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Archive for the ‘News & Politics’ Category
Monday, January 18th, 2010
The USCIS has announced that Department of Homeland (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Haiti. The Secretary stated that this decision is warranted because of the devastating earthquake and aftershocks which occurred on January 12, 2010. DHS estimates that approximately 100,000 to 200,000 individuals will be eligible for TPS.
TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a certain country designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security because the country has experienced temporary negative conditions, such as armed conflict or an environmental disaster, that prevent nationals of the country from returning safely or for the country to handle their return adequately.
The Haitian TPS registration period will run for 180 days. DHS stated that TPS eligibility will be for an initial period of 18 months. Applicants who apply for TPS will also be able to apply for an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole Travel Document. Although, these applications will require fees, DHS has stated that they will consider fee waivers for those that can demonstrate that they are unable to pay the costs of the applications.
As proof of nationality, USCIS is looking primarily for a passport (an expired one is acceptable) or birth certificates. For those that have problems with obtaining this documentation, USCIS indicated that secondary evidence would be considered.
On the subject of orphans, USCIS noted that, if adopting parents were in the Haiti at the time of the earthquake, they may go to the U.S. embassy to complete the adoption process, and the government of Haiti will waive the exit visa requirement. DHS and the Department of State are still working on the issues related to adoptions by parents not in Haiti. They urge parents not to travel to Haiti at this time.
Tags: Advance Parole, EAD, Haiti, TPS
Posted in Agency Updates, Hot Questions, News & Politics | Click Here To Comment »
Monday, January 11th, 2010
USCIS recently released its required annual report on the characteristics of H-1B workers, based on documentation from fiscal year 2008 (the period between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008). While this information predates the severe downturn in the economy at the end of 2008, it does provide some interesting information about the H-1B visa and those who hold it.
For example, in 2008, the number of H-1B petitions was 5 percent lower than it was in 2007. Of those petitions, only 20% were for truly “new” H-1B employees - individuals outside the United States entering for new employers. The majority of petitions filed (60%) were for current H-1B workers getting extensions of status, with the remaining 20% going to individuals who were already in the United States in another status (mostly students at US universities) changing to H-1B.
One interesting statistic was that the majority (over 56%) of H-1B workers are in their 30’s, still short of their prime earning years. Only 1% is under age 24, and 14% are 40 or over. Another is that less than half have only a bachelor’s degree; the majority of H-1Bs have a Master’s, doctoral or professional degree.
While much has been written about the concentration of H-1Bs in the computer industry, it is interesting to note that the majority of employers of H-1Bs (56.5%) are outside the computer, electrical engineering and data networking fields. In fact, a list of the “top five” H-1B occupations other than computer professionals would look something like this: 1. C0llege and University Faculty and Staff; 2. Accountants and Auditors; 3. Physicians and Surgeons; 4. Mechanical Engineers; and 5. Biological Scientists.
Another myth challenged by the data is that H-1Bs are underpaid as compared to similar US workers. In fact, the report shows that the median salary of all H-1Bs was $60,000, which compares favorably to the $57,980 median wage reported for the same period for similar US workers (those with a Bachelor’s or higher degree; data from the Current Population Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Oh, and one other helpful perspective when thinking about H-1Bs: in 2008, the number of initial H-1B petitions (new professional workers from overseas and from US schools) constituted just three-tenths of one percent of the workers in the United States with a bachelor’s or a higher degree.
Tags: Agency Updates, H-1B
Posted in News & Politics, Temporary Visas | Click Here To Comment »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Yesterday, the Fiscal Policy Institute released a detailed analysis of census and economic data in the 25 largest metropolitan areas of the United States. The analysis looked at the number of first-generation immigrants (see notes below the jump) as a share of the population in each of these metro areas, and also at the economic growth in those metropolitan areas. Overall, the analysis concluded that those metropolitan areas with the highest rates of immigration between 1990 and 2007 also had the highest levels of economic growth in that time frame, which made me curious to see how Philadelphia did in each of those rankings.
First, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (which includes the counties around Philadelphia and Camden, as well as those around Wilmington, Delaware), first generation immigrants are a lower percentage of the population than any of the metropolitan areas of comparable size around the United States. When compared with our “peer” metro areas (those with around 6 million population, namely Dallas, Houston, Miami, Washington, DC, and Atlanta), we rank last.
In fact, Philadelphia’s first generation immigrant population of about 500,000 out of a total population of roughly six million, or 9%, is tied for seventeenth among the twenty-five major metropolitan areas - we are tied with Minneapolis and Detroit, and beat out only five (Baltimore, at 8%, Cleveland, 6%, and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, both 3%).
