussed anymore. These issues are important for India’s future. We hope that India returns to the table seeking an ambitious result in Doha Round,” he said.
He also added that the failure of the WTO talks led to the missing of a major opportunity to liberalise the multilateral trading system that could have helped hundreds of people in the agricultural and manufacturing sector. The US issues around 65,000 H-1B visas annually to permit foreign professionals to take up temporary work in America.
During the Services Signalling conference held last month at WTO headquarters in Geneva as part of the ministerial meeting, the US had showed willingness to discuss temporary entry of foreign professionals. Also, the EU expressed readiness to make commitments on free movement of skilled personnel across borders.India pushed for market access for its services in the developed world, especially on free movement of service suppliers across borders and outsourcing. The offers or signals made at the Signaling Conference however, has no legal binding and therefore would not be the final stand of the countries on services.
Doha talks failure cost India more H-1B visas: US
| Via The Times of India 8 Sep 2008, 1945 hrs IST,PTI | |
NEW DELHI: The US on Monday said India “missed” a major opportunity to get a liberalised regime for the much sought-after H-1B visas by not agreeing to Doha deal in Geneva this July. “Among the issues on the table in the Doha Round were Mode 4– movement of professionals– and potential to raise the cap on H-1B visas. By not participating fully in the round, India missed an opportunity to be able to work on these issues that are important for its future,” US Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary (Market Access and Compliance) David Bohigian said at a CII seminar here. Marathon talks between 30 key trade ministers for a global trade deal collapsed at the WTO headquarters over differences between India and the US on a safeguard mechanism for farmers in developing nations against import surges. “One casualty of this (failure of talks) is that H-1B visa and Mode 4 are no longer being discussed,” Bohigian said. The US issues about 65,000 H-1B visas every year allowing foreign professionals to take up temporary work in America. India has been seeking easier and greater access for its professionals in the US market, particularly in sectors like IT, consultancy and health care. Bohigian said India and other countries need to come back to the Doha negotiating table “as quickly as possible” to develop market access for firms and workers. While student visas were at an all-time high, US Department of Commerce, State Department and Homeland Security are working to make the visa rules easier for foreign direct investors. In 2007, Indian firms invested three billion dollars in US which the American official wants to double in the near future. |
Window closing for aliens with Florida criminal convictions to move to withdraw pleas that could leave them vulnerable to adverse immigration actions
Author: Tomislav D. Golik
Attorney, Leimbach & Sharma
Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) convictions for certain categories of crimes carry with them the risk that the alien defendant may face removal proceedings or inadmissibility to re-enter the United States. Under U.S. law, “convictions” are defined to include pleas of guilty or nolo contendere (no contest). Even criminal offenses which have been pardoned or expunged are still considered convictions for immigration purposes.
Until 2006, the Florida Supreme Court held that an alien who was actually threatened with deportation as a result of a plea of guilty or no contest had two years to move to set aside their plea. Further, that two year period did not begin to run until the alien first learned, or should have had knowledge of, the threat of deportation based on the plea.
That changed on October 26, 2006, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled in State v. Green that the two year limitations period starts to run from the date the judgment and sentence become final. In the interests of fairness, however, the court further ruled that the Green decision would not apply retroactively. Any alien whose criminal case was finalized prior to October 26, 2006, still had the two year period to file for post conviction relief from their plea. That window closes on October 26, 2008.
If you are an alien who entered a plea of guilty or no contest to a crime in the State of Florida, you should contact an attorney immediately to see if your plea could subject you to deportation proceedings. This is especially true of those who entered pleas to felonies, but there are many criminal offenses classified as misdemeanors that could also serve as grounds for removal of a resident alien or visa holder. It is not always clear from the language of the INA which crimes could subject an alien to deportation. Consult an attorney that understands grounds for deportation and inadmissibility to make sure you understand the consequences of your criminal plea.
Even if you no longer reside in Florida, a criminal plea entered there may still subject you to deportation. If you find that your Florida plea can subject you to deportation, you still need to determine whether grounds exist for challenging it. An experienced Florida Criminal Defense Attorney can help determine whether grounds exist for moving to withdraw a plea and how much time remains to do so. Any person fearing they may be affected by a criminal plea in Florida should contact an attorney immediately, as that attorney may need considerable time to do any necessary research and obtain the appropriate records to review a case.
iGate Mastech Inc. to Pay $45,000 in Civil Penalties to Settle Discrimination Claim
VIA THE US Department Of Justice
05/01/2008
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced that iGate Mastech Inc. (iGate), a Pittsburgh computer consulting company, has agreed to pay $45,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that iGate discriminated against United States citizens in its employment practices. The settlement also requires iGate to train its recruitment personnel and to post a nondiscrimination statement on its Web site.
