Atty. Daniel Hanlon

USCIS opens ‘office of public engagement’

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 01:19 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

ON September 14, 2009, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced the opening of the USCIS’ new "Office of Public Engagement" (OPE). In keeping with the Obama Administration’s promise to provide open and transparent government, the OPE will dedicate itself to "open, candid and constructive" collaboration with all groups and individuals with a stake in the Immigration Debate, including public interest organizations and immigration attorneys. The news could not have come sooner, as most commentators expect the Immigration Reform debate to take center stage in the coming months as health-care reform legislation is finalized.

Although USCIS stands for US Citizenship and Immigration Services," the agency and its predecessor "Immigration and Naturalization Service" have long been criticized for not providing quality, dignified customer service to its many "customers," which include individuals, corporations and immigration attorneys. Declaring that "Public Service is our Mission," Director Mayorkas believes the OPE will "more actively and ably elicit the views of those whom (USCIS) serves, and will enable us to better collaborate with them as our agency develops and administers the policies that further our mission."

USCIS opens Office of Public Engagement

Sunday, 20 September 2009 23:08 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

LAST September 14, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced the opening of the USCIS’ new "Office of Public Engagement" (OPE). In keeping with the Obama Administration’s promise to provide open and transparent government, the OPE will dedicate itself to "open, candid and constructive" collaboration with all groups and individuals with a stake in the Immigration Debate, including public interest organizations and immigration attorneys. The news could not have come sooner, as most commentators expect the Immigration Reform debate to take center stage in the coming months as health-care reform legislation is finalized.

2010 H1-B count still available

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 20:16 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

THE H-1B visa quota for FY 2010 opened up on April 1, 2009, making 65,000 new H-1B visa numbers available for new employment beginning on October 1, 2009. As of September 4 the USCIS announced that only 45,000 regular "cap-subject" H-1B visa petitions had been received, leaving approximately 20,000 visas available.

Since the sunset of the provisions of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC-21) in 2002, which had raised the annual number of H-1B visas to 195,000, the "H-1B cap" has been reached in each of the several years leaving thousands of professional workers and employers seeking to hire them out of business. The annual cap of 65,000 is grossly inadequate to accommodate businesses, as has been made obvious over the past few years, with the cap reached within a few days of April 1, 2008, despite the US economy experiencing a deep recession.

Removal Proceeding: Process and procedure

Tuesday, 08 September 2009 21:44 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

OVER the past two years, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been stepping-up arrest and detention levels of immigrants in the US to unprecedented levels. Many of these arrests have come about as a result of well-publicized "worksite raids," where ICE has been targeting manufacturing, construction and food service industries for large-scale assaults designed to round up multiple "undocumented aliens" at one time and swiftly process the unfortunate detainees for removal proceedings.

While the wisdom of such broad-sweeping arrests is suspect at best, ICE’s official policy for these raids appears to be aimed at deterring other similarly situated employers from continuing to hire and employ workers lacking proper work authorization. The policy, however, has also emboldened ICE officers to increase the number of investigations and arrests of individual "TNT" or nonimmigrant visa overstays in an apparent attempt to deter individuals from overstaying their visas in the US. Individuals who have been contacted or questioned by ICE in such matters must understand their rights in order to avoid making matters worse for themselves if they are charged in removal proceedings.

Immigration court appeals: Make your last chance count!

Sunday, 06 September 2009 01:17 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

EACH year, I consult with hundreds of individuals who have been ordered to leave the US by Immigration Judges. In the vast majority of these cases, the person had applied for some form of relief from removal, such as asylum, and the Immigration Judge denied the claim and either granted the person voluntary departure or simply ordered deportation. The Immigration & Nationality ACT (INA) sets forth procedural rules applicable to appealing decisions of Immigration Judges through the US Department of Justice; and appealing those decisions to the US Courts of Appeal. In most cases, these appeals constitute a person’s "last chance" to fight their case and stay in the US, which is why retaining counsel capable of presenting the best factual analysis and legal argument is paramount.

Immigration court appeals: Make your last chance count!

Tuesday, 01 September 2009 21:54 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

EB-5 investor visa program A US priority

Sunday, 30 August 2009 21:40 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

RECOGNIZING the importance of encouraging foreign investment in the US, the USCIS recently issued a memorandum to provide new instructions to its adjudicators relating to the timing of creating new jobs and explaining the meaning of "full-time" for positions created through the "EB-5" investor program investment. Perhaps in response to seemingly ceaseless negative economic news, the adjudicatory changes will have the effect of extending the period of time during which a foreign investor may demonstrate compliance with the statutory minimum investment and job creation requirements, as well as broaden the definition of "full-time" employment. These changes should serve to loosen the overall time frame for compliance with the statutory requirements as well as make it easier for foreign investors to show that their investment has created or will create 10 jobs.

EB-5 Investor Visa Program a US priority

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 23:42 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

The 245(k) controversy

Wednesday, 19 August 2009 00:14 Atty. Daniel Hanlon

The USCIS has been denying applications for adjustment of status based on employment at an alarming rate recently. With the USCIS sending almost all employment cases to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC), employers and their sponsored workers can almost expect to receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS on the I-140, I-485 or both at some point during the protracted process. One product of the USCIS’ apparent "culture of NO" in approving employment-based cases is the 245(k) controversy, in which the USCIS has taken a dubious position in calculating the 180 day grace period for many applicants. As a result, litigation is mounting as employers and their attorneys have taken a stance against the USCIS.

Along with Section 245(i), Section 245(k) is an exception to the general rule that in order to adjust status in the US, an applicant must be in "valid nonimmigrant status" at the time of filing the application. Section 245(k) provides that an employment-based immigrant may still be eligible for adjustment of status, as long as the applicant has not failed to maintain "a lawful status" for a period in excess of 180 days. In interpreting Section 245(k), the USCIS has taken the narrow position that "lawful status" means "valid nonimmigrant status," despite the plain meaning of the statutory language, illogic of USCIS’ interpretation and bad policy the position presents.