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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Adopts Legal Action Center’s Arguments
Washington D.C. - In a decision issued today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals adopted the arguments of the Legal Action Center (LAC), of the American Immigration Council, that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unlawfully imposed extra-regulatory requirements on a petition for a worker of “extraordinary ability” (EB-1). The case in question, Kazarian v. USCIS, involves a theoretical physicist whose employment-based visa was denied because he did not demonstrate “the research community’s reactions to his [scholarly] publications” - an arbitrary requirement with no justification in the law.

In today’s decision, the Ninth Circuit amended its previous ruling and reversed the agency’s interpretation. The court held that “neither USCIS nor an [Administrative Appeals Office] may unilaterally impose novel substantive or evidentiary requirements beyond those set forth [in the regulations].” The Ninth Circuit also found that the agency impermissibly added another unlawful criteria as well.

The case stems from a 2009 Ninth Circuit Court ruling in favor of USCIS. Following that ruling, the LAC and NAFSA submitted an amicus brief in support of rehearing Kazarian’s case. The LAC argued that USCIS erred by adding an additional requirement that did not exist under the law. Kazarian was represented pro bono in the rehearing petition by Wolfsdorf Immigration Law Group.

Today’s decision sends a clear message that USCIS must follow the law and provide a fair process. Unfortunately, this case is not an isolated incident and not the first time the LAC has successfully challenged the policies and practices of the agency. The LAC will continue to challenge similar attempts by the government to operate outside of the law.

“Immigration law is complicated enough without the immigration agency imposing additional requirements and burdens of proof that aren’t in the statute or regulations and that ultimately undermine the goal of attracting the best and brightest to our shores,” said Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council.

To read the decision in its entirety visit: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/03/04/07-56774.pdf -

Legal Action Center press release

Categories: Employment Immigration, Immigration Litigation and Removal, General |

Washington D.C. - As Congress works on bills to extend unemployment benefits and create jobs, they are likely to face considerable pressure to include E-Verify amendments. E-Verify is a federal, web-based, employment verification program. As the latest IPC fact check explains, those who claim that E-Verify will prevent unauthorized workers from gaining employment ignore the fact that the program harms U.S. citizen and legal immigrant workers who will be ensnared by database errors and forces U.S. businesses to bear additional costs associated with the program. Small businesses - which employ approximately 50% of the U.S. workforce - would be disproportionately affected. At a time when the U.S. economy is still struggling to recover from recession and the national unemployment rate hovers around 10%, expanding E-Verify before improving it would be a costly and chaotic mistake.

To read the fact sheet in its entirety see:  

• How Expanding E-Verify Would Hurt American Workers and Business (IPC Fact Check, March 2, 2010) 
  

Also see, from our Repairing our Broken Immigration System series:

• Employment Verification: Repairing our Broken Immigration System   (IPC Fact Check, November 12, 2009)

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Employer Compliance, General |

Washington D.C. - Every 10 years, as required by the U.S. Constitution, the federal government undertakes a massive nationwide effort to count the residents of the United States, who now number more than 300 million.  The results form the basis for the apportionment of congressional districts and the distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds, as well as serving to guide a wide range of community-planning decisions across the country. The Census is, however, no stranger to controversy, such as the suggestion by some activists that immigrants sit out the Census this year to protest the federal government’s failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Yet, among immigrants, ethnic minorities and other demographic groups who are typically under-counted in the Census, a boycott would be self-defeating. The Immigration Policy Center has prepared a fact check that explains what’s at stake and how anyone living in an area afflicted by a large under-count stands to lose out on political representation and access to economic and educational opportunities. To read the fact check in its entirety see: 

Categories: Legislation and Policy, General |

February 1, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) releases the final in its series of “Solutions Papers,” Future Flow: Repairing our Broken Immigration System. The perennial question of how to regulate future employment-based immigration flows has been, by far, one of the greatest sticking points in the immigration reform debate. In 1986, lawmakers passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in an attempt to reign in undocumented immigration through heightened worksite and border enforcement, combined with legalization of most undocumented immigrants already in the country. Unfortunately, IRCA failed to address the fact that immigrant workers would be needed in the future, and the lack of future flow mechanisms resulted in a large unauthorized immigrant population.

