January 24, 2012 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

CBP Announces Its FY 2011 Accomplishments

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended 340,252 illegal immigrants attempting to enter the U.S. in FY 2011, a drop of about 50 percent over three years and barely 20 percent of the peak numbers that the agency saw in 2000, according to information released by CBP in its fiscal year in review.

Apprehensions are an important indicator of illegal immigration. About a quarter of the persons CBP apprehended in FY 2011 were already in the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which is a database of persons with criminal charges or convictions.

CBP’s agents and officers seized about 5 million pounds of narcotics at the country’s ports of entry – a significant increase since last year. The agency also intercepted about $120 million in undeclared currency.

Officers apprehended 8,195 illegal immigrants who were wanted for violent crimes such as murder, assault, rape and robbery. CBP turned away an estimated 215,600 persons attempting to enter the United States for criminal, health or national security reasons.

The agency’s agriculture team seized more than 1.6 million pounds of illegal meat and animal byproducts as well as plant materials. It also nabbed about 183,000 pests at ports.

Among the four states that border Mexico, Texas has the longest border, but Arizona had the border with the most apprehensions in FY 2011. Agents and officers in Arizona apprehended 129,118 persons while CBP in Texas caught 118,911. CBP in Texas seized 1.5 million pounds of drugs and $1.9 million in currency. New Mexico is the most dangerous state to attempt illegal crossings because of its treacherous desert terrain. Its low numbers show it to be an unpopular illegal location with fewer than 7,000 apprehensions.

CBP has significantly increased its presence at the border during the past three years. There were 21,444 Border Patrol agents in FY 2011, 886 more than the year before. The agency had another 20,500 officers working the border.

The agency’s focus on the border includes more than additional “boots on the ground”. CBP has brought in more thermal imaging units, non-intrusive inspection equipment, and more mobile surveillance equipment.

CBP drones now patrol the border from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean helping officers and agents on the ground with intelligence only available from the sky. The aircraft flew about 4,100 hours in FY 2011 and helped to apprehend 467 illegal immigrants and about 7,600 pounds of narcotics.

The agency also enrolled about 290,000 people into the CBP’s Trusted Traveler Program, with the goal of expediting the screening process for low-risk travelers through a series of background checks. Overall, more than 340 million travelers came to the United States in the last fiscal year.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

January 10, 2012 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

No U.S. Embassy in Tehran? No Worries – the U.S. Creates a Virtual Embassy Online

The U.S. State Department recently launched the Virtual Embassy Tehran website to foster a cultural connection between the United States and Iran and to connect Iranian people with more information about the U.S.

The last actual Tehran embassy was shut down in 1980 after the catastrophic events of the hostage crisis in 1979. Since then, Switzerland has helped the United States carry out consular and humanitarian missions. After the U.S. created a USA darFarsi Facebook and Twitter account, it discovered that many people wanted to discuss American topics and opportunities.

“We know that the Iranian people remain hungry for information about the United States – information about travel to the U.S., educational opportunities, and our policies toward Iran and the rest of the world,” according to a State Department press release.

The website is in English and Persian and encourages freedom of expression and freedom of the press, two of America’s core values. The content focuses on multiple viewpoints, a democratic society, and America’s efforts to resolve conflicts with the Iranian government. Because the United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations, the website is a key platform to educate each country’s citizens about American policy, culture, and citizenship. Outreach between Iranian and U.S. citizens is crucial to opening up the dialogue to create a more civil, open society for Iran’s citizens.

As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said “…the young people of Iran carry within you both the ancient greatness of Persian civilization and the power to forge a country that is responsive to your aspirations.”

Virtual Embassy Tehran is made “…to offer you another perspective and another source of information so you can make up your own minds about the U.S., our concerns about the Iranian government’s activities at home and abroad, and our serious efforts to achieve a resolution to those concerns.”

Iranian students and business people who are looking to study, work, or attend a business conference in the U.S. can find more information on the site about visas and traveling to the United States. Beyond Facebook and Twitter, website visitors can access the site’s YouTube videos and blogs. Important links to U.S. government institutions and citizenship services are also given. Iranian traditions, holidays, and charitable contributions are mentioned too.

The news portion of the website gives breaking news and Middle East news from Voice of America. The website is in stark contrast to the Iranian government that “…tries to limit what its citizens see, hear, think, and feel…this very expensive endeavor is bound to fail in today’s increasingly interactive world,” according to the State Department.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

December 28, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

Department of States Addresses Increased U.S. Visa Demand

The Department of State recently reported a 17 percent increase in U.S. visas from the previous fiscal year. Throughout fiscal year 2011 more than 7.5 million U.S. visas were issued, with heavy demand from Brazil, China, India, and Mexico. International travel by tourists, businesspeople, and students generated $134 billion in revenue and helped sustain 1.1 million American jobs. With the uptick in demand for U.S. visas, the Department of State is making numerous efforts to improve its efficiency and customer service throughout its 222 embassies and consulates worldwide.

