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EMPLOYERS BEWARE: More States Taking Immigration Law Into their Own Hands.
Arizona Law Mandating E-Verify went into
effect on January 1, 2008 and is the nation's
toughest workplace enforcement law. It is
aimed at punishing employers who knowingly
hire illegal immigrants. Many other states
are watching Arizona's example and
considering similar legislation. However,
the good news is that there will be no
prosecutions under the employer-sanctions law
until after March 1, under an agreement
reached in federal court.
Minnesota followed Arizona's lead when
Governor Tim Pawlenty issued an executive
order directing state government, state
contractors and recipients of state business
incentives to utilize CIS' E-Verify Program.
DHS issues a notice for Illinois
Employers
about E-Verify in the form of a Memo
regarding state of play between Section 12(a)
of the Illinois Right to Privacy in the
Workplace Act and the DHS lawsuit against
Illinois.
Immigrants are leaving Oklahoma after a
tough law was enacted. Hispanic leaders say
the law is causing widespread fear in the
Hispanic community. Builders say they can't
get enough workers and are threatening a
lawsuit to try to block the law. But backers
of the measure say it's doing what the
federal government has failed to do: address
the problem of people working in the U.S.
illegally.
Tennessee employers shun the use of the
Federal ID database. Of Tennessee's 117,903
private employers, 543 have registered to use
E-Verify, according to numbers released Jan.
12 by the Department of Homeland Security.
That's up from 214 a year ago. Tennessee's
trend mirrors the nation's. Some analysts
attribute limited participation in the
E-Verify program to everything from lack of
need to worries about what business owners
will have to do if they discover illegal
workers and fears about mistakenly turning
away eligible workers.
Click Here to See the CIS' Press Release About Improving E-Verify's Help Line . . .
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Dear Readers:
The President gave his State of the Union
Address this week and addressed issues
about U.S. immigration law. We believe that
discussions about immigration law from either
party are nothing more then political
rhetoric. With trepidations about the economy,
the "word on the street" seems to be that
lying "low" on the immigration issue is the
safest way to survive the election year.
The April 1st H-1B filing deadline is
rapidly approaching. We want to remind our
readers that H-1Bs for "cap" cases must be
submitted by not later then April 1st 2008
(these cases will be for an October 1st 2008
start date). There are approximately 65,000
H-1B nonimmigrant professional and specialty
work visas available on a Fiscal Year basis
for individuals with a Bachelor's Degree or
its U.S. equivalent. There are also 20,000
H-1Bs available for those individuals who
possess a U.S. Master's Degree.
Once again, we remind our readers about
the many exemptions from the H-1B cap. If
yours is an academic organization then the
H-1B may be cap exempt. If you are working
for an organization affiliated with an
academic institution then the H-1B may be
exempt from the cap. If you have credentials
that are "extraordinary" then you may be able
to avoid the H-1B cap by obtaining an O-1
visa. Each case is different and requires a
separate analysis. If you are thinking about
an H-1B for April 1st now is a good time to
discuss your case. Please feel free to e-mail us at
info@visaserve.com.
For free and valuable information about
the H-1B nonimmigrant professional and
specialty occupation worker visa
classification, please feel free to visit our
website at www.visaserve.com.
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| GET 'EM WHILE THEY ARE HOT AND BEFORE THEY ARE NOT: April 1st Filing Date for H-1B Petitions Draws Near. |
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April 1st, 2008 is the first date to file for
H-1B Specialty Occupation Worker Visas for
Fiscal Year 2009. In an unprecedented event,
the 65,000 cap on H-1B Visas was hit last
year after only two (2) days of filing! This
year, make sure to apply as soon as possible,
to increase your chances of getting into the
H-1B lottery.
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Contact our office for more information . . . |
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| VISA CAP COULD LEAVE US SHORT OF WORKERS: CIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2008. |
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(CIS) announced on January 3rd, 2008 that it
has received a sufficient number of petitions
to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B
cap for the second half of Fiscal Year 2008
(FY 2008). Some employers fear they could be short
thousands of workers this summer.
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Click Here to Read the CIS Press Release . . . |
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| READY FOR BORDER BACKUPS?: Implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. |
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DHS is pushing to tighten identification requirements
at U.S. land borders starting January 31st, 2008 when
it will no longer allow Americans or Canadians to
enter the country by presenting a driver's license or
declaring their citizenship. CBP has issued a list of
Advance Passenger Information System (APIS)
documentary requirements for arrival to and departure
from the U.S.
