Checking the Status of Your Immigration Case

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has a helpful page to those who have filed applications. There is a link which helps to find the status of one's case, another for getting processing dates and one for e-mail updates.

To navigate through the site start here.

Altered USCIS H2A Procedures

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the final streamlining procedures for the H2A Program. The final rule is intended to make the H2A process easier for employers. Quoting from the annoucement:

U.S. employers may file an H-2A petition with USCIS if they have a shortage of available U.S. workers to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs. Once the petition is approved, the employers can hire foreign workers to fill those jobs for a limited period of time. The final rule includes mechanisms to enhance the integrity of the program, increase protection of U.S. workers, and protect H-2A workers from unscrupulous employers and recruiters.

Key areas of reform addressed in the final rule include:

Relaxing the current limitations on H-2A employers to petition for multiple, unnamed agricultural workers;

Extending from 10 days to 30 days the time a temporary or seasonal agricultural worker may remain in the country following the expiration of his or her temporary H-2A stay;

Reducing from six months to three months the time an H-2A worker who has spent three years in the United States must reside and be physically present outside the United States before he or she is eligible to re-obtain H-2A status;

Allowing H-2A workers, who are changing from one H-2A employer to another H-2A employer, to begin work with the new petitioning employer upon the filing of a new H-2A petition, provided the new employer is participating in USCIS’ E-Verify program (accesible through the "Related Links" section of this page);

Prohibiting H-2A employers and recruiters from imposing certain fees on prospective H-2A workers as a condition of employment;

Requiring an approved temporary labor certification in connection with all H-2A petitions;

Requiring employers to notify USCIS when H-2A workers fail to show up for work, complete the work more than 30 days early, are terminated, or abscond from the worksite; and

Permitting the approval of H-2A petitions only for nationals of certain countries designated as important to the operation of the program and appearing on a list to be published annually in the Federal Register. The initial list of participating countries to be published simultaneously with this Final Rule includes Mexico, Jamaica, and 26 others. DHS may allow on a case-by-case basis a worker from a country not on the list to be eligible for the H-2A program if such participation is in the U.S. interest.

An I-130 Petition Stumbling Block

A United States citizen may file an I-130 Petition on behalf of an alien spouse and secure permanent residency for such spouse but can encounter difficulties if the spouse were under exclusion, deportation, removal, or rescission proceedings regarding the right to be admitted into or to remain in the United States when the couple got married. This would also be the case if an appeal were pending regarding a decision made in any of these proceedings.

However, this obstacle to legalization can be overcome in either of two ways. Either the spouse would have to live outside the United States for at least two years following the marriage or the Petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith, meaning not for the purpose of obtaining legal permanent resident status. A valid marriage certificate would be needed as evidence that the marriage was legally valid.

The I-130 Petition is currently filed with payment of a $355 filing fee. A check or money order must be payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Program

The Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Program for 2010 is currently ongoing. The begining of the online entry submission process was October 2, 2008 and the final day is December 1, 2008 at 12 Noon EST. Instructions for the program can be accessed here. Natives of the following nations are ineligible to participate in the program:

Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Peru, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

To apply start here.

A New Home Page for ILW

ILW, a website resource for information about United States immigration issues, has a new homepage.

Click for information about immigration forms and for processing times.

Fiance Visas

Here is a well organized, informative and easy to read website full of useful information about U.S. immigration laws. This post will focus on the website page dealing with fiance or K visas. K-1 visas are non-immigrant visas issued for the purpose of allowing a foreign national to enter the United States and get married to a United States citizen within 90 days of entry.

An alien with a K-1 visa, who has been married for less than two years upon filing for adjustment of status, will receive conditional resident status that allows the alien to live and work in the United States. However, this status is valid for two years and between the 21st and 24th month following the begining of the two year period, the alien spouse is obligated to file a second petition seeking the removal of the conditional status and its replacement with legal permanent residency.

At another helpful website the following is information is provided:

"Immediately after marriage, you must apply for an Adjustment of Status, Form I-485, to become a permanent resident. You will also apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), and advance parole in case you want to travel outside the United States and re-enter before getting your green card."

Student Employment

The article On-Campus Employment by Paula Singer, Esq., contains useful information about authorized employment for students with F-1 status and exchange students with J-1 status. The law allows employment for both categories of students but with restrictions. While attending classes, on campus employment is authorized for a maximum of 20 hours per week at the institution the student is authorized to attend. In time periods during which there are no classes (summer vacation for example) full-time on campus employment is permitted as long as the student has the intent to enroll at the institution during the coming academic year. On campus employment is limited to nothing prior to 30 days before classes commence.

