USA Green Card Immigration Blog

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced recently that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend the temporary protected status for nationals of Sudan. The current expiration date of May 2, 2010 will be extended to the new expiration date of Nov 2, 2011.

Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security conducted a review in Sudan last year. It has determined that an 18-month extension is required because of the ongoing armed conflict. Also because the extraordinary and temporary conditions existing in Sudan that prompted the last TPS designation of Sudan on Oct. 7, 2004 persists till now. To bring out a good immigration reform, TPS beneficiaries are being encouraged to apply during the re-registration period from Dec 31, 2009 until Mar 1, 2010.

Approximately 700 nationals of Sudan and individuals who have no nationality, who last resided in Sudan may be eligible for re-registration. TPS does not apply to Sudanese nationals who entered the United States after Oct. 7, 2004. It will be better to apply as soon as the re-registration period opens so that there will be sufficient time for USCIS to complete all routine security checks and further application processing.

Form I-821, Application for temporary protected status must be submitted by TPS beneficiaries to re-register. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization must also be filed by applicants seeking an extension of employment authorization through Nov. 2, 2011. Form I-765 is only needed to be submitted for those individuals seeking to re-register for TPS. Biometric services fee may be required for applicants 14 years and older. Applicants may request a waiver of application fee or biometrics fee by providing a fee waiver request with proper documentation of inability to pay.

This 18-month extension of temporary protected status for Sudan will benefit those individuals who have been granted TPS earlier. Now they will be able to re-register andmaintain their status for additional 18-months.

For the first time ever, the 2010 census will take the indigenous immigrants into account. Indigenous immigrants — the Native Americans of Mexico and Central America, usually have a hard time describing themselves on the U.S census forms. This is because their ancestry can cover multiple census categories, and they must also overcome a significant language barrier and a mistrust of government. The indigenous immigrants are discriminated in their home country for their origin and in USA for their immigration status. The 2010 census will tally all the indigenous immigrants, and will give a clear picture of the growing segment of the indigenous immigrant population.

Michele Lowe, spokesperson of the census bureau has said that in the 2010 Census, the bureau will tabulate handwritten entries specifying whether the respondent belongs to a Central American indigenous group such as Maya, Nahua, Mixtec, or Purepecha. The list of different populations that end up being counted will be made public when results are released in 2011. This will give a complete portrait of the American people. The 2010 census will show us that there are a lot of indigenous immigrants in America.

An accurate count of the indigenous immigrants in the 2010 census is very essential to themselves and to the federal government for allocating funds to the state and local governments. The indigenous immigrant population speaks many different languages making it hard to campaign for the 2010 survey. But several, Indigenous organizations are working independently within their communities to dispel the hesitation and encourage participation in the 2010 census survey through organizing workshops, public forums, flyers, and radio broadcasts. Jonathan Fox, a professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz states that “more indigenous migrants are willing to come out in public and claim their ethnic identity.”

US Immigration Service Grants Reprieve to Haitian Immigrants | Americas | English.

A new immigration program for Haitian citizens living in the United States:

Haitian nationals will be able to remain in the U.S. legally, be able to obtain authorization to work legally in the United States, and be eligible to obtain permission to travel outside the United  States.

Being able to travel home to help without fear of being denied re-entry to the U.S. is key.

Only Haitians already in the U.S. are eligible for temporary protected status.

‘Virtual’ Immigration Continued Rising During Recession – Real Time Economics – WSJ.

The global economic downturn spurred declines in physical immigration — the movement of people across borders — in 2008 and 2009. But a new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report says “virtual” immigration — moving the work rather than the workers — continued to grow.

“Most likely, the difference stems from the jobs the two types of immigrants typically do,” authors Michael Cox, Richard Alm and Justyna Dymerska write in the Dallas Fed’s Economic Letter. “Physical immigrants work in construction and other highly cyclical industries. Virtual immigrants are more likely to work in the services economy. It has traditionally been less sensitive than goods to cyclical fluctuations, largely because services aren’t subject to the kind of inventory bulges that make goods production unstable.”

