IMMIGRATION REFORM UPDATE NOVEMBER 2010
NEWS ITEM ONE: NOTICE TO EMPLOYERS-- USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2011 H-1B Petitions.
NEWS ITEM TWO: ADJUSTED FEES FOR IMMIGRATION BENEFITS GO INTO EFFECT ON NOVEMBER 23
NEWS ITEM THREE: HERBERT WANTS WIDER IMMIGRATION REFORM
COMMENTARY
1. NEWS ITEM ONE: NOTICE TO EMPLOYERS
USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2011 H-1B Petitions. As of October 15, 2010, approximately 42,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 15,700 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
H-1B petitions are generally (exceptions apply to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations) subject to the 65,000 H-1B numerical limitation (the “cap”). Some petitions are exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption provided to the first 20,000 petitions filed for a beneficiary who has obtained a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Please note that up to 6,800 visas may be set aside from the cap of 65,000 during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements.
2. NEWS ITEM TWO: ADJUSTED FEES FOR IMMIGRATION BENEFITS GO INTO EFFECT ON NOVEMBER 23
Please click this link to see the application fees that will increase after November 23, 2010:
3. NEWS ITEM THREE: HERBERT WANTS WIDER IMMIGRATION REFORM
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Friday he wants to see more than an Arizona-style enforcement-only bill come across his desk. He wants legislation that addresses all facets of state-led immigration reform. “He encourages Rep. [Stephen] Sandstrom and others to move forward to work together,” Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said. “What he wants to see is one comprehensive bill or several bills that are complementary and cover all parts of the spectrum. He doesn’t want to see just one enforcement bill.” Sandstrom’s bill is modeled after Arizona’s law, which requires local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50524450-76/assembly-bill-enforcement-governor.html.csp
To me the message seems clear: many states are frustrated by the federal government’s inability to pass any form of immigration reform. The border-states, in particular, are not getting the resources they need to deal with this issue. States such as Arizona and now apparently Utah want to take the matter into their own hands. Ultimately they will not succeed, as the federal government exclusively regulates immigration. However, the efforts by the various states may stimulate Congress into taking concrete action.
It is interesting to note that even U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) may not believe that Congress will or can accomplish immigration reform. Earlier this summer, someone leaked an internal USCIS memo to Alejandro Majorkas, the Director of USCIS. The subject of the memo is “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” Here is a link to that memo:
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/memo-on-alternatives-to-comprehensive-immigration-reform.pdf
Increasingly, it looks like Congress will not have the momentum necessary to pass comprehensive immigration reform. If it cannot succeed with this, many hope that USCIS will follow the recommendations of the leaked July 2010 Mayorkas memorandum.
