Beverly Hills Immigration Law

Eli Kantor appointed as Media Liaison

2009-06-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

The American Immigration Lawyers Association, AILA, has appointed Eli Kantor to serve as its Media Liaison for the Southern California Chapter for the 2009 -2010 term.

Immigration settles amnesty lawsuit

2008-12-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ending a 20 year long legal battle, Immigration finally agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding amnesty applicants who entered the US legally but then overstayed their visas or violated the terms of their visas. Immigration had placed the burden on the amnesty applicant to prove that their illegal status was now"known to the government". Immigration will now presume that the government knew about their violations because schools were legally required to send the notices of violation of student visa status to Immigration. This settlement will open the doors to permanent residents to tens of thousands of people.

Visa Waiver Program is Expanded to 7 New Countries

2008-11-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

Starting today, November 17, 2008, eligible citizens or nationals from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia may enter the US for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Election of Obama and Democratic Congress Increases Chances of Success for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Next Year

2008-11-05T17:28:00.000-08:00

The stunning election of Barack Obama for President and the strong gains made by the Democratic Party in Congress will boost chances for Comprehensive Immigration Reform next year. Of course, immigration reform will not be a top priority, and the continuing economic crisis together with a high rate of unemployment may cloud the prospects for passage of a comprehensive package. However, even if a comprehensive package is not passed next year, the chances are excellent for the passage of piece meal solutions such as EB vias recapture; Nurses and Physical Therapists bill; AG Jogs and the DREAM Act. See Business Week Online for the interview of ELI KANTOR on this topic, and stay tuned to this blog for the latest updates.

Immigration Issues Supplemental Final Rule for No-Match Letters

2008-10-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Immigration issued a Supplemental Final Rule that provides additional background and analysis for the department's No-Match Rule. The regulation which was originally proposed in June 2006 and issued in August 2007 as a Final Rule, clarifies what steps responsible employers can take to resolve discrepancies identified in "no match" letters issued by the Social Security Administration. It also provides guidance to help businesses comply with legal requirements intended to reduce the illegal employment of unauthorized workers. Implementation of the No Match rule has been stayed following the issuance of a preliminary injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last year. This Supplemental Final Rule is an attempt to meet the concerns raised by the Court. The DHS will return to Court to request that the injunction be lifted so that implementation of the new rule can proceed.

Visa Waiver Program is Expanded to 7 New Countries

2008-10-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Visa Waiver program has been expanded to include 7 new countries including: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea. Nationals of these countries will not be required to obtain a visa to enter the US for stays of up to 90 days.

Immigration Extends Period of Stay for TN Professional Workers

2008-10-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Immigration has increased the maximum period of time a Trade- NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico may remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay. This final rule changes the initial period of admission for TN workers from 1 year to 3 years.

President Signs the Conrad 30 extension bill

2008-10-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

President Bush signed into law a bill extending the Conrad 30 program for 5 years. The Conrad 30 program waives the two year foreign residency requirement for physicians who received J-1 visas, who work in underserved areas where there is a health professional shortage.

President Signs Military Personnel Citizinship Processing Act

2008-10-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

President Bush signed into law the Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act. The law requires that Immigration process and issue a citizenship decision within 6 months of receiving an application from a current or former member of the armed forces, or their surviving dependents. If a decision is not made within that time frame, Immigration is required to explain the delay and provide a new decision target date.

331 Arrested by ICE agents in South Carolina

2008-10-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Immigration agents executed a federal criminal search warrant on October 8th at the Columbia Farms poultry processing plant. They arrested 331 illegal aliens. These arrests follows the criminal cases filed earlier this year against nine plant supervisory employees.

Congress Votes to Extend the Religious Worker Program

2008-10-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Congress voted to extend the religious worker program, whereby religious workers (non-ministers) will be able to obtain green cards.

