The Business Immigration Monthly is Hammond Law Group’s latest web-based newsletter, directed at international workers and employers seeking the most up-to-date news on U.S. immigration issues, specifically those that impact workers on H, L, E, and O visas and workers seeking permanent residency.
January Visa Bulletin
The
Department of State has released the January Visa Bulletin.
Unfortunately, there has been only minimal movement in some of the
categories- EB2 China moved about a month to July 8th,
2004; EB3 China moved four months to June 1, 2002, EB2 India moved
one month to July 1, 2003, and EB3 India moved 14 days to October 15th,
2001.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4406.html
President-elect Obama on Immigration
The
election of Barack Obama could mean significant change in US immigration
policy. Many clients and friends of the firm have asked us what
President Obama’s stance is on immigration. On his website,
President-elect Obama outlines his “Blueprint for Change”. The
President-elect also has a section of his website devoted to
immigration.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/
USCIS
Revised Form I-9
USCIS
announced today that it has submitted to the Federal Register an
interim final rule that will streamline the Employment Eligibility
Verification (Form I-9) process. This rule narrows the list of
acceptable identity documents and specifies that expired documents are
not acceptable for I-9 purposes. According to the USCIS “An expansive
document list makes it more difficult for employers to verify valid and
acceptable forms and single out false documents compromising the
effectiveness and security of the Form I-9 process. The changes included
in the interim final rule will significantly improve the security of the
employment eligibility verification process.” Employers will be required
to use the revised Form I-9 for all new hires and to reverify any
employee with expiring employment authorization beginning 45 days after
publication in the Federal Register For more details see:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9ad43f347a62e110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=55b2aca797e63110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD
Some Adjustment of Status Cases Being Transferred to the National
Benefits Center
This year
has seen an increase in the number of employment-based adjustment of
status cases (I-485 petitions) being transferred to the National
Benefits Center (NBC). In May 2007, the USCIS began scheduling these
employment-based adjustment of status cases through the NBC for
interviews. If you receive a transfer notice from a service center to
the NBC on an employment-based case, the reason is that it is being
scheduled for interview. There are a number of reasons your case may be
selected for interview including: validity of identification, validation
of legal status, questionable admission or qualifications, indications
of fraud, fingerprints twice rejected, or a file is not located at the
time of adjudication. As stated by William Yates, Associated Director of
Operations, “interviews should be viewed as necessary when the decision
to grant or deny the benefits would benefit from the back and forth
questioning of an interview or an assessment of credibility. Interviews
should not be used to obtain information that can be readily requested
and provided in response to an RFE.” For more information please contact
your HLG attorney.
www.USCIS.gov
Are Employers Contractually Bound to Finish Green Cards?
DerKevorkian v. Lionbridge Technologies.
A case with possible implications for employers who sponsor green cards
has just been ruled on by the 10th circuit court of appeals.
DerKevorkian (the foreign national) argued that her employer (Lionbridge)
violated its fiduciary duty to her. She argued that Lionbridge took
complete control of the green card process and then mishandled it such
that the result was that she did not obtain her green
card. The district court judge sided with DerKevorkian concluding that
a fiduciary duty was created when DerKevorkian’s long term employer
agreed to sponsor her for the green card process and then violated that
duty when it was mismanaged and subsequently abandoned, awarding
DerKevorkian hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. On appeal the
10th circuit remanded the case stating that DerKevorkian has
a right to mitigate the damages. This case highlights some interesting
points for employers to keep in mind when agreeing to process green
cards for their employees.
For more information see:
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/monthly/Feature_Article/october2007BIMfeature.pdf
http://www.h1cap.com/
Everyone
at HLG Wishes You and Yours
a
Happy and Safe Holiday Season
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