NEWS ITEM ONE:  NOTICE TO EMPLOYERS-- USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2011 H-1B Petitions. 

NEWS ITEM TWO:  DREAM ACT UPDATE

NEWS ITEM THREE:  E-VERIFY NEWSLETTER LAUNCHES

COMMENTARY

1.  NEWS ITEM ONE:  NOTICE TO EMPLOYERS 

USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2011 H-1B Petitions.  As of December 17, 2010, approximately 53,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted.  Additionally, USCIS has receipted 19,700 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced U.S. 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:  DREAM ACT UPDATE

After failing to win comprehensive immigration reform during a period when Democrats controlled both the White House and Congress, immigration proponents had been hoping to snag an 11th-hour consolation prize: the DREAM Act.

Proponents had not pushed for separate consideration of the DREAM Act in recent years because they feared they would lose their most compelling and attractive argument for comprehensive immigration reform, which would benefit the rest of the estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally and who are likely to be viewed less sympathetically.

‘President Barack Obama thought the DREAM Act would be the “easy” part of his comprehensive immigration reform package because it dealt with students and soldiers, whom some find it difficult to dislike without first meeting them.  Obama even bargained for Republican votes by sweetening the deal: He got tough on deportations, raising them to a record 390,000 per year, to show that he was no immigration patsy’

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46633.html

The DREAM Act was defeated in the Senate on December 18, 2010.  To me, any form of immigration reform in the near future looks highly doubtful.  The Democrats are no longer in the majority.  President Obama has had ongoing problems with the War on Terror, the economy, Healthcare Reform, etc…  I see immigration reform as a topic commanding low priority for our Senators, Representatives, and the White House right now.   

3.  NEWS ITEM THREE:  E-VERIFY NEWSLETTER LAUNCHES

E-Verify is an Internet-based system run by the Department of Homeland Security that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.

USCIS has released the first issue of “E-Verify Connection,” an e-newsletter that brings updates and information regarding E-Verify.  You can access the newsletter at the following link: