Congressional leaders predict immigration law
Jan 7, 2007 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican leaders predicted on Sunday the U.S. Congress would pass an immigration law this session after scuttling President George W. Bush’s plan last year.
Democratic leaders also said they were looking at ways to provide middle class tax relief, with one hinting of possibly ending some tax breaks for the wealthy.
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on “Fox News Sunday” that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
“He (Bush) smiled and he said, ‘You know, I think I’m going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,”‘ said Hoyer.
“I think that’s the case,” said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
Bush proposed a major overhaul of the immigration system that included a limited guest worker program and an easier path to citizenship for many already in the country. He coupled that with money for increased border security.
In the end, House Republicans killed the immigration overhaul and Congress limited its action to approving money for 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky agreed that an immigration bill was possible.
Democrats last week took control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years and have been outlining their legislative agenda since then.
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Church Concerned About Possible Immigration Raid
12/29/2006
Via Fox28.com
Members of a Chicago storefront church say they
fear U.S. authorities are planning to raid their building and arrest an
illegal immigrant who has taken refuge there.
Adalberto United Methodist Church has sheltered Elvira Arellano and her 8-year-old son since August.
That’s when Arellano was supposed to be deported. But instead she
sought sanctuary at the church, claiming she didn’t want to be
separated from her son who is a U.S. citizen.
The Reverend Walter Coleman says neighborhood residents reported seeing
U.S. marshals taking pictures of the church Tuesday night.
In response, church members say they plan to stand guard in doorways, windows and the building’s rooftop in a 24-hour vigil.
A spokesman for the U.S. marshal’s office says the agency would not be involved in the matter.
Ancient ice shelf breaks free from Canadian Arctic
12/29/2006
At first glance, this CNN article which describes a giant ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields breaking free from Canada’s Arctic may not appear related to immigration. However, pollution, global warming, and related environmental pressures will contribute to a massive worldwide reduction in habitable land due to factors such as increased ocean levels. This will result in overpopulation and and an exponential increase in immigration to countries like the US, Canada and Australia in the next two to five decades. I forsee the creation of new categories for environmentally displaced refugees in US Immigration Law unless something is done to combat pollution and global warming immediately.
Therefore, even anti-immigrationists in the US and Australia should seriously consider driving hybrids and the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
Collins grills agencies on foreign labor
Wednesday, December 6, 2006<!– © Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. :ap –>
Department of Labor and the Citizenship and Immigration Service, asking
what their agencies have done to address problems in foreign-labor
programs that were detailed in a recent Portland Press Herald/Maine
Sunday Telegram investigation.
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. It’s the first
official call for answers from federal authorities since the
newspaper’s series ran in late September.
and the permanent green-card system. H1B visas let skilled foreign
workers such as engineers, programmers and accountants work in the
United States for three years, with a three-year extension. Green cards
let foreigners live and work here indefinitely.
company and the location listed on the visa applications, we have no
assurance that the true purpose of the visa applicant is not to enter
the U.S. to commit terrorist acts or to otherwise harm our citizens,”
Collins wrote in both letters.
Emilio T. Gonzalez, director of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration
Service in the Department of Homeland Security, and included copies of
the newspaper series.
back a decade that raised concerns about the Department of Labor’s role
in the foreign-labor certification process for the H1B visa program.
The investigation showed that the department performed very little
oversight of the program, and was seen as merely a “rubber stamp” by
its own inspector general.
opened tiny offices or leased cubicles in Maine and other rural states
in 2004 and early 2005 and filed immigration papers for thousands of
foreigners who were supposed to work here. In many cases, the
companies’ connection to Maine was tenuous. In several instances,
landlords had never heard of the companies that called their buildings
home on federal applications.
Tech Lobby to Renew H1B Visa Reform Effort
VIA CIO
As Democrats take over leadership of both houses of the U.S.
Congress from Republicans, technology industry lobbyists will try again
to push for worker visa reform.
Legislation to allow more highly skilled foreign workers to come to
the United States and stay longer failed in the last session of
Congress, but it will be reintroduced in the next session, said Andrea
Hoffman, vice president of TechNet, a lobbying group for technology
companies.
