Category: Uncategorized

In an effort to make sure that U.S. businesses are in compliance with federal immigration laws, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) served another 1,000 Notices of Inspection (NOI), bringing the total number of audits for the year to 2,338. ICE announced that this latest round of audits emphasizes businesses related to vital infrastructure and critical resources. Though […]

In an effort to boost Michigan’s ailing economy, Gov. Rick Snyder has launched an initiative designed to attract highly skilled immigrants and investors who can help the state get back on a financially successful path. The program, known as Global Michigan, is a scaled-up version of an earlier initiative that Gov. Snyder implemented on a local […]

USCIS has issued an H-1B cap update for Fiscal Year 2012, which commences on October 1, 2011. As of June 15, there have been 15,200 H-1B regular cap petitions received and another 10,200 petitions received applicable to the master’s degree cap. Numbers since the last USCIS update on June 6 are as follows: 1,600 new […]

Governor Robert Bentley signed HB 56 into law last Thursday, making Alabama the fourth state to pass tough new immigration legislation. Civil and immigrant rights organizations are preparing to file a lawsuit blocking it from going into effect on September 1, as planned. Alabama’s law, which was modeled after Arizona’s immigration law, SB 1070, outlines provisions that: require local […]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class-action lawsuit in Atlanta federal court last Thursday contesting the constitutionality of Georgia Law HB 87, asking the court to block the law before it takes effect on July 1. Last month, Georgia’s Republican Governor, Nathan Deal, signed HB 87. In an effort to crack down on illegal immigration, the law […]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of 11 men in Colorado last week, following a routine inspection of eligibility forms by the Department of Homeland Security. A Morgan Countygrand jury indicted 20 men with possessing or using falsified “green cards” and social security cards to obtain employment.  The other nine men remain at large. The Wildcat […]

On May 26, 2011, the Obama administration proposed plans to add driver’s license data to the E-Verify System to determine whether this will help companies better identify people who can legally work in the U.S.  This is a further step in the administration’s ongoing effort to make illegal workers a key part of its immigration enforcement policy. […]

Despite implementation of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and other enhancements to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), recent reviews of the program have identified areas of weakness that poseU.S. law enforcement or other security risks. The VWP was developed as a way to promote travel to the U.S. The program allows business and leisure travelers from approved member […]

Last week, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced three fundamental changes to the way it processes applications for the Immigrant Investor Program, commonly referred to as the EB-5 Program. The changes are designed to improve the intake and review process for immigrant investors. Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990. The goal of this […]

The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center commended Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) for conducting a hearing last Wednesday to address the challenges U.S. immigration courts face in providing efficient and fair justice for immigrants. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Leahy is searching for ways to improve a system that needs attention.  The […]