Upon departing the U.S., foreign nationals are procedurally required to surrender their I-94 Arrival/Departure cards.  On occasion, however, one may return home without having turned in his or her Form I-94.  When this happens, there is a chance that the departure record is not properly recorded. 

If you are unable to validate your timely departure from the U.S. you are likely to experience lengthy delays the next time you apply for admission to the U.S.  Moreover, the reviewing officer may conclude that you remained in the U.S. beyond your authorized period of stay. Such a conclusion may result in visa denial or immediate removal.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) urges foreign nationals to take the following measures to ensure their departure from the U.S. has been accurately documented:

1. If you departed by a commercial air or sea carrier (airlines or...

In an effort to deter immigration fraud, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has unveiled a new Permanent Resident Card, otherwise known as the "Green Card" earlier this month.  The redesign of the green card incorporates state-of-the-art technology to prevent counterfeiting and obstruct tampering, while facilitating quick and accurate authentication.

Beyond the shade of the green cards now actually being colored green, new security features include:

Holographic images, laser engraved fingerprints, and high resolution micro-images Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) will allow Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers  to read the card from a distance and compare it immediately to file data Secure optical media, which stores biometric information for rapid and reliable identification A preprinted return address will enable the easy return of a lost card to USCIS...

To say the least, Arizona certainly opened a can of worms with the state's approval of the SB 1070 bill. These worms have come in all sorts of shapes and sizes - dividing the country in its immigration ideology, causing city-issued boycotts, and perhaps illustrating an instance of state law violating the constitution, to name a few - and they have presently wiggled their way into the forefront of the media and the minds of Americans. But while the issue of immigration reform has been patiently awaiting the day that it would become the belle of the ball, with all eyes and ears now on it and its controversial Arizona-made dress, not all of the attention that the topic has been getting has been very comforting...

The U.S. Department of State's ("DOS") June 2010 Visa Bulletin shows steady progress forward in almost all employment-based immigrant visa categories, but there was not as much momentum as last month.  This may be a sign of increasing visa number demand across all categories, and could signal the start of a slowdown in progression as the end of the fiscal year on 09/30/2009 draws nearer.

The Dominican Republic makes it debut as a separately tracked country of chargeability, but this is due to heightened demand in a certain family-based immigrant visa category, rather than any of the employment-based categories.  The expectation is that the progress of this category will continue to follow that of all other countries besides China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

In the EB second preference category, only China moved forward, from 09/22/2005 to 11/22/2005, a jump...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released H-1B cap numbers as of May 14, receiving 19,000 toward the 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions and 8,100 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/

According to the Mexican consulate, as of May 1st, access to Mexico will be granted to all foreigners (regardless of their nationality) who arrive on tourist, transmigrate or business matters that 1) arrive from the U.S. and 2) have a valid, unexpired visa issued by the U.S. 

The Mexican government has extended this as a courtesy to foreign nationals who hold a U.S. visa. For example, if any of your foreign nationals are on the restricted immigration list for Mexico, they may still be able to enter Mexico if they have a U.S. visa and would be willing to travel to the U.S. first.

Restricted nationalities that can now bypass Mexican immigration if they meet the above requirements include foreign nationals from the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Argelia, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan,...

B.E.L.I.E.V.E. - Biometric Enrollment, Locally-stored Information, and Electronic Verification of Employment.  No longer is such an idea a thing of science fiction, rather, it is a proposal found in the Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform authored by Reid, Schumer, and Menendez.  In this proposed system, prospective employees will present a machine readable, fraud proof, biometric Social Security card to their employers, who will swipe the cards through a card-reader to confirm the cardholder's identity and work authorization.  If such a proposal is signed into law, nationwide deployment is estimated to occur in as little as six years after the date of enactment.  Furthermore, the fraud-proof social security card will serve as the sole acceptable document to be produced by an employee to an employer for employment verification purposes.

Such a proposal is not a wholly new conception.  Rather,...

Last week, key Senate Democrats began circulating a 26-page Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform, an outline of a border security and immigration reform bill. Drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the framework is meant to be an invitation to our Republicans in hopes of persuading Republicans to collaborate on the issue and develop a bipartisan IR bill.

Before any action can be taken towards a legalization program, the plan calls for the following benchmarks: 

Increasing the number of Border Patrol officers Increasing the number of ICE agents combating smuggling Increasing the number of ICE worksite enforcement inspectors and resources Increasing the number of ICE document fraud detection officers and improved detection capability Increasing the number of personnel to conduct inspections for...

The Schengen rules include a uniform Visa Code and common requirements for entry/refusal of entry into the Schengen area for stays, not exceeding 90 days. In an effort to further unify and simplify the application process, