A survey was issued by USCIS in April 2010 seeking help from any member of the public or its own employees to find out the issue areas that required attention. Around 5,600 responses from stakeholders, including present immigrant and non-immigrant visa holders, employers, and immigration attorneys were received by USCIS. Apart from these 5,600 responses, 2,400 employers from USCIS also responded to this survey. From the survey results, USCIS could identify the top ten issue areas that needed to be addressed first.

The top ten issue areas include Nonimmigrant H-1B Status, Employment Authorization Documents (EAD,) Naturalization in special cases and Citizenship, National Customer Service Center (NCSC,) Employment-based Immigration Status, Form I-601, Refugee and Asylum Adjustment of Status, Employment-Based Adjustment of Status, Family-Based Adjustment of Status, and other Humanitarian Programs.

The USCIS Policy Review was carried out in four stages. The review began with information gathering. USCIS gathered the existing policy documents from the USCIS offices around the country. Once all the policy documents, including guidance memo, training manuals, and operational guidance were gathered, USCIS went on categorizing them into appropriate issue areas.

With the issue areas categorized, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a survey to the public and the USCIS employees to help prioritize the issue areas. The survey was then examined and the top ten issue areas were recognized.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is taking the help of subject matter experts from around USCIS offices to begin the review in the top ten issue areas. USCIS will maintain its rapport with the public to get their feedback and serve them better. The course of action that is required for each issue area will be determined based on USCIS’s goals, requirements, and responses. Once the policies are approved, they will be compiled into a single electronic resource for both the employers and the public.

According to Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director, the U nonimmigrant status lets USCIS to offer critical immigration protection to crime victims and also allow law enforcement officials to protect crime victims. He also stated that thousands of immigrants have benefitted from this approval through the joint effort of USCIS, law enforcement forces and service providers.

On the first day of the financial year 2011 i.e. on October 1, 2010, the issuance of U nonimmigrant status will be resumed by USCIS. Until Oct. 1, 2010, the new petitions for U nonimmigrant status will be accepted by USCIS and those petitioners who have been conditionally approved will be put on waiting list. Qualifying family members and conditionally approved petitioners can stay back in the United States and also apply for work authorization.

Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the U nonimmigrant status was created to reinforce the powers of law enforcement forces to investigate and prosecute crimes, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, kidnapping, murder, and other related crimes. Those crime victims who had been abused either physically or mentally due to the criminal activity and interested in helping the law enforcement authorities in investigation will benefit from this visa. Around 6,000 U visa petitions were approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in fiscal year 2009.

DHS in collaboration with the Department of State assessed the conditions in EI Salvador last year. The review concluded that the conditions that necessitated the 2001 TPS of EI Salvador as a result of subsequent severe earthquakes still continues. This is temporarily preventing Salvador nationals from returning to their country. Thus Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security has arrived at the conclusion that the existing Salvadoran TPS has to be extended for 18 months.

The extension allows individuals who already have a TPS to re-register and extend their status for an additional 18 months. Around 217,000 EI Salvador nationals are eligible for the re-registration. Salvadoran nationals who entered the US after Feb. 13, 2001 cannot benefit from the Temporary Protected Status extension. The re-registration period is between July 9 and Sept. 7, 2010. Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries are obliged to re-register as soon as the re-registration period begins since USCIS requires time to go ahead with background checking and processing.

Eligible TPS beneficiaries will be issued a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by USCIS once they re-register and apply for EADs. Also, the validity of existing EADs will automatically be extended for six months until March 9, 2011.

In order to re-register, eligible TPS beneficiaries are required to file the Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization has to be filed along with the processing fee by applicants who seek to extend their Employment Authorization Document. Applicants seeking only to re-register for TPS, should still file Form I-765, but need not pay the filing fee.

If the applicant has good reason for filing after the re-registration period of his respective country has been closed, a late TPS re-registration application might be accepted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Along with the re-registration application, the applicant is also required to submit a letter, explaining his reason for filing late.

Unfortunately, the eligible Hondurans and Nicaraguans, who failed to file a TPS re-registration application on or before July 6, 2010 will lose their TPS benefits, including employment authorization and protection from removal from the United States, if they do not submit the application along with a letter claiming their good cause for filing late.

Tips for filing re-registration application:

• The applicants must file an application for Temporary Protected Status (Form I-821) and an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) with supporting documentation.

• The applicants must file the Form I-765, even when an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is not requested.

• Correct versions of the forms (Form I-821 dated Oct. 17, 2007 or later, and Form I-765 dated May 27, 2008 or later) must be submitted. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has every right to reject applications if the incorrect version of the form is submitted.