Policymakers now have the opportunity to realistically assess our future employment-based immigration needs. This includes permanent and temporary visas, high-skilled and low-skilled workers. Many people agree that our current legal immigration flow is drastically out of sync with America’s labor needs. If the U.S. is to thrive in the globalized 21^st century economy, employment-based immigration must be seen as a strategic resource that can both meet labor market needs and foster economic growth and competition while still protecting U.S. workers and improving wages and working conditions. This paper lays out the key principles for future employment-based immigration flows within the context of comprehensive immigration reform.

To read the paper in its entirety, see: 
Future Flow: Repairing our Broken Immigration System
(IPC Focusing on the Solution series, February 2, 2010)
 

To read other papers in the series, see:

Family Immigration: Repairing our Broken Immigration System 
(IPC Focusing on the Solutions series, January 15, 2010)

Enforcing Immigration Laws: Repairing our Broken Immigration System
(IPC Focusing on the Solutions series, December 8, 2009)

Naturalization and Integration: Repairing our Broken Immigration System
(IPC Focusing on the Solutions series, December 4, 2009)

Employment Verification: Repairing our Broken Immigration System
(IPC Focusing on the Solutions series, November 12, 2009)
 
Earned Legalization: Repairing our Broken Immigration System
(IPC Focusing on the Solutions series, November 5, 2009)

Breaking Down the Problems: What’s Wrong With our Current Immigration System
(IPC Special Report, October 21, 2009)
 

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Employment Immigration, Employer Compliance, General |

Shortly after a devastating earthquake destroyed the homes and lives of innumerable Haitians, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano announced the designation of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for the roughly 100,000-200,000 eligible Haiti nationals currently in the United States as of January 12, 2010. As the world continues to respond with an outpouring of relief efforts, it is important to understand the facts on what TPS is, what it isn’t, how it works and who is eligible.

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) released a fact sheet which provides background information vital to understanding TPS, including:

• Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary, humanitarian form of relief from deportation that does not include granting permanent residence or “amnesty” to unauthorized immigrants in the United States.
• The 100,000-200,000 Haitian immigrants whom the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates are now in the United States on a temporary basis or without authorization will not be subject to removal as long as there is no functioning country to which they can return, and provided that they do not have criminal records.
• The Secretary of Homeland Security, “in consultation with the Secretary of State, can issue TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months and can extend these periods if conditions do not change in the designated country.”
• Major requirements for TPS include compliance with nationality and physical presence criteria (such as evidence of a passport issued by the designated country), continuous physical presence in the United States since the date TPS went into effect, timely registration, and being otherwise admissible as an immigrant.

To view the fact sheet in its entirety, see:

• Granting Refuge: Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians in the United States

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Immigration Litigation and Removal, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

The American Immigration Council applauds today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision ensuring that immigrants facing deportation have fair process in the review of their cases. The Court ruled that individuals who seek to reopen their deportation orders have the right to appeal to the federal courts if the immigration court refuses to hear the appeal. The Court’s decision protects immigrants’ access to federal court review and affirms the role of the courts in our system of checks and balances on government power.

The case, Kucana v. Holder, was brought by an asylum seeker who filed a motion to reopen his removal proceedings because of changed circumstances in his request for asylum. A motion to reopen is a procedural mechanism that allows individuals to present new evidence to an immigration judge.    “The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms that immigrants are entitled to fair process” said Beth Werlin, Attorney at the American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center. “Given the stakes involved in immigration cases, federal court review is an important check on the executive branch and is a necessary layer of protection for individuals who are facing removal from the United States.”    

Read more about the Supreme Court’s decision at the Legal Action Center’s Supreme Court Update webpage.

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Immigration Litigation and Removal, General |

Last week the Immigration Policy Center, together with the Center for American Progress, released a report conducted by Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda of UCLA titled, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The report finds that comprehensive immigration reform that includes a legalization program for the roughly 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. and enables a future flow of legal workers would benefit U.S. workers and generate much needed economic growth.

• Immigration reform would increase U.S. GDP by at least 0.84%.  This would translate into at least a cumulative $1.5 trillion in added GDP over 10 years, which includes approximately $1.2 trillion in consumption and $256 billion in investment.
• The benefits of additional GDP growth would be spread broadly throughout the U.S. economy,but immigrant-heavy sectors such as textiles, electronic equipment, and construction would see particularly large increases.
• The higher earning power of newly legalized workers would mean increased tax revenues of $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in the first three years.
• Higher personal income would also generate increased consumer spending-enough to support 750,000 to 900,000 jobs in the U.S. in the first three years.
• Experience shows that legalized workers open bank accounts, buy homes, and start businesses, further stimulating the U.S. economy.

