Immigration News

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AILA Welcomes Obama’s Proactive Push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform This Year

Following President Obama’s meeting today with Congressional leaders on June 25, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) applauds the President’s commitment to moving forward on comprehensive immigration reform this year. “We believe the President is firmly committed to comprehensive immigration reform and will work with Congress to act and move us forward on this vital issue,” said Bernie Wolfsdorf, president of AILA. “The President has repeatedly said he wants immigration reform passed this year. Last year’s election results, as well as survey after survey, confirm that the American people want reform, so now is time for Congress to catch up with the voters and pass a bill.”
AILA believes that a sensible comprehensive immigration reform package must include smart enforcement, a path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the U.S., elimination of family and employment-based visa backlogs, adequate visas to meet the needs of U.S. families and businesses, a new visa program for essential workers, and due process protections to restore the rule of law in our immigration adjudications and courts.
Wolfsdorf added, “The current immigration system is broken and to allow the status quo to continue will only make things worse for the country. Until Congress deals responsibly with immigration – making taxpayers out of all immigrants, making all employers follow sensible rules, and creating a functioning legal immigration system – everything else on the President’s domestic agenda is vulnerable to being dragged down.” This is the year and this is the moment for a popular President to work with Congress to address a national issue in a way that benefits the American people and our economy.
All of the attorneys at Stern & Curray LLC are members of AILA who continually monitor developments surrounding changes to our immigration laws. For questions on the latest news and developments, please contact an attorney at Stern & Curray LLC.

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USCIS Issues Guidance on Employment Eligibility Verification Form

Form I-9 Remains Valid Beyond Current Expiration Date of June 30, 2009

June 26, 2009 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the Employment Eligibility Verification form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS Web site will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009. USCIS has requested that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the continued use of the current version of Form I-9. While this request is pending, the Form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) will not expire. USCIS will update Form I-9 when the extension is approved. Employers will be able to use either the Form I-9 with the new revision date or the Form I-9 with the 02/02/09 revision date at the bottom of the form. For more information, please contact your attorney at Stern & Curray LLC.

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INBLF Denver Chapter Announces New Officers

The International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF) chapter in Denver has selected new officers. Emily Curray, partner in the immigration law firm Stern & Curray LLC, recently has been named president of the Denver chapter. Diane King, partner at the employment law firm King & Greisen LLP, will serve as vice president. Among their many responsibilities, Curray and King will supervise and coordinate preparations for the INBLF’s annual black-tie weekend conclave, which this year will be held at Colorado’s famed Broadmoor Resort on October 23-25, 2009. For more information on the INBLF, go to http://www.inblf.com/.

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Limited availability of visa numbers for immigrants born in India or China

On Wednesday, June 10, the Department of State announced the visa predictions for the movement of priority dates in certain categories. Some of the major highlights are in the EB2 category. The wait time for the EB2 India category has been extended due to the large number of applications waiting to be approved for green cards and the low number of visas available. It is likely this category will not be available in August or September and applicants will wait additional years to be approved. Likewise, the EB2 China category is backed up and applicants will wait longer than expected to receive approval for green cards. In the EB3 Worldwide category, there will be no more visas available for the rest of the fiscal year. The Department of State estimates the cut-off date as of October 1, 2009 will be March 1, 2003. Therefore, lengthy delays are also expected in this category.

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Attorney General, Eric Holder, Withdraws No-Right-To-Counsel Decision

On June 3, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder withdrew the decision made by the Bush Administration’s Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, to remove the right to counsel to immigrants in deportation proceedings. This law dictated that individuals facing deportation did not have a legal or constitutional right to legal representation. Therefore, immigrants who had incompetent representation could not complain or seek help if their case failed because of unfit representation. Mr. Holder has initiated procedures to reenact the previous law where individuals can reopen their cases if they were misrepresented and lost their case.

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform Starts to Heat Up

There has been a great deal of conversation about comprehensive immigration reform on Capitol Hill. Some new bills have been introduced and some Democratic senators are “bullish” on the prospect of immigration reform before the end of 2009. Other pundits have expressed the opinion that President Obama’s decision to nominate Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court may take the pressure off him to push for immigration reform. Stay tuned.

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New Border Crossing Requirements Take Effect June 1, 2009

Effective June 1, 2009, all travelers entering the United States or Canada, by land or sea, will need to be in possession of a valid document. In most cases, this would be a U.S. or Canadian passport. There are also “trusted traveler cards,” “U.S. passport cards,” and, in some instances, “enhanced driver’s licenses” which will serve the same purpose. People trying to travel between the U.S. and Canada who are not in possession of one of these documents will be refused entry.

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Supreme Court Justice Nominated

On May 26, 2009 President Barack Obama named Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Judge David Souter on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the highest court. Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation is likely given her impressive personal history of accomplishment despite unfavorable odds.

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AgJOBS Re-Introduced

The Agricultural Job Opportunities Benefits Insecurity Act of 2009 also known as AgJOBS was reintroduced in the Senate and House by Senators Feinstein and Representative Burmin. This Bill is substantially similar to other agricultural immigration reform acts in that it revises the existing H-2A Temporary Foreign Agricultural Worker Program and creates a path to earned legalization for those who have worked in agriculture for certain amounts of time. AgJOBS is a Bipartisan Bill that is backed by the United Farm Workers and Mini-Agribusiness companies. Stern & Curray LLC will keep you updated on the progress of this bill, but if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to give us a call.

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