TechNet is pushing for three reforms, Hoffman said: Increasing the
number of H1B visas granted annually to foreign workers employed
temporarily at U.S. companies; granting employment-based visas to
workers whose H1B visas are about to expire but whose application for
lawful permanent residency (commonly known as a “green card”) is
backlogged; and allowing foreign workers who earn advanced degrees at
U.S. colleges and universities to stay and work in the United
States once they graduate.
E Visa Consular Processing in Italy
Via AILA
The Department of State informed AILA’s DOS Liaison Committee that consular posts in Italy have decided to consolidate E visa processing in Rome and Milan, effective Jan 1, 2007. E visa applicants in the Florence and Naples consular districts will be asked to apply in Rome, but may also apply in Milan providing they are residents, or are physically present in Italy.
US immigration ‘consultant’, an unlawful practice of the law
L.M. (not a real name’s initials) is in the bind!
For two years since that exciting first day when she first came,
life has been an incessant emotional roller coaster ride for L.M. who,
like many other, has come to the US as a visitor but has decided to
stay in the country after the expiration of her visa. At least, that
was what she claimed to be the sequence of events although again, like
many others, L.M. has planned on staying in the US even
before she took the trip. Now, in retrospect, had L.M. been given a
chance to do it all over again, she would have done differently.
Because, thanks to the ‘Immigration Consultant’ that she has been
introduced to by the ’employer’ in Los Angeles who entered into contact
with her while still in the Philippines, now, two years and many
promises later, LM is really in the bind.
The arrangement made back in Manila seemed straightforward enough:
L.M. come to the US with a visitor visa. Upon landing she would go to
work in a small business. A ‘special deal’ was made with the ’employer’
for her labor. Then, through the ’employer’ L.M. recruited the service
of an “Immigration Consultant” who was to file a petition on her behalf
for the Labor Certification (*) that would get her that prized green
card. The fact that the ‘consultant’ signed a contract with and
received payment from L.M. instead of with the ’employer’ as the law
mandates, did not seem to bother anyone involved.
The Labor Certification filing, the necessary first step on the road
to a green card based on employment, was not properly done, it turned
out. Then, when the law changed in 2005, the petition did not get
resubmitted accordingly to the new law. For two years, every month,
L.M. religiously paid to the ‘Consultant’ the hundreds of dollars
toward a payment plan for her fees. All the while, she was not informed
as of the progress of her case (there was no case to begin with because
of the improper filing). Then, without proper counsel from her
‘Consultant’, L.M. moved to take another job with the assumption that
the immigration petition on her behalf was in progress, providing the
‘Consultant’ with the awaited excuse to terminate her services, two
years and several thousand of dollars later. L.M. is now out of status
and subject to be removed from the US from which she is barred from
returning for ten years.
During the current debate toward a comprehensive immigration reform
in the US, advocates for the need to combat against the unauthorized
practice of law (UPL) became increasingly vocal. The need here was to
provide the proper assistance to the undocumented aliens crowd that is
the least likely to report any abuse or frauds, because there is no
venue to do so without compromising their immigration status. Such
absence of venue of help makes them the ready victims of unscrupulous
‘consultants’ who, fearless of legal consequences, scammed those
victims off their meager but hard earned money. The list of abuses is
long. There are reports of threat of reprisal (by snitching to the
government), of unnecessary withholding of documents; of holding off
response to request of information, of incompetent and indiscreet staff
etc…
Most of the ‘consultants’ in question are from the same ethnic
background as their customers. This allows them to gain the client’s
confidence. L.M.’s ‘consultant’ is also from the Philippines. Most will
advertise that they only ‘consult’ and that they are not practicing the
law. However, the Code of Federal Regulation states that the practice
of the law includes the “selection and completion of the forms to seek an immigration benefit”.
Consultants like that of L.M. have committed the illegal act of
practicing the law without a license in the United States. In L.M.’s
case, the ‘Consultant’ in question may now be under scrutiny by the law
enforcement agencies for possible UPL criminal wrongdoing.
An immigration lawyer can help a prospective immigrant in more than
one ways: He/she can analyze the client’s case and, explain to her the
possibilities of benefit under the law and the legal process to obtain
such benefit. He or she can assist in petitioning on behalf of the
client and be her advocate when it came to speaking for her with the US
government agencies and if necessary, represent the client in a Court
of law. In LM’s case, her Labor Certification could have been properly
done had she been assisted by an American attorney, not only because of
the legal competency, but also by the code of ethics that bind the
profession. Surprisingly, such could have been much less costly,
financially speaking.
