USA Green Card Immigration Blog

Immigration Reform Dead in 2010? – The Gaggle Blog – Newsweek.com.

This is an important article/blog post to read by Arian Campo-Flores.

The author claims that with the election of Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts special election, the odds of getting immigration reform passed in 2010 have diminished significantly.  President Obama only mentioned the issue once–briefly–during his last State of the Union speech in January 2010–without saying anything more other than we need to continue “fixing our broken immigration system.”  With the American public still more interested what Congress plans to do about jobs and the economy, and with the continuing intransigence of lawmakers in trying to get health reform passed, immigration as a priority for Obama and Congress has fallen way down on the list.  If the economy improves, a more realistic expectation is to possibly see some kind of effort materialize in the 2011 session.

For those who cannot wait until 2011 for immigration reform, you might qualify to participate in the annual US visa lottery.  Requirements are strict and only a lucky few get their visa by this method.  But, you can’t win if you don’t play.  It’s worth checking out here.

The earthquake in Haiti recently was called “a disaster of historic proportions”. Until now Haiti had not been given temporary protected status. But the earthquake changed it all. The Department of Homeland Security has recently announced the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. TPS provides temporary immigration status for a specific amount of time to people of a particular nation impacted by extreme events such as wars, earthquakes or hurricanes. Haitian immigrants will be highly benefited from this move as they can stay in U.S. and work here until situations in their country improve.

Haitian communities and immigrant right groups across the USA are finding out more about the program and are encouraging many people to apply. For Haiti, the temporary protected status registration period is open from January 21, 2010 until July 20, 2010. To qualify for TPS you have to be a national of Haiti, resided in U.S. since Jan 12 2010, complete TPS application procedures and have no criminal record. All TPS applicants must file form I-765. If you do not want employment authorization, you will not have to pay a filing fee for Form I-765. The TPS status has been granted for a period of 18 months until Haiti gets back on its feet.

The Department of Homeland Security is supporting Haiti’s recovery by providing temporary refuge to Haitian nationals who are currently in the U.S. If the TPS is not provided the personal safety of Haitian nationals would be endangered by returning to Haiti.

Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano has estimated that there are 100,000 to 200,000 Haitian nationals currently in USA illegally. Temporary protected status gives the Haitian immigrants a temporary immigration status. So Haitians living in U.S. can start applying for TPS and get a chance to remain in U.S. and get work permits to work legally. The money they send back home will be highly useful to Haitians who are suffering to rebuild their country.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) based on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations have decided to approve H-2A and H-2B non-immigrant status petitions only for the nationals of certain countries specified by the Secretary of Homeland Security in a notice published in the Federal Register.

Secretary of Homeland Security along with the Secretary of State in the notice published in the Federal Register had considered around nationals of 39 countries as eligible to participate in the H–2A and H–2B visa programs in the coming year. Of the 39 countries whose nationals were termed eligible for H-2A and H-2B programs, only 28 countries were given the initial designation. The remaining 11 countries were added to the list only after taking into account certain conditions.

39 countries eligible for these non-immigrant visa programs include: Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

Among the above countries, the 11 countries that are considered for the first time to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs are Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, and Uruguay.

The 28 countries out of the 39 that were approved earlier for participating in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs were already designated in the December 18 and 19, 2008 notices. They remain designated even this year as they continue to meet the standards identified in the notices issued earlier.

The notice including the 39 countries nationals has been made active since January 18, 2010 and will continue to be so till the end of one year after January 18, 2010. Also individuals who already hold H-2A and H-2B non-immigrant status will in no way be affected by the notice issued.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR): FAIR Legislative Update February 1, 2010.

President Obama disappointed many amnesty advocates last week with only a passing mention of immigration during his State of the Union speech. This reference, consisting of just 38 words near the end of the more than hour-long speech, was noticeably ambiguous:  “And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system to secure our borders and enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”  (CNN, January 29, 2010).  Absent was any mention of “comprehensive” immigration reform, a path to citizenship, or even legalization.  This passing reference to immigration reform has amnesty proponents questioning whether President Obama truly intends to push for such legislation as part of the agenda he laid out for his second year.

Click here to read more.

Facing Our Future: Children in the Aftermath of Immigration Enforcement.

This report examines the consequences of parental arrest, detention, and deportation on 190 children in 85 families in six locations, providing in-depth details on parent-child separations, economic hardships, and children’s well-being. The contentious immigration debates around the country mostly revolve around illegal immigration. Less visible have been the 5.5 million children with unauthorized parents, almost three-quarters of whom are U.S.-born citizens. Over several years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensified enforcement activities through large-scale worksite arrests, home arrests, and arrests by local law enforcement. The report provides recommendations for stakeholders to mitigate the harmful effects of immigration enforcement on children.

