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There is a presumption of fraud if an individual files a green card application within 30 days after entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa
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RESTAURANT OF
THE MONTH
127 SE 2nd Ave. Miami, FL 33131 (305) 416-4142 |
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Greetings!     
We hope you have had a wonderful November, including a pleasant Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones.
Welcome to our November newsletter! This issue includes articles on the rise in EB-5 green card investor visa petitions in 2011, new ICE guidelines on prosecutorial discretion, strong opposition to a recently proposed real estate investor visa, and the Department of State commitment to shorten student visa processing time to 15 days.
This issue also includes our monthly H-1B and Visa Bulletin updates, and our Restaurant of the Month, La Granja, serving high quality Peruvian rotisserie chicken and other Peruvian dishes.
Enjoy!
The Ratzanlaw Team
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Green Card Investor Visa Petitions
on the Rise in 2011
The numbers of EB-5 Investor visas filed so far in 2011 have surpassed last year's numbers as more real-estate developers see the program as a funding opportunity for their commercial developments.
In the first three quarters of fiscal year 2011, 2,608 EB-5 investor visa petitions were filed. This was a significant increase from 1,955 petitions filed during the entire 2010 fiscal year. The law allots 10,0000 visas for the EB-5 program per year, but the number of petitions filed has never even come close to reaching the cap. In 1990 when the government first started the EB-5 program there were only 10 to 20 regional centers to apply. Today there are over 180!
"It's a wonderful program," said Jeff Berkowitz to Miami Today, president of Berkowitz Development Group who plans on building a retail complex in Coral Gables with the help of EB-5. "It encourages foreign investment to create jobs, which we all desperately need."
Berkowitz is still waiting on approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before ... click here to read more.
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ICE Issues Guidelines for Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion in Favor of Individuals Subject to Deportation
On November 17, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began training attorneys and immigration enforcement officers on how to implement prosecutorial discretion and how to review the 300,000 cases pending in immigration courts across the country.
Five months after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton issued a memorandum ("Morton Memo") encouraging ICE officers to favorably exercise prosecutorial discretion in low priority cases, ICE has launched a scenario-based comprehensive immigration training.
The training "emphasizes how the Prosecutorial Discretion Memorandum should be utilized in order to focus immigration enforcement resources on ICE priorities." The training begins on the heels of a survey released by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that indicated many ICE agents and attorneys were not implementing prosecutorial discretion and had not received proper training. According to the announcement, all ICE enforcement officers and attorneys will have completed scenario based prosecutorial discretion training by January 13.
In addition to the training, ICE will implement a two-part review of cases in immigration court. ICE will review the following three categories of cases: (1) cases where the Notice to Appear (NTA) has not been filed with EOIR; (2) cases on the master calendar docket; and (3) cases with individual merits hearings scheduled up to seven months after November 17, 2011 (i.e. until June 17, 2012).
The first phase began on November 17, at which time ICE attorneys across the country were to start reviewing all new cases arriving at immigration courts to determine whether... click here to read more.
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Restaurant of the Month: La Granja
High Quality Peruvian Style Rotisserie Chicken
He's much skinnier than Foghorn Leghorn (the old looney tunes rooster who crooned "Camptown Races"), but the La Granja animated chicken oversees numerous delicious Peruvian style dishes at the restaurant's new location in downtown Miami.
La Granja started in Aruba in 1993 and came to Florida in 1995, when it opened in Margate. Since then, it has expanded to several locations in different cities within the State and received well-deserved praise. The Restaurant Review Magazine voted La Granja "The Best Peruvian Restaurant of the Year" (2003), "The Best Family Style Peruvian Restaurant" (2004), and "Best Peruvian Cuisines of Fort Lauderdale" (2007).
The downtown La Granja is a hybrid between fast food and seated service, where the staff is friendly and the premises are clean. Like its competitor Pollo Tropical, La Granja offers chicken, black beans, rice, and fried plantains. But the freshness and quality of each of these products at La Granja will make you forget about Pollo Tropical faster than Foghorn Leghorn can say "Doo-Dah!"
La Granja also offers three delicious secret sauces (one orange, one green, and one white) that contain the perfect combination of sweet and spicy to make you an immediate addict.
But La Granja is also unique in that its menu also includes many classic Peruvian dishes, such as Ceviche, Lomo Saltado (sauteed beef with rice, onions, and tomatoes), and Chaufa (fried rice), all of which are flavorful and of top quality.
Finally, La Granja is affordable with its lunch special of a quarter chicken with black beans, rice, and a drink going for only $3.95.
