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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. Our firm is A-V rated, and we have 27 years of
experience. Call us at 202-331-3074.
We succeed when others don't!
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H-1B Season For
Filing
Starts
On April 1, 2010
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 H-1Bs are temporary work status for
persons filling jobs requiring a minimum of a bachelor's
degree. They can be renewed for up to 6 years and longer when a
Perm is also filed according to certain requirements. The
petitioning employer must pay the employee the prevailing wage for
that state and job description.
In
prior years, the H-1B's were gone in one day. Last year they
were gone by December 2009. This year it looks like employers
will need to be ready to file the H-1B's on April 1 in order for
employees to start work on OCTOBER 1, 2010, as the numbers may
quickly be used up for the year.
Under
the ICERT Portal System LCA's are taking at least 7 days to get
approved, so it is advisable to file the LCA 3-4 weeks in advance,
which means NOW.
There
are two numerical caps for H-1Bs. 1) general
cap of 65,000 2) Master's cap of 20,000 for those with a higher
degree for US University. To be eligible for this category, you
would need to be employed by a US company in a professional position
that relates to your Bachelor's degree. If you do not have a
bachelor's degree you may still qualify if you have sufficient
professional work experience in the area.
On
January 8, 2010, the employer-employee relationship CIS memo for
adjudications of "Third-Party Site Placements" makes it
more difficult for staffing firms who hire professionals to work at
third-party worksites to obtain H-1B status for the employee.
The memo states that these companies must demonstrate
"control" over the employee's work. The purpose is to
avoid beneficiaries rather than the petitioning company from
controlling the work.
Cap
exempt petitions include the following:
- Extensions of stay
- Change of employers (except for cap-exempt to
cap-subject job)
- Persons working at non-profit research
institutions
- Persons working at governmental research
institutions
- Certain physicians who have J waivers
- Persons working at universities or university
related or affiliated jobs
- Concurrent employment where the worker's
first job is for cap-exempt employer
CHILE
and SINGAPORE nationals, due to the Free Trade Agreement between the
US and their country, only use less than 1000 numbers each
year. However, they get the first chance at 6,800 H-I-B1 visa
numbers.
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Attention Asylum Applicants - New Policy Announced
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 Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) has announced that a new policy has been put in place for
"aliens who arrive in the United States at a port of entry and
are found to have a credible fear of persecution or
torture." This policy came into effect on January 4, 2010.
Below is a list of changes:
1.
Old
Policy: When the above-described aliens arrived at US ports,
they were required to request parole in writing.
New Policy: When the
above-described aliens arrive at US ports, they will automatically be
considered for parole without having to submit a written
request.
2.
Old
Policy: ICE officers were permitted to grant parole to the
above-described aliens based on "a determination of public
interest." However, the concept of public interest was not
defined.
New Policy: Public interest has
been defined as "paroling arriving aliens found to have a
credible fear who establish their identities, pose neither a flight
risk nor danger to the community, and for whom no additional factors
weigh against their release."
3.
New
Policy: Quality assurance is heightened and new safeguards are
assured, "including monthly reporting by ICE field offices and
headquarters analysis of parole rates and decision-making, as well as
a review of compliance rates for paroled aliens."
To
read the full article, please go to http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/credible-fear.htm.
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New Supreme Court Law
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 The
Supreme Court has made a decision that brings good news to asylum
applicants all over the United States! In Kucana v. Holder, Mr.
Kucana filed a motion to reopen his asylum case because he had new
evidence he wanted to present to the immigration judge. The
immigration judge denied Mr. Kucana's motion to reopen, so Mr. Kucana
submitted an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, where it was
denied yet again. Mr. Kucana proceeded to appeal to the Seventh
Circuit, which ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to review his
case. According to law, the decision to grant or deny a motion
to reopen lies within the discretion of the Board of Immigration
Appeals, and courts are not permitted to review actions of the
Attorney General. This case was then heard by the Supreme
Court. The resulting decision was that those aliens whose
motions to reopen get denied by immigration judges will now be able
to appeal to the federal courts if the immigration court refuses to
hear their appeal.
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SPEEDY CITIZENSHIP FOR MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY
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 The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a new rule that
speeds up the naturalization process for immigrants who serve in the
military. Before this publication was announced, military
members who served during peacetime and members of the Ready Reserve
of the US Armed Forces had to wait for three years before they could
apply for naturalization, as stated in the National Defense
Authorization Act of 2004. Now, these members only have to wait
for one year before they can apply for naturalization. Those
members who have served in an active duty or in the Selected Reserve
at any time period since September 11, 2001, are now exempt from any
waiting period and can file for naturalization immediately. It
would be an honor for the lawyers and staff of BOILA to work with
these brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces in helping them with
obtaining citizenship in the country that they so honorably
defend.
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New Relief For US
Citizen's
Spouse Or Child (K Visas)
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As of February 1,
2010 if you are the spouse or child of a US Citizen, you can now
come and stay in the US WHILE your Alien-Relative Petition is still
pending. Before the child can be issued the K-4 visa the parent
must be in K-3 status.
