The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that on August 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Southwest Border Security Bill, also known as the Border Bill. The law contains a provision to raise the filing fees effective immediately for certain H-1B  and L-1 visa applications. The additional fees of $2,000 for H-1B visa and $2,250 for L-1 visa applications are applicable only to petitioning employers that [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday that President Obama and his Administration is considering easing the restrictions imposed on U.S. citizens on traveling to Cuba. Loosening the travel restrictions would expand opportunities for American students, educators and researchers to visit Cuba.  However, the ongoing economic embargo that the U.S. imposed on Cuba 50 years ago will remain intact. This is great news for the [...]

Congress recently passed the Border Security Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. It was was passed by the House of Representatives on July 28, 2010 and then by the Senate on August 5, 2010.  The bill will be forwarded to the President and he is expected to sign it into law. Out of the $ 540 million that was authorized by Congress, the U.S. Customs [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is also running for Governor, introduced an Arizona-style immigration related legislation yesterday that would require Florida law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant while enforcing other laws. If the legislation becomes law, it would require immigrants to carry documents proving their [...]

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has recently published a delayed update of the poverty guidelines for the remainder of 2010.  The poverty guidelines are usually published every year in late January or early February. The reason for the delayed update of this year’s poverty guidelines was due to legislation enacted in late 2009 and [...]

The New York Times reported yesterday that while the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) has been deporting record numbers of criminal aliens, the agency has been less focused on deporting undocumented immigrant students that were brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children. In cases where immigrant students were identified and apprehended by immigration officials, the students were released from USICE custody and their [...]