I know Trump makes for a great opening line in any blog, so I will start with Trump.  Trump criticized Mr. Khan, the Gold Star parent by saying that Khan, a lawyer took money from Muslims so that they could buy their citizenship.  What he was referring to is the EB-5 investor visa program which is controversial.  But before I go into any details, let me say that Trump used EB-5 foreign money to build his luxury rental apartments in New Jersey called Trump Bay Towers.

The EB-5 is a program where investors can invest 1 million USD (or $500,000 in underdeveloped areas) and create at least 10 jobs.

The funds have to be obtained “lawfully” and USCIS traces the source of the funds meticulously.  If for instance, one inherits a property and sells it to obtain funds, the Citizenship and Immigration Service will demand that one traces the source of funds used by the buyer to buy the property.  This requirement is very strict

The investors have to put the funds “at risk”.  That means that the investor has to invest the money into a for profit, new venture. Very often, people invest in “regional Centers”—- businesses which pool a lot of these investment and build a new project.  However they create very little interest, and the money is tied up for about 10 years.  The interest is not enough to be able to live in the US

Over the years investors in this program have invested billions of dollars and have created thousands of jobs.  So why is this program criticized?  .  The problem with this program is not what Mr. Trump thinks, Muslims bringing in illegal money.

The problem is China.  90% of the individuals and capital come from China.  At first it would seem that China sells so much goods to us, that it is wonderful for them to invest capital in the US.  But PRC is not a free country, and that’s the problem.  Ordinarily PRC does not allow money to be brought outside the country. However, it turns a blind eye to the EB-5 program.  The investors do not directly find investment opportunities in the USA. China has state run brokers who liaise with owners of Regional Centers in the US. So these state run brokerage have access to how real estate is done in the US. They also have access to computer files.  They also can invest and control flow of capital in strategic areas.  Some have criticized that China is using economic, information and technological “warfare” with us through this EB-5 program.

The program expires on September 30^th, 2016. But my guess is that this Congress will simply extend the program for one year, and let this be the problem of the new administration.

For more information, contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee

Judging by the most recent available statistics, any departure from current policy on deportations would be significant. The latest Justice Department analysis shows that immigration offenses made up almost exactly half of all federal arrests made in 2012. More specifically, out of a total of 172,248 suspects who were arrested for a federal offense, 85,458 (or 49.6 percent) were booked for immigration offenses, such as illegal entry, illegal re-entry, alien smuggling and visa fraud.

The newest, preliminary data suggest that the pace of arrests did not slow in either 2013 or 2014. Indeed, the newer figures show that arrests for illegal entry and illegal re-entry picked up over the last two years. The number of arrests for immigration offenses have been on a steady upward trajectory since 8,777 federal immigration arrests were recorded in 1994. And the previous high was set in 2009, when 84,749 people were booked.

According to the philosophy that the White House shared when the president announced his executive action on immigration, the administration would be targeting “felons, not families” for deportation, shielding up to five million undocumented immigrants from an expedited exit from the United States. And it is probably safe to say that those who would be considered families are heavily concentrated among the 60 percent of undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for 10 years or longer.

If put into action, the decision to defer deportations could translate into a measurable drop in federal convictions. Immigration offenses have fueled the bulk of growth in the total number of felons sentenced in courts — 48 percent, as opposed to the second leading contributing factor, convictions for drug offenses, which were responsible for 22 percent of the growth.

But a significant drop in in the number of deportation proceedings could have perhaps its biggest and most beneficial impact on the Treasury. Estimates claim that it costs $8,318 to deport an immigrant. Multiply that figure by the conservative number of four million undocumented immigrants whose deportation would be deferred under the president’s measures, and one would be talking about some serious savings — $33.272 billion, to be exact.

And going one major step further, if none of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants were deported from the United States, the country would save $91.498 billion, which is quite a tidy sum, indeed.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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Migration induced by weather phenomena is nothing new in the history of the planet. In 2008, for example, 20 million people were displaced by extreme weather events. By comparison, in the same year, 4.6 million people were forced to relocate due to conflict and violence. And when one analyzes a longer period of time, gradual environmental changes can have an even greater impact; in the last 30 years, to take one example, 1.6 billion people have been affected by droughts.

And the forecasts for future migrations blamed on the weather are bleak. Indeed, it has been estimated that there will be 25 million to 1 billion environmental migrants by 2050, with 200 million migrants being the most frequently cited figure. Whatever the eventual total turns out to be, these environmental migrants will be moving either within their own countries or across borders on a permanent or temporary basis. Strikingly, the 200 million figure is equivalent to the current estimate of international migrants in the world.

Immigration motivated by climate change was high on the agenda at the 20th Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was held in Lima, Peru on December 1-12, 2014. At the Lima conference, nearly 200 countries met and drafted an agreement on climate change. By its terms, every participating nation will be required to produce, in the next six months, a detailed domestic policy plan for reducing emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases from hydrocarbons such as coal, gas and oil.

While the Lima agreement is set to be signed in Paris in December 2015, the new country-specific plans under the accord will not be enacted until 2020. Most climate experts estimate that at best, the actions will cut emissions by about half of what would be needed to halt a 3.6-degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature.

To put that temperature in perspective, scientists say that, at a 3.6 degree increase, the planet will experience irreversibly dangerous effects, such as melting sea ice, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and food and water shortages — all of which will trigger mass migrations of people as well as environmental degradation.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who attended the Lima conference, expressed guarded optimism over the accord that was reached: “Nobody here thinks an agreement will be a silver bullet that eliminates this threat. But we can’t get anywhere without an agreement.”

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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While the children’s attempts to reunite with family members in the United States has garnered much attention and opened a new subject for discourse, another example of divided immigrant families, working through legal immigration, has been largely overshadowed.

Since October 1, 2013, some 57,000 children, mostly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, have made their way from their countries — all of which are plagued by drug-trade-fueled violence — through Mexico and illegally into the United States in an attempt to reunite with relatives here. Most of the children have been caught by U.S. authorities and are being housed in temporary emergency shelters, pending a determination of their status. Several of the emergency shelters are in Texas, which has become immigration’s ground zero for these children from Central America.

And Texas is also is the hub of another phenomenon caused by immigration — the significant number of people who have entered the United States legally with an H-1B visa to work, but whose spouses have not been permitted to join them. The federal government grants 85,000 H-1B visas per year to highly skilled workers from overseas. Most work in the technology sector, with 70 percent in computer technology alone. Twenty thousand of the annual H-1B visas are reserved for immigrants with advanced degrees from U.S. universities and colleges.

Many of the spouses of H-1B visa workers are also well-educated, but no matter their credentials, they are not automatically permitted to accompany their spouses into the United States. Of those H-1B visa workers in computer technology, 26 percent of the men and 76 percent of the women are married, but in 2013, only half of the eligible spouses joined these workers in this country.

These statistics do not even account for the children of H-1B visa workers who have been left behind in India and other countries.

Spousal separation adds yet another dimension to the debate over immigration that policymakers Washington may have to address.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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However before we can file the H-1B visa, we need to file an labor condition application with the Department of Labor. This process usually takes about 1 week at least for a recurrent employer, and may take 2 weeks for an employer new to the H-1B visa system. This time can double during late March when the Department of Labor typically receives an avalanche of new cases.

Also because of the increased demand for H-1B visas and the finding of large scale fraud on the part of employers, the Citizenship and Immigration Service expects a large volume of documents. This is particularly true of computer consulting companies and small businesses. And it is always better to submit all documents in the front end, so that the officer has a favorable opinion.

Thus the time to start preparing for the H-1B visa for the fiscal year 2015, (starting on October 01, 2014) is right now.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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Foreign nationals who are in the United States from countries that have been experiencing civil unrest or that have been hit by a natural disaster such as a typhoon or earthquake have options. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spells out specific options that may apply for these individuals, including:

• An extension or change in an individual’s nonimmigrant status in the United States;
• An expedited process for adjudicating and approving requests to authorize off-campus employment for those students with F-1 status who are experiencing severe economic hardship;
• An expedited process to petition for the immigration of immediate relatives of lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens with current priority dates;
• An expedited process for authorization of employment when deemed appropriate.

The federal government considers the aforementioned options to be temporary relief measures for those deemed eligible. In many cases, these options can prove to be a lifeline when political chaos or a severe environmental disaster has disrupted an immigrant’s ability to return to their native country as planned, or has caused economic distress for an immigrant and his or her family residing in the United States. In such circumstances, it behooves eligible immigrants to be aware of their rights and to avail themselves of the remedies available to them under the law.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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If you are an employer, you should have your files accessible for all of your H-1B employees. The files should have the LCA, a note of when the LCA was posted, the current wage determination and a copy of the H-1B petition. All employers should be prepared for officers entering their premises to conduct a raid. They typically do not need a warrant and do not give prior notice. The inspecting officer may have a copy of the H-1B petition for reference. The officer will inspect the premises and request to speak to whomever signed the petition and he or she will interview the beneficiary. Questions asked may include details about the job description, employment dates, dependents, supervisory situations, colleagues, etc. Copies of the H-1B beneficiary’s W-2, pay records and the company’s quarterly wages, tax records and other documentation may be requested for examination.

If you are subject to a raid and inspection, you may call your attorney and request that they be present via the phone while the raid is occurring. Company employees should not hazard guesses and give any officials information about the H-1B petitions; it is better to say that the knowledgeable staff member is not on the premises than have incomplete information given to officials.

Get the name, title and all pertinent contact information of the site investigator. Take notes of questions asked and answered, and make sure there is a witness present for any interactions.

If the H-1B beneficiary is working at a client site, there should be immediate contact to inform the end user that there may be a site visit. The end user should know who is an H-1B employer and be made aware of the assignment terms. The end user may wish to have the employer or a representative present during any upcoming site visits.

If you have any concerns about impending site visits or H-1B employment status issues, please contact Houston immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee for more details.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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The E‑Verify program is designed to electronically verify new hires to ensure that they are legally authorized to work in the U.S. A Westat report was run to evaluate how often a “Tentative Nonconfirmations” or TNCs and a “Final Nonconfirmations” or FNCs were erroneously issued to workers. A TNC may occur when an employee’s government records and I-9 information conflict. A TNC notification must be contested by the worker. An FNC notification may occur when that worker does not contest the TNC. The report concluded that the number of “erroneous TNCs” dropped in some areas, including for U.S. citizens. But the number of erroneous TNCs has not dropped for permanent residents and some other non‑U.S. citizens.

The Westat report found that the rate of E‑Verify erroneous TNCs in 2009 was 0.3 percent, on a decline, but the decrease has been attributed to the erroneous TNC drop of 0.2 percent for U.S. citizens. The rate of erroneous TNCs for permanent residents was 0.7 percent, and 4.2 percent for employment‑authorized noncitizens. The overall rate for noncitizens who had erroneous TNCs was an unyielding 1.5 percent. The report found that the program’s overall accuracy rate was 94 percent, as measured by the number of workers who accurately received FNCs. The report found that the error rate was mostly attributable to a failure of employees to inform employers that they had a TNC, or a failure to explain adequately the TNC process. The breakdown in the information system is what often led authentically authorized workers to receive FNCs.

Currently, E‑Verify is a voluntary program in most states, though it is mandated in some places, including for some federal contractors. It is uncertain when or if E-Verify will be implemented nationally; the topic is currently before Congress. It is possible that as many as one million workers authorized to work may be erroneously given a TNC, which is expected to put a significant strain on employers. If the system becomes mandatory nationwide, extensive systems will need to be put into place by employers to adequately address issues as they arise and ensure that employees are aware of the process and how to address TNCs.

The federal law currently requires employers to employ workers who are legally cleared to work in the U.S., either as legal citizens, or as foreign citizens with formal authorization to do so. E-Verify is a system put into place to identify workers who may not have legal authorization to work.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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Leahy told the news site, Politico, in a recent interview that at least one dozen U.S. states now legally recognize same-sax marriage. It does not make sense, Leahy said, for the federal government to help one married couple with immigration issues, but not another, simply based on their same-gender marriage.

One of the amendments backed by Leahy includes green cards for a foreign-born partner of a gay or lesbian U.S. citizen. Another amendment would give green cards only to a foreign-born partner if the couple is married.

Leahy stated that his goal is a fair and transparent process when it comes to the changes to immigration law, and for all people for whom it is important to get their say about those changes. In addition to the LGTB amendments, Leahy stated that the “trigger” issues are a number of border security benchmarks which must be agreed upon prior to allowing the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants apply for legal status. But critics are concerned that the compromise crafted by the Gang of Eight does not adequately address real border security issues and have countered with much tougher amendments.

The trigger encompasses extensive, new border fences; an agreed-upon, operational border security plan; the E-Verify system which would allow employers to check on the citizenship status of existing and potential employees; and a tracking system for both entry and exits at seaports and airports. Leahy said that he hopes any controversy is not enough to derail the important bill. Though the issues are serious, he said, they really should not be bones of contention. If the Senate truly wants an immigration bill, they will agree upon amendments to improve it and vote on them. Only people who really do not want a workable immigration bill, he said, will raise amendments with the intention of stalling it.

Currently, for married heterosexual couples, the spouse of a U.S. citizen can get immigration benefits, but the noncitizen of a same-sex couple cannot get the same benefit. This is due to DOMA, the Defense Of Marriage Act, a federal law which defines legal marriages as between one man and one woman. DOMA is currently under review in front of the Supreme Court. Will the majority of Justices strike down DOMA or will LGTB equality come into the country through the federal “side door” – immigration rights for same sex couples? We will know soon enough.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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Any employer based in the U.S. who wants to employ a specialty occupation foreign worker is required to apply to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for an H-1B visa. If granted, the H-1B visa is issued to the worker. Typically, the worker will need to have, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree. They may also have an advanced level of skill which would be considered “degree equivalent” via their previous experience, training or somehow otherwise qualified.

H-1Bs visa have a three-year term and can be renewed once for an additional three-year term. H-1B holders are also able to apply for permanent residency status (commonly known as a “green card”) while they are in the States, if they meet the requirements. They can apply for an extension of their H-1B visas while waiting to have their permanent residency application processed.

The cap for the number of H-1Bs visas which are granted annually has stayed at 65,000 since 2004. For years prior that 2004, the number of visas issued was frozen at 195,000. Some 20,000 H-1Bs are granted to Ph.D. and Masters’ degree holders from U.S. colleges and universities. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS) will be accepting H-1B applications in April of each year for the year which starts the following October. In other words, applications for 2014 will cover the year that starts in October 2013, and will be accepted as of April 2013.

The cap of 65,000 has been reached faster every year: in 2010, the applications cap was reached by December, 2010. In 2011, the cap was reached by January, 2011. For 2012, the cap was reached by November, 2011, and for 2013, the cap was reached in only two-and-a-half months, by June, 2012. Critics are concerned that the upcoming year’s quota may be reached in mere weeks.

Any individual interested in an H-1B visa is advised to apply as soon as they can. U.S. employers interested in hiring foreign workers with H-1B visas should be aware that the cap will be reached quickly and they should get those applications in quickly, as well.

The Senate introduced the Immigration Innovation Bill in January 2013. It is designed to immediately boost the H-1B cap to 115,000, and allow the number of H-1Bs to rise to as much as 300,000.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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Many conservatives, writes author Steve Deace in Breitbart.com, wonder why potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are supporting comprehensive immigration reform, better known as an “amnesty program” among most conservatives.

Deace says it’s all about Texas. If immigration reform by the Republicans does include the amnesty approach, that will allow some 40 percent of the national Hispanic vote to go to the Republican Party in future elections. But, if true, that would also tip some 1.5 million new Hispanic voters to the democrats, if the numbers trend continues. So, says, Deace, there is not much for the Republicans to gain by allowing immigration reform, unless the focus is on the state of Texas, which would be where the biggest Republican boost would originate.

President Obama won Florida, Ohio, and Virginia in the 2012 election, but his average margin was less than two points; indicating that those states may be a toss up for the next election. It is up to Republicans to work to regain those states in these next few years; if they lose Texas, all national elections will be lost to them as well. Texas, argues Deace, is the cornerstone of the next presidential election and imperative to the GOP.

Is it true? Might Texas “turn blue?” A survey taken in January by Public Policy Polling found that a number of Texans said they would vote for Hilary Clinton if she were on the presidential ballot in 2016. Clinton (D) would defeat Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) by 50 percent; she would beat  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) by as much as 45 percent, and she would beat Florida’s US Sen. Marco Rubio (R) by as much as 46 percent –  at least according to the survey results.

Demographics in Texas are shifting. According to the Hoover Institution, 65 percent of the state’s population boom since 2000 is Hispanic. Between 2000 and 2010, Texas added more than one million children to the census; 95 percent of them Hispanic. Hispanic children are the majority ethnicity of the almost 5 million children in public schools in Texas, as well as in pre-kindergarten and child care centers. Those children will likely grow up to be voters in Texas, and the Republicans need them. If Republicans cannot hold onto Texas, they would likely need to win 70 percent of the Electoral College votes in order to win the next presidency.

Only time will tell what new players may or may not be seen on Texas’s political stage, and what that means for the U.S.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

The U.S. has close to 11 million undocumented residents as of January 2010, says the Department of Homeland Security. Texas is second in the country when it comes to the percentage of   undocumented immigrants: 1.77 million. California, with 2.57 million, has the highest rate in the U.S. But of those 1.77 million undocumented people, how many of them are going to school, or holding down a job, supporting family and loved ones, and working hard in numerous other ways to contribute to their state and local economy and community?

The bipartisan “Gang of Eight,” a group of senators in Washington, D.C., put together their proposed principles for immigration reform. The Gang, made up of Democrats and Republicans, suggests putting at the front of the immigration line people who have already applied to enter the country. They also recommend that employers work within a citizen verification program to weed out the hiring of unauthorized workers, and that the feds makes a concerted effort to speed up citizenship efforts for workers in U.S. industries where they would be sorely missed, such as agriculture.

President Obama has mapped out his planned approach to immigration reform, which includes streamlining the entire process, increasing border security, putting into place stricter penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers, pushing immigrants to learn English as a second (or third) language, and allowing the waitlisted to come in first. Texas lawmakers, meanwhile, have largely been silent, though bills that could be viewed as anti-immigration have been drafted: Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville, supports a bill that would make it illegal to” transport an undocumented person.” State Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring, meanwhile, supports a bill  that would trigger a labor law violation report from the Texas Workforce Commission in the event someone employed an “unlawful resident alien.”

According to a 2012 University of Texas opinion poll, more than 75 percent of the people surveyed stated that they were in favor of stricter limits on immigrants coming to live in the U.S. Of those polled, roughly 62 percent stated that they felt Texas state and local police should have the option of routinely checking people’s immigration status during stops or in the course of other routine police work. Immigration reform advocates have stated that these polls show that Texas is in serious need of immediate immigration reform.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

In 2009, the Obama administration instructed state and local law officials to view illegal immigrants as a lower priority, establishing tiers of concern and prioritization for detention and arrest, which effectively weakened the 287(g) program. Priority for detention and arrest include illegal immigrants who are deemed a national security threat, who have broken criminal laws, who have repeatedly violated immigration law, or who are considered immigration court fugitives. ICE has recently also issued a policy which restricts detainment of suspected illegal immigrants arrested and/or convicted of petty offenses, including minor traffic violations. ICE uses a system of detainers to identify and start deportation proceedings on illegal immigrants currently convicted and serving time in jails and prisons.

As envisioned, federal officials as part of Secure Communities determine when and if to enforce immigration actions. Since 1996, ICE has overseen 21 states with more than 1,300 officers trained in 57 active 287(g) partnerships.

According to ICE statistics, it deported almost 410,000 people during the 2012 fiscal year. More than 95 percent of those deported were in high-priority categories, states ICE.
More than 50 percent of those individuals were convicted of misdemeanors or felonies. Of those criminally convicted individuals who were deported, more than 95,000 were tagged as repeat immigration violators or fugitives, while almost 70,000 had just recently crossed the border illegally. More than 1,000 of them were convicted of homicide and more than 5,00 had sexual assault convictions.

Under the new ICE guidelines, priority detention includes an individual who has a prior felony conviction or has been charged with a felony, has three or more prior misdemeanor convictions (if in tandem with another detention issue), or has a misdemeanor due to assault, drug dealing, violence, sexual abuse, driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, unlawful possession or use of a firearm, immigration fraud, or is considered a significant risk to national security or border security or to public safety.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

While many politicians made it their priority to push for stricter immigration laws prior to the 2012 Presidential election this last November, the end of 2012 was mostly silent. Perhaps it is because the focus was overwhelmingly on passing the Texas state budget, but Gov. Rick Perry’s “emergency” ban on sanctuary cities simply withered on the vine during a recent late-night committee hearing.

Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, has stated that he is attempting to introduce a dialog about immigration in Texas by supporting a bill which would repeal in-state college tuition to undocumented students, and would require schools and hospitals to note the immigration status of individuals receiving their services. Larson has stated that he would like a reckoning of how much support is given by local service providers to undocumented immigrants. He even asked then-Mexican President Felipe Calderón for compensation for the state of Texas for the money the state had spent on services for Mexican immigrants who were in the state illegally. Calderón did not respond. Larson, says the chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and San Antonio Democratic Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, is advocating for extreme policies when it comes to immigration.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, is proposing a law which would prevent day labors centers from receiving funds from local government agencies. But as noted by Steve Munisteri, chairman of the Texas Republican Party, illegal immigration is currently at a low and immigration reform has subsequently moved to the back burner. Topics such as guest-worker programs, “sanctuary cities,” and other hot-button topics simply have given way to more pressing issued, such as the federal budget crisis and state budget concerns.

The assumption after the 2012 Presidential election is that the harsh anti-immigration stance held by Republicans helped alienate voters and propel Obama to a second term, and may well adversely affect the current Republican majority in Texas.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Farrell outlines some suggestions for Washington, including the development of a fast-track system to process into citizenship the more than 11 million undocumented U.S. workers, excluding the individuals convicted of violent crimes and/or multiple felonies. For the undocumented in the U.S. who are working, attending school, and are enmeshed in their community, allowing them to gain citizenship status acknowledges that they have worked like previous generations of immigrants before them to be part of the American dream.

The fast-tracking would also be healthy as public policy, Farrell argues. Legal workers can change jobs and move up the economic ladder, which lets them invest in their careers, buy homes, feel comfortable moving out of the shadows and into more visible roles in their communities, and start their own businesses. Entrepreneurship, home ownership, and community action are all ways to help a local economy grow and thrive.

But, as Farrell points out, a fast-tracking to citizenship will likely not be rubberstamped by politicians. The very concept of amnesty for hard-working, undocumented workers has continued to be a hot button topic. And yet the boon from foreign-born entrepreneurs is a large part of U.S. economic success. While foreign-born workers currently make up just over 13 percent of the U.S. population, a solid one-third of patents filed in the U.S. originate from that small group.

The economy also reaps the benefits of lower-wage workers. Immigrant workers move into failing neighborhoods and revive the microeconomies there with small, family-owned businesses. The work of immigrant workers currently fuel the nation’s agriculture, hand-work, cottage and meat-packing industries. In contrast to the fear that immigrant workers “take jobs,” the reverse is often true: studies show that middle-class families enjoy the benefits of affordable immigrant labor for child care, landscaping and house care and other services. Newly immigrant workers, on average, are not as fluent in English as native-born citizens, nor do they have the same level of education, and thus there is seldom a competition for same-level jobs.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

In part, the Compact states that law enforcement needs to be focused on more serious crime issues, that immigration policies should be drafted to keep immigrant families together, that businesses need an easy, reliable, accurate, affordable system with which to ensure their employees are of good standing, and that any policies need to include a way for legally-abiding immigrants to become citizens, if so desired. Solid, inclusive, sensible immigration policy should be part of a larger system of economic growth, health care and social change.

The bipartisan group stated that though they did not agree on all the details of policy reform during their more than 200 meetings around the state over a period of eighteen months, they did agree that the current atmosphere and policies in place were not working, and they pushed for more civil discourse. It is hoped the Colorado Compact will be a stepping stone to true, lasting reform as a more “common sense” approach to the emotionally-charged issue. Recent polling indicated that an overwhelming number of Hispanic voters opposed the GOP’s immigration stance.

The Colorado Compact urges Coloradans to come together to discuss how to manage the much-needed immigration reform on a national level. Signers include politicians, small business owners, ranchers, farmers, faith leaders, law enforcement agencies, and immigration advocates – all of whom have stated a wish to help change immigration policies in the U.S. The Colorado Compact was crafted as a way, drafters hope, to help push federal reform by stating guiding principles as well as by setting an example in Washington for civil discourse.

The six-point compact is in line with similar “guiding-principle documents” that were drafted in Utah, Indiana and Idaho, but Colorado’s includes some specific changes in the suggestions, including a flexible visa system.

Though the Colorado Compact is not a legally binding document, drafters hope that it will send a message.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Immigration reform for both illegal residents and high-skilled workers is at the forefront of the immigration issues both Congress and the Obama administration will have to hammer out, along with the looming budget deficit. But many lawmakers are unsure how to approach immigration reform, when illegal immigration remains a hot-button issue. Though it is possible Congress will work toward resolving high-skill immigration issues, it has long been a high-visibility issue in Washington, with little change. The last large push for comprehensive immigration reform was during President George W. Bush’s reign in 2007. President George W. Bush together with Senator Ted Kennedy teamed to map out a bill to work on how to manage the country’s undocumented residents, tighten border security issues and open up the high-tech foreign workforce, but buzzwords like “chain migration” and “pathways to citizenship” hit a bipartisan wall, and nothing meaningful was done.

Issues facing comprehensive immigration reform include how to work out the details of the DREAM Act, how to decide which highly-skilled tech workers should be placed, and how to weigh both family-based and employment-based immigration. There is some hope: some Republicans and Democrats are teaming together to draft a new employment-based visas plan for foreign college graduates with STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Math) degrees. Last month, the House of Representatives voted on a bill which failed mostly for internal reasons, but may soon be back for reconsideration. The push for an influx of a creative, innovate workforce to help develop intellectual property to boost the U.S. economy and invigorate the tech sector has never been more important. For companies large and small, the addition of more highly-skilled workers are needed to meet the constant demands of the tech industry.

Peter Muller, Director of Government Relations and Immigration Policy at Intel Corporation, recently stated that Intel advocates for legislation which will provides additional STEM visas for their new employees and U.S.-based foreign employees. Those foreign-born employees typically must wait years and sometimes decades to get permanent work status, and they have proven to generate, on average, three new U.S. jobs with their skills.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

As Kansas Senator Jerry Moran stated, it is increasingly clear that, for Republicans to even get close to the majority again, they have to examine how they approach issues important to minority and Latino voters. And there may be a slight sea change; top House Republicans were reportedly examining small immigration changes recently, including altering some visa rules to allow a number of highly educated, tech-based workers into the U.S.

Meanwhile the onus is on President Obama to make good on his promises to the Latino community. “The Latino giant is wide awake, cranky and taking names,” stated Eliseo Medina, a leader of Latino mobilization during the election and the secretary-treasurer for the Service Employees International Union.

President Obama has publically stated that he believes immigration reform will be addressed within the next year, with a broad proposal launched in early 2013.

Obama had stated during his first term that he would introduce a bill on comprehensive immigration reform, but he did not follow through. He later stated that he could not garner enough Republican support. In early 2012, Obama launched the DREAM Act to allow young immigrants who met certain criteria to stay in the U.S.

Vice President Joseph Biden has stated that he believes the next four years will show major reforms in immigration policy. Latino activists have been demanding a sweeping immigration bill not unlike the one Congress tried to pass in both 2006 and 2007, one that Republicans called an “amnesty bill” and that proved divisive for both parties.

With the Latino votes overwhelmingly going to the Democratic party in this latest election (Republican Mitt Romney only received 27 percent of the Latino vote), the U.S. Latino population has shown it has become a political force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, the topic of immigration reform communities to be a bipartisan hot button issue.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Currently there are an estimated 11 million people in the U.S. unlawfully, most of them Latinos. Latino activists and most Democratic politicians are backing the plan to allow a number of those in the U.S. illegally to become citizens. The opponents, mostly backed by Republicans, are calling for efforts to find and deport illegal residents and to stepping-up efforts to close borders to incoming immigrants. The Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, has vowed to oppose plans to help illegal residents obtain citizenship, and has been vocal about his anti-immigration stance, pledging to complete a high-tech fence that runs the length of the U.S.-Mexico border, and to create a national database which employers would have to check to see if the person they considered hiring has legal resident status. Romney has also stated that he is in favor of “self-deportation,” driving out immigrants by making residency issues difficult, at best. Since the primaries, Romney has softened his stance, stating that while he would veto the national DREAM Act, “self-deportation” only means that immigrants should be able to leave the U.S. if they desire to.

Current President Barack Obama, running for reelection on the Democratic ticket, first promised in bid for the presidency in 2008 that he would work for a citizenship pathway for immigrants and build out a comprehensive immigration reform plan. He has yet to do so. In fact, the Obama administration has deported a record number of illegal residents out of the U.S., and has increased the number of companies fined for illegally hiring illegal immigrants. However, Obama has halted the deportation of some 65,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. by their families as children, and has pushed for the DREAM Act, which would allow the youths to earn citizenship in a series of steps.

Hispanic and Latino groups have criticized the Obama administration for the aggressive deportations conducted during the first three years if the Administration. The Administration has stated that the issues with the down economy and a contentious Congress both contributed to postponing immigration reform plans. In 2008, Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote, and the Latino vote, especially in swing states Florida, Colorado and Nevada, are predicted to be critical for either candidate to win.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Those critical of the proposal, including the anti-immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform, say that the IDs are part of a plan to make it easier for undocumented immigrants to live and work in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Mayor Villaraigosa has stated that the concept for the cards was to deter crime, as more people can use banking services and not have to worry about being robbed of large sums of cash.

Another proposal which was dismissed was the creation of a new type of library card that doubled as a debit card. There are currently an estimated 4.3 million immigrants in Los Angeles, and the proposal to add LA, the nation’s second-largest city, to the roster of those offering official IDs has only intensified the debate over what role a local government can play when dealing with illegal immigrants.

Issuing identification cards is a way to allow residents to be more fully integrated into their communities; the cards are the latest move by the city to update how police offers and others manage legal issues regarding undocumented workers. This past February, officers of the Los Angeles Police department were issued new guidelines that allowed greater discretion when faced with the decision to impound cars of unlicensed drivers, or not. In September, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck decided that the undocumented immigrants who were arrested each year in the city for low-level crimes would not continue to be turned over to the federal authorities to be deported.

The supporters of the new city ID card have stated that the move is simply a practical attempt to reduce crime and allow residents less vulnerable and more incorporated in their communities while balancing federal immigration laws. Anyone with an official ID can open a bank account and obtain city services such as libraries and enroll in public school.

Critics claim that the ID program should be something dealt with on the federal level, not by state or city. Other cities on the West Coast, including Oakland and San Francisco, currently issue identification cards to residents who show proof of residency, regardless of their immigration status.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Alabama’s immigration law, HB 56, instructs law officers to check an individual’s immigration status if the officer cites a “reasonable suspicion” that the detained person is not a legal immigrant. Unfortunately, a number of Latino residents of Alabama have found that HB 56 has given some people carte blanche to question them, and in some cases, behave discriminatorily toward them.

“Scores of Latinos called to report that they suspected they had been stopped by police, after the HB 56 provisions became enforceable, mainly because they look Latino — so that officers could question them about their immigration status,” states the report.

Included are stories such a couple who called police to report damage to a building they rent, and being questioned about their immigration status, and a man and two coworkers being stopped by police officers while walking and being asked to show papers, with no additional reason for being detained. Additionally, some complaints tell of children being taunted in school, and requests for proof of legal citizenship while purchasing retail items.

Opponents of HB 56 were concerned that such a provision could incite xenophobia. “The people in this report are the mothers, fathers and children living under a law that has given a nod and a wink to the worst prejudices harbored by some residents,” said author of the report and SPLC Legal Director Mary Bauer. “If lawmakers are unwilling to repeal HB 56 – knowing this is the type of misery they have created – we can only assume they intended to inflict this cruelty all along.”

According to the AFL-CIO, HB 56 has negatively impacted Latina women in particular, compounding the issues of domestic abuse by applying a chilling factor to asking for help or seeking refuge. A female victim of domestic violence went to the courthouse, according to their report, to seek a “protection from abuse”, but was asked about her legal status and was informed by a clerk that she would be reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Backers of HB 56 have stated that its purpose is to ensure that individuals who work and reside in Alabama do so legally. According to The Southern law Poverty Center, undocumented immigrants comprise just 2.5 percent of the population.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

King has cited a local convention and visitors’ bureau, a downtown development authority, waste management and others, though the actual number of potential cases is unclear as many agencies include volunteer boards with no “employed” staff, which makes them exemptions to the law. King has filed additional complaints with the state Department of Community Affairs, concerned with what he sees as non-compliance with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, a database for public benefit applicants. How many other states are not reporting on the legal status of each and every employee is unknown, as there is no national database.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals released its ruling upholding their version of the “show me your papers” provision, allowing law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people otherwise detained if they fail to show proper identification. This decision follows a similar law in Arizona recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Complicating matters is Georgia’s Attorney General, Sam Olens, who stated that immigrants covered as part of The DREAM Act will be eligible for driver’s licenses, if they can provide proof of DACA. However, these individuals will not be issued state identification cards, as they are considered “public benefits,” and as such, are not covered. Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer, on the other hand, has ordered state officials to not to provide driver’s licenses to immigrants with “deferred status.”

“A lot of these issues are in uncharted waters. In this particular area, which is how do you treat people that are deferred action, there’s very little legal precedent to go by,” Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute’s office at the New York University School of Law, told CNN. “States are making their own judgments.”

Nebraska and Texas also are not issuing licenses, which they consider a public benefit, stated Gov. Dave Heineman, while Texas Gov. Rick Perry stated that DACA “does not undermine or change our state laws,” and said in a letter to his state’s attorney general that the federal guidelines “confer absolutely no legal status whatsoever” to any immigrant. California and Oregon, however, are looking at granting licenses.

“We’re still trying to sort out what this new limbo category means for states,” said Ann Morse, program director of the Immigrant Policy Project at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

As part of the PERM petition, the sponsoring employer completes the recruitment information via an online system and is not required to provide supporting documentation proving that they ran recruitment postings or reviewed applications. The concern by the DOL is that some petitioners may be filing PERM petitions without conducting actual posting and recruitment as required. The DOL has started randomly pulling PERM petitions to audit in an effort to deter and catch potential fraud. Once in audit, the petitioning employer must respond within 30 days, submitting posting and recruitment documents and other documentation as requested by the DOL. A petitioning employer’s failure to respond to an audit means the denial of the petition, as well as disbarment of the employer’s eligibility by DOL for future PERM petitions.

By the end of 2011, DOL audit notices began requesting both standard evidence for postings and recruitment efforts, the resumes from all of the U.S. workers who applied, the employer’s stated reason for rejecting those applications and any records maintained which show the employer’s efforts to contact the applicants. Minor clerical errors, including missed information, incomplete evidence and even typos, may result in a denial of the PERM petition. The PERM petition may also be denied if it is found that an employer did not contact U.S. workers within a certain time frame, rejected an applicant who was deemed qualified or interviewed a qualified applicant and dismissed him without detailing the reasons why.

Employers are advised to prepare any and all PERM petitions with the assumption that it will be audited, adhering to the following guidelines:

• Advertising, description and posting should all be carefully reviewed to be certain they comply with Department of Labor guidelines and PERM regulations.
• Stay within strict time frames for screening and interviewing and carefully document reasons for rejection.

The PERM labor certification process is complicated and exacting, and it is wise to work with an experienced attorney to meet all guidelines.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Supporters of the DREAM Act believe the policy is needed to integrate solid citizens into a system of social and economic benefits not currently afforded them and remove the “invisibility” factor of working in the U.S. without documentation. Critics contend that the DREAM Act may produce a systematic amnesty program, encouraging further immigration, inviting fraud and shielding gang members from deportation. However, the DREAM Act has a number of specific criteria that must be met. DREAMers are those who came to the US as children, are currently below the age of 31, do not have a criminal record, are currently attending or have graduated high school or college and/or who have served in the military. Though the Department of Homeland Security estimated that some 800,000 individuals would be affected, the Pew Hispanic Center and the Migration Policy Institute puts the figure at nearly twice that, stating that almost 1.4 million people are affected by the DREAM Act.

While it can be difficult to get accurate numbers on a population of people who may be hesitant to identify as undocumented, it is estimated by the Migration Policy Institute that almost 60 percent, some 800,000, of the people under Obama’s deferred action are currently enrolled in school, from kindergarten through 12th grade. One quarter or some 370,000 of the eligible are high school graduates or hold GED certification. More than 15 percent, roughly 220,000, are enrolled in college or have graduated from college.

The Citizenship and Immigration Service has announced that DREAMers can apply on and after August 15, 2012, the date when they will begin accepting immigrants’ applications for a special deferment status for two years. Under the deferment, they will not receive a green card (a permanent residence card) but will receive a work permit and will not be deported.

Will more DREAMers come forward? It is generally assumed that many people are waiting to see what happens with this upcoming presidential election and how any policy changes would adversely affect them if they self-identify as undocumented without a guaranteed safety net. Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has announced his own citizenship proposal if elected.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Even trying to wade your way through the PERM labor certification process is guaranteed to create a major headache, largely because nothing seems to be consistent. Given the mess the whole immigration system is in, this might not come as much of a surprise to anymore. It is almost a miracle that anyone gets hired using this process.

One has to wonder who thought up the requirements for this process, which include running two ads in Sunday newspapers with a general circulation, running two ads in a Sunday newspaper in local/ethnic newspapers, running AM/FM radio ads, posting online to job boards, taking out ads in trade journals, running employer website job postings, registering the employer at the State Workforce Authority for 30 days and so on. It is said that PERM labor certification ad placement is critical, but looking at a flow chart, which attempts to explain the process, one wonders how anyone gets hired.

It’s not just the various steps that need to be taken to get things in order, line up the right documents, create and place the right ads or even make sure the regulations are met. More often than not, the PERM process is about attempting to be in compliance with Department of Labor rules and regulations. That is virtually impossible, as they seem to change from day to day and from case to case. It’s no wonder immigrants need a knowledgeable immigration lawyer to help them make sense of the mishmash. Anytime a flow chart has to be drawn up to try and explain what happens, you know the process is cumbersome and ineffective, not to mention filled with pitfalls along the way.

To see an example of a PERM flow chart outlining an incredibly circuitous and almost baffling route to get a green card in the U.S. by going the EB-3 route, visit: http://perm-ads.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/PERM-Process-Flow-Chart.jpg

This is a process that defies all logic and may also create an untenable situation where you may get PERM Labor Certification approved by the Department of Labor, but the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service will not approve the I-140 petition. These are two separate processes, which makes no sense, other than it provides someone with a job.

The bottom line here is that if you need PERM Labor Certification, your best bet is to consult with an experienced immigration lawyer to find out what you need, what you don’t need, when you need it, where it goes and what forms you need to fill out when. It’s confusing, but the immigration lawyer deals with issues like this daily and can help you get on track.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Without politicians, the nation would not have legislation, rules, regulations, Acts and Bills to govern behavior, administer the law, carry on commerce and promote immigration. However, part of the political process seems to be the love of hyperbole. Such was the case when politicians waxed elegant about the proposed changes to VAWA. Once again, a vitally important law has fallen victim to election year rhetoric, and there is no clear winner in sight.

It seems those on the campaign trail feel VAWA is an issue to be used to score political points. Frankly, politics should not matter when dealing with issues like this. The issue is not what politician is better than another, nor what party is better than another. The main point of this Act is to make communities safer for women and children, not bicker over who did what to whom and how important they are for doing it.

Just recently the House voted for a reauthorization bill. That vote was loudly opposed by the Democrats, who wanted a version that was considered in the Senate. The House legislation is fairly similar to the Senate sponsored Bill, with both reauthorizing programs to offer life-saving support to domestic violence victims, and the funding remains just about the same.

Overall, when the two bills are compared, they are close to 85 percent identical. What is the problem? Politicians say the Senate version, by adding services for Native Americans, lesbians, gays, transgender and bisexual violence victims, is politicizing VAWA so the Republicans will not vote for it, due to the hot button issues. History shows when VAWA has been reauthorized, it is to expand unmet needs, which has nothing to do with politicians and their sexuality biases.

What does have the potential to be an issue is the avoidance of the fact that some programs within VAWA may be abused with fraudulent applications by immigrants. One of the pieces of legislation lets illegal immigrants applying for, and obtain, a U-Visa to remain in the U.S. after being victimized, and makes certain they work with law enforcement to put the criminal/abuser in prison. However, they do not have the right to permanent residence, unless they are victims of aliens, and the alien is convicted and deported. Put another way, the U-Visa would no longer offer amnesty to illegal aliens just because they claim to have been a victim of a crime.

It is a delicate balancing act to find a happy medium for both parties to agree upon. However, both parties are missing the real issue, and that is immigrant women and children need the support and care offered under the auspices of VAWA. They do not need political arguing when their lives may hang in the balance.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The high court is scheduled to begin hearing the case on April 25. One day earlier, Schumer will have the state bill’s original author at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship. Schumer is the chairman of that committee.

Schumer asked Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to come before the subcommittee hearing on immigration to speak about the law. She will already be in Washington, D.C., to testify before the Supreme Court. She declined his invitation, calling it a publicity stunt.

Former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce will testify before Schumer’s subcommittee despite losing a recall election last year brought about partly because of the outrage over the bill, according to the Huffington Post.

Schumer wrote a letter to Gov. Brewer asking for her participation in a dialogue about the border.

