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FY 2010
H-1B Cap Reached
As of December 21, 2009, USCIS has received sufficient petitions to reach the statutory cap for FY2010. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.
To ensure a fair system, USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions that are subject to the cap and were received on December 21, 2009. USCIS will reject cap subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date of December 21, 2009.
The numerical limit on H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2010 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of foreign nationals who have a U.S. masters' degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap. USCIS began accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year 2010 cap on April 1, 2009. Cases are considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives the petition; not the date that the petition is postmarked. |
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Secretary Napolitano Highlights DHS' Major Accomplishments in 2009
As the year comes to a close, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano highlighted, in a recent address to employees, the DHS' major accomplishments in 2009. She emphasized the major steps the DHS took this year to enhance the U.S.' capabilities to guard against terrorism; secure the nation's borders; engage in smart enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters; and unify and mature the Department and its 230,000-employee global workforce.
The Fact Sheet on the DHS' 2009 accomplishments and reforms states, "Over the past year, DHS has strengthened its immigration enforcement activities, targeting criminal aliens and employers who violate the nation's immigration laws, while making improvements to the legal immigration system." It further notes that DHS implemented a new, comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy to reduce demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce by targeting employers who knowingly hire illegal workers through investigations, prosecution and civil and criminal penalties.
Since January 2009, DHS' new worksite enforcement policies have led to 1,897 cases and 2,069 Form I-9 inspections targeting employers, 58 companies and 62 individuals debarred, and 142 Notices of Intent to Fine totaling $15,865,181 issued.
According to a new report by a Syracuse University research group, federal prosecutions against immigration violators were up nearly 16 percent from the prior year, and made up more than half of all criminal cases brought by the federal government. While white-collar prosecutions take an average of 460 days and narcotics cases take 333, immigration cases are usually disposed of in 2 days. While federal prosecutors decline to prosecute about half of the white-collar cases that are referred to them by law enforcement agencies, they prosecute 97 percent of the immigration cases, according to the Syracuse report.
David Burnham, co-director of the Syracuse research group, known as the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, said that "the policy of [the Bush Administration] appears, from the data, to have continued and maybe accelerated." Based on these trends, immigration enforcement is likely to remain a priority for the Obama Administration in the coming years. |
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DOJ Releases Video on Immigration-Related Workplace Discrimination
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a video for employers explaining worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in the workplace. The DOJ's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices enforces this provision.
The INA prohibits citizenship or immigration status discrimination with respect to hiring, firing, and recruitment or referral for a fee, by employers with four or more employees. Employers may not treat individuals differently because they are, or are not, U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens and nationals, recent permanent residents, asylees and refugees are protected from citizenship status discrimination.
The statute also prohibits national origin discrimination with respect to hiring, firing, and recruitment or referral for a fee, by employers with more than three and fewer than 15 employees. (The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has national origin jurisdiction over employers with 15 or more employees.) All individuals eligible to work in the United States - including citizens, nationals, immigrants, and temporary work visa holders - are protected from national origin discrimination.
In addition, the INA prohibits unfair documentary practices related to verifying the employment eligibility of employees. Employers may not, on the basis of citizenship status or national origin, request more or different documents than are required to verify an individual's employment eligibility and identity, reject reasonably genuine-looking documents, or specify certain documents over others.
The 30-minute video is available online at http://www.justice.gov/crt/osc/ and on DVD by calling the DOJ's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) at 800-255-8155 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY) or its worker hotline at 800-235-7688 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY).
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