The settlement stems from the Department’s finding that, between May 9, 2006, and June 4, 2006, iGate placed 30 job announcements for computer programmers that expressly favored H-1B visa holders to the exclusion of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other legal U.S. workers. Such preference constituted citizenship status discrimination and is prohibited by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“We are committed to protecting the right of all authorized workers in the United States against citizenship status discrimination,” said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are pleased to have reached the settlement with iGate, and look forward to continuing to work with the business community to educate the public about the protections and obligations under the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) in the Civil Rights Division, which conducted the investigation in this matter, will continue to monitor iGate to ensure compliance with the settlement agreement. OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which protect U.S. citizens and certain work-authorized individualsWorkauthind.htm from employment discrimination based upon citizenship or immigration status. The INA also protects all work-authorized individuals from national origin discrimination, unfair documentary practices relating to the employment eligibility verification process, and from retaliation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call 1-800-255-7688 (OSC’s worker hotline) (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), 1-800-255-8255 (OSC’s employer hotline) (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), or 202-616-5594. Email osccrt@usdoj.gov, or visit the Web site at http://www.usdoj/gov/crt/osc.
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McCain Says Immigration Reform Should Be Top Priority
Via The Caucus
The New York Times Politics Blog
“In yet another sign of his pivoting toward the general election, Senator John McCain said at a roundtable with business leaders here today that comprehensive immigration reform should be a top priority for the next president.”
Continue Reading
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11: A book written by Edward Alden, Former Washington bureau chief of the Financial Times
09/17/2008
A book written by Edward Alden,
Former Washington bureau chief of the Financial Times was published yesterday by HarperCollins. It will be of great interest
to readers of this blog. The book is entitled The Closing of the American
Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11. It tells the
story of the internal battles within the Bush administration after 9/11
over how far to go in tightening U.S. borders in what was often a misguided
effort to keep out terrorists. That story is interspersed with many personal
tales of innocent people who got caught up in the labryinth of post-9/11
restrictions. Mr. Alden also makes a number of larger points about the damage that
has been done to the U.S. economy and to the country’s standing in the
world by the heavy-handed way in which border security measures have been
implemented.
The book comes out of reporting the author did
after 9/11 while he was the Washington Bureau Chief for the Financial Times,
and well as more than a year of further research after he joined the Council
on Foreign Relations.
The book is available in bookstores,
and on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Closing-American-Border-Terrorism-Immigration/dp/0061558397/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221575965&sr=1-2
You can also get a preview of some of
the chapters at: http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061558399
Product Description from Amazon.com
“On September 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country
in the world. But in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attacks on
American soil, the U.S. government began to close its borders in an
effort to fight terrorism. The Bush administration’s goal was to build
new lines of defense against terrorists without stifling the flow of
people and ideas from abroad that has helped build the world’s most
dynamic economy. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.
The Closing of the American Border
is based on extensive interviews with the Bush administration officials
charged with securing the border after 9/11, including former secretary
of homeland security Tom Ridge and former secretary of state Colin
Powell, and with many of the innocent people whose lives have been
upended by the new border security and visa rules. A pediatric heart
surgeon from Pakistan is stuck in Karachi for nearly a year, awaiting
the security review that would allow him to return to the United States
to take up a prestigious post at UCLA Medical Center. A brilliant
Sudanese scientist, working tirelessly to cure one of the worst
diseases of the developing world, loses years of valuable research when
he is detained in Brazil after attending an academic conference on
behalf of an American university.
Edward Alden goes behind the
scenes to show how an administration that appeared united in the
aftermath of the attacks was racked by internal disagreements over how
to balance security and openness. The result is a striking and
compelling assessment of the dangers faced by a nation that cuts itself
off from the rest of the world, making it increasingly difficult for
others to travel, live, and work here, and depriving itself of its most
persuasive argument against its international critics—the example of
what it has achieved at home.”