Shayne Epstein's Immigration Blog

Retrogression Optimism

2009-05-05T13:21:00.002-04:00

USCIS reports minimal new H1B filings. What does this mean? Obviously US employers are not in need of additional foreign workers. So, does this impact the Immigrant Visa Employment Based retrogression? Indirectly it does. Like H1 petitioners we can assume that Immigrant Perm petitioners who sponsored foreign workers under the perm/I-140 process no longer need those foreign workers. In some cases the petitioner has closed. More likely though as we go through recession petitioners will be unable to prove that they have the continued ability to pay the foreign worker. Namely, if the petitioner’s has no profitability or if the profit falls below the foreign workers offered wage the petition will be denied. I suspect this means that a substantial number of pending I-140/I-485 will ultimately be denied. As a consequence, visas which were allocated to pending filed cases will be made available. Once this happens the State Department will authorize the forward movement of Cut Off Dates. When? Who knows but the May 2009 visa bulletin indicates we will have no forward movement in the EB3 category until Oct 2009. Perhaps there is a silver lining in this recession for our foreign nationals stuck in a retrogression.

H1B Count

2009-04-30T22:08:00.001-04:00

Still 20,000 h1b visas available this year.

A little known fact

2009-04-15T22:13:00.003-04:00

Did you know that 4 million american children have an undocumented parent. PEW Hispanic Ctr.

Obama to Push Immigration Bill

2009-04-15T10:54:00.002-04:00

April 9, 2009 NY Times Report

Obama plans to begin addressing the creation of a path for illegal immigrants to become legal. Presumably this legislation would also address the continued retrogression of family and employment Immigrant Visas. Obama plans to speak publicly about the issue in May and over the summer he will convene working groups, including lawmakers from both parties. The timetable is consistent with pledges Obama made to Hispanic groups in last year’s campaign. These public statements fall on the heels of a an Immigration ICE raid in March that angered hispanic groups and seemed to take everyone by surprise including the President. He said then that comprehensive immigration legislation, including a plan to make legal status possible for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, would be a priority in his first year in office.

Republicans, say they will seek to mobilize anti immigrant groups. Just last month, Mr. Obama openly recognized that immigration is a potential minefield. "I know this is an emotional issue; I know it’s a controversial issue...I know that the people get real riled up politically about this." But, he said, immigrants who are long-time residents but lack legal status “have to have some mechanism over time to get out of the shadows.”

The new plan would not add new workers to the American work force, but that it would recognize millions of illegal immigrants who have already been working here. Despite the deep recession, there is no evidence of any wholesale exodus of illegal immigrant workers. New legislation would require the payment of fines and penalties and prevent future illegal immigration by strengthening border enforcement and cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Obama on Immigration

2009-04-15T10:34:00.001-04:00

IMMIGRATION

"The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America… Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should."
-- Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor May 23, 2007

For too long, politicians in Washington have exploited the immigration issue to divide the nation rather than find real solutions. Our broken immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside and offering a complete solution that secures our border, enforces our laws, and reaffirms our heritage as a nation of immigrants.

Create Secure Borders: Protect the integrity of our borders. Support additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.

Improve Our Immigration System: Fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.

Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally: Remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

Bring People Out of the Shadows: Support a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

Work with Mexico: Promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.

May Visa Bulletin - No Positive News

2009-04-15T10:25:00.003-04:00

May 2009

EB1 - Current, EB2 - Current except for India Still Feb 15 2004 and China Still Feb 15 2005, EB3 - all Unavailable

H1B Count Update

2009-04-15T10:20:00.001-04:00

USCIS Updates Count of FY2010 H-1B Petition Filings WASHINGTON April 9, 2009 — USCIS announced an updated number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. USCIS has received approximately 42,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; however, we continue to accept advanced degree petitions since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable. Congress mandated that the first 20,000 of these types of petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas. For cases filed for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window, the 15-day premium processing period began April 7. For cases filed for premium processing after the filing window, the premium processing period begins on the date USCIS takes physical possession of the petition. USCIS will provide regular updates as the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions continue.

Mythbuster!!

2008-10-01T10:24:00.001-04:00

MYTH: Americans want all of the illegal aliens to be deported to their home countries.Talk radio hosts would have you believe that all, or at least most, Americans would like to see a mass deportation of all 12 million plus undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. But, before throwing up your hands in defeat when you hear these erroneous statements, consider responding with a few quick mythbusting facts! FACT: Public opinion polls show that the public at large favors a different approach toward immigration reform than the mass expulsion advocated by the loudest voices in the debate. Support for allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. has been remarkably consistent. Here is a sampling of results of public opinion polls conducted since late 2005. Percentages represent those who favor allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. under certain conditions. * 61% in a Washington Post poll in December 2005 * 62% in a Fox News poll in March 2006 * 77% in a CBS News poll in May 2006 * 59% in a Gallup/USA Today poll in March 2007 * 67% in a Fox News poll in June 2007 * 58% in an ABC News poll in September 2007 * 51% in a Washington Post/ABC News poll in October/November 2007. Source: AILA 2008

House Bills Delayed Again

2008-09-18T14:42:00.002-04:00

No progress yesterday on bills to increase nurse visas and recapture wasted immigrant visa numbers. No news on when the house will get back to these bills.