Conversely, mass deportation would reduce U.S. GDP by 1.46 percent, amounting to a cumulative $2.6 trillion loss in GDP over 10 years, not including the actual costs of deportation.  The Center for American Progress has estimated that mass deportation would cost $206 billion to $230 billion over five years.

Download the Factsheet: The Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform (January 14, 2010)
Download the Report: Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (January 7, 2010)

Categories: Legislation and Policy, General |

Those working with H-1B visas need to be aware that the USCIS is conducting approximately 25,000 random worksite visits to verify that the H-1B employee is actually employed with the sponsoring employer as described in the H-1B petition.  Many of our clients employed by both large and small employers have already experienced these unannounced visits.  It’s important that you and your employer are ready for these visits which usually include an interview with your employer’s representative, an interview with you, and a tour of the work facility.  Here are five steps you should take to prepare for and respond to a surprise visit to your workplace:
1.Review the H-1B petition filed by your employer to make sure your work locations, title, job duties, and wages are listed correctly. If not, contact your employer and lawyer immediately for further advice.
2. Have your attorney’s number available so you can call her immediately, before you begin your interview with the investigator. You are entitled to have your attorney present by phone or in person.
3. If you  work at a location not controlled by your employer, contact the  facility representative to let them know about the possibility of a site visit and advise them to contact you and your employer immediately in case of a surprise visit.
4. Ask your employer to contact the attorney who prepared the H-1B petition to help with a self-audit of their H-1B compliance files which are required for all employers.
5. Schedule a mock interview with your employer and attorney to prepare for a possible site visit so you can feel more comfortable if it happens.

Categories: Employment Immigration, Employer Compliance, Medical Professionals, General |

On December 21, 2009, the USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to meet the 65,000 numerical limitation for this fiscal year which began October 1, 2009 and ends September 30, 2010.  USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B specialty occupation workers seeking an employment start date in FY2010 that are received after December 21, 2009. USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process (lottery) to all petitions that are subject to the cap and were received on December 21, 2009.

Applications for FY2011 (October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011) will be accepted on or after April 1, 2010. Badmus Law Firm is ready to assist employers and employees with H-1B visas or other visa options.  You are invited to call or email us at 469-916-7900 or immigration@badmuslaw.com.

Categories: Employment Immigration, General |

Remember that immigration applications with the government are legal documents, similar to filing court documents for a lawsuit.  Don’t be deceived that these applications are “simple” and “just paperwork.”  Behind the forms are thousands of pages of law that affect your rights and ability to live and work in the U.S.  There is no one-size-fits-all with immigration cases. Consequently, you should consult an immigration lawyer, not family or friends, whenever you have to face the government.  After all, isn’t your immigration a life-changing matter that deserves the best assistance possible?

For a qualified and experienced immigration lawyer to provide you with the best help, he or she must:

• Inform you of your option based upon the latest changes in U.S. immigration law and procedures. 
• Recommend and help you decide the best course of action, based upon your individual situation, your business or employment interests, or your family concerns.
• Represent and defend you before Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of State (DOS), immigration-related agencies, and at U.S. consulates around the world.
• Advise you every step of the way with regard to the immigration or visa matters you have asked the lawyer to file for you, or with regard to other matters concerning your personal life that comes up from time to time.
• Check the status of your application with the government to verify timely processing
• Submit requests for status to the government if your application processing takes longer than the normal processing time posted by the government
• Prepare all legal documents for filing with the CIS, DOL, and DOS, along with correct filing fees, at the correct office of these agencies.
• Keep you informed with regard to changes in U.S. immigration law and procedures that could affect your case.
• Help you if CIS, DOL, or DOS finds something wrong with your case or your individual situation, and help you resolve the matter.
• Be ready to appeal an adverse decision, denying your petition or application, if necessary, and advise you on what to do next and how to get what you want.

This information is provided as an educational service by Badmus Law Firm.  If you have questions about immigration, you are invited to call or email us at 888-849-9104 Toll Free, 469-916-7900 Local, immigration@badmuslaw.com  or click here for a case review.

Categories: General |