After announcing its initiative to streamline immigrant entrepreneur processing last year called Entrepreneurs in Residence, on April 13, 2012, USCIS has provided the names of the business experts who, together with USCIS officials, will form the team. Apart from USCIS officials, other team members include private industry members with finance, technology, startup and product development, and investment experience. Dubbed an EIR Tactical Team, the group will look to identify where and how changes in USCIS processes can occur within the existing legal structure to improve processing in H-1B, L1, E-1, E-2, and O-1 cases. The team began its work in late March, 2012, which will continue for 90 days. Beyond the catchy team title, and other predictable gloss, employers and foreign nationals entrepreneurs alike look for significant benefits to flow from these efforts.
On April 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of State announced that citizens of Colombia can now be issued visitors visas valid for 10 instead of 5 years. The Department noted that this change supports an “…expanding partnership between the United States and Colombia on a
broad array of issues, which has resulted in increased exchanges for tourism and business…” The Department pointed out that 10 year B visa issuance for Colombians is in harmony with the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which is soon to take effect. Almost 577,000 Colombians visit the United States annually, according to the Department of Homeland Security estimates. Finally, DOS expects that U.S. and Colombian businesses and service providers, including the tourist industry, will benefit from increased travel between the two countries.
On April 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of State announced that citizens of Colombia can now be issued visitors visas valid for 10 instead of 5 years. The Department noted that this change supports an “…expanding partnership between the United States and Colombia on a broad array of issues, which has resulted in increased exchanges for tourism and business…” The Department pointed out that 10 year B visa issuance for Colombians is in harmony with the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which is soon to take effect. Almost 577,000 Colombians visit the United States annually, according to the Department of Homeland Security estimates. Finally, DOS expects that U.S. and Colombian businesses and service providers, including the tourist industry, will benefit from increased travel between the two countries.
U.S. citizens traveling abroad in or near the state of Chihuahua, Mexico have been warned to remain vigilant for threats of violence after Mexican authorities captured key members of a cartel in the city of Juarez.
One of those captured, Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, is a former police officer who has admitted to ordering the deaths of more than 1,500 people near the U.S. border. He is also a suspect in a U.S. consulate employee killing at a border crossing near Juarez.
The U.S. State Department warned that the captures “bring with them the potential for an increase in violence,” and speculated that cartel members could retaliate by targeting members of other cartels, law enforcement authorities or members of the public. The U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez and ports of entry to the U.S. are areas where U.S. citizens should remain especially vigilant, the State Department said, as the Department had obtained information that these locations could be targeted, perhaps with a car bomb.
The state of Chihuahua is on the northern side of Mexico, adjacent to the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico. The city of Juarez, infamous as a drug cartel stronghold, sits on the northern border of Chihuahua near El Paso, Texas. Prior to 2009, Juarez held the highest murder rate in the world at 130 murders per 100,000 residents. There were 3,075 homicides in 2010, most of which have been linked to drug cartel violence.
The State Department offers the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, for those who travel abroad to dangerous areas. STEP is a free program that lets travelers enter information about their upcoming trip so that the Department of State can better assist such persons in case of an emergency. It also helps traveling Americans to find information about the locations of the nearest embassies or U.S. consulate offices.
Many Mexicans have sought asylum in the U.S. due to cartel violence. Asylum requests reached a record 5,551 last year, according to figures released by the government. Only 165 of these requests were granted.
Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Dallas-based Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or Dallas immigration attorney, please visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
In August 2011 a USCIS supervisor and his son, both convicted of federal corruption charges, were sentenced to five years and four years in prison, respectively. The USCIS supervisor, Fernando Jacobs, 72 years old, had been found guilty of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and visa fraud. He was also fined $30,000. His son, 44-year-old Patrick Jacobs, was also convicted of the first three charges. He has been in custody since his arrest in 2009.
The elder Jacobs took bribes from foreign nationals seeking legal status in the U.S. and his son acted as a go-between in setting up the deals.
The Jacobs’ scheme involved the elder Jacobs using his official position as a USCIS supervisor to defraud the government of his honest services and personally profit at the public’s expense. Fernando Jacobs accelerated certain case processing, took information from Department of Homeland Security databases on immigration in furtherance of the scheme, and placed official DHS stamps in foreign nationals’ passports that permitted such persons to travel back and forth from the U.S., all for a fee.
“The significance of public corruption cases like this cannot be overestimated,” said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. “The American public demands honest government service and the Department of Justice is committed to policing government and preserving the public trust.”
This is the latest of many corruption cases that have tarnished the agency and its reputation over the last decade and a half. Articles in the press, such as in the Washington Post on December 1, 2006, reported that a DHS supervisor pled guilty to falsifying immigration documents and taking over $600,000 in bribes to do so. A New York Times article on March 21, 2008 described a USCIS adjudicator being arrested after being taped saying to a 22-year-old Colombian woman, “I want sex…you get your green card”. These flagrant violations disgrace the agency. In response, the USCIS created the Office of Security and Integrity (OSI). The agency has substantially increased resources dedicated to internal affairs to reverse a perceived increase in such cases.
