Eli Kantor appointed as Media Liaison

The American Immigration Lawyers Association, AILA, has appointed Eli Kantor to serve as its Media Liaison for the Southern California Chapter for the 2009 -2010 term.

Immigration settles amnesty lawsuit

Ending a 20 year long legal battle, Immigration finally agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding amnesty applicants who entered the US legally but then overstayed their visas or violated the terms of their visas. Immigration had placed the burden on the amnesty applicant to prove that their illegal status was now"known to the government". Immigration will now presume that the government knew about their violations because schools were legally required to send the notices of violation of student visa status to Immigration. This settlement will open the doors to permanent residents to tens of thousands of people.

Visa Waiver Program is Expanded to 7 New Countries

Starting today, November 17, 2008, eligible citizens or nationals from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia may enter the US for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Election of Obama and Democratic Congress Increases Chances of Success for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Next Year

The stunning election of Barack Obama for President and the strong gains made by the Democratic Party in Congress will boost chances for Comprehensive Immigration Reform next year. Of course, immigration reform will not be a top priority, and the continuing economic crisis together with a high rate of unemployment may cloud the prospects for passage of a comprehensive package. However, even if a comprehensive package is not passed next year, the chances are excellent for the passage of piece meal solutions such as EB vias recapture; Nurses and Physical Therapists bill; AG Jogs and the DREAM Act. See Business Week Online for the interview of ELI KANTOR on this topic, and stay tuned to this blog for the latest updates.

Immigration Issues Supplemental Final Rule for No-Match Letters

Immigration issued a Supplemental Final Rule that provides additional background and analysis for the department's No-Match Rule. The regulation which was originally proposed in June 2006 and issued in August 2007 as a Final Rule, clarifies what steps responsible employers can take to resolve discrepancies identified in "no match" letters issued by the Social Security Administration. It also provides guidance to help businesses comply with legal requirements intended to reduce the illegal employment of unauthorized workers. Implementation of the No Match rule has been stayed following the issuance of a preliminary injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last year. This Supplemental Final Rule is an attempt to meet the concerns raised by the Court. The DHS will return to Court to request that the injunction be lifted so that implementation of the new rule can proceed.

Visa Waiver Program is Expanded to 7 New Countries

The Visa Waiver program has been expanded to include 7 new countries including: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea. Nationals of these countries will not be required to obtain a visa to enter the US for stays of up to 90 days.

Immigration Extends Period of Stay for TN Professional Workers

Immigration has increased the maximum period of time a Trade- NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico may remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay. This final rule changes the initial period of admission for TN workers from 1 year to 3 years.

President Signs the Conrad 30 extension bill

President Bush signed into law a bill extending the Conrad 30 program for 5 years. The Conrad 30 program waives the two year foreign residency requirement for physicians who received J-1 visas, who work in underserved areas where there is a health professional shortage.

President Signs Military Personnel Citizinship Processing Act

President Bush signed into law the Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act. The law requires that Immigration process and issue a citizenship decision within 6 months of receiving an application from a current or former member of the armed forces, or their surviving dependents. If a decision is not made within that time frame, Immigration is required to explain the delay and provide a new decision target date.

331 Arrested by ICE agents in South Carolina

Immigration agents executed a federal criminal search warrant on October 8th at the Columbia Farms poultry processing plant. They arrested 331 illegal aliens. These arrests follows the criminal cases filed earlier this year against nine plant supervisory employees.