HOUSE COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER IMMIGRATION BILLS TODAY

2008-09-17T20:33:00.005-04:00

The House Immigration Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up key immigration bills today including one that recaptures unused green card numbers and which will help to reduce backlogs. Another would temporarily allow in more nurses to the US to help alleviate a crisis shortage in hospitals across the country (HR5924). Given the retrogression outlined in the October Visa Bulletin these bills take on a new significance.

October Visa Bulletin

2008-09-17T20:33:00.002-04:00

Section E addresses October Employment cut-off dates, which are earlier than those which applied during FY-2008. Little forward movement is expected in EB priority dates until the backlog of old priority dates can be determined. Click the link to the right to view the visa bulletin.

Retrogression Relief Possible This Year

2008-09-08T15:21:00.002-04:00

The House Judiciary Committee is planning a vote this Wednesday on a few immigration bills which would provide some retrogression relief. These bills would provide an additional 20,000 immigrant visas for RNs and PTs. If approved the next step would to bring the bills to the full house for a vote.

EB2 Still Current

2008-06-13T09:22:00.003-04:00

EB2 is still current worldwide except for India and china. It appears EB2 will remain current for the immediate future.

EB3 unavailable til October 2008

2008-06-13T09:17:00.001-04:00

Demand for numbers, primarily by USCIS for adjustment of status cases, will bring the entire Employment Third preference category to the annual numerical limit by the end of June. As a result, this category will become “unavailable” beginning in July and will remain so for the remainder of FY-2008. Such action will only be temporary, however, and Employment Third preference availability will return to the cut-off dates established for June in October, the first month of the new fiscal year. In October we expect EB3 cut off dates to return to March 2006.

Three Visa-Related Bills Introduced into the House of Representatives

2008-05-05T15:04:00.001-04:00

Three bills were introduced into the House of Representatives this week related to immigrant visas. On 4/23/08, a bill was introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) that would recapture employment-based immigrant visas lost to bureaucratic delays and to prevent losses of family- and employment- based immigrant visas in the future (H.R. 5882). On 4/29/08, another bill was introduced by Representative Lofgren (D-CA) that would eliminate the per country level for employment-based immigrants and to end the spill-over of unused immigrant visa numbers between employment-based and family-sponsored categories (H.R. 5921). On 4/29/2008, a final bill was introduced by Representative Robert Wexler (D-FL) that would provide relief for the shortage of nurses in the United States (H.R. 5924).

Employment Based Retrogression Easing!

2008-04-11T14:40:00.002-04:00

Great News on the Employment Based visa bulletin for May 2008. EB3 moved 8 months forward to March 1, 2006! EB2 remains current.

"Many of the Employment cut-off dates have continued to advance more rapidly than might ordinarily be expected. This is a result of consultations with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding their pending demand. Should USCIS projections of the resulting number use prove to be incorrect it may be necessary to adjust the cut-off dates during the final quarter of FY-2008."

Sweet Success - Saving a Brazilian from Being Deported

2008-04-02T20:01:00.002-04:00

When a potential new client from Brazil came in for a consultation, he asked how much time before I get deported. His former attorney had applied for PERM and the application was denied.

Now, after wasting 7 years, he received a letter to go to immigration court for deportation. The situation looked hopeless and it seemed that he would have to return to Brazil in a few months and would not be able to come back to the US for many years.

After the consultation the client was thrilled because, I had asked a few questions and determined that he did not have to leave the U.S. He was eligible to seek a greencard before the Immigration Court under 245i of the immigration act.

He was grandfathered under 245i because when he was 20 (a child) his father filed a labor certificate. His father never got the greencard but because the case was submitted my client was covered by 245i. The smile really came when he learned that his new wife would also benefit from 245i and could get her greencard as a derivative beneficiary of the case.

You may have 245i if you, your parent, or your spouse filed a petition or labor certificate before April 30, 2001.

Shayne Epstein's Blog Launches

2008-04-02T01:34:00.004-04:00

Day after day, I see the same problem…the immigrant community receiving incorrect advice on a broad range of topics like immigration reform and drivers licenses. Generally we get at least one new client everyday who is in deportation proceedings because he relied on bad advice. I created this blog with a few things in mind. First, I wanted immigrants to know they can turn to http://www.epsteinlaw.org/ and this blog for up to date accurate information on a host of issues affecting immigrants. Second, I want to educate the public as to aspects of immigration law that potentially can help thousands even in today’s anti-immigrant climate. Please feel free to submit questions on this blog or by email to Shayne@epsteinlaw.org as I begin on this new technological journey. Shayne Epstein