Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Gillibrand (D-NY), Kennedy (D-MA), and Schumer (D-NY) introduced the Reuniting Families Act (S. 1085) recently.  The bill if passed into law, would allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident petitioners and their relatives abroad, to reunite in the United States in a more timely manner.  The bill would reform the immigration laws concerning family based immigration to end lengthy separations due to the lack of [...]

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently sent a memo to the Directors of the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) four (4) Service Centers clarifying the requirements for H-1B visa petitions where the applicant is seeking employment in a health care specialty occupation. The clarification applies to H-1B visa applicants who have either an unrestricted or a restricted license [...]

The Wall Street Journal reported today that in the town of Shelbyville, TN, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike spent the night lined up at the local state employment office waiting to apply for jobs at a local slaughterhouse. The fact that U.S. citizens are competing with immigrants for jobs that for a long time, U.S. citizens were unwilling to do, has created an interesting [...]

The Wall Street Journal reported today that President Barack Obama will meet with Congressional leaders next month to discuss immigration reform.  Next month’s meeting will signify that the President is actively working towards a solution to the nation’s immigration problem.   Immigration reform has become a sensitive issue among Americans frustrated by illegal immigration.  Many Americans feel that because the unemployment rate is approaching 10%, immigration [...]

The Houston Chronicle reported that the Obama administration is expanding a program initiated by former President Bush to verify the immigration status of every person that is incarcerated in the local jails. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) implemented a program called Secure Communities.  The program is currently in 48 counties in seven states.  The USICE plans to expand it to all jails and prisons by [...]

The U.S. Customs & Border Protection (USCBP), one of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) largest and most complex components, has a two-fold mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. plus, having the responsibility of securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. immigration and drug laws. We represented an individual today [...]

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego will be the first in the state to begin checking the immigration status of all inmates booked into the county jail system as part of a national effort to identify and deport immigrants with criminal records. Law enforcement officials in the 3 counties will [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that a 23 year old college student from Egypt who was acquitted last month on federal explosives charges, is now in deportation proceedings.  An immigration judge will determine whether or not he should be deported. A Tampa jury found Youssef Megahed not guilty of possessing explosives that could have been used to make a destructive device.  Mr. [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that is has extended the CONRAD 30 waiver program until Sept. 30, 2009 by which international medical graduates who have been granted J-1 visas may apply for a waiver of the 2 year home country physical presence requirement.    Under the program, state health departments must submit their requests by submitting Form DS-3035 directly to the U.S. State Department’s designated points of [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday an update on the number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally mandated 65,000 cap. We reported back on April 28, 2009 that there were 20,000 visas available.  Surprisingly, the number of applications received by [...]