Month: March 2010

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 93 Comments

DHS Announces New Initiative to Improve E-Verify

On March 17th the director of the Department of Homeland Security and the director of USCIS announced three new initiatives to improve E-verify which include streamlined adjudication processes, and an informational telephone hotline and new training videos on E-Verify procedures and policies in English and Spanish.

The debate about the efficacy of E-verify rages on. The government continues to seek new ways to impose E-verify on employers while civil rights and immigrant rights groups complain about the errors and problems inherent in the E-verify system. These new initiatives are meant to address these concerns so that the Government can continue its efforts to expand the use of E-verify. A bill to make use of E-verify mandatory in Colorado was defeated in the Colorado Legislature.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 105 Comments

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Moving Forward

Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have prepared and presented a bi-partisan blue print for immigration reform legislation. President Obama has met with the two senators to discuss the future of comprehensive immigration reform. Now that the Congress had concluded its work on health care reform, there is some hope that it will turn its attention to comprehensive immigration reform pursuant to the blue print created by the two senators. It is still too early to determine what impact the debate on health care reform will have on Congress’s ability and willingness to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform or any other major pieces of legislation – stay tuned.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 47 Comments

USCIS Employer-Employee Relationship Memo Continues to Cause Problems

Immigration lawyers around the country continue to report issues and problems caused by USCIS’ January 8, 2010 memo redefining employer-employee relationships for adjudication of H-1B petitions. Of particular concern is the memo’s focus on consulting companies and arrangements as well as its focus on employer-owners. Some of the interpretations set forth in the memo have also been applied to other types of visa categories.

On March 19, 2010 the American Immigration Lawyers Association National Office submitted a response to the January 8th memo expressing its serious concerns regarding these issues. Hopefully USCIS will back off the new interpretations contained in the memo which reversed decades of established precedent.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 84 Comments

2010 H-1B Season

April 1st marks the beginning of the H-1B Visa “season” whereby USCIS will start accepting applications for the next fiscal year. Last year the H-1B cap numbers were not exhausted until early December due to the recession. No one can predict how long the numbers will last this year so we urge our clients to contact us as soon as possible to commence work on H-1B applications.

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