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Click Here For a List of APIS Documents from CBP . . . |
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| NEED A PASSPORT? READ THIS: Electronic Passport Fees and Privacy Issues. |
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The Department of State (DOS) published notice of a
final rule, effective February 1st, 2008, on passport
card formats and changes to passport fee schedule.
The Government will soon offer passport cards
equipped with electronic data chips to U.S. citizens
who travel frequently between the U.S. and Canada,
Mexico or the Caribbean. U.S. citizens may begin
applying in advance for the new U.S. Passport
Card beginning February 1st, 2008, in anticipation of
land border travel document requirements, and these
passports will be mailed out in Spring 2008.
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Click Here to Read about Electronic Passports . . . |
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| MORE SECURE?: DOS Final Rule on Nonimmigrant Documentation. |
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DOS published a notice of a final rule, effective on
January 1st, 2008, amending 22 CFR Part 41 in order
to reflect increased security measures requiring
fingerprinting and name checks of all visa applicants.
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Click Here to Read the Final Rule . . . |
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| CHURCH VS. STATE: CIS Extends Suspension of Premium Processing for R-1 Visas. |
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CIS announced today that suspension of premium
processing services for religious worker (R-1) visa
petitions will be extended until July 8, 2008.
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Click Here For the CIS Press Release . . . |
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| UPDATES ABOUT PERM APPLICATIONS: BALCA Case Updates. |
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BALCA Upholds Denial of Application Filed
Less than 30 Days After End of Job Order.
The Court found that the filing of a PERM
application less than 30 days after the end
of the SWA job order is a substantive
violation. The fact that the job order did
not appear to produce qualified candidates
after the 30 days had elapsed was
insufficient to excuse the violation. (Matter
of Golden Bridge Restaurant).
BALCA Upholds PERM Denial for Lack of
FEIN. The Court finds that the
Employer's non-compliance with the
requirement of having a FEIN at the time of
the labor certification application filing is
a substantive omission. It concludes that the
CO was correct in declining the Employer's
request to remedy the deficiency. (Matter
Bugajski-Lang).
BALCA Finds Requirements Cannot be
Implied and Interview Process Must be Timely.
The Court upholds the denial of a pre-PERM
labor certification application for a rug
repairer, rejecting Employer's contention
that undisclosed requirements were implied in
the job description, also that delayed
interview process shows less than a good
faith effort to recruit. (Matter of Bistany's
Oriental Rug Dealers).
BALCA Upholds Denial for Failure to
Answer H-6A. The Court upheld the CO's
denial of a PERM application for Employer's
failure to complete Section H-6A. Attorney
argued that his records show that the
application was properly completed, but the
appeal file supports the CO's finding.
(Matter of Best Manufacturing).
BALCA Upholds Denial for Failure to
Answer H-8 and H-10A. The Court
concludes that failure to answer Sections H-8
and H-10A were not "slight omissions" and
constitute grounds for denial. (Matter of
Subhashini Software).
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Click Here for Information about BALCA . . . |
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| "OPEN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 2007": President Signs New FOIA Bill. |
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On December 31st, 2007, the President signed a
Bill aimed at giving the public and the media
greater access to information about what the
government is doing. The new law toughens the
Freedom of Information Act, the first such
makeover to the signature public-access law
in a decade. This Act may be cited as the
''Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our
National Government Act of 2007'' or the
''OPEN Government Act of 2007''.
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Click Here to Read the White House Release . . . |
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| REAL SCOOP: DHS Announces Release of REAL ID Final Rule. |
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The January 11th, 2008 DHS Final Rule sets
uniform standards that enhance the integrity
and reliability of drivers' licenses and
identification cards, strengthen issuance
capabilities, and increase security at
drivers' license and identification card
production facilities. The final rule also
dramatically reduces state implementation
costs by roughly 73 percent.
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Click Here to Read the DHS Press Release . . . |
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| HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE US?: CIS Posts Answers to Q&A for Naturalization Test. |
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The CIS Ombudsman's office posted answers
on its webpage to e-mailed questions about
the new naturalization test, which address a
modified civics test for applicants of a
certain age, taking the test in the applicant's native
language, and reading and writing vocabulary.
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Click Here for more information . . . |
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