Stewart Rabinowitz is President of Dallas-based Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C. Mr. Rabinowitz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To contact a Dallas immigration lawyer or a Dallas immigration attorney, please visit http://www.rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
The E-Verify system, a free program run by the United States government, allows employers to check a new hire’s eligibility to work in the U.S.
While the program was established to prevent illegal aliens from working in the U.S., and, according to the Department of Homeland Security has bee effective, one independent think tank says that the program needs changes.
The Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan Washington-based think tank, recently completed a review of the program and used its findings to point out faults and recommend changes.
MPI found that one of the program’s biggest faults is that it is susceptible to identity fraud. E-Verify can determine if a name and social security number match a database, but cannot confirm that they actually belong to employee presenting the information. A person using a stolen card and assuming another’s identity can easily bypass E-Verify security measures.
While the government has measures in place to mitigate this problem, including photo matching and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services monitoring and compliance branches, the MPI found that these do not always work. It found that between October 2009 and August 2010, only 2.6 percent of E-Verify cases were subject to photo matching, due to staffing and other issues, USCIS are somewhat ineffective against fraud.
The organization also found that employer noncompliance and misuse is a common problem. Some employers fail to use the program when hiring, while others abuse the program for various reasons. The erroneous nonconfirmations that have made the program controversial in the past also continue to be a problem with E-Verify, as some U.S. citizens and lawful immigrants have been labeled as non-eligible to work. It did note that the number of erroneous nonconfirmations dropped from 8 percent between 2004 and 2007 to 2.6 percent in 2009.
MPI recommends an expansion of the photo matching program and the use of some type of biometric technology to deter fraud. The government already plans to expand the photo matching program by including driver’s license data and a system that allows workers to preverify their data, the latter of which is to be introduced shortly. MPI also recommends linking E-Verify mandates to legalization and visa reform, so that illegal immigrants can be absorbed into the system and earn legal status.
The organization argues that all of these changes should be phased in gradually and held up against a clear set of benchmarks to limit unintended consequences.
As of November 12, 2010, USCIS has receipted approximately 47,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions. Additionally, it has receipted 17,400 H-1B for foreign nationals with advanced degrees. Federal law exempts the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for foreign nationals who have obtained U.S. masters or higher degrees from the 65,000 overall H-1B cap.
On October 26, 2010, USCIS announced issuance of enhanced naturalization certificates to newly naturalized United States citizens. The new certificates will achieve several USCIS objectives.
First, the re-designed certificates incorporate several features. They will automatically embed a digitized photograph and signature, be printed using color shifting ink, and will use tamper-resistant technology enhancing their security. Second, and as an additional benefit, the new certificates will use a production method that will be less labor intensive, and less prone to error.
In the next year, USCIS anticipates that more than 600,000 new US citizens will receive the new certificates. USCIS expects to deploy this automated certificate production system through the agency by the end of the calendar year.
As of October 22, 2010, USCIS has receipted approximately 44,300 H-1B cap-subject petitions. Additionally, it has receipted 16,200 H-1B petitions for foreign nationals with advanced degrees. Federal law exempts the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for foreign nationals who have obtained U.S. masters or higher degrees from the 65,000 overall H-1B cap.
In its October 26, 2010 decision, the Ninth Circuit held that Arizona’s documentary proof of citizenship requirement for all new voter registrants violates the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”).
As background, on November 24, 2004, Arizona initiative Proposition 200 enacted revisions to Arizona’s election laws. One such revision was the requirement that each new voter registration application must be accompanied by evidence of United States citizenship. In the years since its passage, tens of thousands of voter registrations forms lacking such proof have been rejected, including those of US citizens lacking the Arizona required proof.
Plaintiffs challenging Proposition 200 alleged that requiring proof of US citizenship for all new voter registrants violates the NVRA because the NVRA requires states to accept and use the federal voter registration forms without additional documentary requirements.
Notwithstanding the NVRA, Arizona rejected all new voter registration applications which did not contain proof of US citizenship.
In its 2-1 opinion, the Ninth Circuit held that given the paramount authority delegated to Congress by the Elections Clause of the Constitution, the NVRA, which implemented a comprehensive national system for registering federal voters, superceded Arizona’s conflicting voter registration requirement for federal elections contained in Proposition 200.
Mark Lyttle, a US citizen of Puerto Rican ancestry with mental disabilities, was wrongfully deported to Mexico. He lived on the streets, in shelters, and in prisons and was deported to Honduras, then Guatemala. He was ultimately issued a US passport and returned to Atlanta where he lives.
His ordeal began while in jail in North Carolina for a misdemeanor when the North Carolina jailers incorrectly notified ICE that Mr. Lyttle was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Despite documentation to the contrary, and knowledge of Mr. Lyttle’s obvious handicap in understanding the proceedings against him, ICE deported him to Mexico. Mexico deported him to Honduras and Honduras deported him to Guatemala. Mr. Lyttle does not speak Spanish, never visited Mexico, and never claimed to be from Mexico. He finally appeared at the US Embassy in Guatemala City, which made inquiries in his behalf, and resulted in his successful claim to US citizenship and receipt of a US passport. Mr. Lyttle seeks damages and injunctive relief for violations of his constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.