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.

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.

The US Army Recruiting Program called the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) was introduced in February 2009, to recruit non-citizens of US into the army as healthcare professionals. According to this non-immigrant recruiting program, certain non-citizens who are legally present in the US could join the US army and apply for citizenship directly without having to obtain the lawful permanent resident status beforehand.

This served as a golden chance for temporary immigrants to apply for US citizenship since a green card or the permanent residence permit was not required to enlist in the MAVNI recruitment program. The MAVNI recruitment program allows temporary immigrants who have lived for at least two years in the US to become a member of the US Armed Force.

Prior to February 2009, the categories of persons who could lawfully enlist in the United States Armed Forces, included citizens and non-citizen nationals of the United States, lawful permanent resident aliens, and certain nationals of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Palau. But, in February 2009, the Secretary of Army under the guidance of Secretary of Defense ordered that as the recruitment of foreign healthcare professionals was beneficial to national interest, they should also be recruited to the US Army.

The MAVNI recruitment program seeks doctors and nurses from various fields of medicine, such as Internal Medicine, Dentistry, General Surgery, Veterinary Medicine, Psychiatry, and many more. An essential criterion for enlisting was proficiency in any one of the foreign languages specified by the program. Newly appointed MAVNI members of the US Army have a statutory obligation to serve for eight years just as any other normally recruited member. If such a member does not complete this term, his US citizenship can be revoked.

The US Army Recruitment Program essentially was scheduled to continue till either December 31, 2009 or when it meets its target of new recruitments, whichever happens earlier.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the set up of an efficient and consistent process for getting accommodation requests from customers who are disabled. This standardizes process requires customers with disabilities requesting for accommodation from field offices and Application Support Centers to call National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TDD: 1-800-767-1833).

In the past, a Federal law that requires USCIS offices to provide accommodations to disabled customers has already been made. For instance, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) forbids disability discrimination by public units at local places, such as school districts, municipals, and counties. In case of accommodation requests for the disabled, Federal Immigration Offices are included.

Even with this federal law, the disabled had to face several problems. To make the federal law more effective, the USCIS has introduced this streamlined process to make the process convenient for disabled customers. This process will provide customers with disabilities a centralized point of contact for requesting accommodation across the country. This process is to ensure that disabled customers won’t face any difficulty while applying for accommodations and will have a good experience dealing with USCIS offices.

This process also facilitates disabled customers who want to attend an event or fix up online appointment to meet with USCIS, to contact the National Customer Service Center at all times to request for accommodations.

It is required from customers who have appointments in regard with applications like an Application Support Centers (ASC) or interview appointment to wait for the appointment notice request prior to requesting accommodation from the National Customer Service Center. On the other hand, customers who need accommodations at asylum offices can directly contact the asylum offices for accommodation, instead of calling the NCSC toll free number.

On October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act of 2010. This bill extended certain USCIS programs until September 30, 2012. The programs extended include the E-Verify program, the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, and the special immigrant visa category for non-minister religious workers. In addition, the law also extended the availability of the “Conrad-30” program for J-1 non-immigrant exchange visitors.

E-Verify program is an online system operated by the DHS together with the Social Security Administration (SSA.) This voluntary, government-based program allows participating employers to electronically verify the work eligibility of their newly-hired employees in the United States. The program does not charge employers who want to use E-Verify to certify their new hires as legally authorized to work in the US. Over 169,000 employers use E-Verify to run queries.

Under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, USCIS will now continue to receive and process Immigrant petitions by Alien Entrepreneurs and Applications to Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. At present, there are more than 70 regional centers throughout the US, which deal with this EB-5 Pilot Program.

Special immigration status applies for non-minister religious employees, who work in a religious vocation or occupation. This special immigrant visa category also applies to accompanying spouses and children of non-ministers. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to accept and process the Form 1-360, Petition for Amerasian, Special Immigrant, Widow(er), Form 1-485, and Application to register for permanent residence or adjust status based on Form 1-360 petitions.

The “Conrad 30” program allows each state health department to submit requests directly to the Department of State to obtain a waiver on the two-year foreign residence period for foreign medical graduates. Prior to this extension, it was required that foreign medical students should acquire J-1 status before September 30, 2009. Now, the program has been extended up to September 30, 2012.