Month: July 2010

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 86 Comments

Obama Administration Deports Record Number of Undocumented Individuals

In an effort “to make our national laws actually work” the Obama administration will deport a record number of undocumented immigrants this fiscal year. ICE expects to deport about 400,000 individuals this year, which is 10% more than the Bush administration total for 2008. Obama’s government is also auditing hundreds of businesses that have been routinely hiring undocumented workers. The pace of these audits has roughly quadrupled since Bush’s last year in office.

The director of ICE, John Morton, says that the expected 400,000 deportees is the maximum number that the overburdened processing, detention, and immigration court system can handle. President Obama is walking a political tightrope: he is criticized by those who say he is weak on border security as well as by those who say he isn’t keeping his campaign promise to assist the more than 11 million illegal residents.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 82 Comments

ICE Releases Foreign Student & Exchange Visitor Information

The ICE Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) releases information on a quarterly basis regarding foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States. SEVIS recently released its report for the quarter ending June 30, 2010. The report indicates that China (118,506) is the country with the highest number of active students, followed by South Korea (101,428), and India (130,057). 30% of all approved schools are located in five States (California, New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania). The City University of New York hosts the largest number of active students (10,787) followed by the University of Southern California, Purdue University, University of Illinois, and Columbia University.

Business continues to be the most popular major for international students. Bachelor’s candidates comprise the highest number of students (212,516) followed by Master’s candidates (184,292) and doctoral students (112,842).

As of June 30, 2010, SEVIS maintained records for 1,084,122 active non-immigrant students and the total number of records for all F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa holders has risen to approximately 7.6 million.

It is Stern and Curray’s philosophy that foreign students continue to play a vital role in our educational system. In order to continue this positive trend, USCIS must enact reforms to make it easier for foreign students to attend school in the U.S. and to obtain work after graduation.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 93 Comments

Visa Bulletin for August 2010

The U.S. Department of State visa bulletin for August shows that the visa backlog is moving forward. The employment based second preference (EB-2) for China has moved forward four months, while for India it has moved forward five months. The current EB-2 priority date for August for both countries is March 1, 2006. There was similar movement in the EB-3 category as well, with the largest jump being in the “all other countries” which moved forward almost a year to June 1, 2004. Priority dates in many of the family preferences also moved forward by a few months. For the full visa bulletin please visit: http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 55 Comments

H-1B Cap Update

USCIS reports that as of July 2, there are still plenty of H-1Bs available for fiscal year 2011. Specifically, there are more than 40,000 H-1Bs remaining in the “regular” pool available to those who qualify for an H-1B but do not have an advanced degree from a U.S. institution. For those who have completed a master’s degree or higher a U.S. institution, there are just under 10,000 H-1Bs still available.

Top