“As you frequently ask the President to visit the southern border to discuss border security, we expect that you will be eager to engage in a productive dialogue with the Congressional Committee responsible for acting upon any border security recommendations you provide,” Schumer wrote, according to the Arizona Republic.

Arizona’s SB 1070, the anti-illegal immigration law that has sparked controversy across the country, makes it a misdemeanor for an alien to be in the state without proper documents. A federal court judge in Arizona struck down the portion of the law that requires law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of people at traffic stops and make routine arrests. The Supreme Court will make a decision this year in part because other states are passing similar immigration laws.

Federal efforts have had a profound affect on border security over the past two years since the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act pushed more than $600 million to support law enforcement. Border patrol numbers are up and illegal crossings are down significantly. Seizures of guns, cash and drugs are all up as well, according to the Post.
Schumer said he would like Brewer to speak to his subcommittee to explain if she thinks the bill is still necessary since federal efforts have been so successful. He said he would like her to share whether she thinks the new law will always be necessary.
For her part, Brewer has explained the law on countless television programs, radio broadcasts and interviews with media of a variety of political leanings.
With the spotlight on illegal immigration, it has been difficult for those who want progress on reforming the legal immigration laws to be heard. Efforts to reform the visa program are moving through Congress, but with significantly less press attention than Arizona’s law.

Annie Banerjee is an immigration lawyer in Houston, Texas, who helps legal immigrants come to this country to seek permanent citizenship or for travel or work.

Contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Nowy Dziennik, a Polish-language newspaper published in New York launched a new online campaign to raise awareness at dropvisasforpoland.org.

David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee wrote an opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune in October refreshing American memories of all the times Poland has stood by the United States during wartime and has been a pivotal ally.

“Ask any Pole,” Harris wrote. “I have on many occasions and always received the same answer: The issue is seen as a slap in the face to Poland and its traditional friendship with the U.S.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, mentioned Poland’s eligibility for the VWP as he sponsored legislation called the Enhanced Security and Reform Act to update the program.

“Since the end of the Cold War, Poland has become one of the United States’ strongest allies, and it makes sense that we should change the law governing visa waivers to reflect the world we live in today,” Pascall said in a press release.

The Visa Waiver Program was started in 1986 as a way to cut down on administrative costs and to promote goodwill between the United States and individual countries. Citizens of the 36 countries on the list are able to travel to the United States for tourism or business without a visa for up to 90 days. To get on the VWP and to remain on it, countries must have advanced passport security technology and a low non-immigrant refusal rate.

Poland misses out on the VWP because its refusal rate is too high, which means the consular officers there believed that many of the visa applicants would overstay their 90-day trip. Some advocates of reform have suggested using actual overstay numbers instead of refusal rates to determine eligibility.

Citizens of countries that must go through the visa process to visit the United States on vacation or business must wait longer, fill out more forms, pay more fees and sit through interviews with their consulate. Advocates of keeping the VWP list short say the consular interviews and forms help keep the United States safe. All moves to open the borders for tourists or businesspeople no matter where they are from is going to be met with caution from the Department of Homeland Security.

Poland is on the short list of “road map” countries being considered for inclusion in the VWP.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The summit was a long-awaited breakthrough for critics of U.S. immigration law ¨C particularly as it pertains to visas for post-graduate professionals.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started the Entrepreneurs in Residence program last October to gather industry expertise from both the private and the public sector in an attempt to spur job growth through the employment based visa program.

“USCIS gained invaluable insights from prominent entrepreneurs and industry leaders on immigration issues critical to our nation’s economic prosperity,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas after the Feb. 22 summit.

More than 150 representatives of the business community, government agencies and academia attended the summit to help USCIS use immigration law reform as a tool to promote entrepreneurship and bolster American prosperity, according to a press release from USCIS.

“The introduction of expert views from the private and public sectors will help us ensure that our policies and processes fully realize the immigration laws’ potential to grow our economy and create American jobs,” Mayorkas said in the release.

The summit was organized to give some direction to the Entrepreneurs in Residence’s new tactical team. The tactical team is made up of USCIS employees and business experts working to create clear, consistent immigration pathways for foreign entrepreneurs. All of this is being done to align visa policy with current business realities, according to the release.

The team is designed to streamline USCIS policy across all of the non-immigrant visa categories that entrepreneurs use in business.

The slowdown of the U.S. economy since the financial and housing market crash of 2008 has inspired the USCIS to begin thinking of ways to affect economic growth through smart visa policy. This inspiration has happened, in part, because of the chorus of voices from the technology industry begging for reform.

USCIS announced the Entrepreneurs in Residence initiative during President Barak Obama’s Council of Jobs and Competitiveness in Pittsburgh in October of 2011.

At the February summit, Mayorkas recognized five entrepreneurs who are American immigrants as Outstanding Americans by Choice. Those five entrepreneurs, who are now naturalized citizens, are researcher and writer Vivek Wadhwa; Michael Moritz, partner at Sequoia Capital; Christopher Che, president and CEO of the Che International Group; Shervin Pishervar, managing partner at Menlo Ventures; and Ping Fu, president and CEO of Geomagic.

The Outstanding American by Choice is an honor given to naturalized citizens for achievements in professional achievement, civic participation and responsible citizenship.

Mayorkas also performed a naturalization ceremony, welcoming 20 Silicon Valley residents to become U.S. citizens.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

There are a number of criteria a country must meet to participate in the program. At least one of the program’s requirements is being reviewed by Congress.

Here are some of the criteria participating countries must meet to be a part of the program.
• Must have a reciprocal program with the United States
• Must issue secure, machine-readable passports
• Must be on track to include biometric identifiers in passports
• Must report theft of blank passports to the U.S. Department of State
• Must have a low nonimmigrant refusal rate.

Refusal rates are used as a measure of the likelihood a foreign national would overstay his or her trip to the United States.

Critics argue that the overstay rates themselves would be a better measure of the propensity of a person on a business trip or vacation to stay beyond his or her allotted 90 days.

Refusal rates can be skewed if the same person is refused several times, for example. By comparison, nationals from a country with a high overstay rate likely need a visa from the State Department before visiting the United States.

There are bills before the U.S. House and Senate that would replace refusal rates with overstay rates among other tweaks to the program.

There are 36 countries in the Visa Waiver Program. About 40 million people visit the United States every year for business or vacation. Among those, almost half enter the United States from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The State Department has been under some pressure during the down economy to loosen restrictions on business and leisure travel to the United States. Travel and tourism can be a big boost on a struggling economy.

But the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have a responsibility to keep people out of the country who pose a threat to law and order or national security. There also is political pressure to keep foreign nationals out of the country who intend to stay here illegally.

There also is a movement to expand the number of countries who participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Adding countries to the list would increase the number of visitors from those countries for both business and recreation. An expanded list might also be better for security.

The United States gets more information and more useful data about counterterrorism and criminal enforcement from member nations than it does from non-member nations.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled website at http://www.visatous.com.

The groups did the study to help advise policymakers in hopes that immigration policy changes could spur economic growth, according to a press release from AEI.

The study found that the current immigration policy is not hurting but enhancing the job market. The agencies conducting the survey sought to use the data to advocate for specific policy changes that could boost U.S. job growth.

Researchers looked to find out if immigrants take jobs that would be filled by U.S. citizens, if they create jobs, or if there is no net effect. They also looked into what types of jobs were being taken or created by the immigrants.

The study outlined two broad schools of thought on how immigration impacts the labor market. The first idea says that immigrants and native-born Americans share the same skill sets and must compete for the same jobs. The second idea says that Americans and immigrants have different skills and complement each other in the resulting diversified work force.

Employers and policymakers both point to two groups as being critical to the U.S. economy – immigrants with advanced degrees and temporary work visa holders. Researchers looked at Census Bureau data and temporary worker applications to look at states individually to try and learn how likely an American citizen is to have a job in states with more immigrants. The study went on to look at the benefits these immigrants receive relative to their taxes.

Researchers came up with four significant findings. Immigrants with advanced degrees boost U.S. employment; temporary workers, skilled and unskilled, boost U.S. employment; no evidence shows immigrants hurt U.S. employment; and foreign-born workers pay more in U.S taxes than they use in benefits.

The data on immigrants with advanced degrees showed that workers who studied in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – at U.S. universities had a big positive impact on jobs here. For every 100 skilled workers with advanced degrees from U.S. schools, 262 jobs were created for American-born workers between 200 and 2007.

Foreign-born workers with advanced STEM degrees from schools around the world including the United States also had a positive impact on jobs with 86 jobs created for every 100 high-skilled immigrant working here.

The addition of 100 temporary workers also resulted in more jobs for native-born Americans, according to the study. H-1B workers created 183 jobs for every 100 immigrants and H-2B workers created a whopping 464 jobs for Americans.

The researchers used the data from the survey to make policy suggestions aimed at boosting the American economy.

The American Enterprise Institute suggests giving priority to immigration applicants with advanced degrees in STEM fields and increasing the number of green cards for high-skilled workers.

A qualified immigration attorney can help skilled workers and employers work with immigration services to get visas to work in the United States.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The new forms will deter fraud and strengthen security, according to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “These enhanced documents are more secure than ever,” he said in a press release. “They advance our efforts to safeguard against fraud and protect the integrity of the immigration system.”

The application process for these forms is unchanged. But the look and feel of the documents is radically different.

The forensic laboratory at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement helped USCIS develop the new EAD card. It uses new technology and tactile elements in order to help with easy card authentication, according to the release.

The new card, which looks similar to a driver’s license, has a photo of the cardholder as well as his or her fingerprint – and are both laser engraved. The card number and the case number are now both published on the front of the card.

The ICE forensic laboratory, which has been around since 1978, is the country’s authority on document authentication.

The old cards are still valid until they expire and will be replaced with new ones as people apply for renewal.

The agency hopes the new card will help law enforcement and employers more quickly identify the card and recognize the holder as being authorized to work in the country, according to the release.

USCIS also redesigned the N-560 Form, or the Certificate of Citizenship. This document goes to people who became citizens while living in the United States or people who were born outside the country to American citizens and applied for U.S. citizenship.

The agency has applied more tamper-proof printing methods to the new documents (which look similar to a birth certificate). It has a multi-colored background and a watermark to discourage fraud. It also has a digitized approval signature.

Previously issued Certificates of Citizenship are valid indefinitely, according to the release.

The new certificate does not make the list of accepted I-9 documents. Until 2007, the certificate was usable for proof of employment eligibility and identity under list A. The certificate is still on I-9’s list C that establishes employment authorization.

The agency is in an ongoing effort to update more secure and fraud-resistant documentation. USCIS created new Permanent Residency Cards in 2010 and redesigned the N-550 Certificate of Naturalization adding a photo and a signature.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Most people travelling to the United States from around the world need a non-immigrant visa in order to enter the country. The visitor visas are B-1 for business and B-2 for citizens of foreign countries coming here for pleasure, tourism or medical treatment.

Business travel visas are given for a variety of reasons. Some foreign citizens come to the United States to consult with associates, attend seminars or conferences in their industry, or negotiate and close business contracts. Others come as athletes to compete in American contests or lecturers who speak at events.

There are 35 countries that participate in a visa waiver program and citizens of those countries usually do not need a B-1 visa when travelling to the United States for business.

Those countries are Andorra, Hungary, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, San Marino, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, South Korea, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Malta, Sweden, Germany, Monaco, Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom.

Qualification for a B-1 visa is determined by the U.S. Embassy in the country where the applicant holds citizenship. It is important to apply well in advance of the proposed travel date as the application process can be time-consuming, according to the State Department.

The application process will likely require an interview at the embassy. Applicants who are younger than 14 or older than 79-years-old usually do not need to interview in the process.

The embassy will ask for some documentation including an online DS-160 form, a valid passport (that will remain valid for six months after an applicant plans to leave the United States) and a photograph.

There are often fees associated with acquiring a B-1 visa as well. The State Department recommends applicants contact the U.S. Embassy in their country as soon as they know they need to travel to find out more about the necessary fees.

There are provisions in the rules that allow domestic employees or personal assistants to travel with their employers.

Carrying a B-1 visa is not a guarantee that a businessperson from another country will be granted access to the United States at a port of entry. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have the ultimate say on who can enter.

Companies hoping to bring business associates to the United States to work on projects, sign real estate deals or attend conferences can benefit from hiring a qualified law firm to help make the process as smooth as possible for the traveler.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston, Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled website at http://www.visatous.com.

In order to preserve Silicon Valley’s reputation as the world’s leader in technology innovation, Blueseed is building a Visa-free offshore technology incubator.

The company wants to “…enable countless great ideas and talented individuals to test themselves in the hotbed of Silicon Valley,” according to the Blueseed website. “With our incubator, startups and individuals will also get a chance to establish the connections and capital necessary to move their operations onto land if they so choose.”

The Blueseed team is responding to an American legal immigration policy that leaves many international technology workers on the outside looking in when American companies could be hiring them and creating more jobs.

The U.S. government gives out about 140,000 visas every year to skilled workers from other countries. The State Department restricts those H-1B visas so that no more than seven percent of that 140,000 can come from any specific country. This means workers from countries like India and China get just as many employment-based visas as workers from Iceland and Greenland.

The year’s supply of H-1B visas is regularly taken in the first couple of months into the fiscal year.

There are bills under consideration in Congress that would lift some of those restrictions and make it marginally easier for skilled workers to come to American technology companies.

But Blueseed is not going to wait and see. In an interview with ARS Technia, Blueseed CEO Max Marty, a son of Cuban immigrants, admitted that it would be better if the United States just updated and modernized its policy.

While trying to benefit from inadequacies in U.S. immigration law, Blueseed also will need to depend on the State Department’s generosity. Part of the company’s sales pitch is that entrepreneurs would be able to make frequent trips using B-1 visas that allow international businesspeople to come to the United States for training, conferences and even meetings, according to ARS Technia.

The next step for the company is to raise money to finance the ship, as its projected 300-person crew and interior would make it feel like an office. Blueseed announced in late November that Paypal founder Peter Thiel will lead the company’s seed financing round.

The Blueseed vessel would be parked about 12 nautical miles from Half Moon Bay – south of San Francisco and west of Palo Alto, Calif.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The International Tourism Facilitation Act was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, D. Minn., and Roy Blunt, R. Mo., in October to make it easier for people to visit the United States from around the world.

Klobuchar and Blunt pushed the proposal as a potential economic lift for the country. About 10 percent of all the jobs created so far this year in the United States were tourism jobs, according to a press release from Klobuchar’s Senate office. Each visitor from overseas spent about $4,000 in this country in 2010.

The bill’s goal is to cut long wait times at consulates and American embassies around the world that can prevent people from visiting the United States. The bill also would give the State Department incentives to make the changes.

“By streamlining our visa processing system without jeopardizing our nation’s security, we can help spur economic development and job creation,” Blunt said in a release.

The U.S. Travel Association was quick to support the proposed bill. “International business and leisure travelers stimulate our economy, and the ‘International Tourism Facilitation Act’ is the legislation our country needs to create U.S. jobs and to improve our visa process,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association in a release.

The USTA also said the State Department simply cannot meet its own goals for timely processing of applications in some markets. Provisions in the bill would allow the State Department to reinvest application fees on infrastructure to meet growing demand.

Travelers discouraged by visa wait times will take their dollars elsewhere around the world. The Boston Globe reported in November that the 10-year change in long-haul arrivals in the United States had remained an almost-flat two percent while the numbers in China and India jumped 126 percent and 124 percent respectfully.

These visas are not just necessary for people wanting to see the Grand Canyon or a Dodgers game, many of the people in line for these visas want to visit their children in grad school or network with professionals at a business conference. Even though these types of visitors will not choose another country to visit instead, they would likely come more often if it was made simpler for them.

The USTA even put together a website with clever graphics, videos and cartoons to help illustrate the need for visa reform: www.smartervisapolicy.org.

An attorney with visa application experience can help get clients through the process so their family can come visit for business or pleasure.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

In an attempt to streamline the collection and processing and improve the consistency of intake, USCIS now requires all N-300, N-336, N-600 and N-600K forms to be secure lockbox facilities instead of local offices.

The N-300 form is an application for a permanent resident to file declaration of intention to become a U.S. citizen. The N-366 form is a request for a hearing on a naturalization proceedings decision. The N-600 form is an application for a citizenship certificate. The N-600K form is an application for citizenship for a child who lives abroad to get U.S. citizenship because of the child’s parents.

USCIS began using the lockbox facilities in 2001 to electronically process information from forms, forward that information to the appropriate location, collect fees and generate acceptance or rejection notices.

Beginning in 2007, USCIS has been moving all fee-based immigration forms to this new lockbox system. Because the USCIS is a congressionally mandated and self-funded agency, the timely and accurate collection of fees is imperative. In FY 2009, the agency’s lockbox facilities processed almost 4.5 million applications and more than $1 billion in fees. Last year, USCIS used the lockbox centers to process more than $1.6 billion in fees, according to the agency.

USCIS has lockbox facilities in Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas and a data verification office supporting the lockbox facilities in Burlington, Vt. The immigration forms include the correct address to the lockbox facilities.

In addition to streamlining the application and fee collection process, the lockbox facilities may also free up the local offices to handle daily issues regarding immigration.

The move to lockbox locations has not been without its challenges. About a year ago, the Office of Intake and Document Production Lockbox Processing published a report outlining issues that came up and fixes the agency applied to correct the problems. In response to stakeholder concerns, USCIS changed the working on rejection notices so they would be easier to understand and retrained some employees on which applications to accept and which to deny based on the timing of some forms.

An undertaking of this magnitude is going to create a number of issues to be resolved as the process changes, and the lockbox transition has had plenty.

An experienced immigration attorney can help navigate all the changes in USCIS’ forms and processing. In order to not waste money on fees that are sent in with the wrong forms to the wrong location, contact Houston immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee. To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Reform proponents have said American policy does not leave enough room for scientists and engineers from places like India and China to remain in the United States after school and help bolster this country’s technology sector.

The new bill, H.R. 3012, would eliminate the country-by-country limits on the 140,000 visas given to skilled workers annually. As the law is written now, each country is limited to only seven percent of the total, but some countries like India have far more applicants as a percentage.

In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in September, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the current laws are hurting the country.

“Right now, Iceland gets the same quota as India,” he told the Immigration and American Competitive Conference in Washington, D.C. “It just makes no sense. I have nothing against Iceland, but just think about where the next engineers and the entrepreneurs are going to come from.”

Chaffetz said the bill will help to encourage skilled workers to stay in the United States after school and contribute to the economy.

“Per country limits make no sense in the context of employment-based visas,” Chaffetz said in a press release. “By removing per country limits, American companies will be able to access the best talent.”

The bill, called the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, would not adjust the total number of available visas. The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.

Smith and Chaffetz’s bill reflects a push by business leaders and politicians to separate the need to reform the nation’s legal immigration policy from the politically charged debate over illegal immigration policy.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, NASDAQ CEO Robert Greifeld asked the committee to let the legal immigration reform discussion happen on its own.

“Americans are losing jobs and opportunity while we let one issue drag down the other,” he said.

As legislators inch closer to reforming American immigration laws with an eye toward economic recovery, graduate students are acutely aware of the bureaucratic hassles before them if they choose to stay in the United States after graduation.

Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee works with clients who want to stay in the United States and work. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee has more than 10 years of experience helping graduate students and their families attain work visas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information-filled website at http://www.visatous.com.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

In his speech at the Immigration and American Competitiveness Conference, Bloomberg said an economic growth initiative that expands businesses, encourages entrepreneurism, and grows our markets overseas can be done with no cost to the taxpayer, but “…we have an open and honest conversation about immigration reform based on economics rather than anything else.”

The national debate on immigration policy is bogged down in politics, he argued. And while each side of the political aisle plays to its base regarding the country’s challenges with illegal immigration, the issue of skilled workers is only slowly becoming part of the national conversation.

Bloomberg’s first suggestion was to take a hard look at visa distribution. Each year, the United States admits about one million new permanent visas. But of that million, 85 percent go to people looking for family re-unification or protection from harm, while only 15 percent are given out for work reasons, he said.

“Allocating only 15 percent of visas based on economics is just terrible public policy – and it really is holding our economy back,” he said. “I’ve called it national suicide – and I think it really is.”

He called for a dramatic increase in the number of visas given to skilled workers wanting to come to the United States or stay here after graduate school to work. “These high-skill workers will not only help create thousands of jobs, they’ll also give us knowledge of foreign markets that will help U.S. businesses increase their exports,” he said.

Bloomberg also made a case for keeping foreign students who graduate from American universities with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

“Let’s offer them green cards when they finish their degrees, and then we can get down to the real business of convincing them to stay because that’s not a foregone conclusion either,” he said. “We are in competition with the rest of the world for the best and the brightest.”

Our current system makes the path to citizenship for these graduates cumbersome and stressful, Bloomberg said. “Turning these students out of the country is, to put it bluntly, about the dumbest thing that we could possibly do.”