As the report notes, immigrant population is strongly correlated with economic growth: when ranking those same metropolitan areas by percentage of immigrants in the labor force compared to economic growth (both figures calculated from 1990 to 2005-2007), those metropolitan areas with the largest growth in their immigrant labor force also had the largest percentage economic growth. While the study does not argue that immigration causes economic growth, it is clear that immigration and economic growth go hand in hand: a growing economy attracts immigrant workers, and immigrant workers in turn become consumers in that economy and help it continue to grow.
Philadelphia and the other four large metropolitan areas on the East Coast (Boston, New York, Washington and Atlanta) were also analyzed in further detail. The percentage of immigrants in the labor force in Philadelphia is lowest of these five areas, but are spread relatively evenly through the occupations. In fact, in our area, immigrants are more likely to be in professional and technical occupations (doctors, engineers, technicians, etc.) than US workers - while 11% of the area’s total labor force are first generation immigrants, more than 15% of the labor force in these occupations are first generation immigrants. Given the importance of education, healthcare and other “knowledge industries” to our region, it is clear that we are “punching above our weight” in attracting these highly-qualified immigrants to the Philadelphia area.
(more…)
Posted in News & Politics | Click Here To Comment »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
On November 19, 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for investigating immigration violations and enforcing immigration laws at the worksite, announced that it was issuing 1,000 new Notices of Inspections (NOIs) to employers across the country. In particular, ICE announced that it would target employers located at critical infrastructure sites which include airports, military bases, defense facilities and seaports. This announcement comes on the heels of a summer which saw the issuance of NOIs to 652 employers across the country. Secretary of ICE, John Morton stated, “ICE is focused on finding and penalizing employers who believe they can unfairly get ahead by cultivating illegal workplaces. We are increasing criminal and civil enforcement of immigration-related employment laws and imposing smart, tough employer sanctions to even the playing field for employers who play by the rules.”
Morton went on to explain that the businesses that were to receive the NOIs were selected for inspection as a result of investigative leads and intelligence, as well as their connection to public safety and national security. DHS did not release the names and locations of the businesses to be audited due to the ongoing, law enforcement nature of the investigations.
As Klasko Law reported earlier this year, ICE’s main priority in worksite enforcement actions is to target employers who knowingly hire unauthorized aliens in violation of federal law. An internal ICE memo released to the public through a freedom of information act earlier this year indicated that the agency views worksite enforcement investigations against employers as the best means of targeting and curbing the root causes of illegal immigration. As such, ICE has made the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers their top priority. This includes the imposition of criminal charges against owners, corporate managers, supervisors and others in the management structure.
However, as ICE investigations to date have shown, employers who make inadvertent errors on their I-9 forms or in the verification process are held liable by the agency for civil penalties in the event of an audit. The current focus on investigations and prosecutions is a significant departure from the days of legacy INS when employers could expect a slap on the wrist in the form on minimal fines as just another cost of doing business. In this era of increased enforcement, employers must proactively preempt immigration related liabilities. Employers should conduct internal I-9 audits to identify issues and correct violations. Part and parcel of these reviews should be an evaluation of the employers’ current record keeping practices, to determine if new training programs are needed for HR personnel. Immigration counsel can be invaluable during these times in developing best practices including establishing protocols for the verification of the identity and work eligibility of new hires, advising employers on safeguards against discrimination in the I-9 process and advising on the use of E-Verify.
In addition, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and ICE announced that they were launching a new I E-Verify campaign to recognize the 170,000 employers nationwide that have registered for E-Verify. E-Verify is an internet-based Employment Eligibility Verification System run by USCIS that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of certain employees. To use E-Verify, an employer enters employee information from the Form I-9 into the web-based system. E-Verify then runs that information against records in the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases to confirm whether the employee is authorized to work in the United States.
For more information on worksite compliance, ICE enforcement actions, the E-Verify program and how these developments impact your business please visit our website www.worksite-compliance.com or consult with a Klasko Law attorney.
Tags: Agency Updates, E-Verify, Government Investigations, I-9 audits, ICE
Posted in Agency Updates, Hot Questions, News & Politics | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the 2010 fiscal year Department of Homeland Security Spending Bill. The law extends four immigration related programs including the:
1. The EB-5 Regional Center Program, which allows immigrant investors seeking a greencard to invest $500,000 in a USCIS approved regional center;
2. E-Verify the internet-based Employment Eligibility Verification System run by USCIS that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of certain employees;
3. The Conrad 30 J-1 program which allows state health agencies to annually hire up to 30 foreign physicians to practice in rural and inner-city communities that often have difficulty recruiting physicians. The sponsored physicians are released from their two year home residency requirement if they work for a minimum of three years with the medically underserved population; and
4. The EB-4 Religious Worker Program which provides up to 5,000 permanent immigrants visas for religious workers which include ministers, professionals working in a religious vocation, and other workers in religious vocations.
