OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

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After statements made by immigration officers were released, that claimed there is an increasing amount of pressure on employees of US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to approve more visas even when there is suspicion of fraud, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA ) asked the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Inspector General on October 15 to investigate. Agency insiders have continued to come forward and provide evidence that suggests USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas is responsible for the encouragement to approve as many visas as possible in the California Service Center. Senator Grassley first began looking into USCIS’s practices when accusations arose that supervisors told employees “to find a way” to approve applications. Grassley says his main concern and reason behind brining this issue to attention is to ensure that, “the rule of law isn’t being undermined by political leaders.”

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) writer David Leopold posted an article on AILA’s blog October 18th in response to Senator Grassley’s proposal for investigation into UCIS’s practices. Leopold argues against the legitimacy of Grassley’s information, citing the fact that the allegations have only been brought by a small group of insiders. Leopold offers a solution to Grassley’s upset, suggesting he submit his own petition to USCIS in order to get a better picture of USCIS’s visa approval procedures. According to Leopold, what Grassley fails to understand about USCIS’s policy of “finding a way” is that the USCIS officers must find the applicant eligible by a “preponderance of evidence.” The applicants must be able to prove the warranting of a visa. He goes on further to say USCIS is in reality far stricter on applicants than Grassley is aware of, he mentions the denial of many visa applicants as a result of flawed assessment by USCIS officers.

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MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, November 5th, 2010

We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed an agreement with its first Mississippi Business partner in the IMAGE program, Roy Anderson Corporation , on October 20. The IMAGE program, also known as the ICE Mutual agreement between Government and Employers, helps employer’s better follow the language and regulations of the law by providing them with the necessary information and tools.

In order to qualify for the IMAGE program, an employer is required to conduct an investigation of its hiring practices to discover potential vulnerabilities that could be utilized to commit fraud, complete eligibility verification programs, train its staff on how to use the new tools, and be audited by ICE. One of the main reasons ICE created the IMAGE program was to combat the hiring of illegal and undocumented workers. Undocumented workers create weakness in both the company and government by using fraudulent documents to gain employment and commit identity theft against US workers. Through the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) E-Verify employment eligibility verification program, which is a component of the IMAGE program, employers can pre-screen potential employees before they hire them. For more information on the IMAGE program click here.

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.

As of October 22, 2010, 44,300 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

As of October 22, 2010, 16,200 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.

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A $1,047,110 settlement fine was charged to clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) because of the employer’s failure to verify the employment eligibility of their workers.

After a Form I-9 investigation in November 2008, investigators uncovered “technology-related deficiencies” in their electronic verification system. Abercrombie & Fitch cooperated fully with ICE HSI and has since put into practice new measures to further prevent any violations. In addition, the audit did not reveal the company had knowingly hired any illegal workers. ICE HSI says this settlement serves a warning to others companies who may not be fully complying with employee verification procedures.

I-9 Forms must be completed by an employer for every individual employed to determine identity, eligibility, and evidence the documents are legitimately related to the individual. Under their new strategy implemented in 2009, ICE has been trying to reduce the demand for illegal workers by auditing and investigating suspicious companies.

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After a report was released earlier this year by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) with recommendations for the 287(g) program, a subsequent report was released on October 22 stating that the program has significant shortcomings and allows, “local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws.”

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act was put into legislation in 1995 and allows local enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws. The new report stated that only 5 suggestions for the program have been met out of the 33 given by OIG in the original report. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) still cannot authenticate the programs legitimate use of funding, spending habits, and acceptable operations in the program. According to the President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), David Leopold, the continuance of the program undercuts the faith that the public has in the law enforcement agency charged with protecting them.

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The USCIS launched the new Citizenship Resource Center on its website. The new feature was created to centralize resources for citizenship as well as help individuals better comprehend the naturalization process and gain understanding to better prepare them for a successful process. Some other highlights of the Citizenship Resource Center include podcasts, interactive learning tools, a search function for online citizenship classes, and resources for citizenship class instructors. Videos and citizenship information on the site are conviently provided in several languages.

The Citizenship Resource Center was formed along with the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program which aims to create local citizenship education programs and increase the number of citizenship services offered.

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Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 into the Senate on September 29. This bill is the first comprehensive immigration bill that has been introduce in the Senate since 2007. It also combines key Democratic and Republic viewpoints and elements. Menendez and Leahy’s legislation proposes enhanced border security, mandatory employee verification, revisions to visa systems, a legalization plan for undocumented individuals in the US, and harsher penalties for illegal immigration.

To improve the security at our borders it specifically calls for improved training and more accountability for border/immigration officers, further cooperation with Canada and Mexico to improve border security, and reiterates that immigration power solely resides with the federal government. If passed, visa waiver privileges would be denied to certain countries, the waiting period would stop for refugees/asylees trying to obtain a green card, as well as increased penalties for immigration and visa fraud. Social Security cards would become “tamper-resistant” under the new bill to prevent fraud and the Social Security Administration (SSA) would be required to design a new more secure way of verifying social security numbers. Labor protections would also be expanded under H-2A, H-2B, H-1B, and L-1 visas in addition to preventing the expiration of green cards due to processing delays and establishment of certain exemptions from the quotas. A Lawful Prospective Immigrant (LPI) status for undocumented immigrants with no criminal background would be put into effect and it entails submission of data, security checks, and a $500 application fee for the LPI status of four years. Additionally, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 would include the DREAM Act and institute programs to help immigrants learn English and US civics. Click here to read the full text of the bill or to find out more information.

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The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently updated the list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) approved schools. The schools listed have all been certified to participate in the program.

The program allows foreign students interested in obtaining an education in the United States to complete a visa petition, pay the required fee, and attend a U.S. College or University.

Interested Foreign students: There is a process in obtaining a student visa, but it is not a difficult one. The student must first obtain Form I-20 from the U.S. College or University from which he/she intends to enroll, pay the required visa fee (Form I-901) and contact a local U.S. Consulate/Embassy to schedule an interview. The SEVP procedures differ among U.S. Consulates/Embassies; contact your U.S. Consulate/Embassy NOW to determine its particular procedure on applying for a visa before planning for the interview.

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.

As of October 15, 2010, 42,800 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.

As of October 15, 2010, 15,700 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.

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