Hoax Web site jabs anti-illegal immigrant U.S. town
Via Reuters UK
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Santa isn’t welcome in Hazleton
because he’s an illegal immigrant just like all the others the
Pennsylvania town is trying to get rid of — or so someone
would have you believe.
A new Web site, http://www.nosantaforhazleton.com, says the
town intends to keep Santa out this Christmas because he
represents the illegal immigration the town council believes
increases crime and burdens local services.
But the site is a hoax, created by someone in a bid to
satirize a local law passed in July that has attracted national
attention by imposing penalties on businesses and landlords to
deter them from hiring or renting rooms to illegal immigrants.
Important USCIS Memo Clarifies Periods of Admission for H and L Nonimmigrants
Via AILA
12/21/2006
A December 5, 2006 memo from Michael Aytes, USCIS Associate Director, Domestic Operations, provides guidance on the period of admission for H-4s and L-2s, applicants for H-1B status beyond the six-year maximum, and for H-1Bs who have been out of the U.S. for more than 1 year, but were not in H-1B status for a full 6 years. The memo clarifies that time spent in H-4 or L-2 status does not count against the maximum allowable period of stay available to principals in H-1B and L-1 status, and that qualifying H-1B aliens need not be in H-1B status when requesting an extension beyond the six-year maximum. Revisions to Chapters 31.2(d), 31.3(g) and 32.6 of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM Update 06-29) are included in the memo.
16 Charged with Concealing Bosnian Serb Military Service When Entering U.S.
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VIA Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Website WASHINGTON— The defendants allegedly committed immigration fraud and/or made In the past week, special ICE agents arrested 13 of the defendants According to indictments and criminal complaints filed in the Middle “Since its founding, the United States has attracted refugees All but one of the defendants face criminal charges that include “These cases demonstrate our resolve to identify and prosecute those Special ICE agents investigated these cases with assistance from the The indictments and criminal complaints filed in these cases contain The defendants are as follows: Middle District of Florida Sekula Bilic, indicted on one count of immigration fraud and one count of making false statements. Zdravko Kordic, indicted on one count of immigration fraud. Branko Popic, indicted on one count of immigration fraud and one count of making false statements. Ostoja Saric, indicted on one count of immigration fraud and one count of making false statements. Strahinja Krsmanovic, indicted on one count of immigration fraud. Boro Stojanovic, indicted on one count of immigration fraud. Jadranko Gostic, indicted on one count of unlawful procurement of citizenship and one count of making false statements. Zoran Radic, indicted on one count of immigration fraud and making false statements. Radic remains at large. Dusan Bosnjak, indicted on one count of immigration fraud and making false statements. Bosnjak remains at large. Bogdan Panic, indicted on one count of naturalization fraud and making false statements. Panic remains at large. Eastern District of Wisconsin Nedjo Ikonic, charged with one count of immigration fraud. Middle District of North Carolina Milivoje Jankovic, indicted on two counts of immigration fraud and two counts of making false statements. Veselin Vidacak, indicted on two counts of immigration fraud and two counts of making false statements. District of Colorado Milisav Vukovic, charged with one count of false statements. Eastern District of Michigan Nedjo Lojpur, indicted on two counts of immigration fraud. Northern District of Ohio Ratko Maslenjak, charged with one count of immigration fraud. |
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— ICE — |
ICE Raid Protests Get Heated
Via KTTC
12/18/2006
AUSTIN, MN — Recent federal raids of undocumented workers across the country sparks a loud reaction in Austin.
Protesters for and against the recent ICE raids congregated on Main Street in Austin. Many began their trek with a prayer.
“The idea that these raids are going on because of identity theft is a
bogus cover story,” said Peter Brown, from the National Lawyers Guild.
According to Brown, an immigration attorney, 230 people were arrested
in Worthington last week and none of them were charged with identity
theft.
American visas to Indians set to zoom
Via rediff News
December 18, 2006 10:22 IST
With Indo-US bonhomie at its best, the United States is all set to
grant entry visas to a record number of Indians in the months to come.