Alejandro N. Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also spoke at the conference. The USCIS is working to clarify some of the wording of the current laws to make it easier for skilled workers to stay in the country. But he acknowledged that the United States immigration policy needs adjusting.

“We well understand the obstacles our current laws present when we seek to attract and retain a greater share of talent in a world of ever-increasing competition from abroad,” he said.

Individuals who are seeking skilled worker visas or want to continue work after graduate school in the U.S. should consult a skilled immigration attorney to expedite the H-1B process for them and their family.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

“Houston is recognized to have a more favorable receiving community climate for immigrants than many cities and generally has well-informed stakeholders and community leaders,” said Stephanie Valencia, the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

In Houston, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (MOIRA) helps with citizenship and immigration matters. The mayor and many community organizations offer classes and groups for immigrants to learn more about the city, the English language, and economic opportunities. The focus is on helping them integrate into society better and contribute to the local and regional economy. Many of the city’s citizenship programs help them get involved in social and cultural activities around the area.

The mayor’s office has an advisory committee that oversees all the immigration and refugee programs to ensure that programs utilize “…non-biased and non-discriminatory practices in the delivery of services and benefits for all.” MOIRA also has a very thorough guide for individuals who want to find out more about educational, civic, and legal resources.

Houston has received micro-loans for English as a Second Language programs and naturalization as there is such a big population to serve that the federal government sometimes needs to step in to help on a local level. Federal funds and support help to foster stronger foundations for immigrants across the country. Of particular concern is when immigrants are looking to get legal help. Many immigrants are being charged by unauthorized notarios to fill out forms and double billed for services. Individuals and their loved ones should only seek a qualified Houston immigration attorney that has handled hundreds of cases to successfully maintain their citizenship. Otherwise, online business and notarios without qualification can just lead to fraudulent fees and delayed proceedings.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Individuals must show documentation regarding their extraordinary ability and have three of the following records:
– Relevant documentation of a higher degree from a university or institution
– Letter from employer showing 10 years of experience in the industry
– License to practice in the profession
– Salary demonstrating exceptional ability
– Membership in professional organizations
– Evidence of achievements and contributions to the field

Individuals with science, business, and tech backgrounds are particularly sought after. An individual’s spouse and children under the age of 18 can also qualify to come to the United States through the E-21 and E-22 visa. A skilled immigration attorney can vastly help expedite the process and ensure that all paperwork is filled out completely.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has rolled out these new policies and outreach efforts to make it easier for these highly qualified immigrants to come to the United States. Most immigrants who qualify under this category must show their diploma or related certificates. Reference letters, salary history, recognition in the field, and other documentation is acceptable for the USCIS requirements.

“Encouraging the kinds of streamlining measures USCIS is taking today has been one key focus of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness because they help ensure that America can continue to out-innovate and out-compete the world in a global economy,” said USCIS’ director Alejandro Mayorkas.

The streamline process hopes to attract multinational executives and managers from overseas. New businesses and start-ups are also encouraged. Premium processing guarantees a 15 calendar day turnaround time by paying a premium service fee. The clock starts ticking when form I-907, request for premium processing, is received by the USCIS.

Many people that have qualified under this visa are in the field of engineering, medicine, teaching, architecture, and law. The petitioning employer must submit a labor certificate on behalf of the immigrant to show that the foreign worker is not displacing a qualified U.S. worker out of a job.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

NASDAQ’s president Robert Greifeld spoke about how 14 of the active NASDAQ companies have foreign-born founders, and with outdated immigration policies the U.S. is on the brink of not incubating enough talent. He explained how an estimated 17,000 graduate students must return to their home countries as the U.S. green card backlogs have barred them from staying to contribute to the workforce or start their own company. Greifeld was also discouraged by the number of visas that are left unused because of bureaucratic red tape. Between 1992 and 2009, 506,410 green cards were not used, and only 180,039 were recaptured.

Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith explained how immigration laws must be brought up to 2011 standards. He voiced how structural changes to immigration have not been made since 1990, when the needs for high-tech jobs were still in the initial stages. In May, Microsoft had 4,551 unfilled job positions, and 2,629 of them were for computer science roles. But with immigration country caps, skilled individuals from India and China, for example, must wait for years before they can ever get lawful residency status in the U.S. And Smith is finding it hard to find talent stateside to make matters worse.

Esteemed endocrinologist Dr. Puneet S. Arora, who is also a member of Immigration Voice, spoke at the hearing too. As an immigrant from New Delhi, India, she has experienced the immigration process firsthand. She advocates for the country cap to be deleted in exchange for a first come, first serve immigration petition process. Arora echoes Smith’s suggestion of rolling over unused immigrant visa numbers to the next fiscal year. With the brain drain in important science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (STEM), the employment-based green card limit should be raised to 290,000 visas if not eliminated altogether for STEM jobs, she says. As many people wait for years without knowing when and if they will get a visa, she would like to see job portability so that an immigrant would not “lose their place in the green card line” if they changed jobs, but were still contributing to the economy.

In Texas, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee has more than 10 years of successfully guiding individuals, families, and businesses through the maze of immigration matters. Attorney Banerjee is an immigrant, and knows the care and attention to detail that each person deserves to get their American dream underway. She has helped many immigrants contribute in big and small ways to the U.S. economy and make a better life for themselves and their family.

For more information:

Law Offices of A. Banerjee
131 Brooks Street Suite #300
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
Phone: (281) 242-9139
Fax: (281) 242-2058

2027 Sheridan Street
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: (713) 793-6339
annie@visatous.com

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) the following types of women can apply for naturalization:

– Those who have been abused in the United States by their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, and entered into the marriage in good faith, not just for immigration benefits

– Those who have been abused by their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse abroad while the spouse was employed by the U.S. government or a member of the U.S. uniformed services

– The parent of a child who has been subjected to abuse by their U.S. citizen or permanent spouse

– A mother who has been abused by their U.S. citizen son or daughter

VAWA went into law in 1994 and was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. This year it will expire if not reauthorized. Recently, the Senate held a hearing to celebrate “The Violence Against Women Act: Building on Seventeen Years of Accomplishments”. The American Immigration Lawyers Association has long adopted efforts to lessen violence against immigrant women, family violence, and programs to help victims.

On July 12, Texas House of Representative Lamar Smith introduced H.R. 2497, the Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act (HALT Act). Many immigration attorneys feel the HALT Act will hurt immigrant victims of domestic violence and battery as it will deny them protections against deportation that were allowed under deferred action mechanisms.

“USCIS grants Deferred Action to approved self-petitioners awaiting adjustment so they can work legally and escape their abusers’ economic control,” the AILA said in a letter to House representatives. “By eliminating Deferred Action as a tool for helping victims of domestic violence and other victims of crimes, HALT would restore a powerful weapon to batterers’ and crime perpetrators’ arsenals against victims vulnerable to removal.”
VAWA has been a cause that both political parties have embraced for 17 years. But if legislation like HALT takes precedence and VAWA is not re-authorized, immigration attorneys worry what the legacy for an immigrant woman’s rights will be.

Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee sees the importance of VAWA every day in her immigration law practice. She champions her clients’ rights to a safe environment, opportunities to remain lawfully in the United States, and achieve their citizenship goals. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee are known for their skill at helping individuals and families with all their immigration concerns for more than 10 years.

For more information:
Law Offices of A. Banerjee
131 Brooks Street Suite #300
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
Phone: (281) 242-9139
Fax: (281) 242-2058

2027 Sheridan Street
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: (713) 793-6339
annie@visatous.com

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

“Time after time, immigration judges are forced to refuse asylum to deserving refugees who, against all odds, have reached our shores in search of protection,” said David Leopold, executive committee member at The American Immigration Lawyers Association. “The arbitrary one-year rule not only denies them a critical safe-haven but it leads to administrative waste by forcing immigration judges to spend valuable time deciding whether or not a refugee can be excused for late-filing, rather than considering whether the person deserves protection. It is reprehensible that the United States is denying asylum based on an arbitrary deadline.”

The one-year deadline, say the bill’s supporters, can be tough for many individuals to comply with because they are not familiar with U.S. laws and they are still dealing with many challenges after leaving their home country. The bill would also review the U.S. refugee resettlement program, and analyze minimal forms of protection that bar a person from becoming a legal permanent resident. Many refugees do not know anyone in the U.S. when they land on our soil and do not know how to navigate the maze of paperwork and bureaucracies to obtain proper documentation.

This year the world has seen a lot of changes, with many Middle Eastern and African nations experiencing political upheaval. People around the world are still victims of persecution because of their race, religion, political opinion, and sometimes even the social group they belong to. And after an environmental disaster, many people come to the U.S. to seek a better life. An individual should get legal counsel early on to ensure that all the paperwork and timelines are met to get and maintain lawful immigration status.

In Texas, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee has more than a decade of experience in immigration law. As an immigrant herself, she knows the challenges of being from a different country, and being overwhelmed by a new country and laws. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee counsels individuals and businesses throughout the state and nation with efficient, expert guidance.

For more information:

Law Offices of A. Banerjee

131 Brooks Street Suite #300

Sugar Land, Texas 77478

Phone: (281) 242-9139

Fax: (281) 242-2058

2027 Sheridan Street

Houston, Texas 77030

Phone: (713) 793-6339

annie@visatous.com

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

“The need for Congress to enact real immigration reform could not be any more urgent,” said Eleanor Pelta, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “Immigration reform would aid our economy and provide fairness to taxpayers, job creators, and families that now get hopelessly entangled in the dysfunctional system.”

Instead of living every day with the fear of getting deported, these kids could better contribute to the success of America, say the bill’s supporters. These teens, who are honor roll students, athletes, and hard working, just want a fair chance to stay in the country that gave them many opportunities. With legalization, the bill’s proponents say that these teens would contribute to the American workforce in many beneficial ways. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “…they’d be paying more taxes, starting businesses and creating jobs, all of which would infuse a much-needed kick-start to the economy and help drive down the national debt.”

The U.S. House of Representatives supported this legislation last year, but it has been an uphill battle in the Senate in 2011. Senate Republicans are more focused on U.S.-Mexico border security and enforcement provisions, and concerned that legalizing these students could bring unintended consequences. Arne Duncan noted that three million jobs have gone unfilled in the U.S. in science, mathematics, technology, and education that these students could be perfect for. Look at the Intel Science Talent Search competition, for example, and the roster is full of students who are high achievers and were born outside the U.S.

In Texas, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee understands just what these students are going through. She came to the U.S. for graduate school, became a citizen, and is positively contributing to the economy. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee are known for their skill at helping individuals, families, and businesses with the green card and visa process. For more than 10 years she has helped clients achieve their immigration goals.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Individuals looking to become a U.S. citizen must pass a civics and English test. The civics exam encompasses questions regarding the American government and history as well as geography, holidays and symbols. The English exam covers reading, writing and oral questions. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services initiative plans to connect individuals with local groups and educational resources to prepare them for successful citizenship.

In addition to the exams, individuals must meet the following requirements:
• Have good moral character
• Live in the U.S. continuously for five years as a lawful permanent resident before filing Form N-400 and be physically present for a minimum of 30 months out of the five years
• Live in the state or USCIS district that has jurisdiction over your residence for at least three months before filing Form N-400
• Have a green card for five years
• Be 18 years old

In Houston, Texas the Harris County Department of Education has free classes that instruct students on citizenship rights and responsibilities, the naturalization process, and training for the exams. They also offer English as a second language courses for varying levels of proficiency. Harris County has three main learning centers and many satellite locations via 15 public schools.

“It’s a feeling of empowerment,” said teacher Rosie Siller, who has taught English and civics through the HCDE for 17 years. “No one can take that education away from you.”

Many people do not know that part of the education teaches about an American citizen’s rights and responsibilities. Rights include the freedom to express oneself and worship, the right to vote, apply for federal employment, run for elected office, and the right to a fair jury trial. Responsibilities include defending the Constitution and country, participating in the democratic process and local community, obeying laws, respecting others, paying taxes, serving on a jury, and the freedom to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Once a person is naturalized, their children under age 18 who are not married can get citizenship. Via Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship, the children can automatically become U.S. citizens.

Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee helps individuals and families get access to citizenship resources and successfully accomplish their naturalization goals. As an immigrant herself, she is a great ally for those looking to get citizenship and is dedicated to giving each client individualized attention and the utmost quality. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee has more than 10 years of immigration law experience throughout Texas and the United States. She is active with the State Bar of Texas, American Immigration Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, and the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Greater Houston.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Many of them immigrated to the U.S. to better their life and enable their children to achieve more. The NFAP found that immigrant parents encouraged their children to focus on their education and leadership roles in extracurricular activities. A good percentage of the finalists’ parents came to the U.S. as exchange students.

The role of immigrants and the influence they have on their children’s upbringing is vast. “Our immigration policies must not be allowed to deprive our country of the contributions that these kids are making here,” said the NFAP study. “The benefit America derives from the children of immigrants in science and math is an additional advantage the country reaps from being open to talent from around the world. Americans should take pride in our openness to individuals and their children who can succeed in the United States without regard to class or place of birth. The talents possessed by these children of immigrants are a wonderful gift to America, a gift we can all benefit from in the future so long as we can allow talented foreign nationals to come to the United States and pursue their American dreams.”

H-1B visa holders range from exchange students, skilled immigrants, and family-sponsored foreigners. These types of visas are good for three years, with an extension of up to six years. Of special note, H-1B visa holders only make up one percent of the entire U.S. population. Smart immigration policies to attract the right caliber of individuals and families can go a long way to improving America’s competitive stance. Harsh immigration policies will only “…shut off the flow of a key segment of America’s next generation of scientists and engineers” said the NFAP study.

In Texas, two out of the three finalists have foreign-born parents. The two students, Sunil Kochikar Pai from Houston and Rounok Joardar from Plano, have Indian-born parents. Pai created a new way to measure electron transfer properties of molecules for the Intel competition. His after-school activities include cross country, golf, and tennis as well as playing in the orchestra and being president of the math club and the youth division of the Houston Konkani Association. Joardar built a high-efficiency hybrid concentrator solar cell. His research pushes to replace fossil fuels. In 2010, Joardar won first place in engineering at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. He is fluent in Bengali and taken many years of Spanish.

Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee understands the benefits of an American education as she came to the U.S. for graduate school and the American dream. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee are known for their skill at helping individuals, families, and businesses with the H-1B process. For more than 10 years she has helped clients achieve their immigration goals.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

“The United States has depended on IMGs to fill gaps in care in underserved areas since the 1970s, and will probably continue to do so for some time,” said doctor Jeffery Harris, the president of the American College of Physicians (ACP). “IMGs are crucial to our continuing to be able to provide adequate care to the populations they serve.”

The ACP notes that with the increase of diverse patients, physician profiles must also diversify to provide “culturally competent care”. IMGs are not the only way to accomplish this, and the ACP also promotes increasing the diversity of American physicians to meet the needs of patients.

The ACP recently published a position paper on international medical graduates in American medicine and outlined its goals to increase programs to attract this type of physician. Their efforts push:

• to streamline the process for J-1 and H-1B visas for IMGs
• for a long-term expansion of J-1 visa waiver programs
• to get an exemption from the annual H-1B visa cap in specialties facing a shortage
• to place doctors of internal medicine and other specialties where shortages exist as Schedule A workers by the Department of Labor
• to improve medical education and foster collaborations between the U.S. and less developed countries
• for more opportunities for U.S. physicians with the Global Health Corps to serve in less-developed countries

“The entry of approximately 6,000 IMGs into the United States every year contributes a few billion dollars to the U.S. economy, which is equal to the output of 50 additional medical schools without any cost to the taxpayer,” said doctor Nyapati R. Rao, the chairman of the AMA-IMG section governing council.

IMGs hail from 127 countries and diverse backgrounds and currently total 25 percent of the U.S. physician workforce. In Texas, approximately 13,700 IMGs are practicing in the medical field and work in internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, anesthesiology, family medicine, general surgery, radiology, and obstetrics/gynecology. As foreign individuals and U.S. employers look to capitalize on the opportunity of the IMG experience, qualified legal counsel for immigration and visa matters is critical. H-1B and J-1 programs involve lots of paperwork, documentation, and follow up. Even minor errors can cause delays and denials, so seeking legal counsel early on is highly recommended.

Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee helps individuals and businesses throughout the state with all their immigration and foreign worker hiring concerns. The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee has more than a decade of experience in immigration law throughout Texas and the United States. As an immigrant herself, she knows the benefit of American traineeships and how an immigrant can greatly contribute to the modern U.S. workforce. She is an active member in her profession, with membership in the State Bar of Texas, American Immigration Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, and the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Greater Houston.

For more information:

Law Offices of A. Banerjee

131 Brooks Street Suite #300

Sugar Land, Texas 77478

Phone: (281) 242-9139

Fax: (281) 242-2058

2027 Sheridan Street

Houston, Texas 77030

Phone: (713) 793-6339

annie@visatous.com

EB-5 has two ways to qualify for legal permanent residency. An alien investor can make a capital investment of $500,000 in a USCIS-designated regional center or $1 million for a new business. Both ways strive to stimulate the American economy through job creation and allow the investor to bring their spouses and minor unmarried children. With the $1 million option, the alien investor must create 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers within two years of being in the U.S.

With the economy in doldrums, the EB-5 program can fuel local and regional jobs. “It’s a win for U.S. workers because they’re able to get jobs through this program,” says Cornell University immigration law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr. “It’s a win for project developers and cities and states because they are able to get money that they wouldn’t be able to tap into otherwise to fund their projects. And it’s a win obviously for the foreign investors because it allows them to get a green card.”

The EB-5 process is intense, so an individual will want to get legal representation to make sure every form and deadline is met. Each investor will want an experienced immigration attorney to review their I-526 petition to establish their eligibility for the EB-5 program. Once approved, the individual must then file I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Investors and their families are granted a conditional two-year residency status, so 90 days before the two-year anniversary they must complete I-829 to show all terms of the EB-5 program have been met. When this last step is successfully completed, the investor is issued a new green card without conditions and can live and work in the U.S. permanently.

Investors who want to seek this type of residency should get legal counsel early. The process can take around a year and immigration officers will want documentation to ensure the investor’s money and business are legitimate.

In Texas, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee has more than 10 years of successfully guiding investors through the EB-5 program. In Houston a large EB-5 regional center is located in the Chinatown district east of downtown. Investors are coming from Mexico, China, South Korea, Nigeria, India, and Pakistan. Attorney Banerjee is an immigrant, and knows the care and attention each individual, family, and employer deserves to get their American dream underway.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Her books and her life point to the importance of foreign-born families unifying in the United States to have better lives and togetherness. Divakaruni was born in Calcutta, India and moved to Dayton, Ohio to be near her brother. She also pursued a master’s degree at Wright State University in Dayton and excelled in the doctorate program at the University of California, Berkeley.

Divakaruni’s life story mimics the pattern of other successful immigrants to the United States. It sometimes starts out with a brother moving to America, or a wife, or grandparents making the transition first. With U.S. immigration and green card laws, only a certain number of visas are allotted to countries around the world, and set categories define which relatives can come over immediately or must wait based on the preference system.

When one relative is already in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident or citizen, they will sponsor their relative and prove they have enough income or assets to support the immigrant as well as accept legal responsibility for them. The sponsor will need to show IRS tax returns, W2s, or 1099 forms to verify there are enough funds to not make the immigrant co-dependent on the state. It is highly recommended to have an experienced immigration attorney to go over the most appropriate type of visa and documents needed, file the I-130 petition and questionnaires correctly, and have the affidavits of support in place for the citizenship and immigration services office, also known as the USCIS.

The immigrant visa process can be complex and tedious, so individuals can benefit greatly by competent legal counsel. The USCIS mandates specific vaccinations, interviews, and sometimes requires DNA testing. Immigration attorneys can ensure that a client’s or family’s paperwork is filled out thoroughly to prevent delays as much as possible. Also, an immigration attorney will help a client make a good impression and presentation at the interview and testing.

Each year, the USCIS sets the number of visas given through set visa preferences. Some of the categories fill up fast, and some individuals and families can end up waiting quite a while to know their immigration status. The following preferences are set for this fiscal year:

Family First Preference – 23,400 visas to unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their minor children

Family Second Preference – 114,200 visas to spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (age 21 and over) of permanent residents

Family Third Preference – 23,400 visas to married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and minor children
Family Fourth Preference – 65,000 visas to brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age.

