Over the New Year the Department of Homeland Security carried out an aggressive sweep and arrested 121 noncitizens for deportation. These noncitizens are largely asylum seekers who fled to the United States from Central American last summer. Many of them were residing in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, and all of them were subject to final orders of removal for failing to win their asylum cases before the immigration courts. According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, this large-scale deportation effort is intended deter other immigrants from crossing the US border without permission. While no other raids have been announced, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s official position is to conduct daily immigration enforcement.
Theresa A. Vogel Becomes Partner
Stern & Curray is delighted to announce that Theresa A. Vogel has become a Partner. Theresa represents clients in all aspects of business immigration law, focusing on temporary employment visas for professionals, investors, and intra-company transferees, as well as permanent residence. She represents diverse employers and employees from multinational corporations, universities, research institutions, small businesses, and entrepreneurial investors. She also advises clients on I-9 compliance and has successfully assisted large corporate employers in responding to audits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Theresa draws upon her prior experience in civil litigation developing “big picture” case strategy and creative solutions to complicated legal issues. “Since Theresa joined the firm in 2013, she has continued to impress us with her innovative strategies which she has used to win some particularly challenging cases,” said Emily Curray, Managing Partner of Stern & Curray.
Theresa completed her law degree at The Catholic University of America-Columbus School of Law with a concentration in International and Comparative Law. Previously, she worked as a Research Assistant with the Jagiellonian University Human Rights Centre in Krakow, Poland where she taught courses on human rights and refugee law and implemented projects funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Congratulations, Theresa, on this important achievement!
Congress Passes Omnibus Spending Bill
Last week, Congress passed a $1.15 trillion omnibus spending bill to prevent a government shutdown and fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. This spending bill also contained several provisions which impact immigration law and policy.
In particular, the spending bill funds the Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, an office within the Department of Justice that administers the nation’s immigration court system. The recently passed bill provides funding for EOIR to hire approximately 55 new immigration judges. Funding for new immigration judges was desperately needed, as significant backlogs currently exist across the country’s immigration courts.
In addition, the spending bill incorporates the Visa Wavier Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015. This bill eliminates the Visa Waiver Program for individuals who live in Visa Waiver Program countries but are also nationals of Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. This ban also includes individuals who have traveled to these countries in the recent past. The Visa Waiver Program authorizes citizens of specific countries to travel to the United States for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa. At present there are 38 countries that are designated as Visa Wavier Program countries.
Lastly, the spending bill modified the H-2B visa program for seasonal and temporary workers. Now, a foreign H-2B worker who has been issued an H-2B cap number in the past 3 years can return to their position in the United States without being issued a new cap number. The H-2B cap is currently set at 66,000 visas.
Federal Judge Denies Texas’ Request to Ban Syrian Refugees
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission filed suit against the Obama Administration and a refugee resettlement nonprofit, asking a federal judge to stop the federal government from sending resettled Syrian refugees to Texas out of concern that potential terrorists may be admitted along with refugees. In particular, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission sought to stop resettlement of Syrian refugees until a hearing was held to further define specific conditions that must be satisfied before refugees could be resettled in Texas.
In his decision denying Texas’ request, U.S. District Court Judge Godbey held that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission “failed to show by competent evidence that any terrorists actually have infiltrated the refugee program, much less that these particular refugees are terrorists intent on causing harm.” In finding that not enough evidence was produced to concluded that the refugees presented a danger to the Texas community, the request was denied and nine Syrian refugees will be relocated to Houston, Texas.
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether to Hear Case on Obama’s Executive Action Programs
The long drawn-out battle for President Obama’s Executive Action programs such DAPA and Expanded DACA may be heard and decided this summer at the United States Supreme Court. These programs, which were announced more than one year ago, have been in limbo pending a lawsuit brought against the Obama Administration by 25 states led by Texas. As a result of this lawsuit an injunction was ordered which stopped these programs from being put into place. Now, if four of the nine Supreme Court Justices decide to accept this case it will likely be argued before the Court in April and decide by the end of June. If the Court rules in the President’s favor, the injunction against the implementation of DAPA and Expanded DACA will finally be lifted and President Obama will see his Executive Action programs take effect before he leaves office.
16 Countries Added to H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
The H-2A and H-2B visa programs have been expanded to include Andorra, Belgium, Brunei, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Singapore, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste. This update also resulted in Moldova being removed from the H-2B program list. H-2A and H-2B visas allow U.S. employers to petition for foreign nationals who will come to the United States to work in seasonal positions or temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs. For more information on H-2A or H-2B visas please contact a Stern & Curray attorney.
Court of Appeals Denies Obama’s DAPA and Expanded DACA Programs
In a divided decision the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction stopping President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and Expanded DACA programs from being implemented. These programs, which were first introduced by the President approximately a year ago, would have granted temporary relief from removal to as many as 5 million non-citizens present in the United States without permission. This ruling upholding the injunction means that these programs permanently will not be implemented unless the Obama Administration requests that the United States Supreme Court hear the arguments in this case. As of today, the Obama Administration has not confirmed whether or not they plan to appeal this decision.
Revised Welcome Guide for New Immigrants Available from USCIS
US Citizenship and Immigration Services recently released a revised guidance book titled “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants.” This publication can be downloaded for free at: http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-updates-welcome-guide-new-immigrants.
The updated guidebook is available in 14 languages and provides information such as how to get a social security number, paying taxes, and information about health insurance, education, and the United States’ system of government.
Proposed Rule would Extend STEM Extension to 24 Months
A new rule was proposed today seeking to extend the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) OPT (Optional Practical Training) extension from the current limit of 17 months to a maximum of 24 months. This proposed rule would extend the period of time that international students who have graduated from US universities with their Bachelor’s, Master’s and/or Doctorate degree in a STEM field can be authorized to work in the United States following the completion of their degree. In addition, the proposed rule renders international students who earn a subsequent STEM degree at a higher education level eligible for a renewed 24 month period of work authorization; at present, the 17 month STEM OPT is a one-time grant.
This proposed rule is currently in the rule-making process and is open for notice and comment. Anyone who wishes to comment on this proposed may do so for the next 30 days. After the close of the notice and comment period a final version of the rule will be published in the Federal Register. NOTE: The lawsuit filed against the STEM OPT 2008 extension rule is currently on hold until February 2016, allowing the Department of Homeland Security to reissue the STEM OPT rule following the proper notice and comment procedures.
New Parole Program for Filipino WWII Veterans
As part of President Obama’s November 2014 executive action immigration reform, a new parole program is being implemented by the Department of Homeland Security to allow family members of Filipino WWII veterans to be paroled into the United States. This initiative will allow family members of Filipino and Filipino-American WWII veterans to enter the United States temporarily for family reunification purposes as well as to administer care and support to their aging family members. This period of parole into the United States is a discretionary, humanitarian form of immigration admission that does not confer family members with a path to residing permanently in the country.
The official date that this parole program is set to take effect has yet to be announced. However, it is estimated that approximately 6,000 veterans in the United States will be able to take advantage of this program.