More workers and resources are being allocated to visa adjudication by the Department of State as global travel still remains a vital national economic interest. At busy posts throughout the world, officers can interview 100 visa applicants or more on a daily basis. Sophisticated technologies such as biometric checks are being used to improve security-related measures for screening applicants along with multiple biographic checks. The Department is also increasing visa adjudicators, and targeting new hires that can assist in China and Brazil.

The posts in China and Brazil offer extended hours to conduct additional visa applicant interviews. In the last five years, visas have increased by 234 percent in Brazil and 124 percent in China. China saw an increase of 35 percent in fiscal year 2011 alone, and processed more than 1 million visa applications in just one year.

When there are increased seasonal demands for U.S. visas, the Department of State will add temporary duty officers to manage interviews and processes. Wait times worldwide are typically one week for an interview appointment, and student visa interview appointments at some posts take less than a week and a half.

Interview appointments for business travel can be expedited to make business travel more efficient. The Business Visa Center supports U.S. companies that want to attract foreign workers and clients to visit or attend conventions in the U.S. FY 2011 saw 3,500 requests for business travel to the United States.

Student visa interviews are also prioritized. International students bring economic, social, and intellectual benefits to the U.S. and generate close to $20 billion to the economy on an annual basis.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

December 20, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

USCIS Issues New EB-5 Adjudications Guidance

U.S. Customs and Immigration Services is taking steps to significantly improve its EB-5 Program adjudication process by improving internal communication, streamlining application analysis and consolidating policy memoranda into a single comprehensive agency memorandum.

As background, Congress created the EB-5 Program as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 to encourage new international capital investment into domestic projects that would hire American workers. The program grants two-year conditional permanent resident status to immigrants who make at least a $1 million investment into a new or expanding business in the United States that will help create jobs, or $500,000 if invested in Targeted Employment Areas such as high employment or rural areas. The Program has an annual quota of 10,000 visas available. Just before the second anniversary, conditional resident investors must again file with USCIS and show the creation of 10 United States worker jobs consistent with the previously approved Business Plan, in addition to meeting other requirements.

USCIS’ adjudication process improvements include a new decision board that will help adjudicators reach a final decision on petitions. Department of Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas advised that DHS has hired economists and business analysts to help the adjudication team and a consulting firm to help streamline the entire process.

The agency already has introduced direct email contact between the USCIS adjudication team and petitioners from a Regional Center, which is part of a new pilot program under the EB-5 umbrella.

To give the adjudicators, the new consultants and the decision board a comprehensive policy, USCIS is creating an overarching policy memorandum for the EB-5 program to collect all of the relevant policies into one, and has recently released its first version of the memorandum.

The new overarching policy memorandum is intended to give the adjudicators a guide as they process applications, Mayorkas said, in addition to speeding up adjudication and yielding more predictable outcomes. Presently, USCIS takes about eight months to adjudicate an investor’s initial petition.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

November 29, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

Secretary Napolitano Discusses Border Security and Enforcement

Security along the U.S. border with Mexico is at an all-time high, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced in an October 2011 presentation at American University in Washington, D.C.

As evidence, Secretary Napolitano reports that DHS has doubled the number of Border Patrol agents since 2001 to 18,000 agents today, and is using highly sophisticated technology to significantly reduce the number of people trying to get into the United States illegally.

DHS, through the efforts of component agencies Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has seen a 36 percent drop in the number of attempts to illegally cross the southwestern border over the past two years, she said. That is a third of the volume of such attempts at its peak. At the same time, seizure of guns, drugs and currency have all increased despite the drop in attempted illegally crossings.

Secretary Napolitano said the border is safer than it has been in decades and praised the hard work of CBP and ICE in achieving record levels of enforcement. “Let’s take the ‘border is out of control’ myth out of the equation,” she said. By “…using the claim that the border is not secure as a reason to block immigration reform is not reasonable…for the last two and a half years, [we] have seen dramatic declines in illegal immigration and dramatic increases in seizures.”

Secretary Napolitano also announced her agency’s current priorities for effective immigration enforcement. Top on DHS’ list is the identification and removal of public safety and national security threats, criminals and gang members, and deterring individuals from illegally crossing the southwestern border by detention of recent illegal crossers.

