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ICE Releases Report on FY 2013 Deportations

Earlier this month, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released their annual report on removals for fiscal year 2013.  ICE performed 368,644 removals, of which 133,551 were within U.S. borders.  According to ICE, the majority of individuals who were picked up within the U.S. have criminal convictions, suggesting that they came into contact with law enforcement, which then triggered an order of deportation. Of the 235,093 deportations not originating from within the interior of the U.S.,  95% were intercepted by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) before being turned over to ICE for removal proceedings. ICE maintains that it focuses its efforts on the deportation of individuals with criminal records, while also preventing immigrants from crossing the border without documentation.

Most of the deported individuals hail from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador respectively, with the vast majority being Mexican nationals.

 

 

 

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CBP Expands Definition of Family Members

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be expanding the definition of “members of a family residing in one household” to include long-term same-sex couples. In practice, this means that same-sex couples and their families will be able to file one joint customs declaration upon entry to the United States. CBP reports that they anticipate the change saving “up to $2.8 million annually in personnel time.” Additionally, the rule provides for “other domestic relationships” such as foster children and stepchildren. The rule will go into effect on January 17, 2014 and applies to U.S. citizens, legal residents, and international visitors.

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USCIS Reaches Annual Maximum Allocation of U Visas

Mere months after the start of the 2014 fiscal year, USCIS announced that is has approved the annual statutory maximum number of U visas. Until the 2015 fiscal year visa numbers become available on October 1, 2014, U visa petitions will still be reviewed and those petitioners that are eligible for a U visa will be placed on a waiting list . U visas grant non-immigrant status to individuals who have been victims of certain crimes, such as domestic violence, and  who assist law enforcement in the prosecution of the crime.  U visas were first issued in 2008 and over the last five consecutive years the statutory cap of 10,000 has been reached. USCIS reports that over 89,600 victims of crime and their families have received U visas since 2008.

 

 

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Fast for Families Continues

On Tuesday, several immigration activists, who had been fasting for the past 22 days to draw attention to the need for immigration reform, passed on their fasts to new fasters.  Democratic Representative Joe Kennedy, one of the seven new fasters, will fast for 24 hours before passing on the fast to another member of Congress. The “Fast for Families: A Call for Immigration Reform and Citizenship” has been held on the National Mall since November 12th and has garnered support from President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who both paid visits to the group of faith, immigrant rights, and labor leaders.

Although Speaker John Boehner has not responded to meeting requests from the group, he recently hired  Rebecca Tallent, former director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a move which activists hope is an indication that immigration reform is still likely.

 

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E-Verify to Release Revised MOUs

E-Verify will be rolling out new E-Verify Memorandums of Understanding geared toward the various types of E-Verify access methods. While the enrollment process remains unaltered, new users must sign the new MOUs, which become available on December 8, 2013. It is important to note that existing users, who are not required to sign the new MOUs, are nonetheless bound to the rules of the new MOUs.  However, existing users will want to review the new versions as readability has been improved, making the MOUs far more accessible to users.

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New TPS Extension for Somali Nationals

An 18 month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been extended for eligible Somali nationals. The additional extension will go into effect March 18, 2014 and expires on September 17, 2015. For Somalis currently in TPS who wish to extend their status they must re-register between November 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013. They may also apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for the duration of the extension.  Applicants must complete a  Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status and pay for the biometrics fee (or submit a fee waiver), though the application fee has been waived.

 

 

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Revamped USCIS.gov Website Goes Live

The USCIS website has been redesigned and was launched today in both English and Spanish.  Director Alejandro Mayorkas describes the updates as part of USCIS’ “ongoing commitment to improving the quality of service we provide,” and adds that the agency gathered user feedback as part of their efforts to make the site  more accessible.  The updated site boasts a better search function and easier navigation menus as well as a more user-friendly change of address online tool.

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Grace Period to Correct E-Verify Issues

In light of the federal government shutdown, employers who who were unable to resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations in the E-Verify system in the two weeks leading up to the shutdown may add 12 federal business days to the original date listed on the referral letters in order to resolve their cases with the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security. For those employees that received a Final Nonconfirmation or No Show as a result of the shutdown, employers must enter a new case in E-Verify in order to allow them sufficient time to attempt to resolve the situation. Employees who were hired during the shutdown must still be entered into E-Verify. Because of the shutdown, employers have until November 5, 2013 to enter them into the system and may use the ‘other’ drop-down field and select ‘federal government shutdown’ to explain why the case is not within the 3-day rule.
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Government Reopens

The Federal Government reopened today following a 16-day shutdown that left immigration courts and USCIS offices closed. The Immigration Courts are now open regular business hours and hearings for detained cases are continuing according to schedule. Non-detained cases scheduled for October 17th are being rescheduled, but all non-detained cases scheduled for the 18th and later are proceeding on schedule. For those non-detained cases that were not heard during the shutdown, the courts will send notices for rescheduled hearing dates. E-Verify is operational and USCIS has released information for employers regarding how the shutdown impacted E-Verify and Form I-9. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has also reopened and will release a notice addressing filing that were due during the shutdown soon.

 

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Effect of Government Shutdown on Immigration

The shutdown of the federal government does affect applying for certain immigration visas.  Fortunately, many services provided by USCIS, including processing of various petitions or applications for immigration benefits, will continue as they are fee-based.  Therefore, applying to USCIS for non-immigrant petitions or permanent residence will continue at this time.  USCIS offices are also open for interviews and appointments as scheduled.

Unfortunately, certain types of applications for immigration benefits are affected because they involve the U.S. Department of Labor, which is shutdown.  Petitions to seek H-1B or E-3 status for employees cannot be completed at this time because a necessary component of these petitions is obtaining a labor condition application from the Department of Labor.  Similarly, labor certification applications for employment-based permanent residence cannot be completed because the DOL is closed and therefore not accepting applications.  While employers can complete preliminary work such as gathering information and documents, H-1B, E-3 and labor certification applications cannot move forward to completion until the DOL reopens.

The E-verify system is also shutdown.  Therefore, employers will not be able to verify employment eligibility of any new hires or take any action in E-verify.  The Department of Homeland Security has suspended the 3 day rule for E-verify cases that are affected by the shutdown and indicated that it will provide additional guidance once the federal government is reopened.  We remind employers to be sure to continue to complete their form I-9’s for new hires within 3 days of hiring.

Immigration courts around the country are also affected.  The court has announced that it will continue to hear cases of individuals in immigration detention, but is suspending all other functions due to the shutdown.  Cases docketed during this time will be reset for future hearing dates.

The Department of State has announced that visa operations at U.S. consulates abroad will continue as they are fee-based.

We will provide further information as we receive it.

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