In Texas, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee has successfully helped individuals, families, and employers for more than 10 years with their immigration matters. As an immigrant, Annie knows firsthand the diligence, respect, and hard work it takes to become a green card holder and U.S. citizen. She is very active in the legal profession and the community as a member of the Texas and American Bar Associations, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Indian Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston, and co-founder of the Indian American Lawyers of Houston.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The H-1B status typically lasts for three years, with an ability to extend it out to six years. Individuals who desire permanent residency are advised to apply for a green card as soon as possible because of the huge amount of applicants. The United States encourages employers to hire foreign nationals to work in specialized jobs. H-1B petitions are capped at an annual amount of 65,000 visas each fiscal year. Up to 20,000 more H-1B visas are also available for students who graduate with a master’s degree or higher level of education. The next open application period is right around the corner and begins April 1. From there, the USCIS will release the visa numbers on October 1 and the foreign national may then begin working.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates are particularly sought after. These type of workers, known as STEM, are allowed a 17 month extension on their OPT to HB-1 status. Be mindful that the extension is only applicable with employers that use the e-verify federal employment verification system. And since the extension is not automatic, students will have to get an extension recommendation from their designated school official, or DSO. With the recommendation, the student will need to file an employment authorization application before their OPT expires.

STEM and specialty jobs involve theoretical and practical knowledge for higher-level industries. Computer science, engineering, business, bioscience, math and statistics, military technologies, science technologies, and medical experts are in high demand.

Recent “cap-gap relief” measures are helping foreign nationals remain legally in the country. Students can be relieved that their OPT status will be automatically extended if they filed for HB-1 in a timely manner. Again, students must alert their DSO that they have filed a H-1B petition in a timely fashion. In turn, the DSO will give the student an I-20 form showing the individual’s status extension.

In Texas, for example, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee counsels many foreign national graduates from top-tier schools such as Rice University, the University of Texas, the University of Houston, Texas A & M, Baylor University, and many of the region’s medical and health science schools. Their impact on the regional and national workforce and economy is immense. Proper planning and expert legal counsel to successfully transition from a student to a worker is critical. She has represented clients for more than 10 years in immigration law matters both in Texas and throughout the United States.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Many of the immigrants came to the U.S. for graduate level education. Others came to create business opportunities that were unavailable in their home countries. The Brookings study noted that immigrant-founded companies were inclined to have strategic partnerships with other countries for endeavors such as product development and sales. These partnerships created more revenue and growth in the U.S. and abroad.

Companies and individuals seek to diversify their employee base, but sometimes they hit a roadblock on the way to immigrating. An employer can sponsor an individual under the First Employment Based Preference, also known as EB-1, if they have a permanent position or tenure. Some outstanding researchers and professors can qualify for EB-1 even without an employer backing if they have extraordinary ability or they can apply for immigration under Second Employment Base Preference, EB-2, for National Interest Waivers.

An experienced immigration lawyer will assist an individual or a backing employer to navigate through all the documents and qualifications. More visas are permitted for higher preference levels, and thus the time to get permanent residency is markedly shorter. Outstanding and extraordinary ability aliens must have a minimum of three or more traits to qualify under this status; extraordinary aliens need a minimum of two or more. These qualifications include: national or international awards or prizes; membership in associations for outstanding achievements; publication in major journals or citations of the individual’s work by others; participation in panels or peer reviews; proof of original scientific or artistic contributions such as patents or copyrights; or, proof of a high salary.

National Interest Waivers are a bit different, and mandate that individuals have a master’s degree or higher and entail work of a national scope and substantial intrinsic merit. Their work must complement U.S. interests to a “substantial greater degree than is available to a native worker having the same minimum qualifications.”

Immigration lawyers can help expedite the lengthy process of immigration. An eight to 10 year backlog of a half million applicants wait for employment-based green cards with EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 status. Applicants become nervous and frustrated, with their entrepreneurial goals stifled by such a lengthy delay. Green cards have a set amount that can be given out each year as well as limits on how many individuals can immigrate from each country. Temporary visas are a short-term fix while an individual waits five years or more for true citizenship.

Students who wish to stay after their U.S. college experience also benefit by utilizing an immigration lawyer to transition to permanent residency. A promising career path and the potential to contribute in high-skill occupations is a big plus for an immigrant student.

Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee has helped many individuals and businesses through the intense immigration process. Many of her clients, including biotech companies, multinational manufacturing companies, IT firms, Fortune 500 oil companies and small businesses have prospered because of immigrant employees. She is known for her fast, efficient manner and individualized attention to every client. Annie is an immigrant and thus she knows how to represent her clients for the best outcome.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

One piece that appeared in The Atlantic told tragic individual stories, such as the tale of a California border patrol agent who was charged for sheltering his own undocumented father from being deported. Another story involved a Mexican teen who was killed for throwing rocks near a border patrol agent. Another was about a middle aged man who was deported for very old drug charges that had already been dealt with.

On the surface level, all these cases involved undocumented citizens. However, what does not matter in respect to the new immigration policies are their lives, intertwined and deeply rooted here. Moms and fathers with small children and an exceptional college student in a small town have been ripped away without any consideration or any concern about whom else is affected in the aftermath of their disappearances. In essence, everyone will feel the ripple effects from it.

The scapegoat, the fall guy, the alien that belongs to another planet who needs to vacate the premises and go back where he came from seems to be the blatant rhetoric that has reverberated throughout the political arena of this country. However, immigrants and undocumented workers are human beings, too, and have largely been a part of American history. Yet, according to the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants are deeply tied to the U.S. business cycle and create a positive impact, though small, over American income in the long term, according to the consensus of economists.

Moreover, what seem to be highly ignored are the effects of globalization and its role on migration. Trade programs in Mexico inevitably pushed many Mexican laborers and migrant farmers across the border in search for jobs. This is part of the harsh reality of globalization. What has also been highly ignored or not mentioned enough in the same breath of immigration reform is that the influx of undocumented workers has become the impetus for immigration reform but in reality much of the interdependent workings between the U.S. and Mexico has polarized both Mexican and U.S. citizens.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Sanctuary cities are the cities that provide “sanctuary” from police officers enforcing immigration laws, prohibiting them from enforcing immigration policies as part of their policing efforts. There are several cities in Texas that are considered to be sanctuary cities, including San Antonio, Houston and El Paso.

However, Gov. Perry has not named any sanctuary cities, making contradictory remarks on his stance on immigration reform. Recently, 30 bills were filed in Texas legislature concerning a lot of talking points issues regarding immigration. Some of the items at the forefront of the legislature session are state services, immigration records, fees for money transactions, deeming English the official language, and redistricting.

Gov. Perry has deemed the selection of sanctuary cities as an emergency priority item, and by doing so will push the issue in front of other issues. Sanctuary cities are a large part of the Texas Republican platform that opposes amnesty to immigrants in any form, a position offensive to much of the Texas population. In 2009, it had been reported that Hispanics or Latinos make up at least 36.9 percent of the Texas population.

It is uncertain when the term “sanctuary city” came about, but more and more cities across the country, such as Detroit and 30 other cities, are standing behind the “don’t ask, don’t tell” practice of police enforcement not subjecting its citizens to the question of their immigration status. It is suggested that the notion of sanctuary cities came about when churches started providing aid to migrant workers who fled from the 1980s civil war in Central America.

Technically, sanctuary cities go against the grain of the 9/11 Commission Report, yet training and support at state and local levels is still lacking and municipalities are having a hard time with allocating resources to enforce immigration policies and to blatantly go against civil right policies. Gov. Perry is being criticized by his peers for making sanctuary cities an emergency issue, rather than Texas’ budgetary issues that can affect Texas schools and the Texas public health system.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

After its inception way back in 2001, it is expected to be voted on the Senate floor this weekend in the Lame Duck Session. It appeared in its earlier days in many forms and interpretations. Today, there are approximately 65,000 students graduating from high school who are undocumented. Most have been brought to the United States when they were very young and have been accustomed and acculturated since most of them can remember. However, when undocumented youths graduate, they face an uncertain future and the chance of being deported back to a country they hardly know, and some with no relatives to seek out.

Lacking legal status, the children are kept from obtaining the same benefits that U.S.-born children or those who have been naturalized have. The DREAM Act will provide citizenship to undocumented children who have grown up in the United States by giving them a path for citizenship within five years by enabling them to apply for citizenship in a five-year period and then apply for another 5-year conditional nonimmigrant status for a total of 10 years. If all criteria are met within this timeframe, the student can be adjusted to legal permanent resident and can apply for citizenship after three years of legal permanent status. Certain options such as enrolling in a two-year degree program or joining the armed forces can reduce the number of years.

Persons with nonimmigrant status would be able to legally work and drive and also go to school essentially the same way a United States citizen does, except for when it comes to receiving benefits from the new health care reform, such as federal tax credits. To qualify for The DREAM Act, the child would have to come to United States before 15 years of age, be enrolled in a college, or have graduated or received a GED from high school for conditional nonimmigrant status, and also be 30 years old or younger at the time of the bill has been enacted.

There have been many opposing the bill. Some say that the bill will put a burden on our already dismal financial forecast. However, there have been studies that say that The Dream Act may in turn boost the economy by their generated income throughout the course of their working lives.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The New Americans may have been politically overlooked, but they are becoming a more increasing “voting bloc” that can quite possibly turn the tides for the state, federal and local elections and are proving to be a political force to be reckoned with.

Immigrants who have not applied for citizenship are now applying for it in droves; therefore changing certain city and states’ political landscape; something said in light of the current anti-immigrant rhetoric. The New Americans have new immigrant stories that are different experiences from the sometimes romanticized “Ellis Island” immigration era, which are personal associations to the modern immigrant experience, fraught with language barriers, racism, assimilation issues mixed with modern day plight and concerns – their own cultural responses to their structural changes to American life. It is how they cope and deal individually and collectively to life’s trajectories in a new world.

Most New Americans hold their citizenship and legal statuses in high regard and are becoming more vocal and visible in respect to immigration reform, which will more than likely motivate them to cast their vote in the upcoming elections. The New American electorate will be pivotal in battleground states such as Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and California.

For Latino voters, immigration reform ranks as one of the top three issues they are concerned with and should be worrisome to politicians who are anti-immigrant. Therefore, demonizing and discounting an immigrant may in turn affect the immigrant voter, who now account for one in 10 registered voters in the U.S. New American registered voters jumped 101.5 percent between 1996 and 2008.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Unlike other local/ICE partnerships, there is no need for Memoranda of Agreement between local law enforcement agencies, or the need for local law agents to be deputized in order to enforce immigration laws. ICE also plans to extend its reach to 3,100 state and local jails nationally by 2013.

Secure Communities allows ICE to have access to fingerprints sent to the FBI by local law enforcement agencies. This addition has been incorporated into the normal criminal booking process where every arrested person’s fingerprints are checked against DHS’s biometric database. If there is a match, or a “hit”, where the arrested person is matched with possible immigration violation, ICE and local law enforcement are alerted. The arrested person’s immigration status is thus determined, as well as whether the individual is deportable.

Secure Communities might even promote the ability for racial profiling by allowing local police to make arrests based on race and ethnicity, or to even make pre-textual arrests merely to have an individual’s immigration status checked.

“With ICE’s wide net casted, civil rights violation may run unchecked by questionable policing efforts. Most of the immigrants that were swept-up arbitrarily, committed Level 1 (low-level) offenses or have no criminal histories at all,” said Annie Banerjee, a Texas board certified immigration and national lawyer.

Migration Policy Institute wrote a report in 2009 on ICE’s Fugitive Operation Teams, finding that while FOT’s number increased capturing more individuals, 73 percent of the detainees had no criminal convictions and in North Carolina alone 83 percent of arrested immigrants were charged with traffic violations.

It was believed that Secure Communities was an opt-in program, but the agency reversed its position at an Oct. 6 press conference when DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano stated, “we don’t consider Secure Communities an opt in/opt out program.” ICE also does not monitor local or state agencies for civil rights or systematic violations such as ensuring that they are not just arresting persons to check their immigration status.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

Garcia-Paulin admitted to knowingly have placed a fraudulent immigration stamp on to Cajica-Cano’s Mexican passport and for receiving a 15,000 pesos fee for doing so. He then informed Cajica-Cano that he would still have to come into the United States illegally, even though the new stamp he placed on his passport would allow him to work in the U.S.

The state’s statute 8 U.S.C. Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(i) makes it an offense to “bring to [or attempt] to bring to the United States in any manner whatsoever such person at a place other than a designated port of entry…” Garcia-Paulin’s attorneys argued the meaning of the word “bring”. In Garcia-Paulin’s appeal, they stated their client took no such action and has pleaded guilty to an erroneous factual basis and would not have done so if he had known.

Aiding and abetting would have not been an issue concerning Garcia-Paulin’s case; therefore, Texas’ Fifth District Circuit vacated and remanded the guilty conviction for insufficient evidence. The actual act of “bringing” did not fit the established legal meaning of the word and they found that Garcia-Paulin did not actually violate the statute. Because of plain error, Garcia-Paulin’s case was reversed.

It is important to note that smuggling aliens is a harsh reality in the southwest border of the United States and there have been a plethora of elaborate smuggling rings that continue to jeopardize lives. Border Safety Initiative (BSI) has worked with Mexico and U.S. Government agencies to lead a strategy to help rescue aliens from being smuggled into the United States in various inhumane ways. BSI hopes to reduce injuries and fatalities at the southwest crossing borders. In 2000, BSI saved approximately 2,500 aliens, and the numbers continue to rise.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Approximately 40 students are hoping to gain attention in support of the 10-year-old DREAM Act, which enables students to get their degrees regardless of immigration status as part of the immigration reform movement.

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) would provide conditional citizenship for six years to immigrants who are 35 years and younger who came into the before they were 16 years old. Additionally, they must have lived in the United States for five years and have a high school degree. The DREAM Act will allow undocumented youths who meet this requirement to attend college and join the military.

The DREAM Act did not pass in the Senate in September, receiving a vote of 56 to 43, a result of the Republic filibuster of the defense authorization bill. However, Congress has a chance to talk over the bill this week before the new Congress arrives.

Many people are rallying and students are banning together on hunger strikes as a last ditch effort to pressure the powers that be to make the DREAM Act a reality. Up on the block for discussion is also the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” bill. Supporters from the DREAM Act and those looking to have Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repealed are now working together.

Support for the DREAM Act is coming from various people and organizations, including the National School Board Association (NSBA), the National Jewish Committee, women and moms from the Legal Momentum and MomsRising, and faculty and students from several universities all over the United States.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – who won his seat in Nevada mostly through Latino voters – had promised to bring the DREAM Act to the floor after Thanksgiving. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who voted for the earlier version of the bill, publicly announced that she currently opposes it.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

This year, for a fee, the government and even some airlines are helping to ease that pain.

The U.S. government (and some foreign governments as well, like Holland) has introduced the Global Entry Program. U.S. citizens over the age of 14 can pay a fee of $100 (valid for 5 years) and enroll in the program. They have to enter their data in the following website:

https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/

After the completion of the process, there will be a one-time CBP interview.

However, once it’s complete, you do not need to stand in any immigration line. There are kiosks in most major airports. The traveler has to scan in their passport at airport kiosks, and zoom down to luggage claim.

Similarly, in Houston IAH, international travelers who are U.S. citizens and have no checked luggage can go through the lines used by pilots and flight attendants for faster processing.

This process can be used by anyone, but because of the lengthy process to get into the program, it is probably feasible for frequent business travelers only. The travelers also get expedited check-in kiosks at other participating countries, as well. As more countries sign on, the price may come down.

There is a chance that this may simply become a requirement for foreign travel in the future. It will save money on personnel for countries participating in this program. Additionally, some airlines are also letting passengers cut in line for boarding the plane or for checking in for a fee. Both American and Southwest airlines are going to be offering this perk for a fee ranging from $10 to $50 per ticket.

This will be the future of travel, in a world increasingly short for time. But then, in this world, will there even be time for vacations?

Annie Banerjee, J.D.
281-242-9139

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

When aliens seeking work in the U.S. qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher, they also qualify for First Employment Based Preference (or EB-1, for short). Usually an employer would sponsor the person to hold a tenure track or a permanent position, for example. If an employer does not sponsor an alien, he or she may still qualify under EB-1 if the person holds “Extraordinary Ability”, or under the Second Employment Based Preference (EB-2) for National Interest Waivers (NIW).

“The difference between Extraordinary Ability and National Interest Waivers is that the requirements are higher for Extraordinary Ability. Generally, the higher the preference, the shorter time to get permanent residency,” said Annie Banerjee from the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee.

Extraordinary Ability Aliens must meet at least three requirements, one more requirement than Extraordinary Aliens must meet. The requirements are: The alien must have nationally or internationally recognized prizes and be members of an association that requires outstanding achievements. The alien should have substantial publications in major journals and should list all publications. Also, others should have cited your work in a publication. It would help if you had participated in a panel or have judged the qualifications of others in a peer review. Also weighing heavily is evidence of original scientific or artistic contributions such as patents or copyrights. Lastly, evidence of earning a high salary would also be one of the requirements.

For National Interest Waivers, one must have a master’s degree or higher and must meet all three of the following qualifications: Work must be of substantial intrinsic merit. For example, it can not an esoteric field of law. Secondly, the scope of the work is national and not merely local; it must appear in national journals, for example. Lastly, the work benefits the national interest to a “substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.” This means that it significantly exceeds the norm in some way. It must establish that there is no need to protect normal U.S. workers through a labor certification process.

Banerjee also stresses the importance of reference letters. “Reference letters from professors or researchers in the field is always very useful for all the categories,” Banerjee said.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

“Applying for Permanent Residency can be a daunting lengthy process; therefore, it is helpful to know how many employment-based permanent residency categories there are and which closely describes you,” said Annie Banerjee of The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee, a Houston-based immigration lawyer.

There are five categories under employment-based green cards. Note that there are labor certification requirements for all categories except EB-1 and EB-5, which go directly to 1-480 (Visa Petition status) or the 1-485 (Adjustment of Status).

(Employment Based) EB-1 is generally for L-1A managers, outstanding professors or researchers and extraordinary ability aliens. They do not require labor certification like the others but they have high standards and requirements to meet and would only need to file I-140 and I-485.

With an EB-2, a labor certification is required and is for the beneficiary who holds an advanced degree – a minimum of a master’s degree. He or she would have to meet the Exceptional Ability requirements.

EB-3 holders are usually members of a profession holding at least a bachelor’s degree. They would also need a labor certification and EB-4s are reserved for religious workers.

Investors need an EB-5. Although there is no labor certification required, they must at least invest $1 million in cities – or $500,000 in “targeted employment” – and employ at least 10 full-time U.S. employees.

A qualified immigration law office can guide skillful aliens through the application process and advise them of the steps and requirements they would need for an employment based permanent residency Green Card.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

Rep. Jerry Madden favors the stipulation of the Arizona law. The Arizona immigration law makes it a misdemeanor crime if someone fails to carry his or her immigration documents and gives the police power to detain anyone who is suspected to be an illegal immigrant. While Madden favors the broader scope of jurisdiction and power, Driver, however, remained silent about it and did not comment further.

“I believe we ought to be enforcing the federal law, and that’s primarily what Arizona does. So the answer to that is ‘yes’,” Madden said, in response to a question about his feelings about Arizona’s immigration law.

Both lawmakers are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which passed a bill similar to the immigration measures, introduced two months earlier in Arizona.

Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070’s main provision is to deter illegal aliens from unlawfully entering the U.S. Its legislative intent is to also enforce federal immigration laws throughout the state through local government agencies and state policies.

Other provisions in the bill include transferring verified illegal aliens to federal custody and restricting state and local government from imposing bans or restrictions on not exchanging an individual’s legal immigration status. It also allows a legal resident of Arizona to sue if the local government adopts a policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws, to name a few.

A similar bill passed in the Texas Senate in May 2009. It would have allowed sheriffs and probation departments to check felons for their immigration status, but the Texas House ran out of time on the bill and it didn’t go any further.

A good immigration lawyer can guide you as to the latest news on immigration law is and what your rights and options are in your case. Annie Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer that has many years experience in this area.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

On Dec. 27, 2002 and July 17, 2003, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) received petitions from the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the law firm of Gibbs Houston Pauw, and the Center for Human Rights and Justice against the government of the United States on behalf of Wayne Smith and his children and Hugo Armendariz and his children, respectively, in relation to Mr. Smith and Mr. Armedariz’s deportation from the United States. According to the petitions, the State violated the alleged victims’ rights protected under Articles I (right to life, liberty and personal security), V (right to private and family life), VI (right to family), VII (right to protection for mothers and children), IX (right to inviolability of the home), XVIII (right to fair trial), and XXVI (right to due process of law) of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, ironically, in this instance, known as the “American Declaration.”

More than three years later, on July 20, 2006, the IACHR finally admitted the petitions. In both cases, the IACHR found the alleged victims’ petitions admissible with regard to potential violations of Articles V, VI, VII, XVIII, and XXVI of the American Declaration.

In the determination report filed by IACHR and published on July 12, 2010, it was stated that Messrs. Smith and Armendariz, both of whom were legal permanent residents of the United States, were subjected to deportation without permitting them to present a reasonable defense in administrative or judicial courts, including the following alleged internationally-required consideration of humanitarian equities to deportation: the alleged victims’ length of legal residency in the United States; the alleged victims’ family ties in the United States; the potential hardship on the family members left behind in the United States; the alleged victims’ links with their countries of origin; the extent of the alleged victims’ rehabilitation and social contribution to the United States; any medical or psychological considerations; and the gravity of the alleged victims’ offense and the age when it was committed.

