10 best practices that challenge the traditions and myths surrounding immigration law/legal services and will streamline your immigration process. New chapter published: Keep up on legislation and your immigration strategy current.

All  chapters published to date: 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 Chapter 9: Keep up on legislation and your immigration strategy current In this chapter,...

Receiving rave reviews from Worldwide ERC, the association for Workforce Mobility, webcast attendees last month, VISANOW will present the "Top 10 Global Immigration Mistakes and How Companies Can Avoid Them" webcast again on May 24 at 10 a.m. CT. We will examine common flaws of corporate global immigration processes and recommend how to address them. Starting with fundamentals such as defining and enforcing immigration policies, we will continue on to dispelling all-too-familiar myths about when work permits or business visas are sufficient. Further, we will touch on important legislative changes in global hotspots, cost control measures and compliance best practices amidst a climate of increased enforcement.

Attendees will learn:

How to increase time and cost efficiencies of your global immigration process....

As anticipated, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed SB 1070, officially taking immigration reform (IR) into the state's hands with a draconian immigration bill last Friday. Because it empowers local authorities to question anyone's citizenship status within Arizona state lines if "reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.," the controversial bill is feared to lead to racial profiling and ethnic profiling. The radical legislation is now the law of the land in Arizona, and a consequence of the overdue federal comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) overhaul. "Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others," commented President Obama on SB 1070's passage. Nevertheless, the "misguided" Arizona legislation should actually help jump start CIR by forcing Congress to deal with the issue!

While the President...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released H-1B cap numbers as of April 22, receiving 16,025 toward the 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions and 6,739 towards the 20,000 H-1B Master's category. Thus, H-1B cap numbers remain available, and there is still time to submit your FY2011 H-1B visa application for foreign national applicants beginning employment on October 1, 2010 or later.

Contact your immigration services provider to see if this is an option for you/your foreign national or learn more about best practices for preparing your FY2011 H-1B application.

Photo attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8042373@N03/

Last night, Congressman Luis Gutierrez held an emergency strategy call with Reform Immigration for America, where he discussed the contentious SB 1070 immigration bill sitting on Gov. Brewer's desk in Arizona and the ramifications of its approval, the current political happenings with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, agreeing to prioritize immigration reform over energy reform, and the potential immigration reform bill timing (May 1-July 4).

To maintain the pressure on Congress, Gutierrez called for "all hands on deck" for the immigration reform movement and participation in May Day for America. As a follow up to the to the large-scale march held last month in DC rally that brought out more than 200,000 supporters and smaller rallies held around the country earlier this month, Reform Immigration for America has planned more than 50+ marches to be held on May 1, May Day otherwise known as International Workers' Day/Labour Day. On May 1, a day that has become known for immigration protests, community organizers, unions, faith leaders and immigrant rights groups will once again hold major demonstrations from coast to coast for immigration reform.  

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Mexico became the first country in Fiscal Year 2010 to fall victim to the overburdened employment-based immigrant visa program.  According to the U.S. Department of State's ("DOS") May 2010 Visa Bulletin, visa numbers will no longer be available to Mexican nationals in the EB third and Other Worker preference categories.  This means that, starting on May 1, and until the next fiscal year begins on October 1, Mexicans in those categories can no longer file new Form I-485 applications to adjust status to permanent residency or consular applications for immigrant visa numbers. The unavailability of numbers for Mexico in these categories does not surprise those who have been closely observing the progress of the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates so far this year.  The priority date for the EB-3 category in particular had stalled at 07/01/2002 for three months in a row, an indication that...

The Arizona Senate approved the final Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070) bill, a wide-ranging illegal-immigration measure, earlier this week. The controversial bill, which has been referred to the "most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation", may impose some of the toughest immigration laws in Arizona, where the most people and drugs cross illegally into the U.S. compared to any other state.

The bill contains several provisions:

Give state police broader powers than the 287(g) program to stop and/or arrest people if "reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S." Create a new state misdemeanor crime for failing to carry alien registration documents (currently required to, but this would now be a crime) Allow officers to arrest immigrants unable to show documents proving...

 "America is another name for opportunity," as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, and we couldn't agree more.  It is the credo behind such a quote that continues to inspire what people like to call "the American Dream," which in turn represents the fundamental character and spirit of our culture here in the United States.

However, reality is the enemy of such ideals, and we sometimes tend to forget the underlying essence that has brought people (and continues to bring people) to the United States for the past two-hundred years. It's for this reason, among others, that we're so intrigued by the StartUp Visa Act of 2010, as introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN). It can't be argued that the proposed bill truly brings us back to the roots of the ethos of American society.

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The Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Richard Skinner, released its findings The Performance of the 287(g) Agreements last month from its 2009 (February 2009 through July 2009) assessment of the controversial 287(g) delegation of authority program. The OIG found Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 287(g) program to be riddled with inconsistencies and mismanaged.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1995 authorized the 287(g) program, which is a federal enforcement program that allows approved state and local law authorities to become involved in immigration enforcement on a local level by questioning immigrants about their legal status and potentially initiating deportation proceedings of immigrant perpetrators who have committed serious offenses such as violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, narcotics smuggling, etc. Seven years...

As of April 5, Greece's participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) officially begun, allowing Greek citizens to be able to make short business or tourism trips to the U.S. without the extra step of acquiring a visitor visa, which can sometimes be a lengthy process.  

To be eligible Greek citizens must satisfy the following requirements:

Travel duration to the U.S. for business, tourism or transit is a maximum of 90 days or less

The traveler must have a biometric e-passport containing an integrated computer chip that stores the traveler's biographic data, digital photograph and other information that is valid for six months beyond the intended visit The traveler must register and gain approval from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) online system at least 72 hours before departing for the U.S. Any Greek citizens who does not meet all...