The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the first bulletin of the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2010.  It was hoped that the new bulletin might contain adjustments to the DOS's January 2010 projections for cut-off date movement in the employment-based preferences, but no updates were offered. The new quarter has brought very good movement forward for almost every category with a few exceptions:

Indian nationals in the EB second preference category did not continue its forward move from last month, remaining at 02/01/2005.  There is still hope of at least limited movement before the fiscal year's end however, as the DOS predicted that it could reach somewhere between February and early March 2005.

Mexican nationals in the EB third preference category remained at 07/01/2002 for the third month in a row.  If the DOS expects to reach...

Discover 10 best practices that challenge the traditions and myths surrounding immigration law/legal services and will streamline your immigration process. New chapter published!

Chapter 1: Pick the right provider and manage the relationship for success Chapter 2: Use the right technology in structuring an efficient immigration process Chapter 3: Lower and control your cost Chapter 4: Define and frequently review your corporate immigration policy Chapter 5: Map the immigration process steps to educate stakeholders Chapter 6: Educate stakeholders about their responsibilities & manage their expectations Chapter 7: Give employees direct access to their case information and legal advice Chapter 8: Ensure legal immigration compliance In this chapter, you will learn:

Employment eligibility compliance rules for foreign national employees: I-9/E-Verify and H-1B (Labor Condition Applications,...

Organizers estimated more than 200,000 people marched on the National Mall in Washington D.C. to rally for comprehensive immigration reform on March 21 - some say this may be the largest show of strength since 2006. Organized by Reform Immigration for America, the rally brought together various advocacy organizations, religious groups and unions from around the country such as the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union,  Democracia Ahora and the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.  Although the rally was geared toward the Spanish-speaking community, many organizations and speakers representing Asians, Africans and other minority groups showed their support by participating in the rally.

Speakers included Rep. Luis Gutierrez [D-IL], Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration, and Arlene Holt Baker, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO. The...

Effective April 10, 2010, permanent resident applicants in Canada's Federal Skilled Worker and Experience class categories will now be required to prove their English and French language abilities at the time they apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). 

Currently, if an immigration officer has questions regarding the applicant's language proficiency, they may permit the applicant to submit the results of a third-party test, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test.  In an effort to streamline the language proficiency requirement, the government will no longer make a request for more information after the initial application is submitted and give applicants the opportunity to provide additional documents proving their language ability.  Now, only documentation submitted with the initial application will be considered. 

"We strongly encourage applicants whose first language...

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced a trio of initiatives to strengthen the "efficiency and accuracy of the E-Verify system" and address 1) the discrimination and employer misuse process 2) the public education of the E-Verify program and process. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) have streamlined the process of handling potential discrimination and cases of employer E-Verify misuse. While the two agencies have worked together to determine their respective jurisdictions, they will share information to resolve employment discrimination/misuse cases.

To help educate employees and employers, USCIS is now offering additional E-Verify resources. New educational training videos help explain the E-Verify procedures, specifically employee rights...

April 6 2010 will be a busy day in UK immigration. On this day we will see changes to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 categories, new immigration fees, and new applications forms. The Tier 1 and Tier 2 changes stem from the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendations. The changes include new points criteria for both Tier 1 and Tier 2, as well as a simplified route for highly skilled migrant workers without Master's degrees. While some changes will create flexibility for short-term transfers of multinational companies, other changes will be implemented to protect against using these transfers to full long term vacancies that should go to resident workers. Key changes to Tier 1 will allow high earners to qualify under the Tier 1 (General) category without the need of a qualification and the re-introduction of a Bachelor level qualification. These changes will also see the earnings threshold increase significantly. ...

Starting this week, more than 120 million households will receive Census 2010 forms for the decennial count. I'm sure by now, you've seen at least one "10 questions, 10 minutes" advertisement to promote Census participation and spread the message that the Census is safe and easy to complete. With a $133 million advertising budget, the campaign includes TV spots in 28 different languages, and is estimated to reach the average person 42 times. The Census is everywhere - even featuring on a Mexican soap opera on the Telemundo! Nevertheless, a survey by The Pew Research Center Poll on Census viewpoints in January 2010 showed that "nearly 1 in 5 people may not participate in the high-stakes head count, citing mostly a lack of interest but also a broader distrust of government." In addition to advertising, Bureau officials have also...

Utah and Virginia becoming the first states to pass bills mandating E-Verify participation in 2010. Utah's new rules affect all private employers while Virginia will require state agencies to use E-Verify.  Utah Utah joins Arizona and Mississippi as states that require employer's participation in E-Verify for new hires. The Private Employer Verification Act, requires all private employers who employ more than 15 workers to use a "status verification system" to verify the employment eligibility of new employees by July 1, 2010. The status verification system is not limited to E-Verify but also includes the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS), or other DHS-approved systems. H-2A or H-2B (seasonal visas) new hires are exempt from the rule. Further, employers can voluntarily report E-Verify use to the state of...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unlawfully imposed extra requirements on an "extraordinary ability" (EB-1) green card case filed on behalf of a theoretical physicist. The case involved a theoretical physicist whose EB-1 immigrant petition was denied because he did not demonstrate the research community's reactions to his scholarly publications.  The Ninth Circuit found that this requirement was an arbitrary one with no basis in actual immigration law.

Given the multitude of cases wrongfully denied by the USCIS, this decision represents hope for aliens of extraordinary ability.  While the EB-1 category requirements are still challenging, this decision sends a clear message to the USCIS that officers can only impose lawful requirements on EB-1 immigrant petitions, and that the government simply cannot operate outside...

While immigration reform has been at a standstill for several months now, yesterday afternoon Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY] and Sen. Lindsay Graham [R-SC] met with President Obama to discuss their progress on a bipartisan bill. The immigration meeting originally set for Monday had to be rescheduled due to Sen. Graham's flight delay from South Carolina.  The two senators presented President Obama with a three-page outline of the bipartisan bill they are preparing and asked for his assistance in building further support. While Sen. Schumer and Sen. Graham did not release their bill framework, it is expected to include the following:

A path to legal status for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants Increased border enforcement A guest worker program A mandatory...