Lower on its overall list of priorities, DHS will continue its forensic I-9 workforce compliance audits rather than engage in worksite raids. Secretary Napolitano announced that the agency will continue its program of criminal prosecution for those employers who have been deemed to have engaged in egregious workforce compliance violations. Significantly, DHS will begin prioritizing the removal of those persons who repeatedly violate immigration laws, and for the first time as formal national policy, outline the appropriate use of discretion in deciding which cases the agency will prioritize for removal.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

November 17, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

Appeals Court Stays Parts of New Alabama Law

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court have stayed parts of Alabama’s controversial new immigration law, HB56, which requires schoolchildren and commuters to prove their immigration status, and makes it a crime to give an illegal immigrant a ride in a car.

In October 2011, Atlanta’s 11th Circuit Court of Appeals enjoined two parts of HB56 until the appeals process is complete: the provision making it a crime to be undocumented, and the one requiring students to prove legal immigration status or be presumed undocumented. The court allowed two other provisions to stand, including a prohibition making it a felony for an undocumented person to enter into a business transaction with the state or any subdivision of it, and the provision permitting local law enforcement personnel to stop, detain, or arrest any person it suspects is in the state illegally.

Previously, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Blackburn stayed several parts of HB56 in three separate legal challenges to the Alabama law while those cases are pending. Stayed were provisions that make it illegal for an undocumented alien to attend or enroll in public, post-secondary educational institution, or to apply, solicit, or perform work as an employee or independent contractor, and provisions that prohibit drivers from impeding traffic or hiring and picking up an undocumented worker, or drive such persons to a job site, accepting a ride to a job site, or hiding an illegal alien at a job site. The three cases are Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama v. Bentley, Parsley v. Bentley and U.S. v. Alabama. In all of these cases, Blackburn ruled it likely that these sections of state law are pre-empted by federal law.

Blackburn also upheld some provisions of HB56, including the provision that requires schools to verify students’ immigration status, a position now reversed by the 11th Circuit.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

October 25, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

Social Security Administration Changes How It Issues Social Security Numbers

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has changed the way it issues Social Security numbers (SSNs). Instead of using the first three digits to indicate the state of issuance based on the zip code of the applicant, its new method will be through a randomized assignment methodology that it calls simply “randomization”. Begun on June 25, 2011, the SSA advises that its goals with this change are to increase the pool of numbers in every state and to protect the integrity of the system. Presently, there are about 420 million numbers than can be assigned.

As background, assignment of nine digit Social Security numbers began in 1936 to track workers’ earnings. Today’s nine digit SSNs are composed of a three digit area number followed by a two digit group number and then a four digit serial number. According to the SSA, no current area number has nor will start with 000, 666, or 900-999. No group number has nor will start with 00, and no serial number has or will begin with 0000. SSA advises that with the elimination of geographic significance of area numbers, some previously unassigned numbers will begin being used. Increasing the pool of numbers available will permit the SSA to continue to issue Social Security numbers with nine digits. Randomization eliminates the geographical significance of the area number that will no longer be allocated to states for assignment.

Another benefit of randomization is to make each SSN more secure by increasing the difficulty in reconstructing a SSN using information available to the public.

There will be no change to persons who currently have SSNs; the SSA will not be issuing new numbers to existing cardholders, nor will it be issuing new SS cards. Randomization only affects new applicants for SSNs.

Some businesses and government institutions might have to update systems to account for the randomized new Social Security numbers.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

October 18, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

USCIS Extends TPS for the Sudan and Designates TPS for South Sudan

On October 13, 2011 the Department of Homeland Security published notice that it is extending Temporary Protected Status for the Sudan from November 2, 2011 through May 2, 2013, and that it is separately designating TPS for the newly formed nation of South Sudan. Affected and eligible TPS Sudanese nationals can extend TPS status and automatically extend employment authorization. Affected and eligible nationals of the Republic of South Sudan can continue TPS status and also continue employment authorization.

As background, the United States grants a safe haven or TPS to nationals of a country that has experienced temporary conditions that prevents a safe return of its nationals from the United States arising out of an ongoing armed conflict, or a national disaster such as an earthquake, or for other extraordinary reasons. Affected nationals must have been in the United States by a date certain before the date of DHS designation. Benefits are not automatic and affected nationals must apply to USCIS both for TPS and for employment authorization based upon TPS. TPS grants are for a discretionary period of 6, 12, or 18 months and can be renewed without limitation provided the basis for the designation continues.