Still, virtual immigration increased at a slower pace during the downturn. “Hard times might pressure companies to cut costs, quickening offshoring’s pace,” they write. “At the same time, companies might pull back on offshoring because of cuts in IT budgets and plentiful labor close to home.”   For instance, India’s exports in software and IT services are forecast to continue expanding. But the projected growth rate of 17% for 2009 is less than half the pace of the prior four years.

On December 8, 2009, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) introduced a pilot program system to exit all H-2A and H-2B temporary workers from the United States of America. Authorities estimated that this program will at least last a year. They also mentioned that the program is to be conducted at San Luis and Douglas land ports of entry in Arizona.

The temporary worker exit pilot program’s main purpose is to ascertain the departure of temporary workers from the United States of America once their work authorization period ends. Apart from this, the temporary worker exit pilot program will also help to protect the United States borders more effectively. It will also benefit in updating already present visitor worker programs.

H-2A and H-2B visas are meant for temporary seasonal workers. H-2A visas are issued to certain non-immigrant workers to perform agricultural labor or services. On the other hand, H-2B visas are given for temporary workers to work in non-agricultural jobs.

The H-2A and H-2B non-immigrant temporary workers will have to verify their final departure from the United States of America at an exit kiosk located at the port of departure. The temporary workers should scan their visa and fingerprints and return their I-94, arrival/departure form at the kiosk. These H-2A and H-2B temporary workers at San Luis or Douglas ports of entry must also are required to exit through one of the two designated ports.

Temporary workers who frequently commute to the United States will have the need to register only their final departure from the country. From December 8, H-2A and H-2B temporary workers whose authorized period of stay concludes are required to register during their exit.

According to the authorities, in the year 2009, more than 205,000 H-2 temporary workers crossed into the United States, out of which over more than 147,000 were H-2A visa holders and more than 58,000 were H-2B visa holders.

Hiring of foreign nationals for skilled labor in agricultural and farm needs dates back to history in the U.S. Sheepherding demands around the clock work and not many U.S nationals were ready to take it up as an occupation. Growing need for sheepherders called for importing trained foreign nationals as sheepherders. Earlier in 1950s, three laws were enforced by congress, which approved entry of the other nationals for permanent employment as sheepherders, speedy visa issuance, and permanent residence in the U.S.

Later, numerous allegations arose concerning the foreign national sheepherders who quit the sheepherding in a short while and started finding jobs in other industries. Further investigations by the House Judiciary Committee corroborated that the animal husbandry industry had not gained much from the other national sheepherding recruits as expected. The special legislations in favor of the foreign national sheepherders came to an end. They were classified as the H-2 temporary workers under the Immigration and National Act as per which the sheepherders were allowed to seasonal stay only. H2-A visa program enabled the agricultural employers to bring foreign nationals as H2-A sheepherders to work in the U.S. for a short period on a contract basis.

Later in January 2010, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Grants One announced the one time accommodation for sheepherders, which extends the H2-A shepherds transitory period to a maximum of three years. This came into vogue from January 17, 2010. The tenure of foreign nationals as sheepherders before the announcement would not be taken into account the three year period. The H2-A sheepherders are to depart from the U.S. after completion of three years, for a period of three months. This departure is a necessary for the sheepherder to become once again be acknowledged for the H2-A status.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made an announcement stating that the H-1B visa cap has been reached for Fiscal Year 2010 (FY2010.) 65,000 new H-1B visas are the maximum number of visas authorized by the congress for each fiscal year. But, the first 20,000 H-1B visas issued to individuals who fall under the advanced degree in the U.S. are excluded from the 65,000 cap. As of December 21, 2009, the USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions from individuals excluded from the H-1B visa cap under the advanced degree exemption.

The numerical restriction specified yearly by the Congress on some of the nonimmigrant visa applications is called Cap. H-1B and H-2B fall under this category. Cap is contemplated to control the number of workers that can acquire a visa agreeable to a particular nonimmigrant classification in a fiscal year to enter the United States of America.