In
September and October this year, the first two months of the US fiscal,
the US has issued 78 per cent more visas to Indians than in the same
two months of last year. In fact, the US consular operations have had
to requisition staff from all over the world to cope with the
additional work.
Indians have bagged no less than 30 per cent of
the visas granted by the US worldwide for skilled temporary workers.
Last fiscal, over 127,000 such visas were issued to Indians. And at
over 80,000, India has the largest number of foreign students in the
US. In fiscal 2006, 24,622 Indian students got a US visa — a 32 per
cent increase over the previous year.
The US issued 358,734
temporary visas in fiscal 2006, up 14 per cent from 313,800 in the
previous year. This was in addition over 30,000 immigrant visas. India
is now second only to Mexico among all countries for visa demand.
It
all began in September this year, when David Mulford, the US ambassador
to India, made a commitment to eliminate the visa backlog at the
earliest, keeping with the US policy of ‘Secure Borders, Open Doors.’
By
May 2007, the US is planning to achieve equilibrium between visa demand
and processing facility in India. Thus, a new US consulate general
building in Mumbai will be ready by 2008. The investment: a cool $100
million.
Another $20 million renovation at Delhi will see 10 new
visa interviewing windows. Hyderabad will have a 15-window consular
operation by 2008. While the Kolkata workspace will be doubled in 12
months, six additional interviewing windows are planned in Chennai this
year.
Naturally, airlines are falling over each other to get a piece of the action.
The
traffic between India and the US was 2.1 million passengers in 2005-06;
it is projected to rise by at least 15 per cent in the current year.
The average load factor on Air-India’s 28 weekly flights to the US is
as high as 85 per cent.
Several airlines, including state-owned
Air-India and American Airlines, are planning to start non-stop flights
between India and the US. Jet Airways plans to get into the market by
August 2007, while Kingfisher is working on its local feeder network
for its US operations, which it hopes to begin some time in 2008.
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Till Deportation Do Us Part
By Rebecca DeRosa
The NYC Independent Media Center
Now that the Republicans have lost control of Congress, perhaps legislation such as the Uniting American Families Act will finally get passed. This bill would give U.S. citizens the right to give their loved ones citizenship.
Yes, this is a right that already exists, but only if you marry someone of the opposite sex.
Now that the Republicans have lost control of Congress, perhaps legislation such as the Uniting American Families Act will finally get passed. This bill would give U.S. citizens the right to give their loved ones citizenship.
Yes, this is a right that already exists, but only if you marry someone of the opposite sex.
Currently, U.S. citizens cannot extend citizenship rights to their same-sex, foreign-born partners. While some people want to “defend marriage,” they don’t seem concerned with defending the rights of real people who consider their relationships as valid as the latest 24-hour tabloid marriage or mail order bride.
The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) was first introduced by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in 2000 under the name Permanent Partners Immigration Act. In 2003, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) brought companion legislation before the Senate. The bill was reintroduced into Congress in June 2005. To date, about 104 members of Congress from both houses cosponsor the bill.
“Keeping loving families separated is gratuitous cruelty that serves no constructive purpose,” Nadler told The Villager. “This bill only demands that those people in same-sex permanent partnerships receive equal treatment as everyone else—not an iota more.”
In a city like New York, where there are so many immigrants, there are many binational couples. And according to the 2000 U.S. Census, people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community partner with people outside of their ethnicity and culture more often than people who date the opposite sex. Like the majority of Americans, many of these couples wish to marry and join or start families.
Immigration Equality works to end laws that discriminate against LGBT immigrants. According to Adam Francoeur, the organization’s policy coordinator, 65 percent of all green cards issued annually are given on the basis of family unification. But gays and lesbians are shut out of the spousal category that falls under family unification.
“That’s a major way in which the needs of LGBT immigrants are unique because they lack opportunities,” says Francoeur. “Their opportunities are more limited.”
At least 17 countries offer partnership recognition to same-sex binational couples that allows them to remain together. The 2000 U.S. Census counted about 36,000 same-sex “unmarried” couples in which one member was a U.S. citizen and the other a non-citizen. But the Census doesn’t offer statistics on the number of same-sex couples who moved out of the U.S. to remain together.
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