I say, "Doo-dah!"
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Proposed Real Estate Investor Visa
Receives Strong Opposition
A bill introduced in October that would allow immigrants to obtain residence visas if they invest in real estate has received strong resistance.
The Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America ( VISIT-USA Act) was introduced by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Mike Lee, R-Utah. Under the bill, a foreign national who invests $500,000 in residential real estate (single-family house, condo, or townhouse) would be eligible for a non-immigrant visa, renewable every three years. The bill also allows the government to designate new countries for eligibility for the Visa Waiver Program.
The bill has received a strong negative reaction from anti-immigrant groups who feel the bill facilitates the sale of American houses to rich foreigners instead of making houses affordable for Americans. Pro-immigrant groups have also expressed some opposition because they feel the bill does not do enough to attract skilled workers and see it as a desperate move to clean up the housing market.
In an opinion piece in Forbes magazine, Alex Brill, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and Rohan Poojara, a research assistant at AEI, wrote that without a path to citizenship or an easier path to a work visa, the Act will not attract more rich and skilled foreigners. The problem is that the foreign investors must live in the residence for at least six months, and since the visa does not allow them to work, they must ... click here to read more.
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Student Visa Processing Time Shortened to 15 Days
In a recent press release, the Department of State (DOS) has expressed its commitment to expedite the processing of student visas. DOS has shortened the wait time for a student visa to 15 days.
The news came during International Education Week and after a report indicating the number of foreign students coming to the United States has increased more than 30 percent over the last decade. DOS also announced that applicants can start submitting their applications 120 days before their academic program begins.
According to a report from the Institute of International Education, during the 2010-2011 school year there were 723,277 foreign students attending U.S colleges and universities, a five percent increase... click here to read more.
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H-1B Visa Cap Count
H-1B Visa Cap Reached for Fiscal Year 2012
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Cap Type
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Cap Amount
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Petitions Filed
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Date of Last Count
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H-1B Regular Cap
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65,000
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65,000
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11/22/2011
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H-1B Master's Exemption
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20,000
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20,000
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11/22/2011
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As of November 22, 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has receipted all 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions toward available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. Several weeks ago, USCIS announced it had receipted all 20,000 petitions toward the Masters exemption of 20,000.
Cases were received based on the date USCIS physically received the petition, not based on the postmarked date. Any cap-subject petitions received on or after November 23, 2011 will be rejected and returned to the petitioner.
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Visa Bulletin Update: December 2011
EB-3 Green Cards Available for Priority Dates Before January 15, 2006
The Department of State (DOS) has released the December 2011 Visa Bulletin, showing immigrant visa (i.e. green card) availability for December 2011. The EB-2 category (Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability) will continue to pick up in December. There is movement in other areas, but as the year comes to an end things seem to have slowed down.
Back in March, the DOS announced that the EB-2 will advance rapidly due to the sharp drop in demand for EB-1 visas (Priority Workers). In December, the EB-2 category will advance 4 months and 2 weeks for China and India to March 15, 2008. All other countries stayed current.
There continues to be some movement in the EB-3 subcategory for unskilled workers for all countries to except China and India. All countries except China and India will advance 1 month and 17 days to January 1, 2006. China's cut-off date will not move for the second month and stay at April 22, 2003. India will advance 5 weeks to July 22, 2002.
The EB-3 category for professional and skilled workers has moved slightly this month. The cut-off date for all countries except China and India will advance 24 days to January 15, 2006. China will advance 17 days to September 8, 2004. India will advance 10 days to August 1, 2002.
In the F-1 category (unmarried Adult Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens) all countries except Mexico and the Philippines will advance 1 month and 10 days to September 1, 2004. The Philippines will advance 3 weeks to March 1, 1997. The cut-off date will advance Mexico 7 days to April 8, 1993.
Another family category with forward movement is the F-2A (Unmarried Sons and Daughters 21 years of age or older), with all countries except Mexico moving 1 month to March 15, 2009. Mexico will advance 3 months and 1 week to February 8, 2009. The F-4 category (Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens)...click here to read more.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is offered purely for informational purposes. It is not intended to create or promote an attorney-client relationship, and does not constitute and should not be relied upon as legal advice. We intend to make every attempt to keep this information current. We do not promise or guarantee, however, that the information is correct, complete or up-to-date, and readers should not act based upon this information without seeking professional counsel from a licensed attorney. Transmission of information from this newsletter is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Jacob L. Ratzan, P.A. or any of its individual attorneys or personnel.
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