Immigration to require new test for all natzuralizations applications filed on or after October 1st

2008-10-01T17:54:00.001-07:00

As of today, October 1, 2008, all applicants who file their applications for Naturalization will be required to take a new test which is more analytical. The prior test required rote memorization, whereas the new one requires analysis of U.S. History and Government.

Congress Votes to Extend the Investor Regional Center Pilot Program

2008-10-01T17:51:00.001-07:00

Congress voted today to extend the EB-5 Investor Regional Center Pilot Program. This program allows investors to obtain green cards by investing $500,000 into an approved regional center. There is no requirement that they personally have to employ 10 workers, only that their investment lead to the employment of 10 workers.

Immigration Extends TPS for El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras for 18 months

2008-09-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

Immigration has extended Temporary Protected Status "TPS" for El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras for 18 months.

Immigration Extends TPS for El Salvador for 18 months

2008-09-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

On September 24, 2008, Immigration announced that it would extend Temporary Protected Status "TPS" for another 18 months for natives of El Salvador.

2010 Visa Lottery Begins on October 2, 2008

2008-09-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

The DV-2010 Lotttery online entry begins at Noon EDT on October 2, 2008 and ends on December 1, 2008 at Noon EST. For further information contact Eli Kantor at ekantor@beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

House Judiciary Committee to Mark-Up Immigration Bill

2008-09-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

The House Judiciary Committee will mark-up 3 key immigration bills today, involving the recapture of 500,000 visas as well as a proposal for 20,000 visas for Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists.

House Committee to Vote on Immigration Bills

2008-09-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, September 10th, a House Committee will vote on 3 key pieces of immigration legislation which would recapture lost visa numbers and grant 20,000 special visas for RN's and Physical Therapists.

ICE raids flower grower; arrests 18 undocumented workers

2008-09-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

On September 3rd ICE raided the Sun Valley Group, one of California's major wholesale flower growers and arrested 18 undocumented workers from Mexico. This is part of ICE's continued enforcement campaign. They have made approximately 4,500 administrative arrests for immigration violations during worksite enforcement operations this year.

595 Arrested in ICE Raid at Mississippi Transformer Plant

2008-08-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

ICE agents executed a federal criminal search warrant on Monday at Howard Industries, Inc. in Laurel, Miss., for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant for individuals illegally in the U.S.

As a result of the raid approximately 595 undocumented workers were arrested, making this the largest raid in Immigration's ongoing enforcement program.

ICE raids factory in Mississippi arresting 350 workers

2008-08-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday, ICE agents raided the Howard Industries factory in Laurel, Mississippi, arresting 350 suspected illegal workers.

ICE launches Scheduled Departure, to allow non-criminal fugitive aliens opportunity to leave without arrest and detention.

2008-08-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

New ICE program gives non-criminal fugitive aliens the opportunity to avoid arrest and detention, while they coordinate their removal with Immigration. This pilot program will be available in 5 cities. Non-criminal fugitive aliens who live in and around Santa Ana, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago and Charlotte can visit their local immigration office to discuss their departure plans.

House Immigration Subcommittee approves EB recapture and RN/PT bills

2008-08-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

The House Immigration subcommittee approved two key employment immigration related bills. The first would allow for the "recapture" of about 500,000 unused visa numbers from previous years, that were not allocated due to processing delays. This would result in eliminating most if not all of the employment based quota backlogs. The second bill would provide for up to 20,000 green cards for RN's and Physical Therapists. Congress has now adjourned for their August recess. Hopefully, these bills will be passed when it returns.

Immigration to Encourage Illegal Aliens to Voluntarily Turn Themselves in for Deporation

2008-07-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

ICE announced a program to "encourage" the undocumented to report for deportation. Offering no inducement to do so, the agency simply asks that people turn themselves in. It is unclear why this even warranted an announcement.

House to mark-up proposed immigration reform bill

2008-07-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

Today the House Sub-Committee on Immigration will be marking up 3 bills regarding employment based immigration, which would allow among other things the recapture of thousands of unused visa numbers. The bottom line is that it is still possible that there may be some immigration reform this year.