Both Messrs. Smith and Armendariz had been convicted of “aggravated felonies,” but the actual crimes of both were found to have been misdemeanors if charged under more reasonable prosecutorial conditions, in fact, Mr. Armendariz’s offense, an instance of shoplifting, had occurred when he was 13 years of age, well under the age of majority for such a crime if committed in the United States.

“What’s really amazing in these cases,” said Houston-are immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, “is that these men were deported during a period of rabid anti-immigrant hysteria and that their cases – and their individual ordeals, as well as the hardships inflicted by the U.S. government on their families – were virtually ignored by the mainstream U.S. media, and in fact, even the well-deserved positive resolution of their cases as judged on their merits, received scant attention even from moderate voices in the U.S, media, such as Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow hosting programs on MSNBC, while more rabid “conservative” anti-immigrant voices such as Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh only singled them out prior to the more human resolution of their cases.”

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

President Obama’s connotation of the sprawling new Southwest Border Security Bill as a “strategic and integrated southwest border security strategy” may sound reassuring to some, but it might well be something of a misnomer, according to Houston area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee.

With its estimated $600 million price tag, the signing into law of H.R. 6080 has been perceived as an enforcement-first step. “Hopefully colleagues on both sides of the aisle will now come together and we can pass comprehensive reform,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).

But even this might be misleading. “I’m not certain if this legislation brings us any closer to what’s really needed – which is comprehensive immigration reform,” Banerjee said. “In some ways, this new law might push any meaningful decisions onto a back burner now that a lust for enforcement measures has been satiated for the time-being.”

In fact, any certainty that legislative attention may turn toward comprehensive reform may well have been considerably diminished. “The hyenas have been given their raw meat now,” Banerjee said. “Why would they suddenly change direction and chew on flesh which isn’t strictly enforcement-oriented? Without any impetus, why would comprehensive reform suddenly become our goal?”

Within the new law, and what Banerjee calls its “teeth without a mouth” approach to immigration issues, Banerjee also questions the hyperbolic designation of “emergency” to describe the urgency for the law’s funding, and also the new fee increases of $2,250 for L visas and $2,000 for H-1B employers – which, while not including all H-1B employers, will still be significant.

“Like AILA, I believe that immigration enforcement needs are legitimate, but should we keep insisting on ‘enforcement-only’ approaches while ignoring other issues?” Banerjee said, describing herself as a naysayer when it comes to enforcement to the exclusion of everything else.

A long-term solution to the immigration problem makes more sense. “Should we keep the undocumented population living in the shadows?” Banerjee asked. “Should we provide incentives for U.S. businesses to hire workers if they can help grow our economy? Shouldn’t due process and equal protection under the law be applicable to potential immigrants?”

The so-called Southwest Border Security Bill is a “politically-motivated, single-faceted, half-measure, not a real solution to our immigration woes,” Banerjee said.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

On Dec. 27, 2002 and July 17, 2003, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) received petitions from the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the law firm of Gibbs Houston Pauw, and the Center for Human Rights and Justice against the government of the United States on behalf of Wayne Smith and his children and Hugo Armendariz and his children, respectively, in relation to Mr. Smith and Mr. Armedariz’s deportation from the United States. According to the petitions, the State violated the alleged victims’ rights protected under Articles I (right to life, liberty and personal security), V (right to private and family life), VI (right to family), VII (right to protection for mothers and children), IX (right to inviolability of the home), XVIII (right to fair trial), and XXVI (right to due process of law) of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, ironically, in this instance, known as the “American Declaration.”

More than three years later, on July 20, 2006, the IACHR finally admitted the petitions. In both cases, the IACHR found the alleged victims’ petitions admissible with regard to potential violations of Articles V, VI, VII, XVIII, and XXVI of the American Declaration.

In the determination report filed by IACHR and published on July 12, 2010, it was stated that Messrs. Smith and Armendariz, both of whom were legal permanent residents of the United States, were subjected to deportation without permitting them to present a reasonable defense in administrative or judicial courts, including the following alleged internationally-required consideration of humanitarian equities to deportation: the alleged victims’ length of legal residency in the United States; the alleged victims’ family ties in the United States; the potential hardship on the family members left behind in the United States; the alleged victims’ links with their countries of origin; the extent of the alleged victims’ rehabilitation and social contribution to the United States; any medical or psychological considerations; and the gravity of the alleged victims’ offense and the age when it was committed.

Both Messrs. Smith and Armendariz had been convicted of “aggravated felonies,” but the actual crimes of both were found to have been misdemeanors if charged under more reasonable prosecutorial conditions, in fact, Mr. Armendariz’s offense, an instance of shoplifting, had occurred when he was 13 years of age, well under the age of majority for such a crime if committed in the United States.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Although its ultimate passage was delayed by procedural delays, a massive immigration enforcement supplemental appropriations package for additional border enforcement – in the form of approximately $600 million through the fiscal year 2011 – is officially law as of the president’s signing on Aug. 13, 2010. The passage of H.R. 6080 has been perceived as an enforcement-first step. “Hopefully colleagues on both sides of the aisle will now come together and we can pass comprehensive reform,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).

What the future holds is unknown, but the Southwest Border Security Bill will provide additional funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel totaling $254 million, including $39 million for CBP to maintain current officer staffing levels on the southwest border, $29 million for CBP to deploy officers at ports of entry on the southwest border, $176 million for 1,000 new Border Patrol agents to form a “strike force” to be deployed at areas most needed and $10 million to support integrity and background investigation programs.

It will also provide an additional $14 million for designing, building and deploying tactical communications for support of enforcement activities on the southwest border including border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology; $32 million to acquire and deploy unmanned aircraft systems (drones) to facilitate air and marine interdiction, operations, maintenance, and procurement; $6 million to construct two forward operating bases for use by CBP to carry out enforcement activities, additional funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel totaling $80 million; an additional $196 million for consequent increased expenses related to southwest border enforcement for the U.S. Department of Justice and $10 million for Courts of Appeals and District Courts salaries and expenses to meet increased workload requirements resulting from immigration and other law enforcement activities.

Everything mentioned in the new edict will be considered emergency requirements necessary to meet emergency needs. Last but not least, the implementation of H.R. 6080 will raise filing and fraud prevention and detection fees for L visas by $2,250 and H-1B visas by $2,000 for applicants who have more than 50 employees in the U.S. if more than 50 percent of their employees are on L or H-1B visas.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The case arose under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). A man named Oshmi Dutta filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division contending that his employer Mahadeep Virk had violated the INA. After an investigation and a three-day hearing in January 2007, Wage and Hour’s administrator determined that Dutta’s complaint was indeed valid. To sum up the story quickly, Virk is a dentist and a partner in Avenue Dental Care clinic in Puyallup, Washington, with affiliated clinics which were added by the same appellative in neighboring Clackamas and Gresham, Oregon. Oshmi Dutta is also a dentist. In June 2002, Virk hired Dutta to work at the clinic in Washington, pursuant to the INA’s H-1B nonimmigrant worker program. At the time of the January 2007 hearing, Dutta worked at both Oregon locations.

To hire Dutta, Virk filed a Labor Condition Application (LCA) on May 7, 2002 to employ Dutta from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2005 at $108,000 to $150,000 per year. Virk signed the LCA as “Owner Dentist President.” But by June 2003, while the LCA remained in effect, Virk and Dutta established as equal partners “Avenue Dental Care” clinics in Gresham and Clackamas, Oregon. Virk and Dutta agreed that Dutta would be responsible for day-to-day operations of these clinics. In July 2003, Dutta left Washington to work in Oregon. He drew money from the clinics to compensate himself; as of July 1, 2003, the Puyallup, Washington, clinic no longer paid Dutta his H-1B wages. Two years later, in June 2005, “Avenue Dental Care,” Puyallup, Washington, filed a second LCA to employ Dutta from June 12, 2005 to June 11, 2008, in Clackamas, Oregon, at $108,000 per year. Virk signed the LCA as “Owner Dentist President.”

In 2005, conflicts developed between Dutta and Virk. Dutta complained to Virk that Virk had not compensated him as they had agreed and that Virk had not addressed cash flow and management problems at the Oregon clinics. Dutta sought to sell Virk his fifty-percent interest in each Oregon clinic, or alternately to negotiate a new compensation agreement. Virk balked.

“I can see precisely where this is going,” said Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, “hard feelings were engendered. As H-1B wages are stipulated in the LCAs, and they stem from signed agreements, they must be paid.”

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

On its face, Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, is “like two peas from the same pod,” according to Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, when you also consider what she calls “the federal version.” But there’s also a difference of degree in the Arizona statute. “Arizona wants every illegal immigrant caught and deported, that’s insane,” she says. Considering that an estimated 11 million immigrants may have already entered the U.S. illegally, it would also almost certainly overwhelm the system.

In its recent lawsuit challenging the Arizona law, the Justice Department asserts that its policy is to focus on dangerous immigrants: gang members, drug traffickers, threats to national security. “That’s a nice sentiment, but it’s not strictly true,” asserts Banerjee, “there have been quite a few serious abuses involved with enforcement of the federal version too.”

The sentiment in Arizona preaches that an overwhelmed system is no excuse for not deporting illegal aliens. “If it’s really the case that they don’t have enough resources to enforce the laws that Congress has passed, it would seem it’s incumbent on them to go back to Congress and ask for more resources,” said Steven Camarota, research director at the center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors stricter enforcement of immigration laws. “But since they don’t do that, it sort of undermines the argument.”

“I don’t know what he’s smoking,” counters Banerjee, “that’s ludicrous to say. To use all of law enforcement’s resources to expel foreign nationals who are here in violation of our immigration law, would mean that the cops wouldn’t have time to do anything else. Forget about solving most violent crimes. It just wouldn’t happen.”

State lawmakers argue that the federal government already enlists local authorities to identify illegal immigrants who have been arrested for other crimes. The new law, they say, just extends that to police patrols.

The federal government says the law goes too far by making it a state crime to be in Arizona illegally and requiring police to question the immigration status of anyone they encounter who is believed to be undocumented. “If only they’d crack down on abuses committed in the name of the federal law,” Banerjee lamented.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

The Nebraska Service Center Liaison Committee has received several reports of denials on I-140 petitions for third preference professionals. These denials resulted when attorneys failed to properly distinguish the required qualifications between professionals and skilled workers on the new Form I-140 which was introduced on January 6, 2010. Prior versions of Form I-140 had only one box to check for bachelor degreed professionals and skilled workers, and did not make a distinction between the two classifications. Similarly, there is no distinction in the availability of visas as both are classified in the employment-based, third preference category. Thus, the differences between the professional with a Bachelor’s degree and a skilled worker were without a distinction prior to the introduction of the new form earlier this year.

This new form requires the petitioner to distinguish between a professional with a Bachelor’s degree and a skilled worker. Professional means a qualified alien who holds at least a United States Baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree and who is a member of the professions.

The application of this definition by NSC has resulted in the strict review of whether or not a foreign degree is the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree and does not recognize experience as a degree’s equivalent. The ETA 9089 may establish alternative requirements that equate a pre-determined level of experience as a substitute for a degree.

This standard is similar to the second preference regulation which also requires a specific degree that is the academic equivalence to meet the requirements of the second preference (EB-2).

A denial on this issue will not preclude the filing of a second I-140 petition using the same approved PERM application but classified as a skilled worker. The cover letter and materials with a second I-140 petition should reference the first petition, include a copy of the denial, and advise NSC that the original PERM Application Form ETA 9089 can be located in the original file. The cover letter should also explain why the second petition has corrected the deficiency upon which the first petition was denied. The expiration of the Certified ETA-9089 should not preclude filing a second petition provided the first petition was filed prior to the 180-day expiration date.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

On its face, Arizona’s controversial new immigration law is very similar to the federal version. There’s a key discrepancy, however. Arizona wants every illegal immigrant caught and deported. Considering that an estimated 11 million immigrants may have already entered the U.S. illegally, this is likely to be too tall an order and according to the Feds, will overwhelm the system.

In its recent lawsuit challenging the Arizona law, the Justice Department says its policy is to focus on dangerous immigrants: gang members, drug traffickers, threats to national security. Otherwise law-abiding immigrants without documentation would largely be left alone.

Homeland Security officials say the government cannot possibly find, arrest and deport everyone who is here illegally, and trying to do so would also upset a balance crafted by Congress which takes into account humanitarian interests and foreign relations.

Proponents of the Arizona solution insist that’s no reason not to try and say the state’s toughest-in-the-nation law is a reasonable way to start.

“If it’s really the case that they don’t have enough resources to enforce the laws that Congress has passed, it would seem it’s incumbent on them to go back to Congress and ask for more resources,” said Steven Camarota, research director at the center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors stricter enforcement of immigration laws. “But since they don’t do that, it sort of undermines the argument.”

Arizona’s new law is nearly identical to federal immigration law. At issue is how it is enforced. The federal government says the state law is unconstitutional because it usurps federal authority to protect U.S. borders and American citizens. Arizona counters that the federal government is not doing its job, which forces state officials to step in.

State lawmakers argue that the federal government already enlists local authorities to identify illegal immigrants who have been arrested for other crimes. The new law, they say, just extends that to police patrols.

The federal government says the law goes too far by making it a state crime to be in Arizona illegally and requiring police to question the immigration status of anyone they encounter who is believed to be undocumented.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

On June 10, 2010, the “one-party” Health Care Bill was signed into law after being passed by the Democrats. While President Obama’s determined attempt to achieve legislative success in a bipartisan manner is perhaps laudable and worthy of historic kudos, according to Annie Banerjee, a Houston-area immigration lawyer, it might have been “more strategically prudent” to concede to Republican demands.

“He refused to compromise with the Republicans, courted the Democrats, and rammed a bill down the throats of an unwilling population,” asserts Banerjee, “That is not democracy. What will happen to that Health Care Bill is that Republicans will file a court challenge to it. The conservative Supreme Court will declare it unconstitutional. In the meantime, in October the makeup of the Senate and House will change and the health care issue will die.”

Despite her misgivings regarding the fate of the health bill, Banerjee is of the opinion that immigration reform can be bipartisan.

“There were at least two bills jointly put forward by a Republican and a Democrat,” Banerjee explained, “Former President Bush wanted immigration reform as much as President Obama does. Yet the parameters are different for different parties. The Democrats want to legalize the undocumented aliens who are illegally here. They do mainly manual jobs, work hard, and are necessary for the country. However the Democrats frown upon the intellectual jobs being done by mostly Indian and Chinese professionals, who are here legally on H-1B visas, giving into protectionist labor organizations. The H-1B visas have been attacked ever since Mr. Obama took office. First there were the workplace raids, whose main purpose was to see if businesses were following the letter of the law minutely. Then came the January 08 memo, which virtually ended consulting companies (mainly IT companies) ability to hire foreign nationals on H-1B. These people are legal, have valid visas and work in professional jobs. They too are necessary for the American economy. American colleges do not generate a high volume of computer professionals necessary to keep American businesses going. The Republicans support these work visas, the Democrats don’t.”

Banerjee concludes only the obvious: That immigration reform must be comprehensive. “Just as the Health Care Bill did not include provisions to curb tort lawyers, an immigration bill which only addresses the illegal immigrants supplying manual labor and not the legal immigrants supplying intellectual labor is simply unacceptable.”

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

When you entered the U.S., you were required to fill out a white form if you entered with a visa and a green form if you entered without a visa. Upon leaving the United States, you were supposed to surrender that I-94 form to the U.S. government. What if it didn’t happen? It’s still in your pocket when you get to your destination after a flight. The airline you traveled on didn’t take it from you. In any case, you still have it – and the U.S. government doesn’t. “For all they know, you are in the country illegally, past the date stamped on the I-94, and you are in trouble,” explains Annie Banerjee, a Houston-area immigration lawyer.

“If this happens, there’s only one option, you have to mail it back to the government and hope for the best,” Banerjee asserts, “You will also need to send corroborating documents to prove that you are out of the country.” Addressing the letter to: DHS-CBP-SBU, 1084 South Laurel Road, London, KY, 40744, USA – is the easy part, as long as you’ve slipped in the precious I-94. But corroborating documents must be sent too. “These can include, but are not limited to, the following items,” Banerjee said, before rattling off the ensuing ‘laundry list.’

1. Original boarding passes you used to depart another country, such as Canada, if you flew home from there;

2. Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport indicating entry to another country;

3. After you departed the United States, you should copy all passport pages that are not completely blank, and include the biographical page containing your photograph.

4. Photocopies of other supporting evidence, such as: Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer to indicate you worked in another country after you departed the United States;

5. Dated bank records showing transactions to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States;

6. School records showing attendance at a school outside the United States to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States;

7. Dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but, the credit card number deleted, for purchases made after you left the United States to indicate you were in another country after leaving the United States.

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

On June 8, 2010, in the lawsuit Broadgate et al versus United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al, the controversial Neufeld Memorandum of January 8, 2010 – which allegedly clarifies employer-employee relationships within H-1B visa applications in the interests of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but in practice has resulted in a preponderance of H-1B denials filed by Information Technology (IT) staffing firms – was challenged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Individual plaintiffs in the case – Broadgate Inc., Logic Planet Inc., DVR Softek Inc., TechServe Alliance, and the American Staffing Association moved in a preliminary injunction to prevent the USCIS from implementing the policy announced in a January 8, 2010, memorandum issued by Donald Neufeld, Associate Director of USCIS. The memorandum declared that a third-party placement contractor is not a United States employer even though the company hires, pays, supervises, fires its employees, and shares control over them, and even though prior to the implementation of the policy initially announced in the memorandum, such an entity was deemed to be a United States employer. It was the preliminary injunction’s contention that this new policy is arbitrary and capricious, while it explicitly changes an existing regulation, limits USCIS’s discretion, and profoundly affects plaintiffs and others outside the government.

According to the injunction, the Neufeld Memorandum is at odds with the plain language of the relevant statute and its implementing regulations. For instance, The Neufeld Memorandum is premised on the assumption that an employee can have only one employer and that “the real employer” is the entity that exercises the greatest day-to-day control. It therefore proclaims that third-party placement contractors that have an overarching right to supervise their employees, that hire, fire and pay their employees and that share control of those employees nevertheless are not valid employers because they have “No Right to Control; No Exercise of Control.” This binding policy is inconsistent with the plain language of the INA which expressly includes contractors as United States employers.

In addition, the rule first introduced in the USCIS Memorandum singles out a particular type of business and, as applied, it precludes that type of business from operating.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Lottery-picked employment-based visas go like hotcakes and professional people with aspirations about coming to America can easily be left out.

Ever heard of the I-140 Educational and Work experience equivalency? While immigration is the only niche within the legal arena where quotas are still allowed, it’s common knowledge that employment-based visas, such as the coveted H-1B, aren’t easily obtained by professionals wishing to immigrate to the United States from India and China. These populous nations teeming with qualified professional people get their national quotas filled quickly, resulting in queues to try one’s patience, especially for third preference visas. Second Preference is another option, albeit with caveats.

For instance, your experience must be post-degree and involve a pre-petitioning company. If you have experience in the same job at the petitioning company, this is insufficient because if the employer is able to train the beneficiary, he’d prefer training an American – not you.

If you possess a master’s degree but it’s not from the U.S., the problem of congruence can arise – as your master’s isn’t likely to match your bachelor’s as a credential.

Since evaluations are for advisory purposes only, the USCIS does not have to follow them. In the same vein, work experience can’t be substituted for years in a degree program – as the H-1B allows.
Recommendations by the Nebraska Service Center for Degree equivalency could also be pertinent.
If you do possess a U.S. master’s degree – and if it’s in the field required, no additional documents would be required.

Your 4 year bachelor’s degree + 2 year master’s degree obtained in India will need to be “subbed” by degrees in the same or related fields to equal a U.S. master’s degree.

If you possess a 3 year bachelor’s degree + 1 year postgraduate diploma + 2 year master’s degree obtained in India, to become acceptable for educational preference you’ll require degrees in the same or similar field or a bachelor’s degree + one additional year of education, to measure up. If you have 5 years of progressive experience, this combination could be acceptable as a master’s degree equivalency.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Annie Banerjee believes that most immigrants coming to America are hard-working individuals, often with families in tow, who obey the laws of their new land. Newcomers who wish to come here are often ineligible for special visas (like H-1B temporary visas) and still would obey U.S. law if they only had the chance. “People are human beings first and foremost,” Banerjee says, “But many are the victims of circumstances.”

She likes the idea of open borders, at least in principle, although she is cognizant of American security and economic concerns. “Does anyone remember what Benjamin Franklin said in 1775, ‘They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety.’ That Arizona law is really compromising everybody’s freedom, not just those who would be considered as being here unlawfully.”

