Tag Archives: employment immigration

House Members Request Visa Bulletin Information

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House Democrats Seek Information on Visa Bulletin Revision

Last week, a small contingent of US House of Representatives Democrats requested Department of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson and Department of State Secretary John Kerry to release information on the number of individuals harmed by the revision to the October Visa Bulletin and plans to provide relief for those individuals. The original October Visa Bulletin had modernized the visa system by showing both priority and filing dates to expedite the process and be more efficient with visa availability.

The letter has the following to say about the Revised Bulletin:

We have heard estimates that the revised Bulletin would decrease the number of immigrants eligible for filing by 80% to 95% from the number projected to be eligible under the original Bulletin filing dates. If true, the revision would effectively reverse the progress made toward the Administraton’s goals to reform our visa system.

As for a solution:

We strongly urge that the Department of Homeland Security implement regulatory changes that would benefit high-skilled workers waiting in the United States for immigrant visa numbers. Specifically, we are referring to 1) providing beneficiaries of an approved employment-based petition (Form I-140), and their derivative dependents, employment authorization; and 2) amending the regulations so that such petitions will remain valid in cases where the beneficiary has a new job that is in the same or similar classification as the job for which the petition was filed.

The revision to the October Visa Bulletin dashed the hopes of thousands of eligible applicants for Green Cards. This was labeled as #Visagate2015. Many of these hopeful applicants had been waiting for years for their priority dates to become current. Potential applicants under the Children Status Protection Act and Employment Based 2 and 3 categories Indian and Chinese nationals are among the most affected. A lawsuit has been filed, but the attempt to compel an injunction to undo the revision did not succeed.

November Bulletin Coming Soon

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The November Visa Bulletin may be released today, two days after a federal court rejected a request to reinstate the original October Visa Bulletin. Instead, the revised October Visa Bulletin controls immigrant visas for the month. The rescission of the original bulletin was heartbreaking to thousands of backlogged Green Card applicants who finally thought they were eligible. It coincided with a brand new format, in which action dates and filing dates were posted. This was heralded as a modernization of the visa bulletin, so that thousands of visas were not wasted each year. The revised bulletin rolled back many of the family and employment categories months, even years.

Perhaps the November bulletin will resemble something close to the original October visa bulletin. The Department of State and Department of Homeland Security are defendants in Mehta v. DOS, in which plaintiffs affected by the revised bulletin are suing to reinstate the original bulletin.

Immigration Polling

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Recent Poll Shows Immigration a Top Priority

 

Immigration as an overarching broad issue has become a centerpiece of presidential candidates vying for their parties’ nominations. Different immigration plans and statements have been bandied about over the past few months. The focus on immigration seems to be well warranted, not only from a policy-based perspective, but also from a practical voter-based perspective. After all, an election is about convincing the most number of voters to vote for you, both in the primary and in the general election.

New polling information conducted by Gallup indicates that focusing on immigration is crucial for garnering votes. The polling information shows that 20% of US voters will ONLY vote for a candidate who shares their views on immigration. Another 60% of US voters have indicated that immigration as a general topic will be one of their important considerations in deciding on a candidate.

The groups of voters who consider immigration higher among their concerns are Republican registered voters, first- or second-generation immigrants, and Hispanics. Immigration as an electoral concern can mean a million different things. It can encompass H-1B visas, increasing employment immigration, ensuring more border security, integrating immigrants into the United States, etc. One manifestation of immigration this primary election cycle has been the issue of birthright citizenship. The United States is exceptional in providing birthright citizenship through the 14th Amendment (being born in the United States confers United States citizenship, regardless of who the parents are). The elimination of birthright citizenship as a way of dealing with undocumented migrants has received more attention than usual.

These kinds of polls are a mainstay in electoral politics and similar polls will likely be released weekly in the lead up to the primaries early next year and into the general election. The nation’s pulse is on immigration in way that could affect the election. Whether that leads to actual legislative or policy changes remains to be seen. Immigration has been an important issue in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 general elections, but the DREAM Act has remained a legislative proposal and nothing more since 2001.