• The forms must be filled out completely and all appropriate boxes must be marked. In Part 1, of Form I-821, applicants are required to mark the box for re-registration or renewal of temporary benefits.

• The appropriate fee(s) must be submitted with the applications. Check or money order must be made payable to the Department of Homeland Security.

TPS re-registrants are requested to know that delay in filing leads to delay in processing and ultimately lead to gaps in employment authorization. Further details on TPS re-registration application for eligible Hondurans and Nicaraguans can be found at uscis.gov

To obtain the temporary non-immigrant visa, an applicant must have a US bachelor’s degree or a 4-year’s bachelor’s degree obtained from an accredited or recognized foreign university or college to be considered as an equivalent in their specialty, or a license exercising no restriction for the fields like teaching or pharmacy in the US In case, the applicant has less than 4 years of university study, he can merge the years of his degree/diploma with the years of study completed on a post-baccalaureate diploma, master’s degree, or other studies.

The applicants also have an option to combine progressive work experience in the field with university study – or use work experience only. Three years of progressive work experience in the field is equivalent to one year of US university study for H-1B purposes. Additionally, the applicant’s petition has to be moved by his/her US employer and he/she cannot be self-employed.

A foreign national with a degree from a foreign university who intends to come to the US on H-1B visa needs to get a credential evaluation done. Credential evaluation is the process of converting the records of education completed in one country into its US equivalency. Thus, this needs to be done if the applicant possesses a Bachelor’s degree from a foreign nation. This credential evaluation can be obtained through an assessment from an officer who has the right to grant college-level credit for training, or from college-level equivalency examination results, or from a nationally accredited professional association. The credential evaluation can also be done by a trusted credentials assessment service provider.

The USCIS just needs you to submit a report that includes an equivalency statement of the diplomas/degrees along with brief information on the institution where the studies were completed if you are seeking a credential evaluation.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said that USCIS has arrived at the conclusion that Haitian nationals need some more time to apply for TPS after hearing from the Haitian community leaders and advocates. By extending the registration period, USCIS lets more eligible Haitian nationals to safely stay back in the United States until the catastrophe settles in Haiti.

Haitian nationals who secure a Temporary Protected Status can remain in the United States and can also get authorized to work there during the course of the program. USCIS has taken up many initiatives to let the Haitians know about the benefits and information about the registration process from the time the program was initiated. USCIS is still in the process of encouraging eligible Haitian nationals to file for TPS before the deadline. Applicants who are unable to pay the application fee can request for fee waivers.

During interaction with the public, USCIS could gather several reasons for eligible individual’s failure to apply for their Temporary Protected Status. Few individuals faced difficulty in gathering documents to be submitted for the TPS registration due to the earthquake. Few others could not afford to pay the application fees.

Commencing January 21, 2010, TPS for Haitian nationals was allotted for an 18-month period by Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary. Haitian nationals who stayed in the United States since January 12, 2010 are only eligible for this designation. Those Haitians who stepped into the United States after Jan. 12, 2010 cannot benefit from this program.

According to Secretary Napolitano, the Department’s federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement forces, governments all over the world, communities across the country, and non-profit and non-governmental organizations will share the responsibility of combating human trafficking. She is of the view that the DHS Blue Campaign will bring out the traffickers to justice and help the victims.

John Morton, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director, Alan Bersin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Alejandro Mayorkas, Director U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Keene, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Deputy Director, and Alice Hill, Senior Counselor to Secretary Napolitano, jointly launched the Blue Campaign to help combat human trafficking and assist the victims.
A set of public outreach tools, including social media, public awareness campaigns, and a new website, www.dhs.gov/humantrafficking has been launched by the Department to aid citizens in recognizing and reporting the incidences of human trafficking.

Apart from the public outreach tools, the DHS Blue Campaign also incorporates initiatives to train law enforcement forces and DHS personnel, improved assistance for victims, and establishment of new partnerships and collaboration between agencies. Additionally, the campaign also includes placement of more victim assistance specialists for law enforcement personnel.

In view of fostering worldwide awareness about human trafficking, the Department has chosen the DHS Blue Campaign’s name and symbol. The symbol reminds us of the “thin blue line” of law enforcement. Further, the symbol combines global anti-human trafficking symbols, the Blue Blindfold and the Blue Heart. The Blue Blindfold symbol was created by the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Center and the Blue Heart, by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

While assessing an O-1 petition, the “gap”, the period of time between the scheduled events, is used as a standard to verify whether the schedule corresponds to a single continuous event or separate events. The verification is to determine if the separate events require separate petitions.

