March/April 2014

Immigration News + Analysis

Maggio + Kattar

11 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 775
Washington, DC 20036
202.483.0053 t
202.483.6801 f
www.maggio-kattar.com

E- Verify continues to expand its base of participating employers, many o fwhom do so entirely voluntarily.  However, a study performed for USCIS by Westat, revealed that about half of the cases submitted to E-Verify for unauthorized workers were acctually incorrectly found by E- Verify to be employment authorized.

The vexing problem for E-Verify is identity fraud. E-Verify works by matching numbers and names against social security and DHS databases.  If the names and numbers match, E-Verify wouldn't see a problem.  USCIS addressed this blind spot by adding photo matching for certain documents, such as the legal permanent resident card (green card), employment authorization document (EAD Card) and U.S. passport, but photo matching is not in place for other identity documents, such as drivers' licenses.   USCIS has attempted to further limit the impact of identity theft to its accuracy by adding a feature that would "lock" social security numbers that appeared to be misused. "Misuse" is determined using algorithms similar to those used by credit card companies to detect fraud.  Since this enhancement was just implemented last November, it is too soon to tell how effective this will be in reducing the number of erroneous validations produced by the E-Verify system. 

Since 1986, proper completion of the Form I-9 has provided employers with an argument of their "good faith"  in not knowingly employing an unauthorized worker.  Making absolutely certain someone has not provided fraudulent documents has not become a requirement of employers, if the I-9 appears properly complete on its face, and is still not a function E-Verify provides.  Employers participating, or considering participation in E-Verify should understand that it comes with its own layer of additional compliance complications and risks.

According to Department of Justice statistics, immigration courts across the United States received over 400,000 new matters during fiscal year 2012.   There are 260 Immigration Judges in 59 immigration courts who handle these cases. Estimates indicate that Immigration Judges maintain between one to two thousand cases on their individual dockets.   On any given day, they may see 50 to 100 immigrants pass through their courtrooms during what is known as the Master Calendar Hearing Docket.  Many of the immigrants appearing before them are unrepresented and have little understanding of the proceedings they face. Because of the huge backlogs, Immigration Courts are scheduling final hearings on the merits of these case two to three years or more in the future. 

- See more at:  http://www.maggio-kattar.com/blog/us-immigration-courts-crippled-overcrowded-dockets-and-lack-resources

 

Where a visa application results in a hit in a one of the many US government databases, a consular post may ask the Department of State in Washington, D.C. for what is known as a Security Advisory Opinion to request clearance in order to adjudicate the application. This clearance process is often referred to as administrative processing and can remain pending for months or even years.  Maggio + Kattar has teamed up with the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law's Center for Immigrant's Rights to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of State.
 

- See more at: http://www.maggio-kattar.com/blog/mk-teams-psu-immigration-clinic-educate-administrative-processing#sthash.mFlyWMqM.dpuf 

The Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of the Ombudsman has formally proposed that new regulations be published that would allow the spouses of certain international medical graduates (IMGs) to obtain independent U.S. work authorization. The proposed change would apply to those international medical graduates with J-1 visas who are receiving a waiver of their 2-year home residency requirement through the Conrad 30 program and would allow the IMGs' spouse to change to any other non-immigrant status that they would otherwise be eligible and qualified for.

 

- See more at: http://www.maggio-kattar.com/blog/physician-news-citizenship-immigration-services-ombudsman-proposes-new-regulations-provide-us#sthash.QJyYiaUs.dpuf

Foreign nationals in the United States often face difficult social, economic, and linguistic barriers to accessing qualified legal assistance. These factors leave immigrant communities particularly vulnerable to "notario" or "immigration consultant" fraud. Notario fraud is a scam in which individuals who are not licensed to practice law in the United States hold themselves out as qualified to assist with immigration and other legal matters.

 

See more at: http://www.maggio-kattar.com/blog#sthash.zp3fEMx6.dpuf  

 

 M+K Shareholder Jim Alexander

 

 M+K Attorney Elizabeth Carlson was a panelist at the American Immigration Lawyers Association's Model Hearing at the Baltimore Immigration Court on March 25.   

Maggio + Kattar provides Immigration News + Analysis as a service to its clients and friends to highlight and provide opinions on changes within the field of immigration and nationality law. The information contained in this newsletter is not intended as legal advice, and persons receiving this information should not act on it without consulting professional legal counsel.


Maggio + Kattar, P.C. | 11 Dupont Circle, N.W. Suite 775 | Washington, DC 20036
maggio-kattar.com | phone 202.483.0053 | fax 202.483.6801

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