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A QUARTERLY UPDATE ON IMMIGRATION Fourth Quarter 2006 In this Issue:
USCIS TO EXPAND PREMIUM PROCESSING SERVICE Additional Employment-Based Immigrant Visa Category Available Starting September 25, 2006 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the addition of three new categories to the Premium Processing Service, which allows U.S. businesses to pay a $1,000 Premium Processing fee in exchange for 15-calendar-day processing of their case. Starting on September 25, 2006, USCIS will begin accepting Premium Processing requests for Form I-140, Immigration Petition for Alien Worker, involving the following immigrant visa categories:
Also, beginning November 13, 2006, USCIS will begin accepting Premium Processing requests for Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability. Under the Premium Processing Service, USCIS guarantees petitioners that, for a $1,000 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice, or where appropriate, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within 15 calendar days of receipt. If the petition is not processed within 15 calendar days, USCIS will refund the $1,000 fee and continue to process the request as part of the Premium Processing Service. In addition to faster processing, petitioners who participate in the program may use a dedicated phone number and e-mail address to check on the status of their petition or ask any other questions they may have concerning their petition. Premium Processing Service continues to be available for previously designated classifications within Form I-140 and Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker. Since 2001, Premium Processing Service has been available for several classifications within Form I-129, including E Treaty Traders and Investors, H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers, H-2B Temporary workers performing non-agricultural services, H-3 Trainees, L Intracompany Transferees, O Aliens of Extraordinary Ability and those performing essential support services, P Performers and Athletes and those performing essential support services, and Q international Cultural Exchange Visitors, R Religious Workers and NAFTA Professionals from Canada and Mexico. Form I-129 petitions for those nonimmigrant worker classifications will continue to be eligible for Premium Processing Service unless the filing period has closed (for example, when the annual cap for a specific visa has been reached). Also, since August 28, USCIS began accepting Premium Processing Service requests for petitions involving two other immigrant visa categories, the EB-3 Professionals (i.e. immigrant workers with bachelor degrees who are members of the professions), and EB-3 Skilled Workers (i.e. immigrant workers capable of performing skilled labor requiring at least two years of education, training or experience). Employers file for both of these immigrant visa categories using the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) as well. Information about the expanded Premium Processing Service is available on the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/prem_process.htm or by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll free at 1-800-375-5283. USCIS REACHES H-2B CAP FOR FIRST HALF OF FISCAL YEAR 2007 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on December 5, 2006 that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first six months of Fiscal Year 2007 (FY 2007). USCIS has notified the public that November 28, 2006 is the “final receipt date” for new H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates prior to April 1, 2007. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determines that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY 2007. USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions which are subject to the cap and were received on November 28, 2006. This process will select the number of petitions needed to meet the cap. USCIS will reject all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected. USCIS will also reject petitions for new H-2B workers seeking employment start dates prior to April 1, 2007 that arrive after November 28, 2006. USCIS will continue to accept petitions for new H-2B workers seeking employment start dates on or after April 1, 2007 that arrive after the “final receipt date” only if such petitions are supported by a valid temporary labor certification. Petitions for workers who are currently in H-2B status and returning H-2B workers do not count towards the congressionally mandated bi-annual H-2B cap. “Returning workers” are exempt from H-2B cap limitations. In order to qualify, the worker must have counted against the H-2B numerical cap between October 1, 2003 and September 30, 2006. Any worker not certified as a “returning worker” is subject to the numerical limitations for the relevant fiscal year. Petitions received after the “final receipt date” which contained a combination of “returning workers” and workers subject to the H-2B cap will be rejected with respect to non-returning workers. Petitioning employers will receive partial approvals for those aliens who qualify as “returning workers” if otherwise approvable. USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:
More information about the H-2B work program is available at www.uscis.gov or by calling the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. SUMMARY OF IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (“ICE”) ACTION AT SWIFT & CO. FACILITIES On 12/12/06, approximately one thousand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered six Swift & Company meatpacking plants-in Greeley, Colorado; Grand Island, Nebraska; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minnesota-with warrants permitting the agents to search and apprehend undocumented immigrant workers. According to a news release issued by ICE on 12/13/06, agents arrested 1,282 undocumented immigrant workers on administrative immigration violations, including 65 who were also charged with criminal violations such as identity theft, re-entry after deportation, and other violations. ICE did not bring charges against Swift officials during the raids. ICE stated that those workers arrested only for administrative immigration violations are being detained pending removal proceedings or immediate return to Mexico. Those charged with criminal violations will be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending criminal court proceedings before a federal judge. Family members seeking information on the status or location of undocumented Swift workers who may have been arrested may call 1-866-341-3858. Members report, however, that information may be limited. The raids were conducted as part of a worksite enforcement investigation, Operation Wagon Trail, begun in February 2006, that uncovered a large identify theft scheme providing fraudulent social security numbers to large numbers of unauthorized workers at Swift facilities. This investigation is viewed by many immigration advocates as a troubling shift in ICE's tactics, from a strategy focused on worksite enforcement to a new emphasis on identity theft. Advocates fear that the agency's new focus on identity theft may serve to further stigmatize and criminalize undocumented immigrants while obscuring the underlying problems in our immigration system that fuel identity fraud and unauthorized employment. USCIS ANNOUNCES BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICES SYSTEM OF RECORDS USCIS is tasked with processing all immigration benefit applications and petitions. In order to assist in this task, USCIS recently announced that it has established a new system of records that will consolidate all background check requests and results on immigration benefit applicants/petitioners. This new system of records is called the Background Check Service (BCS). USCIS conducts three different background checks on applicants/petitioners applying for benefits: (1) a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint check; (2) an FBI name check; and (3) a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Treasury Enforcement Communication System/Interagency Border Inspection System (TECS/IBIS) name check. The results of these background checks are used to make eligibility determinations that result in the approval or denial of a benefit, including adjustment of status, temporary protective status, naturalization, and asylum. If fraudulent or criminal activity (including marriage fraud) is detected as a result of the background check, USCIS will forward the information to appropriate law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, CBP, and/or local law enforcement. As a centralized repository containing all background check activity, BCS will provide the status and results of background checks required for completion of immigration eligibility petitions and application determinations from one Web-based system to geographically dispersed field offices. The system supports USCIS initiatives to reduce the immigration benefit/petition case backlog and provide significant efficiencies in vetting and resolving the background checks that are required for benefits. The information collected in BCS as part of the background check process provides USCIS with information about an applicant/petitioner that has national-security or public-safety implications or indicia of fraud. Having this information and taking action to prevent potentially undesirable and often dangerous people from staying in the U.S. supports two primary missions of the Department of Homeland Security: preventing terrorist attacks within the U.S. and reducing America’s vulnerability to terrorism while facilitating the adjudication of lawful benefit applications. The BCS system of records will be effective January 3, 2007, unless comments are received that result in a contrary determination. Portions of this Newsletter have been The material contained in this newsletter is for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. |
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