November 17, 2009
USDOL Issues H-2A Interim Final Rule and Request for Further Comments
Read about it HERE
October 2, 2009USDOL Extends H-2A Proposed Regulations Comment Period Through October 20, 2009Download the Federal Register Notice HERE
August 21, 2009USDOL, Wage and Hour Division publishes Field Assistance Bulletin regarding travel and visa expenses of H-2B workers under the FLSA
Download the Bulletin HERE
August 6, 2009USCIS to Accept New H-2B Fiscal Year 2009 Petitions
WASHINGTON
– U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today reopened the
fiscal year 2009 H-2B petition filing period and will immediately
accept new H-2B petitions.
Although on Jan. 7, 2009, USCIS
announced it accepted and approved a sufficient number of H-2B
petitions to meet the congressionally mandated annual cap of 66,000,
the Department of State received far fewer than expected requests for
H-2B visas and as a result, has issued only 40,640 H-2B visas for
fiscal year 2009 to date. This means that there are approximately
25,000 visas that may go unused, as they have not been granted. Because
of the low visa issuance rate, USCIS is reopening the filing period to
allow employers to file additional petitions for qualified H-2B
temporary foreign nonagricultural workers.
The normal
(non-premium processing) adjudication time frame for H-2B petitions is
60 days. USCIS will make visa numbers available to petitions in the
order in which the petitions are filed. However, because H-2B
petitions (Form I-129) for fiscal year 2009 visas must be received,
evaluated, and adjudicated on or before the fiscal year 2009 deadline
of Sept. 30, 2009, USCIS cannot guarantee approval of any H-2B petition
on or before the Sept. 30, 2009 deadline. Employers therefore are
encouraged to file as soon as possible and to request premium
processing by filing a Form I-907 and submitting the $1000 premium
processing fee, which will allow for expedited adjudication.
To qualify for a fiscal year 2009 H-2B cap number, employers must:
• Submit
the Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker to USCIS with all
required documents, including an approved Alien Employment
Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that is valid for the
entire employment period stated on the petition.
The petitioner must also indicate an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2009.
Petitions
received on or after Oct. 1, 2009, and/or requesting a starting date on
or after Oct. 1, 2009, will be considered towards the fiscal year 2010
H-2B cap and are subject to all eligibility requirements for fiscal
year 2010 H-2B filings, including 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(iv)(D), which
requires that the start date listed on the petition be the same as the
starting date authorized on the temporary labor certification.
The
H-2B program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the
United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs for which there is
a shortage of available U.S. workers. Typically, H-2B workers fill
labor needs in occupational areas such as education, construction,
health care, landscaping, manufacturing, food service/processing, and
resort/hospitality services.
For more information about this
reopening of the H-2B fiscal year 2009 filing period, please see the
related list of questions and answers. More information about the H-2B
visa program is available in the USCIS guide, “How Do I Hire a Foreign
National for Short-Term Employment in the United States,” please see
Related Links on the right of this page or by calling USCIS’ National
Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
Read the US CIS FAQ's HERE
Read the US CIS Press Release HERE
July 9, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomes the recommendations released today by an independent and bipartisan task force on immigration at the Council on Foreign Relations. The task force, led by former Governor Jeb Bush (R -FL) and former Clinton Chief of Staff Mack McLarty, presented their recommendations during a panel discussion this morning. The task force warned that the current broken immigration system risks serious damage to U.S. national interests.
"This is a promising sign that comprehensive immigration reform is possible," said Bernie Wolfsdorf, president of AILA. "This proves that the political landscape regarding immigration reform is changing and that consensus is possible across party lines."
The panel also recommended "earned legalization, not amnesty" for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now living in the United States, requiring those who wish to stay to work, pay taxes, learn English, pass background checks, pay fines and wait their turn behind legal immigrants. It also called for strong border enforcement and a mandatory work document verification system based on fingerprints or eye scans which AILA would support only as part of a comprehensive reform of our immigration laws.
July 2, 2009
The U.S. Department of Labor has posted the following regarding H-2A regulations on their website:
June 29, 2009: Suspension Enjoined
On June 29, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North
Carolina issued a preliminary injunction against the Department's Final
Suspension of the December 2008 Final H-2A Rule. As a result of this
court action, and unless and until additional court action takes place,
the Suspension is no longer in effect; the December 2008 Final Rule
remains in effect.
June 25, 2009
Click HERE to view the positive comments made by President Barack Obama and The White House regarding Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
June 1, 2009
Read Barbara Q Velarde, Chief, Service Center Operations, USCIS Memorandum to Service Center Directors regarding Clarification of evidence required to satisfy the U.S. interest requirement for beneficiaries from countries not listed on the H-2A or H-2B Eligible Countries List
May 29, 2009
DOL Publishes Final Rule Reinstating H-2A Regulations
The Department of Labor published a final rule, effective on June 29, 2009, that suspends the H-2A final rule published on December 18, 2009. DOL is republishing and reinstating regulations in place on January 16, 2009, for 9 months, after which the Department will either have engaged in further rulemaking or lift the suspension.
May 20, 2009
Momentum for Immigration Reform Continues to Build
AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 09052030 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
- Sens. Menendez, Gillibrand, Kennedy and Schumer introduce "The Reuniting Families Act" in the Senate
- White House announces meeting on immigration reform with Congressional leaders for June 8
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomes several developments today that signal that immigration reform is gaining momentum!
AILA commends US Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) for introducing legislation today that seeks to restore America's commitment to family unity. The Reuniting Families Act would help legal immigrants reunite with their families and end decade-long waiting times for legal immigrant visas. "This is momentous day for all Americans who understand the dire need for immigration," said Charles H. Kuck, president of AILA. "This important legislation promotes timely reunification of families by recapturing unused visas and eliminating the tragically long family immigration backlogs."
The legislation would reinforce our commitment to families and reduce current wait times in the family immigration system by:
- Helping an estimated 322,000 spouses and children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents who are waiting in line to reunite with their families by reclassifying them as immediate relatives
- Addressing the decades-long backlogs for certain countries by raising the per-country immigration limits from 7 percent to 10 percent of total admissions
- Protecting widows, widowers and orphans by allowing them to continue to wait in line for a visa after the death of the sponsoring relative.
- Recapturing an estimated 400,000 family-sponsored and employment-based visas that went unused between 1992 and 2007.
- Respecting the contribution of Filipino World War II veterans by reducing their children's waiting times for an immigrant visa.
- Promoting family unity by allowing more people who are already eligible for an immigrant visa to efficiently use our legal family immigration system.
- Providing equal treatment for stepchildren and biological children by allowing stepchildren under the age of 21 to immigrate upon their parents' marriage (current age limit is 18).
In addition to this important legislation, the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee today launched an aggressive effort to press for passage of comprehensive immigration legislation, with Subcommittee Chairman Charles Schumer, D-NY, saying conditions are ripe for Congressional action. Schumer also announced an agenda of hearings for the coming months and said he is "cautiously optimistic that we can pass strong, fair, practical and effective immigration reform this year."
Further, a report released today by the nonpartisan Police Foundation criticized efforts to have local law enforcement agencies enforce federal immigration laws. The group said the report "finds that immigration enforcement by local police undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities already distrustful of police."
Also, the National Foundation of American Policy released two studies earlier today. One study titled, "Common Sense, Common Interests," recommends combining fully portable work permits - not tied to a specific employer - with bilateral administrative agreements. The second study, "A Commission to Regulate Immigration? A Bad Idea Whose Time Should Not Come," concludes that creating a commission to establish the annual level of temporary visas and green cards for high and low-skilled workers would result in unaccountable officials with the enormous power to change the law based on little more than their personal preference.
And finally, the White House today announced that it will hold a high-level meeting with Congressional leaders on June 8th to discuss plans for immigration reform.
These important developments all keep the momentum building towards an immigration overhaul that is desperately needed by our country. AILA pledges itself to working closely with Congress and the Administration to make sure that immigration reform moves forward to a successful conclusion in the months ahead!
April 30, 2009
All Signs Point to Immigration Reform this Year:
AILA Optimistic that the President and Congress will Push for CIR this Year
"AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 09043010 (posted Apr. 30, 2009)"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, April 30, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is encouraged by events of the past 24 hours as President Barak Obama renewed his Administration’s pledge to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) announced its intention to recalibrate its worksite enforcement actions to focus more on criminal prosecutions of employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers, and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship led by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), commenced hearings to examine common sense solutions to fixing America’s broken immigration system.
AILA commends Chairman Schumer for sounding the starting gun with an outstanding first hearing. Two expert-laden panels of witnesses made a highly compelling case – covering the moral, economic, business, labor, security and law enforcement angles - for the need to advance immigration reform legislation this year. “The stars seem to be aligning for a major push toward comprehensive immigration reform this year,” said Charles H. Kuck, president of AILA. “Momentum continues to build as more and more of our elected leaders understand that tackling and solving our current immigration crisis will only help strengthen America’s economy and security. The events over the past two days signal that this Administration and Congress get it and will not let this opportunity to finally bring the nation’s legal immigration system into the 21st century pass them by.”
AILA is pleased that DHS is taking steps to restore balance and rationality in its enforcement priorities. Mr. Kuck expressed hopes that the new DHS statement of policy addresses pivotal due process concerns, saying “a retooling of enforcement activities must, first and foremost, ensure the right to counsel of any employees caught up in these actions, and limit or eliminate the abusive practice of transferring detainees away from their communities, families and attorneys. These are indispensable elements of a fair and just system.”
December 18, 2008
U.S. Department of Labor publishes new H-2A and H-2B regulations.
December 19, 2008
U.S. Department of Homeland Security publishes new H-2A and H-2B regulations.
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