Banerjee really detests Senate Bill 1070 made manifest. “Years ago, I read somewhere that Daniel Ellsberg and Peter Dale Scott recommended that all Americans read Defying Hitler by Sebastian Hafner. Of course, even the last Administration with Bush and Cheney weren’t really so Hitlerian except perhaps for a superficial resemblance in their policies, but as, the Tea-Party people are showing us, the madness of our crowds is increasing, and a good case can be made that this dreadful law is a symbol of that madness. It’s a slippery slope, not just the influx of so many immigrants, admittedly, some of them here in the country unlawfully, but a disregard for basic human rights and dignities. There’s a certain hypocrisy in place at the Federal level – President Obama came out against the Arizona law but he doesn’t seem to have any issues with the 287-g policy that is rife with similar abuses – but at least there’s an official outcry against racial and ethnic profiling. That gives me a little hope.”

But unfortunately, only a little hope, and it’s far from eternal. “What we really need are comprehensive immigration reforms – and they’re long overdue,” Banerjee explains, “In Arizona, this new edict is more of what used to be called a ‘sunset’ law in the Deep South – thinly disguised.”

To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

The post Immigration Lawyer Critical of Arizona Law first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]> http://www.seonewswire.net/2010/06/arizona-hate-law-decried-by-immigration-lawyer/ Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:23:56 +0000 http://www.seonewswire.net/?p=3768 Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee offers some insightful commentary in the wake of the passage and enactment of Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law. When Arizona’s Republican governor Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 into law last month, Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie…

To many neutral political observers, the recent passage and enactment of the controversial Arizona measure referred to as Senate Bill 1070 is strikingly reminiscent of a law enacted sixteen years ago in California – Proposition 187, which was also named by some proponents at the time as the “Save Our State” initiative, designed with perhaps even more aggressive intent to prohibit illegal immigrants’ access to social services, health care, and public education, and later declared to be unconstitutional. Like that controversial law would have, the Arizona anti-immigrant reform measure is likely to enhance a spiraling “chilling effect” in the desert – driving undocumented immigrants further underground while diminishing Hispanic cooperation with law enforcement by shutting down meaningful communications even in instances of genuine criminal activity that might well be occurring.

Although unintended, if the new Arizona law is not ruled unconstitutional like its California predecessor, the result might turn out to be precisely the opposite of what its proponents in their naiveté intended – creating a furtive and hidden sub-culture that will thrive in a climate of subversion, conflict, and confusion. This divisiveness is likely to have far-reaching effects, not merely geographically and politically but economically and sociologically. Such a “line newly drawn in the Arizona sand,” in assuming illegality while fostering racial and ethnic profiling – not only among residents of Arizona who might be brown-skinned – but likely extending to virtually any person of any age who is not “a normal-looking” Caucasian and thus above “reasonable suspicion.”

With Arizona suddenly loitering in such a murky ambivalence as newly driven by legal mandate, drug trafficking, kidnapping, sex crimes, and other infractions may actually increase exponentially, as precious law enforcement resources in Arizona are unnecessarily diverted to the often unwarranted apprehensions of “suspicious persons” who may not be guilty of anything more than the “crime” of expressing their humanity in the habits of existence.

Sometimes people receive exactly what they think they want – and it’s nothing like what they had in mind.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The reaction to a measure that many with white skin applaud and those who are “persons of color” deplore has been fast and furious. Republicans, for the most part, although there have been defectors, have defended the new law, decrying what they see as federal interference in Arizona affairs, denying even the inference of “racial profiling” occurring as the law is enforced this summer, and characterizing the enacted Senate Bill 1070 as a “necessary tool in the hands of law enforcement” for stemming the dangerous and toxic tide of illegal immigrants into their state. Most everybody else – including Democrats in Arizona and people of brown skin who may be targeted by police under the tenet of “reasonable suspicion” but extending to professional baseball players from the Arizona Diamondbacks and to boycotting professional basketball players performing for the suddenly resurgent Phoenix Suns and to a raft of national out-of-staters with celebrity status ranging from rappers “Public Enemy” and Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane – oppose it.

Heated debate is raging about the celebrity-studded violent and viral “Machete Trailer,” filled with A-list actors who oppose the law and its proponents and has garnered in excess of 1 million YouTube hits in barely a fortnight since the polarizing law was passed and signed into law. In the very brief (less than 3 minutes) trailer produced by Robert Rodriquez a vigilante Mexican hero out for blood announces, as if directly confronting proponents of Senate Bill 1070, “You just messed with the wrong Mexican.” This trailer has sparked vociferous outrage, a backlash to the backlash if you will – from the likes of rightwing icons such as radio talk show host Alex Jones and the Fox News outcast Glenn Beck, both renowned if dishonored in thoughtful circles for their conspiratorial and sometimes Fascist rants. While illegal immigration is growing as a serious issue and may well threaten a still-unsteady U.S. economy and border security, few unbiased observers believe that the Arizona law will do a whole lot to spark genuine and comprehensive immigration reform.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Hate speech is one thing, hate legislation quite another. A proposed state senate bill being proposed in Arizona would, if implemented, set a Draconian standard for criminalizing noncitizens and dehumanizing any person who doesn’t look, act, speak, or smell “American,” a term that really can’t be defined except in the minds of the intolerant. If passed into law, Senate Bill 1070 would be yet another law on the books which would justify racial profiling under the guise of “reasonable suspicion.”

“This law being considered by the Arizona legislature is awful,” asserts Annie Banerjee, an immigration lawyer based in the Houston area, “and even its underlying rationale is faulty.”

The law would allow a vagary known as “reasonable suspicion” to become the premise of racial profiling to become an active component in the administration of justice. State officials would be able to determine a person’s immigration status by utilizing hunches harbored behind a veil of bias. “What exactly is reasonable suspicion of alienage,” Banerjee asks, “Is it not being able to speak English? Is it a shade of skin color that’s not white, a religion other than Protestant? Is it facial features that suggest an ethnicity other than Caucasian?”

Banerjee is able to contemplate a crossing guard encountering a child walking to school who doesn’t speak English, say an East Indian child born in Bombay but whose family moved to Mesa, Arizona from Bellevue, Washington, is the officer now obliged to examine the child’s papers or call her parents and ask about immigration status? “It’s bordering on Kafka-esque,” Banerjee argues, “and certainly not what you’d expect in a country with so-called ‘open borders.’ The little girl would probably feel like she was caught in a nightmare version of Alice in Wonderland.”

Banerjee questions if anyone promoting this piece of legislation “has even read the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 31, 2010, decision in Padilla v. Kentucky which states in no uncertain terms that immigration law is so complex that even trained experts have difficulty delineating which offenses lead to deportation. In Arizona I wouldn’t be surprised if jaywalking became a deportation crime if this stupid law is passed. It’s much worse than hate speech – it’s more like hate legislation,” Banerjee concludes.

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The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky, deciding that if an immigrant is wrongly advised by his criminal defense attorney about the immigration consequences of a crime that the pertinent information is prejudiced and cannot serve as grounds for automatic deportation. Padilla, a Vietnam veteran, had been a permanent resident for more than 40 years. He was charged with drug distribution charges in Kentucky and his criminal defense attorney had instructed him to plead guilty, and that such a pleading would have no immigration consequences. The state of Kentucky said that Mr. Padilla had no right to withdraw his plea when he learned of the deportation consequence. The attorney was wrong, and Padilla was sent for deportation. The March 31, 2010, Supreme Court decision reverses the Kentucky court and also rejected the federal government’s position (which had been adopted by several courts) that a noncitizen is protected only from “affirmative misadvice” and not from a lawyer’s failure to provide any advice about the immigration consequences of a plea.

Annie Banerjee, an immigration lawyer based in the Houston area, found this judgment particularly intriguing. “What is astonishing is that this conservative Supreme Court recognized that deportation laws are extremely harsh now. While once there was only a narrow class of deportable offenses and judges wielded broad discretionary authority to prevent deportation. Immigration reforms have expanded the class of deportable offenses and limited judges’ authority to alleviate deportation’s harsh consequences. Because the drastic measure of deportation or removal is now virtually inevitable for a vast number of noncitizens convicted of crimes, the importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important. Thus, as a matter of federal law, deportation is an integral part of the penalty that may be imposed on noncitizen defendants who plead guilty to specified crimes, “Banerjee explained.

According to Banerjee, criminal defense lawyers have an affirmative duty to learn and advise clients about the immigration consequences of a crime.

This Supreme Court decision was applauded by the American Immigration Council.
“The right to counsel is at the inner core of our criminal justice system,” concluded Banerjee.

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Some are characterizing Senate Bill 1070 as “hate legislation.” Hitler would have liked it while his National Socialists were revving up their engines circa 1935. If it becomes law, Arizona will suddenly be transformed into an unfriendly place for foreign nationals and U.S. citizens alike. Provisions in the proposed bill would criminalize noncitizens and dehumanize anyone who might not look, act, speak, or smell like an American.

For instance, the law requires that it would be up to state officials to determine a person’s immigration status. If someone they encounter in the course of their work is “reasonably suspected” to be unlawfully present in the United States, their suspicions would suddenly become lawful vigilantism. All people in Arizona would be vulnerable to racial profiling, including U.S. citizens. But what exactly is “reasonable suspicion” of alienage? If a person speaks with too pronounced of a foreign accent, or has a skin color that appears to be beige, or possesses facial features suggestive of an Asian or Latino, or smells funny, should they be investigated with future intentions of deportation? If a school crossing guard notices a student who doesn’t speak English and has the look of a Laotian, who might have moved to Mesa from Bellevue, Washington, is the crossing guard now obligated to check the child’s papers or call his parents and ask about immigration status?

Senate Bill 1070 will also permit a law enforcement officer, without a warrant, to arrest a person if, according to the officer’s judgment, probable cause exists to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the individual removable from the U.S. Under such a scenario, what offenses might somehow emerge as deportation offenses? Under this Brave New World, “crimes” such as public urination, jaywalking, spitting on the sidewalk while glaring maliciously at the officer, or partial nudity might all become an unfortunate person’s last act prior to a slow boat to Yemen? Apparently, some ethically-challenged Arizona legislators are still unfamiliar with the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 31, 2010, decision in Padilla v. Kentucky which delineates how immigration law is so complex that trained consultants on immigration matters have difficulty deciding which offenses rise to the gravity of deportable.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

Ever heard of the I-140 Educational and Work experience equivalency? Immigration is the only niche within the legal arena where quotas are still allowed. It is common knowledge that employment-based visas, such as the coveted H-1B, aren’t easily obtained by professionals wishing to immigrate to the United States from India and China. These are populous nations teeming with qualified professional people, and their national quotas get filled quickly resulting in lengthy wait times, especially for third preference visas. So it is only natural that everybody is striving for the Second Preference. Fine and dandy, but there are some caveats.
For instance, your experience must be post-degree and a pre-Petitioning Company. You say that you have experience in the same job at the petitioning company? This isn’t enough because if the employer is able to train the beneficiary, he’d prefer training an American – not you.

Oh, you have a Master’s Degree? If it’s not from the U.S., the problem of congruence can arise – as your Masters isn’t likely to match your Bachelors as a credential.

Did you know that evaluations are for advisory purposes only, and that the USCIS does not have to follow them? In the same vein, work experience can’t be substituted for years in a degree program – as the H-1B allows.

Recommendations by the Nebraska Service Center for Degree equivalency could also be pertinent.
If you do possess a U.S. master’s degree – if it’s in the field required, no additional documents would be required.

Your 4 year bachelor’s degree + 2 year master’s degree obtained in India with need to be “subbed” by degrees in the same or related fields to equal a U.S. master’s degree.

If you possess a 3 year bachelor’s degree + 1 year postgraduate diploma + 2 year master’s degree obtained in India, to become acceptable for educational preference you’ll require degrees in the same or similar field or a bachelor’s degree + one additional year of education, to measure up. If you have 5 years of progressive experience, this combination could be acceptable as a master’s degree equivalency.

Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

While health care reform has been taking the spotlight lately in reference to the recent death of Massachusetts Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee would like to remind people that the late senator was “a significant voice for changing the immigration law.”

He was in the U.S. Senate since the mid-1960s, when the memory of his slain brother, who was also President, was fresh; and the infamous Jason-Reed Act, passed in 1924, was still adversely affecting the lives of millions of U.S. immigrants. This racist law excluded all Asians from immigrating to the United States while continuing to limit the numbers of southern and eastern Europeans entering the country to 2% of the pre-1890 U.S. population. Its basic intent was to keep America Nordic – a bit like Hitler’s Aryan pureblood theories and practices that became prevalent in Germany during the 1930s. During Senator Kennedy’s early days in office, labor unions still supported such travesties as the Jason-Reed Act because it discouraged the importation of so-called “cheap labor.”

The law’s basis was a book called The Passing of the Great Race, one of several seminal works used by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi architects to formulate their Master Race theories – a blueprint for what proved to be genocidal eugenics. Madison Grant, an anthropologist, believed that the lesser races would dilute the American race, which he wanted to be primarily Nordic European. “If it had been up to Madison Grant and people like him, my own family would have been deliberately excluded from the American Dream, because my heritage is originally East Indian,” Ms. Banerjee explains.

In 1965, it was Ted Kennedy who took on the Jason-Reed Act and advocated strenuously for its repeal. “He didn’t get everything he wanted, as politics are often a process of give-and-take, but he was able to help get the most odious racist aspects of the law eliminated,” Ms. Banerjee explains. Because of Senator Kennedy’s efforts, other immigration reform measures were later adopted. For instance, visas were allocated per hemisphere and family unification was removed from the quota system.

“America has lost a strong and clear voice for effective immigration reform,” concludes Ms. Banerjee.

Contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

Acting as a unified coalition, a diverse array of concerned immigrant advocacy groups wrote a letter to the President strongly urging him to consider ending a program that allows local police to enforce federal immigration law. The program, barely known to the U.S. citizenry-at-large, is known under the veiled code name “287(g).” The program actively deputizes police to turn over suspects or criminals to immigration authorities for possible deportation. Immigrant rights groups have asserted that the program has led to numerous civil rights violations and racial profiling. “It’s awful,” Banerjee explains, “local law enforcement is suddenly given a tremendous degree of latitude and responsibility. It’s just asking for excesses to occur.”
The letter was sent by the National Immigration Law Center and includes signatures by more than 500 local and national groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Organizations have planned vigils, marches and news conferences this week to raise awareness about their criticisms. “If a vigil takes place in the Houston area, I’m going to make an effort to attend,” Banerjee says.

In July, the Department of Homeland Security announced an expansion of 287(g) and some changes, including a new agreement that all participating agencies must sign. The agreement requires that police agencies focus their efforts on criminals who pose a threat to public safety, with less emphasis on those who commit minor crimes.

Since the announcement, administration officials have repeatedly defended 287(g), saying the cooperation between local and federal law enforcement improves public safety by resulting in the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants with criminal records. They have said the changes make the program more uniform and fair. “But it’s not,” Banerjee asserts, “There have been a multitude of questionable practices given cover under this odious law. Minor crimes still draw the attention of local police officials; it’s just that they’re trying to be more subtle about whom they incarcerate with a bent toward eventual deportation.”
The letter itself referred to “racial profiling” and “other civil rights abuses” in a condemnatory fashion. In actuality, it’s quite possible that rigid enforcement of 287(g) actually detracts from public safety, while addressing the immigration crisis in only the most superficial of ways. The letter also stated that such 287(g) enforcement “has worked counter to community policing goals by eroding the trust and cooperation of immigrant communities.”

Contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

It happened in 2007, about 150 yards north of the Mexico-Arizona border between Bisbee and Douglas. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett apprehended a group of illegal Mexican aliens when one of them, Francisco Dominguez, supposedly became aggressive and attacked him with rocks. Fearing for his life, the federal officer shot and killed Dominguez.

After the Mexican government intervened, Corbett was charged with murder. Key witnesses for the prosecution were relatives of the killed illegal alien—two brothers and a sister-in-law—that made the desert trek with Dominguez. A Cochise County jury failed to indict. When Corbett was retried, charges were dropped as a second jury failed to reach a decision.

During the last week of August, Dominguez’s family in Mexico filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Tucson federal court claiming that the border agent violated the illegal immigrant’s constitutional rights by using unlawful deadly force in the course of his duties as a U.S. government employee. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the lawsuit points out, the U.S. government is liable for a negligent or wrongful act of its employees.

The complaint further alleges that Corbett was very vocal about his “hatred of Mexicans” and that the U.S. Border Patrol should have known about the agent’s history of “ethnic hatred” before allowing him in the field. The agency’s negligent hiring practices essentially led to the illegal immigrant’s death, according to the complaint.

Violence along the border has escalated. Since 2004, incidents involving federal agents and heavily armed Mexican drug traffickers have increased. Human smugglers participating in the trafficking of illegal aliens have also attacked U.S. Border Patrol agents with an assortment of weapons ranging from firearms to venomous reptiles, to large rocks and Molotov cocktails. But does any of this justify the wanton murder of an illegal alien who may only have been alleged to have been throwing rocks in an aggressive manner? When these cases are considered, if a bizarre and contrived scenario is created by law enforcement as a defense, it most likely is a bizarre and contrived scenario. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and thrusts its beak forward like a duck, it’s probably not an aardvark.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

Youssef Megahed, a Tampa-based engineering student, was acquitted of terrorism-related charges and walked out of an immigration court a free man last month, after a judge rejected the U.S. government’s bid to deport him on identical charges.

Judge Kenneth Hurewitz had sided with Department of Homeland Security lawyers in 2008 in a similar case when he’d ordered the removal of a Miami man to his Haitian homeland after he had been acquitted of terror-conspiracy charges. Hurewitz had deported Lyglenson Lemorin.

Charles Kuck, an Atlanta-based immigration attorney, offered some conjecture. “The government’s lawyers misunderstood that every case is different and you must plead what you’re going to prove,” he said of the Megahed case. “They failed to do that.”

Lemorin, 34, one of the so-called Liberty City Seven defendants, has a good shot of winning on appeal which will come up sometime this fall, although he remains in custody.

Megahed and Lemorin are legal U.S. residents lacking criminal histories who have resided in the country for several years or more. Both endured a rare brand of “double jeopardy” – being charged a second time in immigration court following acquittals in federal court.

Megahed, a 23-year-old former student at the University of South Florida, was arrested on a 2007 road trip in South Carolina along with a fellow classmate, Ahmed Mohamed. Both were charged with transporting explosives after police found model rocket propellants in the car’s trunk.

Mohamed was also charged with providing “material support” for terrorism, because he created a You Tube video that showed how to convert a remote control toy vehicle into a bomb. He pleaded guilty to that charge last spring.

In early April, Megahed was acquitted in Tampa federal court on the explosives charges after his defense attorney argued that the material found in the trunk – PVC pipe and chemicals—were homemade fireworks.
But a few days later, Megahed, while leaving a Wal-Mart store with his father, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He was charged again with the same terrorism-related explosives offense, only this time in immigration court, which is part of the Justice Department and has a lower standard of proof.

Megahed, who has lived in the United States since the age of 11, faced deportation. His family, the Muslim community, and civil rights advocates, and others – including four jurors in his criminal case – expressed outrage.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

She never thought she’d be saying what she’s saying. Immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee welcomed a Barack Obama Presidency as he stormed into the White House last fall riding the crest of a popular tide. She remembers Obama’s campaign promises of evenhanded immigration enforcement policies that would be pursued. But the results have not held true. “I can’t believe I’m saying this less than a year into his first term,” says Ms. Banerjee, “but what he’s doing is like an evil déjà vu. Obama’s policies are turning out to be Bush-like.”

According to an August 3, 2009, article published in the New York Times, she’s right. The Obama Administration is pursuing a nearly identical policy of rabid immigration enforcement, a catering to the agenda of the previous eight years. “It’s incredible,” she says, “They’re increasing I-9 audits, the E-Verify program has actually been implemented – the current Administration has introduced a Draconian program to check the immigration status of every person held at any time in their lives for any crime. While these policies are meant to deter illegal immigration, the potential for blatant civil rights violations, especially in combination with racial profiling of Hispanic Americans, is like a wide-open barn door.” In fact, racial profiling has become routine in immigration enforcement, and just like Bush-Cheney, the more egregious the abuse the more anti-immigration forces seem to stand up in rabid cheering sections as they urge yet more distance from fair-minded enforcement.

Apologists inhabit the ranks of prominent Democrats too. The Times article quotes Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) as saying, “Democrats have to convince the American people there will not be new waves of illegal immigrants after an overhaul passes.”

While Schumer’s words may contain a grain of truth, to Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, it is sounding a bit too familiar. “He’s just pandering to the right-wingers,” she asserts, “Immigration enforcement should be left up to the harsh realities of the marketplace. If there is a need for foreign workers, businesses will get them. No one will cross illegally into the United States, risking life and limb, leaving behind their families, if there are no jobs in the U.S. for them to do. What we don’t need is more Bush-era laissez faire.”

Contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com

An H-1B is a nonimmigrant classification used by an immigrant who will be employed temporarily in a specialty occupation or as a “fashion model” of distinguished merit and ability. Applicants with skills of a more specialized nature, such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts generally qualify for the H-1B visa. The majority of these require a minimum of a four year bachelor’s degree or the equivalent field related experience.