There were certain cases where there was a considerable “gap” in between events. This “gap” made adjudicators arrive at the conclusion that a single petition was filed for separate events. The validity period of petitions in such cases will be same as the period of time that is required to complete the initial specific event. The continuous event that has been mentioned in the O-1 petition will not affect the validity period of the petition. A gap of a certain number of days in a schedule does not indicate a new event. According to the regulations, the term, “event”, refers to the tours and multiple appearances.

Owing to the statutory and regulatory background, the length of validity period may be flexible to the requirements of the petitioner. As per the statute and regulations, the validity period of an O-1 petition is not supposed to exceed 3 years. It is the duty of adjudicators to assess the completeness of the evidence. The evidence that has been submitted should be verified if they can be regarded as an “event.” Service Centers ought to approve a petition for the requested period of time once the validity period that has been requested for is confirmed through the submission of evidence.

guardian.co.uk

Republicans, enraged by Obama’s blocking of the Arizona immigration law, may stonewall future immigration reforms

In a partial and last-minute victory for opponents of the new Arizona immigration law, a federal judge on Wednesday blocked its most controversial components just hours before the crackdown was set to go into effect.

The decision, which Arizona is expected to appeal, serves as a boost to the Obama administration’s lawsuit challenging the measure as unconstitutional. It also raises the stakes of a showdown poised to influence the course of the national immigration debate. Whatever the outcome, it seems, this will dampen already grim prospects for reform and politically benefit Republicans in the short run.

US District Judge Susan Bolton placed holds on provisions requiring Arizona police to demand residency papers from individuals based on suspicions, and delayed implementation of clauses making it illegal not to carry documentation at all times. Bolton declared that the measure “burdens lawfully present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked”.

Echoing the justice department’s argument that the task of enforcing immigration laws belongs to the federal government, Bolton added that the statutes “would impose a ‘distinct, unusual and extraordinary’ burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose”.

The SB 1070 measure’s enactment in April by Governor Jan Brewer set off a firestorm of criticism from civil rights groups, which argued that it unfairly targets Hispanics and people of colour legally in the United States, reigniting an explosive national debate on US immigration policy.

The law polls well nationally – partly because Americans are desperate for an immigration overhaul, and support action on the part of states amid Washington inaction – and has become an issue in the November midterm elections.

The immediate impact of the ruling will be to tame the copycat laws percolating in legislatures of at least five states. At the same time, it will infuriate and galvanise Republicans, who strongly back the Arizona crackdown, in the midst of an already harsh election climate for Democrats.

A legal victory for Barack Obama could inject new fire into GOP efforts at stonewalling immigration reform, as they will likely use it to claim Democrats aren’t serious about controlling the border. Republicans, some of whose votes are necessary to pass a bill, have unanimously refused to consider broad reforms until after border issues are dealt with; Democrats argue that enforcement must be viewed as one aspect of a comprehensive effort.

The seemingly irresolvable issue of how to deal with existing illegal immigration further complicates reform prospects. Republicans appear immutably opposed to any kind of legalisation program, while omitting such a program is a nonstarter for too many Democrats.

Another obstacle for reformers is that Republicans have succeeded in making sure border security dominates the debate, while Democrats have done a poor job conveying that the immigration system’s problems run much deeper, and that fixing them requires a wholesome approach. Democrats also seldom emphasised the broad public support for offering undocumented workers a path to citizenship. According to a new CNN poll, 81% support such a programme; 19% are opposed.

The stalemate encompasses even less controversial, piecemeal provisions such as the Dream Act, which would grant legal permanent residency to children who entered the country illegally with their parents, on the condition that they go to college or join the military. Some Democrats also worry that passing popular provisions on their own would sap the energy for comprehensive reform.

Meanwhile, a drawn-out court battle over the Arizona law, which might reach the supreme court, would intensify Republican opposition to reform and simply leave both sides to yell at each other and point fingers in the interim. For Democrats, the short-term diagnosis just isn’t good, through little fault of their own.

Obama has taken an uncharacteristically forceful stance on the crackdown, declaring that it “threaten[s] to undermine basic notions of fairness”. The delicate politics of the issue are inextricably linked to the Hispanic community, by far the fastest growing demographic in the US, which fiercely opposes the Arizona measure and views immigration reform as a top priority.

In the short run, Republicans stand to gain from drawing attention to the Arizona fight. But alienating Latino voters will ultimately spell political disaster for the GOP, which already fairs poorly among non-white voters, in a country where minorities are on their way to constituting a majority. For Democrats, fighting against the Arizona law paints a much more pleasant picture in the long term than it does in the foreseeable future.