A relative
petition must have been filed to receive this visa. You must
apply for these visas at an American embassy, and once the NVC receives
the immigrant and non-immigrant petitions it will process the
non-immigrant petition. If the immigrant I-130 petition
has been approved, then the availability, as well as the need for the
K-3 visa, ends and the non-immigrant K visa will be administratively
closed.
Certain documents
and procedures are required. To avoid leaving your spouse or
child in your home land instead of having them present with you in
the US, please contact dbeach@beach-oswald.com.
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Jobs
And Immigrants
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There
are many people who believe immigrants take jobs away from
native-born Americans. Especially now that the unemployment rate in
the United States is at 10%, immigrants are being looked upon with
more disdain than ever. This belief, however, is not
true. Immigrants are not responsible for the high employment
rate in the United States. In fact, it is typically the
countries with the lowest immigrant populations that have the highest
unemployment rates, while countries with highest immigrant
populations have the lowest unemployment rates.
But
do the immigrants steal the jobs away from native-born citizens? No.
When comparing employed immigrants and unemployed native-born
citizens, there is a much larger portion of immigrants that have
bachelor's degrees than the native-born citizens. Thereby,
these two groups would not be competing in the same job markets, so
the immigrants are not stealing jobs away from the unemployed
natives. But what about the workers who don't have a bachelor's
degree? Studies show that there is little employment
competition between immigrants and natives who don't have a college
degree or even a high school diploma. Why? Because they tend to
live in different locations from each other and have different work
experience.
In
fact, not only do immigrants not hurt the native-born citizen
population, but they help it. Studies have shown that legal
immigrants higher their education, work their way up financially, and
invest in themselves and their communities. These immigrants
are predicted to add a minimum of $1.5 trillion to the United States
Gross Domestic Product throughout a ten-year period. Also,
according to a Economic Policy Institute
report, dated February 2010, the employment of immigrants has
increased wages for native-born citizens from 1994 to 2007.
Thus, it would be beneficial to all for the US to welcome immigrants
and create and easier legalization process for them. The only
other alternative is deportation, which costs American taxpayers
about $41.2 billion annually. Not only does this take away tax
money from other government programs, but it is also hurts the
economy. In addition, deporting illegal immigrants would result
in a $245 billion Gross Domestic Product loss. In conclusion,
immigrants are highly beneficial to the US economy and their removal
from the US would only be damaging to the economy.
To
read the full article and to see which studies were consulted in its
writing, please visit http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/immigration-reform-and-job-growth.
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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.
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March 2010
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Quote of the Month
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If we had no
winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not
sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
~Anne Bradstreet
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BOILA Honors the Memory of
Mr. Asa Fukuhara
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BOILA mourns the passing of Mr.
Asa Fukuhara, husband of Ms. Catherine Rono, both beloved clients
of our firm. Mr. Fukuhara was killed tragically in a
hit-and-run incident on February 18, 2010 in Maryland. Mr. Fukuhara
was a federal government employee, a loving husband, and a great
friend. He and Ms. Rono were married on August 7, 2009 in New
York. Asa will be missed by many. The thoughts and
prayers of us at BOILA are with the Fukuhara family.
"Although it's difficult
today to see beyond the sorrow,
may looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow."
~Author Unknown
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What is the History of
St.
Patrick's Day?
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Every year on March 17th we wear green
and celebrate St. Patrick's Day. But who is St. Patrick and
what is St. Patrick's Day all about? Although he is the
patron saint of Ireland, nobody really knows his life story.
As a result, many stories and legends revolve around him, such as
the myth proclaiming him the hero who banished every single snake
from Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish celebrated St.
Patrick's Day as a religious holiday, commemorating St. Patrick's
death. On this day, they would normally go to a church
service in the morning, and then have the celebration in the
afternoon, when they would dance in the streets and feast on Irish
bacon and cabbage. To see the full articles and to read more
about St. Patrick's Day, visit www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day.
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The End Of U Interim-Relief
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The U
nonimmigrant interim-relief program was created by the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to provide
temporary benefits to certain crime victims until regulation for U
visas were decided upon and published. USCIS has now
published those regulations. Anyone who has failed to file a
Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status (I-918) or a Petition for
Qualifying Family Member of U-1 Recipient (I0918, Supplement A) by
February 1, 2010 will no longer receive interim relief.
Aliens will continue to be eligible for these interim-relief
benefits if they were already receiving them, but only for as long
as their I-918 petition remains pending.
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Bread Recipe
by: Jim Lahey
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Our staff has
recently tried this delicious bread recipe and shared it
with some of our clients. A few days later, we were
getting calls from other clients asking for this
recipe. As so many of our clients liked this bread, we
felt we would share it with the rest of you. This recipe
was created by Jim Lahey, and was taken from the New York
Times. Copy and paste the link below into your browser to see
the recipe. Happy baking.
www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=1
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