|
Beach-Oswald is a full-service law firm, concentrating
on immigration law. We have special expertise in work visas, family
based visas, visa waivers, green cards through family and employment
and asylum. We have staff members who speak many different languages
to assist you.
We succeed when others don't!
|
|
USCIS Allocates $1.2 Million to Citizenship Programs
|
|
 USCIS has
initiated a $1.2 million competitive grant program through Grants.gov
for community-based organizations to support citizenship preparation
programs for legal permanent residents. To be eligible for funding,
the community-based organization must have experience in providing
citizenship and/or immigration related services to legal immigrants.
To apply, an organization needs to send an e-mail to
citizenshipgrantprogram@dhs.gov by April 15, 2009. To apply for this
funding opportunity, visit the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov.
|
|
US Changes Its
Policy Toward Cuba
|
|
 On April 13
the President announced that the US is changing its policy toward
Cuba to help bridge the gap among divided Cuban families and to
promote the free flow of information and humanitarian aid to Cuba.
The core changes are as follows:
- Lift all
restrictions on transactions related to the travel of family members
to Cuba.
-Remove
restrictions on remittances to family members in Cuba.
- Authorize
U.S. telecommunications network providers to enter into agreements to
establish fiber-optic cable and satellite telecommunications
facilities linking the United States and Cuba.
- License
U.S. telecommunications service providers to enter into roaming
service agreements with Cuba's telecommunications service providers.
- License
U.S. satellite radio and satellite television service providers to
engage in transactions necessary to provide services to customers in
Cuba.
- License
persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction to activate and pay U.S. and
third-country service providers for telecommunications, satellite
radio and satellite television services provided to individuals in
Cuba.
- Authorize
the donation of certain consumer telecommunication devices without a
license.
-Add certain
humanitarian items to the list of items eligible for export through
licensing exceptions.
To read the full White House press
release, please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Fact-Sheet-Reaching-out-to-the-Cuban-people/
|
|
State Department to Review Asylum Applications More
Efficiently
|
|
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has
amended its procedure for handling asylum application. US
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will no longer forward
all asylum applications it receives to the Department of State. USCIS
will instead only forward asylum applications when it believes that
the Department of State has country conditions information that is
relevant to a particular case. The purpose of the change is to make
the process through which the Department of State reviews asylum
applications more efficient
|
|
The
Immigration Reform Debate
|
|
There has
been a lot of talk recently that this year will be the year for
immigration reform, and President Obama has indicated that he
plans to address the issue despite the current economic downturn.
Below are several articles highlighting recent developments in the
area of immigration reform.
|
|
Labor Unions Unite for Immigration Reform
|
|
 Two of the largest
labor unions in the U.S., A.F.L.-C.I.O and the Change to Win
Coalition have joined forces to promote immigration reform in one
voice. The two labor unions endorse legalizing the status of illegal
immigrants who are already in the U.S. and oppose proposed programs
to bring in temporary immigrant workers. According to a recent New
York Times article, the labor unions' opposition to expanding a guest
worker program will likely stand in the way
of reaching an accord regarding immigration reform in light of the
fact that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the business community
strongly favor the guest worker program.
To read the full NY Times article, please click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/us/14immig.html?_r=1
|
|
Colleges Push for Tuition Aid for Illegal Immigrants
|
|
 Colleges and
universities have joined the immigration debate, and are pushing for
a path to citizenship as well as tuition aid for illegal immigrant students.
The College Board, which is made up of 5,000 schools, recently
released a report that urges Congress to provide in-state college
tuition, financial aid, and legal status to illegal immigrants. The
report noted that currently illegal immigrants are legally entitled
to a K-12 public education, but the law is silent on whether or not
illegal aliens are entitled to higher education. For this reason
states vary in their approaches regarding education rights, and often
leave it up to the individual colleges to decide whether they will
enroll illegal immigrants and allow them to pay in state tuition or
not.
The DREAM Act, which was introduced on March 26, 2009,
aims to provide exactly the type of change that the College Board is
seeking-if it becomes law, the Act will provide a path to citizenship
for certain immigrant students that have grown up in the U.S.
To read the Washington Post article on this topic,
please click here.
To read a
synopsis of the DREAM Act, click here or
visit www.dreamact.info
|
|
H-1B and L-1
Reform on the Horizon
|
|
On April 23,
2009 Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced
the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act, which hopes to prevent fraud and
abuse in the guest worker program by introducing the following
changes:
- The bill
requires employers who want to hire an H-1B worker to first make a
good-faith effort to recruit qualified American workers
- The
bill prohibits the discriminatory practice of "H-1B only"
ads
- Employers would be prohibited from hiring additional H-1B and
L-1 workers if more than 50% of their employees are H-1B and L-1 visa
holders
To find out more, visit Senator
Durbin's website at http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=311910
|
|
Notable
Immigration Cases
|
|
|
|
Supreme Court
Makes a Ruling on the Appropriate Standard for a Stay of Removal
|
|
In a
recently published opinion in the case of Nken
v. Holder, the Supreme Court reexamined which standard should be
applied when deciding whether or not to grant a stay of removal when
a petition for review has been filed. The petitioner argued that the traditional
standard governing stays of removal should be used, while the
government argued that the court should apply the more stringent
standard in Section 242(f)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
which requires one to produce clear and convincing evidence that the
removal order is prohibited as a matter of law. The Supreme Court
rejected the government's argument, and decided that the traditional
standard will apply. Under this standard, when making a decision on a
stay of removal while a petition for review is pending, the court
should consider the following:
(1) whether the applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely
to succeed on the merits
(2) whether
the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay
(3) whether
issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties
interested in the proceeding
(4) where the public interest lies.
See Nken v. Holder, No. 08-681 (April 22, 2009)
|
|
|
|
The information contained on
this email is for informational purposes only and does not
constitute legal advice. The transmission of information to or from
this email does not create an attorney-client relationship between
the sender and receiver. We take our privacy policy seriously and
will never sell, rent or share our email list. View our Privacy
Policy here. To schedule a consultation with one of our
immigration lawyers, please click here.
|
|
|
|
|
Mexico
Consular Posts Temporarily Suspend Service
|
|
|
|
As a
precautionary measure in response to the swine flu outbreak, all
consular posts in Mexico have suspended nonessential services until
May 6. The only consular services currently available to U.S.
citizens are limited to emergency assistance and to citizenship
applications.
|
|
TPS for Burundi Ends May 2
|
|
|
USCIS issued
a reminder that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Burunri ends at 12:01 AM on May 2, 2009. TPS
related employment authorization documents will also end at this
time.
|
|
H-1B Cap Not
Yet Reached
|
|
|
USCIS began
accepting H-1B nonimmigrant visa petitions on April 1, 2009. On
April 20, 2009 USCIS announced that it has received
approximately 44,000 petitions that count toward the cap of 65,000
visas per fiscal year. This is quite different from
recent years, when the H-1B cap was reached within a matter of
days.
|
|
|