Further details are available in the linked article which was informative. These nuggets may be helpful. The author wrote:

"Foreign students may work off-campus only if they have obtained the proper authorization for the employment as follows:

F-1 students may be employed off-campus for “economic hardship” provided they have first obtained an employment authorization document (EAD) from the immigration service.
F-1 students may engage in off-campus optional practical training (OPT) after first obtaining an EAD.
J-1 students may only work off-campus if the employment they have received prior written authorization from their Responsible Officer (RO). Eligible J-1 Exchange Visitors may also engage in off-campus “academic training” with prior written authorization from their RO."

Organizational Changes Within the USCIS

Information about organizational changes within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' regional, district and field offices has been posted. The notice contains a list of districts which are denoted by their unique number. For example, the District 3 office is located in New York City. District 4 encompasses New Jersey and includes the main office located in Newark, New Jersey as well as a smaller office located in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. District 5 (Pennsylvannia) includes the main office in Philadelphia and a smaller one in Pittsburgh. Other locations are available for viewing.

Checking the Status of Your Case

If you have filed an application and have the application receipt number, you may be able to obtain information about the status of your case online. The application number contains 13 characters and begins with the prefix letters EAC, WAC, LIN or SRC. Go to this webpage and submit your receipt number inside the indicated box. Then click on search.

Alternatively, you can call the following toll free number and make your inquiry based on the same receipt number.

Call 1-800-375-5283

Form I-9: A Legal Requirement

An article authored by Gregory Siskind, Esq. entitled 'I-9 Forms and IRCA Compliance' can be viewed at the linked site. Siskind does a good job of explaining both the requirements of IRCA- the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986- and the I-9 Form which relates to IRCA. As Siskind points out, employers are affected by obligations imposed by IRCA, even those employing only United States citizens. Some of Siskind's points are summarized.

Employers are required by law to demand documents from employees that are considered sufficient to verify both the identity of the employee and proof that the employee is authorized to work. A form known as the I-9 is used to record information related to emplyees and their work authorization. Employees must complete an I-9 form when they are hired and employers must comply with the verification requirements related to the form. Employers are responsible for maintaing the form and need to have it available if necessary to document their compliance with IRCA. Failure to comply can entail costly fines and disqualification from landing government contracts. Adverse publicity can also result.

The I-9 form is a one page form with three sections. The first section requires biographical information about the employee. In this part the employee must certify that he or she is a citizen of the United States, a legal permanent resident of the United States or an alien who is authorization to work based on some other immigration status. The second section of the I-9 must be completed by the employer. The documents presented by the employee are recognized in this section. The third section allows for periodic updates by employers.

So what types of documents satisfy the legal requirements of IRCA? There are two classes of documents corresponding to the two leagl requirements. Proof of identity can be met by presenting a driver's license among other things and proof of employment authorization can consist of a social security card or an immigration document authorizing employment. There are also documents that satisfy both requirements- identity and employment authorization. Examples include United States passports and legal permanent resident alien cards commonly known as green cards. The employee has a choice as to what documents to present as long as the documents satisfy the legal requirements. Employers cannot legally restrict the options to just a subset of documents like for example, U.S. passports or green cards.

The I-9 requirement is not applicable in certain circumstances. Applicants not hired, unpaid volunteers and independent contractors need not fill out I-9s. In addition unless the gap between employment periods exceeds three years, rehired employees are likewise exempt.

I-9s can be completed and stored on computers. Legislation passed in October 2004 made this possible. I-9 forms need to be kept for current employees and for former employees from three years after their hiring date or at least a year after termination. The latest of the two dates applies.

There are some aliens who are authorizaed to work but only until a specified date. For such employees an employer is obligated to, not only note the expiration date on the I-9 Form, but also to re-verify any extensions the worker receives on the I-9 Form. Since as the word permanent implies, legal permanent resident aliens are not subject to limited work authorizations as their re-verification requirements do not apply to them.

Siskind had this to say about possible fines pertainig to I-9 related violations.

"Fines for hiring unauthorized workers will amount to anywhere from $250 to $5,500 per worker depending on the prior history of violation. Employers can also be barred from competing for government contracts for a year if they knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized aliens. Paperwork violations can also result in significant fines. Each mistake or missing item on a form can result in a $100 penalty up to $1000 for each form. A missing form would automatically be assessed at $1000. An employer, for example, that had 100 employees and did not complete I-9 Forms might face a $100,000 fine."