Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United
States amid mile-high expectations for positive change with respect
to the economy, war in Iraq, health care, energy policy, the
environment—and yes, immigration.
With a new, pragmatic president, centrist administration and a
greater Democratic majority in Congress comes a sense of optimism
that real immigration reform is possible. But before comprehensive
reform can be accomplished, agreements must be reached on
controversial issues such as the path to citizenship for illegal
immigrants....
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A year ago, we reported on "site visits" conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) contractors to verify the facts contained in H-1B temporary worker petitions filed by employers.
Jul 23, 2010: On July 22, 2010, USCIS published in the Federal Register a final rule that made minor changes to the rule related to electronic employment eligibility verification.
We have noticed a slowdown in the processing of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and Advance Parole (AP) for employees who are waiting for approval of their Green Cards. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is taking the full ninety (90) days to approve the EAD and AP.
On 19 July temporary immigration caps were imposed on Tier 1 (General) applications made outside the UK and Tier 2 (General). Permanent caps are due to be introduced on Tier 1 (General) and Tier 2 from April 2011.
Under the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (TPA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will require travelers from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to pay operational and travel promotion fees when applying for ESTA beginning September 8, 2010.
On August 19, 2010, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued guidance to employers filing H-1B or L-1 petitions based on the recently enacted Public Law 111-230, an emergency appropriations bill providing $600 million for additional security measures on the southern U.S. border.
As flagged in our earlier article (link) the right to work for those who have made a repeat claim for asylum has now been settled by the Supreme Court, in the case of ZO and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] UKSC 36.
With effect from 19 July 2010, the Government has changed the rules for applicants under tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based immigration system with the aim of reducing the number of migrants entering under these routes by five per cent in the period to 31 March 2011.
In April 2010, the Arizona State Legislature passed and Governor Janice K. Brewer signed into law Arizona Senate Bill 1070 in an effort to deal with illegal immigration, escalating drug and human trafficking, and other public safety concerns.
The H-1B visa program is used by U.S. employers to employ foreign nationals in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field and require a bachelor's degree or its equivalent as a minimum requirement.
