Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham released their plan to overhaul the immigration system in the Washington Post today. Although most of their plan is directed at reducing illegal immigration through biometric Social Security cards, strengthening border security, admitting temporary workers, and implementing a fair path to legalization, they do touch upon “developing a rational legal immigration system” to ensure future economic prosperity. As part of this rational system they mention awarding green cards to immigrants who have received their PhDs or Master’s degrees in science, technology, engineering or math from a US university. They write “It makes no sense to enducate the world’s future inventors and entrepreneurs and then force them to leave when they are able to contribute to our economy.” They also mention creating a system for admitting lower-skilled workers which would allow employer to hire immigrants if they can show they were unsuccessful in recruiting from the American workforce. Ending their plan, they urge for bipartisan support writing, “The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms.” HLG will keep you updated on the progress of this plan.
For full article see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031703115.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

On Feb. 24, 2010, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) introduced legislation into Congress known as the StartUp Visa Act of 2010. This Act was created to drive job creation and increase America’s global competiveness by assisting foreign national entrepreneurs secure visas to enter the United States, and eventually obtain permanent residency status. The Act will allow a foreign national to receive a two year visa (temporarily called the EB-6 visa) if they can show a qualified US investor is willing to invest $250,000 in their startup business. If after two years the foreign national can show that he or she has generated five full time jobs in the US and either attracted $1 million in additional investment capital or achieved $1 million in revenue, then he or she will receive permanent legal resident status.
“Global competition for talent and investment grows more intense daily and the United States must step up or be left behind,” comments Senator Kerry, “[e]verywhere Dick Lugar and I travel for the Foreign Relations Committee, we see firsthand the entrepreneurial spirit driving the economies of our competitors. Creating a new magnet for innovations and innovators to come to the United States and create jobs here will offer our economy a double shot in the arm- robust creation at home and reaffirmation that we’re the world’s best place to do business.”
Already more than 160 venture capitalists from around the national have endorsed the senator’s proposal. If passed, this Act will offer entrepreneurial immigrants an opportunity to bring business to the US, create jobs, and obtain permanent legal residency status- a win-win situation for all involved.
For the text of the Act see: http://startupvisa.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/startup-visa-act_-final-final-1.pdf

Personal Message from Michael Hammond

We have just been advised that the USCIS is holding a meeting this Thursday, February 18th, in Washington DC to allow questions and receive input regarding the recent Neufeld Memo. If the staffing model and the use of H-1b workers represents a large portion of your business, I strongly urge you to attend in person. At the very least, I encourage you to attend via phone. I will be attending in person. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Text of the Notice we Received This Afternoon

To: USCIS National Stakeholders
From: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services – Office of Public Engagement
Subject: Collaboration Session – Determining Employer-Employee Relationships for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions

February 18, 2010 @ 1:00pm EST

Tomich Center, 111 Massachusetts Ave NW

The USCIS Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in a collaboration session to discuss the implementation of the memo issued on January 8, 2010 which provides guidance on determining if a valid employeremployee relationship exists. A copy of the memorandum is attached along with this invitation.

We are interested in hearing feedback and input on the impact of this guidance and to understand any concerns that stakeholders may have. There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1213. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond. Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov. We hope you will be able to join in this important discussion.

 The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has a Business Litigation Committee (BLC) and we met this week and the hot topic of discussion was the recently released Neufeld memo. There is a strong belief that the memo was issued in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.  There is also the belief that the memo violates long-standing precedent and established law.  It is believed that there are numerous industry groups as well as individual companies that may be pursuing litigation on this matter. The BLC is in the process of working with the American Immigration Council to create a special section within its clearinghouse service http://www.legalactioncenter.org/litigation-clearinghouse  specifically dedicated to collecting and posting relevant documents and information on this issue.  This will allow all  interested parties to be kept up to date on efforts being made to address this policy. We are looking for information regarding actual litigation as well as significant meetings, letters, etc. to USCIS officials as well as Congressional members on this topic. We will then organize the relevant documentation and make it available for access by others. If you are interested in participating in this clearinghouse effort, please keep us updated on your efforts. contact mfh@hammondlawfirm.com for additional info.

The Senate seat long been held by Senator Ed Kennedy, who passed away last year, is up for election is in the state of Massachusetts today. The race is between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown. Normally, a single special state election is inconsequential on a national level. But if Republican Scott Brown wins this election, the Democrats would lose their supermajority and may thwart the efforts of Congress to get health care reform passed.

Both health care reform and immigration reform have been battling for attention. Comprehensive immigration reform legislation has been placed on the “back-burner” until health care reform is “finalized” one way or the other: either passed or put to rest. Both bills – health care reform and immigration reform – are hotly contested as to whether the proposed legislation is the right method of reform. It’s also been questioned whether Congress can effectively take on two major reform bills in the same year.

Recently, the USCIS, particularly, the California Service Center has imposed requirements on IT staffing companies employing H-1b workers that are not found in any statute or regulations.  The requirement to produce contracts from parties with which the petitioner has no direct relationship is impossible to meet and the Service Center knows it ! That, is in fact their aim, to be as obstructionist as possible. Instead of applying the statutes passed by Congress and the regulations promulgated through the Administrative Procedures Act and subject to notice and comment i.e. a hearing by the public, they have chosen to arbitrarily act in an uniformed and misguided attempt to “protect the helpless Amercian worker” Kudos to the goal but, the execution gets a resounding “abject failure”.  I happened to have a case recently that represents the idiocy of the Califronia service Center policy.  The Petitioner (Co. A) had a contract with Co. B who had a contract with Co. C (the end client). For those of you who are familiar with the staffing industry, such an arrangement is the norm rather than the exception.  Entire cos. are built on such contrcatual relationships. The CSC demanded the contract between Co. B and C, and my client who has no relationship with Co. C could simply not produce the required contract. Alternative proof, including a letter from Co. C verifying the relationsip and the job description was produced but, ignored by the CSC and the case was denied. I, being filled with righteous indignation, advised my client to file an appeal because surely the appeals unit would look at the evidence with a fair and unbiased eye and approve the petition. Unofrtunately, I told my client that the filing fee for an appeal is $585.00, attorney fees were ridculously exorbidant, and it would take 14-18 months for the case to be heard, and I added, in the interim, the employee could not keep working but, would have to leave the US and wait abroad for a decision. (clearly, the lack of a speedy appeal process and interim work authorization is one of the reasons that the CSC can act with such incredulity. There are simply no repurcussions when they flaunt the law and turn a blind eye to facts and evidenec submitted) My client, being a brilliant business person, had another option. He simply convinced the Co. B and C, the end client to move the project overseas to his development office in Secunderabad, India. Two of the three U.S. workers assigned to the project at the end client were offered the opportunity to transfer to India and when they declined, 3 more off-shore positions were created for Indians abroad.  Way to go California Service Center ! In one failed swoop, you were able to keep an H-1b worker from working in the U.S., paying taxes, renting an apt, buying a car, etc. all horirble things, and at the same time, eliminate the work for 2-3 U.S. workers. I’m sure they appreciated you “protecting” them. But, hey look at the bright side, you made 3 Indians in Secunderabad very happy ’cause they now have a new project to work on.