The Attorney General first designated the Sudan for TPS on November 4, 1997. Since then, TPS has been extended 12 times. DHS advises that it is extending TPS again for the Sudan because the armed conflict there continues and extraordinary conditions persist. The re-registration periods for current Sudanese TPS beneficiaries starts on October 13, 2011 and ends 180 days later on April 10, 2012. Sudanese nationals must establish continuous residence in the United States since October 7, 2004.

The Republic of South Sudan gained independence from the Sudan on July 9, 2011, creating a dilemma for some Sudanese TPS beneficiaries and for the United States. Because DHS was concerned that some Sudanese may now be citizens of South Sudan and may no longer be covered by the ongoing Sudan TPS designation, it designated South Sudan for TPS benefits. TPS for South Sudan began on October 13, 2011 and will remain in effect until May 2, 2013. The registration period begins on October 13, 2011 and ends 180 days later on April 10, 2012. South Sudanese nationals must establish continuous residence in the United States since October 7, 2004.

Persons granted TPS are permitted to remain in the United States for the TPS grant period, to obtain employment authorization while here, and are eligible to apply for travel permission. Presently, the DHS has TPS in effect for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan and now South Sudan.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

October 3, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

EB-5: USCIS Releases Data on Program Usage

USCIS has released EB-5 program statistics for fiscal year (“FY”) 2010 and Q1 through Q2 of FY 2011, showing a marked increase in program usage.

As of June 30, 2011, USCIS reports that there are 147 approved Regional Centers operating in 39 states and 83 pending Regional Center proposals. In all of 2010, there were 110 new Regional Center applications filed, yet by the end of Q2 for fiscal year 2011 alone, there have been 146 new applications, which is a significant increase.

For FY2010 USCIS received 1,955 initial investor petitions, and by the end of Q2 of FY2011 the USCIS had already received 1,601 initial investor petitions. The released data shows an 89 percent approval rate in FY 2010 for initial investor petitions, and an 81 percent approval rate for initial investor petitions in Q1 and Q2 of 2011.

USCIS reports that for FY2010, 41 percent of EB-5 visas were used by persons born in mainland China, 16 percent by persons born in South Korea, 7 percent by persons born in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 5 percent by persons born in Taiwan, 3 percent by persons born in India, and the remaining 28 percent by persons from all other countries.

As to adjudication timeframes, once a foreign national investor files his or her initial petition, USCIS reports a five and a half month adjudication period from filing to decision. That time period must be adjusted upward to account for the USCIS’ Requests for Evidence (“RFE”), which sometimes are issued before USCIS makes a decision in the case. After receiving an RFE response, the USCIS strives to conclude case adjudication within 30 days after receipt of the requested evidence, but that time period is not the typical time period. Current time periods vary, with some investors waiting many times that period, making the actual adjudication time period much longer for some investors using the program.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com

September 29, 2011 in Immigration, Legal, Legal Articles by jferris

Former USCIS Employee Sentenced for Bribery and Fraud

In August 2011 a USCIS supervisor and his son, both convicted of federal corruption charges, were sentenced to five years and four years in prison, respectively. The USCIS supervisor, Fernando Jacobs, 72 years old, had been found guilty of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and visa fraud. He was also fined $30,000. His son, 44-year-old Patrick Jacobs, was also convicted of the first three charges. He has been in custody since his arrest in 2009.

The elder Jacobs took bribes from foreign nationals seeking legal status in the U.S. and his son acted as a go-between in setting up the deals.

The Jacobs’ scheme involved the elder Jacobs using his official position as a USCIS supervisor to defraud the government of his honest services and personally profit at the public’s expense. Fernando Jacobs accelerated certain case processing, took information from Department of Homeland Security databases on immigration in furtherance of the scheme, and placed official DHS stamps in foreign nationals’ passports that permitted such persons to travel back and forth from the U.S., all for a fee.

“The significance of public corruption cases like this cannot be overestimated,” said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. “The American public demands honest government service and the Department of Justice is committed to policing government and preserving the public trust.”

This is the latest of many corruption cases that have tarnished the agency and its reputation over the last decade and a half. Articles in the press, such as in the Washington Post on December 1, 2006, reported that a DHS supervisor pled guilty to falsifying immigration documents and taking over $600,000 in bribes to do so. A New York Times article on March 21, 2008 described a USCIS adjudicator being arrested after being taped saying to a 22-year-old Colombian woman, “I want sex…you get your green card”. These flagrant violations disgrace the agency. In response, the USCIS created the Office of Security and Integrity (OSI). The agency has substantially increased resources dedicated to internal affairs to reverse a perceived increase in such cases.

Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com