E-Verify Up for Renewal

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E-Verify: To Renew or Not to Renew

This week, the blog has covered the immigration programs that are set to expire and sunset on September 30, 2015. When Congress returns from summer recess on September 8, it will have three weeks to renew the programs like it last did in 2012. The focus today is on the E-verify program.

E-Verify is a controversial verification system used by the US government to make sure that employers are not hiring employees who are not authorized to work. The Department of Homeland Security maintains the program with the Social Security Administration. The system matches an employee’s Form I-9 with US government records and if there is a mismatch, the employer and appropriate agency must resolve the incongruence. The Form I-9 must be filled out by employees along with accurate identification within the first three days of working and employers suffer the ramifications of illegal hiring practices.

DHS adulates the E-Verify’s improved accuracy. Opponents of the system discredit the statistics and purported accuracy, focusing on the unacceptable number of incorrect mismatches and the nightmare that puts employers and valid employees through unnecessarily. They do not see the efficacy of the system in slowing down the hiring of unauthorized workers or making American jobs any less attractive. The system is run at American taxpayer expense to the great consternation of E-Verify’s opponents.

Many states have mandated that all employers use the program to root out unauthorized workers. Other states make it optional. One benefit of E-Verify is that employers who use it are allowed to hire STEM OPT (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics students on their Optional Practical Training) for 29 months instead of 12. This provides for a buffer in between school and other immigration options.

This is bound to be an intensely debated issue over the new few weeks as Congress considers whether to renew the program. Opponents are politically widespread and backed with their own numbers. DHS is staunch in trumpeting the efficacy of the program and many states are ebullient in their adoption.

EB-5 Visa Needs Renewal

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EB-5 Visa: Renewal (Permanence?) Needed by September 30

 

This week, the blog is covering the four immigration programs that are due to expire on September 30, 2015. When Congress returns from its summer recess on September 8, it will have three weeks to renew the programs or else they will sunset. The focus today is the EB-5 investor immigration visa.

 

The Immigration Act of 1990 created the EB-5 program, which was a new employment-based method of immigration. For a $1 million investment in a commercial enterprise, a foreign national can earn a Green Card (following a two year period of conditional residence and meeting all of the requirements). An alternative allows for a $500,000 investment in a targeted employment area (high unemployment or rural). The investment needs to create at least ten full time qualifying US jobs with the enterprise. A later designed pilot program incubated regional centers, which collect investors for large projects, such as apartment buildings. For the majority of the program’s existence, it was infrequently used. Following the Great Recession of 2008, the program took off and 2014 was the first year that the cap was hit with Chinese investors. In 2007, not even 800 applications were filed. By 2011, that hit 3,800. In 2014, the full 10,000 spots were satisfied.

 

Given the high financial stakes at play, the renewal of the program has been a priority for Congress, stakeholders, and cities. Between 2005 and 2013, the EB-5 program invested over 5.2 billion dollars in the United States and created an estimated 31,000 jobs. Various mayors and local leaders have advocated for the renewal of the EB-5 program. There are currently three bills (S.1501, HR 616, HR 3370) proposed in Congress. Click here for a summary of all three.

 

All three bills are intent on extending the program with the House bills proposing a permanency, rather than waiting till the deadline to authorize renewal. As it has recently become an issue, the two House bills address the cap. HR 616 eliminates spouses and children from the 10,000 cap, so that all 10,000 spots belong to investors. It would also eliminate per country quotas. HR 3370 leaves open the possibility for an additional 10,000 visas if the cap is reached. Notably, the Senate bill seeks to increase the minimum investment from $500,000 to $800,000 and $1 million to $1.2 million.

 

Advocates of the EB-5 program decry the current long processing times associated with the EB-5 process and subsequent Green Card issuance. The House bills propose mandatory processing times to expedite the processes. Despite recent fraud issues, the EB-5 program has risen in popularity in the past few years and spurred foreign investment in the United States. Congress will certainly devote its attention to fine tuning the program through the bills it is considering.

 

EB-5 is a pivotal part of current US immigration. The blog will provide updates throughout the month.