Also the beneficiary of the H-1B visa can have the intent to immigrate permanently to the United States. With this “dual intent” you can apply for adjustment of status or take the steps necessary to the Lawful Permanent Resident Status without nullifying the H-1B status.

As of August 7th, 2009, approximately 44,900 of the 65,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been received by the United States Citizen and Immigration Service and count toward the H-1B cap. USCIS continues to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits. “There is still time to apply,” says Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, “the cap has a long way to go.”

Under current law, an alien can be in H-1B status for a maximum of six years at a time. After that period, they must remain outside the nation’s borders for a minimum of one year. “The principal exception relates to certain aliens working on Department of Defense projects,” Ms. Banerjee explains, “they can remain for up to ten years.” Then there’s the extension. “Certain aliens can get an extension of their H-1B status beyond the 6-year maximum period when at least a year has passed since the filing of any application for labor certification Form ETA 750, the one that is required or used by the alien to obtain status as an EB immigrant,” she adds.

But the real caveats occur when an alien’s circumstances change. “As long as they keep their job, providing H-1B services to a U.S. employer, all is well,” says Banerjee. “They have to be truthful. If an alien is working in some other specialty occupation other than the one they petitioned for, that would be a status violation.”

Contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com

The Department of Labor (DOL) publicly states that the new incarnation of iCERT is a boon to immigration attorneys and their beleaguered staffs. If only this were true. Some users of the newest system express a degree of frustration hitherto never expressed. It’s been called a bureaucratic quagmire. Here’s why.

Various attorneys and employers report that the DOL requests copies of the underlying wage surveys and proceeds to deny the associated labor condition application (LCA) if the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) deems the wage survey does not comply with specified wage criteria in the regulations. Samples of some obvious inaccuracies include incomplete regulation forms, a wage that is lower than the minimum wage rate, an offered wage that is lower than the stated prevailing wage rate and the employer’s debarment from filing LCAs or similar errors. Determining whether a prevailing wage source is appropriate clearly falls outside the scope of ETA authorized review of the ETA 9035. While employers are required to use alternate wage surveys that comply with the standards set forth at 655.731 (b) (3) (iii), there is no authorization in the regulation for ETA to screen or approve the alternate wage survey prior to certifying the LCA. The seven day mandatory processing time does not include any exceptions or extensions for further review of supporting materials of an LCA.

Another issue is iCERT denials for lack of FEIN, or because FEIN is represented as a social security number. Several employers and attorneys have reported denials of iCERT LCAs when a valid FEIN is submitted, but DOL does not recognize it as being valid.

Several instances of PERM denials have based on the appropriateness of newspaper listings have been reported. Under the new iCERT system, it is difficult to discover any clarifications that may be relevant to these denials.

If these obvious glitches weren’t enough, even communication channels with DOL employees regarding iCERT questions have often been lacking. A report of legal staffers being unable to contact the appropriate officials has led to strident accusations of iCERT having already metamorphosed into a bureaucratic quagmire. Where will the madness end?

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

The recent confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court was a politically-charged test to the Obama Administration’s influence. Her confirmation was soundly approved – but along partisan lines.Conservative bloggers had decried the idea of a Hispanic woman being appointed, while interest groups often uttered misrepresentations concerning Ms. Sotomayor’s positions, especially those concerned with immigration issues. But what were her views on immigration as legislated from the Appeals Court bench?

Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, assigned his staff to analyze how Ms. Sotomayor voted in 955 immigration cases in which she participated during her judicial career, with a special focus on cases that involved foreigners trying to win asylum claims in order to remain in the United States. The Schumer-led inquiry led to some intriguing results. Of the 848 asylum cases in which Sotomayor has taken part, she sided with the foreigner over the government in 144 of them, or 17% of the cases. That percentage was virtually identical to that of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, of which she was a member, during the two-year window studied. Such a percentage, though significant, was not excessive, and well within the judicial mainstream.

While the idea that the recent election of Barack Obama has triggered a “post-racial” United States is greatly exaggerated beneath an avalanche of media hype, the idea that Sonia Sotomayor is racially biased due in large measure to her ethnicity and gender is blatant hyperbole, a sort of pandering to those who would send America back to their own brand of intolerance. Still, where are we now in a 2009 still-racialized nation?
Persistent inequalities exist in a so-called multi-cultural society, euphemisms such as “hate crimes” destroy lives and children of various “people of color” heritages including denizens from various Latin American cultures attend substandard and underfinanced schools within a thousand urbanized ghettos.

The Republican-right wing sees none of this in their fantasia version of America. Listening to right-wing voices during the Sotomayor nominating process was reminiscent of talk radio “hate jocks” spewing a stream of fixed ideology rhetoric, whether it happened to be expressed in the manner of Tom Tancredo, Rush Limbaugh, or Newt Gingrich. Judge Sotomayor’s mistake, in their view, was that she affirmed her social experience as a “Latina” woman. But in their respective opinions, affirming any kind of fair-mindedness in real terms is the gravest sin of all.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

By law, a non-immigrant loses their status when they lose their job. Generally the CIS will give a 1 month grace period for the worker to find another employer sponsor. If this fails to happen, the worker should immediately file for a visitor’s or student visa or return to their home country. A visitor’s visa may be necessary to extend one’s stay to be able to settle financial affairs here. One should file the Form I-539 and explain the situation, and show sufficient resources in the U.S. to stay here.

If applying for a student visa, one must actually study. Simply registering is not sufficient. Schools benefit from a culturally diverse student population, and students benefit from the education.

By converting to a student or visitor’s visa or leaving the U.S., one effectively puts on hold any time remaining of an issued 6 year period on the H-1B visa, and can go back to H-1B status at any time once a new sponsor is found. A non-immigrant worker does not have to enter the H-1B lottery again. According to Houston-based immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, “By filing for a conversion to the visitor or student visa, or by leaving the U.S., they actually stop the running of the 6-year H-1B clock and preserve the remaining time.”

Houston-based immigration lawyer, Annie Banerjee, is quick to stress another point. “Whatever one does, they have to be careful not to accrue illegal presence. If one has a 6 month illegal presence, they are barred for 3 years, and if the illegal presence is 1 year or more, there is a 10 year bar. These penalties are just not worth the risk.”

On the plus side, there are plenty of H-1B visas available. As of July 3, 2009, the CIS had received only 45,000 applications for their 65,000 per year quota of H-1B visas. Jobs are scarce and that is true especially for non-immigrants, so for those lucky enough to find an employer sponsor, unlike in previous years, there is no lottery.

To learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

Losing a job is never easy. Few people enjoy being laid off or fired. During this shallow Depression that the U.S. has been mired in since the fall of 2007, millions of U.S. citizens have lost their jobs, or are referred to as “underemployed.” Employees living in the United States who are here on non-immigrant visas like H-1B and L-1 face a peculiar and daunting situation. If they are laid off or lose their job, they not only lose their job, they lose their sponsor. Once they are unemployed, they are forced to obtain a new employer to sponsor them in this country within just 30 days, which is actually an unofficial grace period. They are allowed to convert to a visitor or student visa, but U.S. authorities have been increasingly denying the applications of such changed classifications for unemployed workers.

“I had a client who’d been employed for an oil company for 25 years in Saudi Arabia, and subsequently for an additional year in the U.S. Abruptly, he was laid off. Because he is an Indian national, his only option was to return to India. His house must be sold, and the current real estate market guarantees a substantial loss. An even more insidious cost to his sudden forced departure from the U.S. involves the plights of his teenaged children and their educational and social needs. The school system in India will seem foreign to them,” asserts immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee.

By U.S. law, non-immigrants lose their status when they are let go from their jobs. The CIS is now extremely stringent with foreign-born workers overstaying their visas and remaining in the country illegally. But with harsh circumstances they are forced to deal with, those workers initially granted H-1B and L-1 visas who lose their jobs, and hence their U.S. sponsor, adversity beckons in many ways.

To learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

A native and citizen of Ecuador who had lied about a previous conviction and incarceration was denied continued residence in the United States despite his recent marriage to a U.S. citizen. José Enríque Peralta filed a series of petitions before the court culminating in the May 28, 2009, decision. It was a convoluted route to eventual deportation for Mr. Peralta.

The last step on his journey was actually a request for judicial review of the final order of The Board of Immigration Appeals dated July 24, 2008, which had denied his second motion to reopen removal proceedings.

Mr. Peralta’s personal saga began a decade earlier, when he entered the United States illegally. In July of 2003, he obtained lawful permanent resident status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. The Department of Homeland Security later learned that when he’d applied for permanent resident status, he’d neglected to disclose, either on his application or at his interview, that he’d been convicted on January 8, 2002, of assault and battery, and received an 18-month prison sentence. On that basis, DHS charged that the petitioner was subject to removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a) (1) (A).

The judge ruled from the bench that the petitioner had knowingly and willfully furnished false information in connection with his application. He appealed that decision, and that appeal was affirmed by the BIA, although Peralta did not seek judicial review of the BIA’s decision. On December 22, 2005, well after the period for seeking judicial review had expired, he filed another motion to reopen the removal proceedings based on his pending I-130 visa petition noting he had divorced his first American wife in the spring of 2005, and married another woman (also a U.S. citizen) on August 20, 2005.

The next year when the previous motion was reviewed, he again stated that he’d never been convicted of a crime. This statement by itself justified the motion’s denial.

Several motions later, the final May 28, 2009, outcome was all but certain. Mr. Peralta was last known to be living in a suburb of Quito, Ecuador.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office fined a Monroe Ohio doughnut factory $40,000 for violations of immigration laws on July 7, 2009. The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation might have been fined an even greater amount if they hadn’t reached a settlement.

ICE conducted an I-9 Inspection of Krispy Kreme after receiving an anonymous tip through the Butler County Sheriff’s Office that revealed dozens of illegal aliens were employed at their doughnut factory only a few miles from Cincinnati at their Lawton Avenue plant in Monroe. The company had employed 25 unauthorized workers locally and in some cases was lacking required paperwork.

The Krispy Kreme plant is approximately 26,000 square feet and employs 90 people. It has been in operation since 1998 and produces all varieties of cake and yeast doughnuts.

Employers are required to complete and retain a form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record an individual’s identity documents and determine whether the documents appear to be genuine and related to the individual.

The audit also revealed violations to the Immigration and Nationality Act. In September 2007, ICE issued a notice of intent to fine and the fine was settled on July 7, 2009.

As part of the settlement, the company is revising its immigration compliance program and has agreed to begin implementing new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws.

In April 2009, ICE implemented a new comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation’s lawful workforce. Under this strategy ICE is focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly employing illegal workers. During the last week of June 2009, ICE announced as part of this initiative 652 businesses throughout the U.S. would be audited to determine their compliance.

The Obama Administration is expected to focus on business owners who are violators. In Butler County, employers were previously warned by posted billboards strategically located throughout the area that it was illegal to hire illegal immigrants.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

H-1B visas have always been controversial among certain segments of the U.S. population. But right-wing and anti-immigrant talk shows, blogs, and other venues have been ratcheting up the rhetoric lately. “It makes me sad to consider that these views still exist,” says Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee, “especially in America.”

In particular, Banerjee decries some of the claptrap she’s been hearing about H-1B workers legitimately awarded visas permitting them to work in this country. “They are generating myths, misinformation, and outright falsehoods,” asserts Ms. Banerjee.

“They like to say that H-1B workers are stealing jobs from legitimate American workers, by which they imply in code that U.S. workers born and raised here are denied opportunities. It’s just not true,” Ms. Banerjee says.

H-1B visas are issued to temporary, nonimmigrant workers in specialty occupations. These occupations require special skills, the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge that most workers don’t possess. “Most H-1B workers have exceptional educational backgrounds and are relatively rare individuals in the workplace,” Ms. Banerjee explains, “It’s not fair to say that the jobs they’re being hired for can be performed by most workers.”

Another charge about H-1B workers that rankles Ms. Banerjee is the characterization of these visa holders as “cheap labor.”

“This is a related bit of irresponsible talk that serves to obscure what’s really true.” In fact, employers are required to pay an H-1B employee the higher of either the “prevailing wage” or “actual wage” paid to similarly employed Americans, but must also pay about $6,000 in legal and government fees for each H-1B hire, plus an additional $12,000 to sponsor an H-1B worker for permanent U.S. residence.

“People generally opposed to immigration say the damndest things,” Ms. Banerjee concludes, “and usually when applied with a broad brush their rhetoric tends to consist of myths, misinformation, and outright falsehoods.”

To learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee is pleased, bordering on elated, in respect to President Barack Obama’s choice of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his much touted U.S. Supreme Court nominee. “She’s Hispanic and she’s a woman, and so the Supreme Court finally gets to have those perspectives. That’s praiseworthy,” asserts Banerjee. But is the link between Sotomayor’s selection as a Presidential nominee and significant immigration reform really that clear? Of the latter, Ms. Banerjee is not so sure.

“It does place immigration reform on the President’s plate,” she says, “but it may have been as much a shrewd move calculated to stymie right-wing Republicans enamored with anti-immigration rhetoric that won’t work in the long-term to as an immigration reform catalyst. In fact, I’m already seeing a backlash against Sotomayor that is quite disturbing in the sense of empowering a kind of anti-Hispanic racism.”

Ms. Banerjee is not alone in her misgivings. According to some of her colleagues at the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA), it’s already been noted that the Tancredo wing of the Republican party is pulling out all the stops to block any reintroduction of the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill because that legislation provides a clear path to citizenship for in excess of 10 million illegals currently residing in the U.S. If the McCain-Kennedy bill were truly perceived as bipartisan and managed to be enacted into law, it would spell big trouble in the public opinion landscape for opponents of more permissive immigration. “It would be a vast improvement,” asserts Banerjee, “but the opposition has been somewhat mobilized by Sotomayor’s nomination. Some of the accusations against her, especially insinuations about La Raza, are intended to incite racist sentiments even as these baseless allegations – such as the charge that La Raza is similar if not identical to a Latino KKK, is bandied about. I think it’s horrible.”

But immigration reform is definitely needed. “While one nominee to the Supreme Court won’t balance the misery that’s been hatched against the legal and undocumented Latino community by focused race-based immigration enforcement policies, it’s a beginning. Perhaps I find myself cautiously optimistic,” Banerjee concludes.

To learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

It’s almost ironic. Deathtown became a death knell for a scheduled May 30th anti-immigrant rally celebrating the acquittal of two young men involved in the killing of Luis Ramirez. The reason for the cancellation was poetic if not quite ironic: the invited main speaker was an avowed neo-Nazi and white supremacist. Although a conflict with the borough’s Keilbasi Festival also figured into the equation, organizer and Shenandoah native Joe Miller expressed in the local newspaper that he and other members of his group, Americans for Legal Immigration, worried about what invited speaker John de Nugent might say when speaking at their rally. “I guess we were concerned about his political views, and about him being a white supremacist, or whatever they called him,” Miller said.

John de Nugent took issue with the label “white supremacist” and described himself as a “white nationalist” on his website.

Miller had feared embarrassment for his group of upstanding Americans and found more than enough potential for it when several items gave him pause. For instance, on de Nugent’s home page, a photo of Ben Bernanke was identified with the caption: Ben Bernanke, the Jew who controls all U.S. money in a nation that is 98% non-Jewish. Do you know your real masters? These leaders of the J-Team, the Jewish power-brokers, run the USA regime of fear – and tell their puppets – Bush, the Slick-living Obamanation and Cain – what to say and what never to discuss in public about their power and crimes.

“Our group has never been anti-Jewish,” protested Miller in defending ALI. “It’s just the Mexican illegals that we’re against.” He had to set the record straight. ALI was only attempting to capitalize on anti-Mexican immigrant hatred and has “nothing against Jews.” Added Miller about Ramirez, victim of a small mob who was put to death by persons unknown for no reason; that was made abundantly evident in the Pennsylvania courtroom where the trial of two young white men, valued members of the community, took place, “These things happen.” He could have added, “Especially in Deathtown.”

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

Now that the old LCA system is to remain operational until the end of June, there is supposed to be enough time for a seamless transition. Immigration attorneys and other paralegals are being urged to get up to speed with the iCert system ASAP so that accounts can be set-up and any straggler LCAs can be filed using the nouveau form de jour ETA-9035. Technical issues are being fielded by an iCert “help desk” at OFLC.Portal@dol.gov. It all sounds so wondrous, like the glitches have gone the way of the gander.

In fact, some earlier bugs have been remedied due to careful scrutiny by an array of attorneys and their minions. DOL had proclaimed as of 8th May that certified LCAs now have validity dates and signature, the tricky NAICS button is behaving by allowing for scroll down and perhaps the cows have come home. But all is far from well.

On the 13th of May, less than a week later, unspecified glitches delayed the mandatory use of iCert for LCA filings as the DOL was forced to renege on its earlier optimism. On the ides of April, the Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) had begun implementing iCert for LCA and PERM filings. The new system had required employers or attorneys to create a user account, from which a cascade of LCAs and PERM applications were supposed to emanate. Functionality for PERM was expected by 1st September 2009 while functionality for LCAs was considered imminent. It didn’t happen.

While the DOL’s iCert Visa Portal User Guide celebrates several decided improvements in system efficiency such as a single one-stop portal or “entry point,” a central repository for OFLC immigration related content, and a common search engine, implementation of iCert has been anything but a seamless transition. Excuses have already begun leaking out of DOL in reference to iCert. LCA processing “may take longer” than it does in the current electronic agency. A full seven-day period may even be reinstated by the agency, as employers are being urged to “take these longer processing times into account.”

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee or to learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

On May 5, 2009, a day celebrated around the world as Cinco de Mayo, the USCIS kept counting H-1B petitions received as the H-1B cap was approached. “They continue to pour in,” says Ms. Banerjee, “As of May 4, 2009, somewhere in the neighborhood of 45,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and about 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed.” Meanwhile, USCIS continues to accept advanced degree petitions. Experience has shown that not all received petitions are approvable.

Explains Ms Banerjee, “These numbers appear identical to the previous week, on April 27th, when the statement released by USCIS was exactly the same. But it is progress as compared to the 20th of April, when the number of USCIS-received H-1B cap-subject petitions was a thousand less, about 44,000, and the relevant number was a thousand less than that, about 43,000, as of April 13th. “It really is a bureaucracy, and this demonstrates that the process is slowly if inexorably playing itself out. But there still is time to get some of the eligible petitions submitted.”

“Remember that a lot of issues are involved with H-1B petitions,” Ms. Banerjee asserts, “Petitions get rejected for a laundry list of reasons, with fraud or malfeasance being only the most visible of those reasons. What you have to keep in mind is that the cap of 65,000 for all the H-1B petitions has to eventually be accepted, unless they aren’t submitted in the first place. You have to think positively when it comes to H-1Bs.”

If you still plan to submit a petition, you must first evaluate your situation aggressively, fill out all your accompanying paperwork, submit to whatever procedures are required, and then just go for it, Ms. Banerjee adds. Concludes Ms. Banerjee, “If you do it right, your petition might be just as valid as any others submitted. But you have to give yourself a chance.”

To learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.

Keeping your Green Card (and permanent residency status) can get dicey if you leave the United States to live elsewhere for more than six months. “A presumption comes into play that you do not want to live permanently in the United States, and therefore have abandoned your Permanent Residency Status,” explains Houston-area immigration lawyer Annie Banerjee. This may not be true. Perhaps you plan on returning, and your departure is intended to be temporary. But if you do plan on coming back to the U.S. to live, your reentry permit becomes all important.

“You’ll need to file the Reentry Permit (Form I-131) before you leave the United States,” Ms. Banerjee explains. It doesn’t end there. There is the matter of getting fingerprinted, so it is advisable to file at least a month or two prior to departure. Adds Ms. Banerjee, “You’ll also need a cover letter which includes the valid reason why you are leaving. Too often, people forget filing the I-131 before they leave, or else omit a cover letter, or worse, both.”

The reentry permit can be mailed to you or can be picked up at the U.S. Consulate near the foreign country that you are in. You can always come back and file the reentry permit again, for a two-year extension, but this act requires a valid excuse. “For instance, it’s usually not a big deal if a U.S. business transfers you to their foreign location, or if you leave to study in another country,” Ms. Banerjee explains. But if you are merely working for a foreign company in their office in your home country, you probably will not get the reentry permit. “I’ve seen cases of green cards having to be forfeited under such circumstances,” asserts M. Banerjee. Merely using the Reentry Permit is no guarantee of prolonging continuous residency requirements in support of citizenship status. “Any perceived misuse of a Reentry Permit is a surefire way to delay citizenship,” Ms. Banerjee concludes. If such a perception is allowed to establish itself in the bureaucracy of CIS, a myriad of problems can arise with the murky status. Omitting any of the steps involved with Reentry Permits can surely jeopardize what might be intended in good faith.

To learn more about Houston immigration lawyer, immigration lawyer in Houston, Houston immigration attorney, visit their information filled web site at Visatous.com.