President Signs Law Extending Several USCIS Programs for 3 Years
Stewart Rabinowitz, of the law firm Rabinowitz and Rabinowitz, offers his opinions about President Barack Obama’s decision to sign into law an extension of several U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) programs.
On October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law an extension of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act of 2010 which extended several key programs until September 30, 2012. The extended programs included E-Verify, the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program, the special immigrant visa category for non-minister religious workers, and the date by which J-1 non-immigrant exchange visitors must obtain that status in order to qualify for the “Conrad 30” program.
E-Verify, an Internet-based system operated by DHS in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. Stewart Rabinowitz, an immigration lawyer for the firm Rabinowitz and Rabinowitz, believes that the program is in widespread use. “More than 168,000 participating employers at nearly 640,000 worksites nationwide currently use the program,” he says. Since Oct. 1, 2009, more than 1.3 million employment verification queries are now automatically confirmed without any need for employee action.
Adds Rabinowitz, “Despite this number, the program continues to suffer significant databases errors, especially when processing recently naturalized U.S. citizens, which has led many other employers to shy away from enrolling.”
Under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, USCIS will continue to receive, process, and adjudicate all Regional Center petitions. Under this program, qualifying investors who make a substantial investment in the U.S. and who create 10 U.S. worker jobs can gain permanent resident status. Through investment in pre-approved Regional Centers, foreign investors can rely on “indirect” job creation to meet the law’s requirements. Currently, there are more than 70 regional centers throughout the United States. USCIS strictly interprets requirements for this classification.
The special immigrant visa category for non-minister religious workers covers those within a religious vocation or religious occupation.
Finally, USCIS will continue to adjudicate immigration benefits covered by the “Conrad 30” program. The “Conrad 30” program allows each state health department to submit a request directly to the Department of State to initiate the waiver process for a foreign medical graduate who obtained J-1 status and who want to change to another status without leaving the U.S. to meet a two-year home residency requirement. “It’s not too difficult to imagine what might have happened in rural and other health shortage areas had the Conrad 30 program not been extended,” Rabinowitz concluded.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
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