The law also includes statutory authority for USCIS to complete processing of permanent residence applications for surviving spouses and other relatives of immigration sponsors who die during the adjudication process.
Posted in Agency Updates, EB-5 Investor Visas, Green Cards, Hot Questions, News & Politics, Worksite Enforcement | Click Here To Comment »
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Employers who rely on foreign nationals to provide needed expertise in their workforce - from technical programmers to biochemists to wind turbine engineers - should take notice of three troubling trends which are becoming clearer as the discussion about employment-based immigration reform gets drowned out by the ongoing debate about comprehensive immigration reform.
The first trend is captured in this blog post by Vivek Wadhwa, a professor at Duke University who has studied high-tech entrepreneurship extensively. Current backlogs in the employment-based immigration categories trap foreign workers in the original job for which they were sponsored, meaning their companies cannot promote them to positions where their experience and skills can best be used. Nor can the workers take the initiative to start their own companies - while a small company may be able to sponsor one of its owners as an H-1B, a green card is much less likely in that situation. Wadhwa points out that eliminating the green card backlog (a major part of which consists of cases trapped by bureaucratic delays that should have been approved in past years’ quotas, which do not carry over from year to year) would free an enormous amount of human capital to innovate and create the next generation of companies that will drive economic growth in the US. (more…)
Tags: CIR, immigrant visa numbers
Posted in Green Cards, News & Politics | Click Here To Comment »
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
KRSS’ attorneys will be in Las Vegas today through Saturday, attending the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA). This is the premier conference on immigration law in the country. Four of our attorneys will be featured speakers, educating other immigration attorneys about some of the nuances of immigration practice. Ron Klasko has been invited to speak on EB-5 investors; yours truly will serve as a panelist discussing resolution of conflicting guidance from different immigration agencies involved in employment-based immigration; Suzanne Seltzer will conduct a Q&A on bi-specialization of service center operations; Elise Fialkowski will be part of a panel discussion on immigration compliance and worksite enforcement; and Jonathan Willmoth will serve as a panelist on marriage-based adjustment of status and naturalization interviews.
Tags: firm updates
Posted in News & Politics | Click Here To Comment »
Friday, May 1st, 2009
Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer LLP is pleased to announce the launch of our new micro-site entirely dedicated to providing employers with “need-to-have” resources to stay in compliance with US Immigration laws. The new site provides extensive information to businesses on federal and state worksite compliance laws, I-9 enforcement, E-Verify, Social Security no-match letters and H-1B Labor Condition Application compliance issues.
Special features on the site include:
· An I-9 Desk Reference Handbook (covering Employee Verification, Employer Sanctions and Anti-discrimination laws)
· An E-Verify State-by-State Legislation Survey.
The new site is www.worksite-compliance.com. We hope that you find our new site helpful and informative.
Tags: E-Verify, I-9 Compliance, ICE, Worksite Compliance, Worksite Enforcement
Posted in News & Politics, Worksite Enforcement | Click Here To Comment »
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Senator Specter’s decision to switch parties and run in 2010 as a Democrat inspires mixed emotions here at KRSS. All of us have long supported the Senator because of his well-thought-out, moderate positions on immigration legislation (some of us in spite of his Republican party membership). His role in passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate with both Democratic and Republican support in 2006 was, in many ways, the cumulation of more than 20 years of work to pass reasonable immigration laws that are good for our country.
AILA president Chuck Kuck says it best over on the AILA Leadership Blog:
Probably even more important is the boost this gives to those who believe, like us, that CIR is essential to renewed economic growth. Senator Specter spoke to our Spring AILA Conference (was it that which pushed him over the edge?). He let us know that he actually gets it. He understands all the key aspects of reform. He understands it is NOT just about legalization. He understands that it is also about DREAM. It is also about increased immigrant visa numbers. It is also about more sensible nonimmigrant visa categories. It is also about reforming how USCIS operates, and it is also about smarter enforcement and going after the real bad actors, not those struggling to put bread in the mouths of their children.
We certainly hope that Senator Specter can continue his leadership on the immigration issue as a member of the Democratic majority. Because of his work on behalf of reasonable immigration laws, we will continue to support his efforts (it’s just others of us who will do it in spite of his party membership).
Tags: CIR, immigration reform
Posted in News & Politics | Click Here To Comment »
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
We want to welcome all of our clients, as well as those with any interest in immigration law matters, to our new Klaskolaw.com blog. We want to use this technology to help our clients stay updated on current issues in immigration and to provide an opportunity to interact with us, fellow clients, and others interested in immigration. (more…)
Posted in News & Politics | Click Here To Comment »
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