This numerical restriction helps manage the number of outsiders already present in the United States who can lawfully change their status to a cap-subject classification. Individuals kept out of the cap in a specific nonimmigrant classification and deciding to prolong their stay in this classification are generally not applicable to these annual numerical limitations.

United States employers desiring to employ foreign nationals in special jobs that require hypothetical or sound technical expertise use this H-1B non-immigration visa program. Architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors, college professors, and certain renowned fashion models of merit are the most common occupations included in the H-1B non-immigration visa program. This visa program is also applicable to about 100 persons with exceptional services with Department of Defense (DOD) research and development projects. All nonimmigrant visa applications are not subject to the cap.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to use a computerized random selection for all petitions received for the H-1B visa cap. Petitions received after December 21, 2009 will be rejected by USCIS.

The deadline for submission of entries to the 2009 US Visa Lottery was November 30, 2009.  If you did not register in time for 2009, you can now register for the 2010 program!  Read more information and complete the application here:  http://www.usa-green-card.com

The Department of State, on December 14, 2009, published a proposed rule to increase the U.S non-immigration visa application fees, also called as the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee and Border Crossing Card (BCC) fees. The non-immigration visa application fees have been raised from its current $131 to $140 and the immigration rule is published in the Federal Register. The proposed rule will bring a layered structure with separate fees based upon the visa category.

The proposed new non-immigration visa application fees are meant to cover the cost of processing non-immigrant visas and border crossing cards. Border crossing cards are issued to certain adult applicants in Mexico. Basically this proposal is initiated to overpower the growing cost of processing non-immigrant visas (NIVs). Some of the categories of non-immigrant visas are very intricate that need profound consideration than other categories of non-immigrant visas, resulting in higher costs.

Under the newly proposed immigration rule, the following visa categories will pay the new non-immigration visa application fees that include

• E (treaty trader and investor)

• H (temporary worker or trainee)

• K (fiancé(e))

• L (Intracompany transferee)

• O (alien with extraordinary ability)

• P (athlete, artist or entertainer)

• Q (international cultural exchange visitors)

• R (religious worker).

Visas that are not petition-based, such as B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all student and exchange-visitor visas are required to pay a fee of $140. Petition-based visas would pay $150 for an application. This category includes H visa for temporary workers and trainees, L visa for Intracompany transferees, O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability, P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers, Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors, and R visa for religious occupations. The K and E visa applications will cost $350 and $390 respectively.

The new immigration rule regarding the U.S non-immigrant visa application fees will come into effect only after the Department of State considering public comments.

The Department of State is proposing to redress and enhance the present Exchange Visitor Program regulations by arranging more specificity and clarity to the sponsors of the visiting students of the Secondary School Student category. This decision is in respect to the implementation of the responsibilities of the sponsor under exchange visitor programs.

The Exchange Visitor Program is for promoting mutual discernment between the people of the United States of America and the people of other countries. This is carried out by implementing cultural and educational exchanges under the U.S. law. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State to school and exchange programs and also the visitors.

The existing regulations about the screening, selection, school enrolment, orientation, and monitoring overall caliber assurance of student participants in the immigration policy are to be upgraded by the U.S. Department of State. It has also decided to rework on quality assurance monitoring.

This is in effect to the placement of students with undesirable or poorly selected host families, affecting the safety, and well being of the student exchange visitors. According to the Department of State, the inefficient screening of the host families is due to the dearth of fair specificity in the decree or lack of minimum industry standards.

The Department also concedes that the coordinators, who act as agents for the visiting students, are important for a fruitful exchange program. These local coordinators practice unconstrained judgment related the host families’ capabilities. Their main concern is to determine the key factors, such as the family’s potential to provide appropriate and developing home conditions for a student and whether the family is an applicable match for the student. The financial condition of the host family will also be taken into consideration.

With these specifications, the U.S. Department of State will also conduct a testing and certification programme annually for all local as well as regional coordinators. Among other things, this programme will necessitate enumerating the Department’s regulatory conditions and also the sponsoring the organization.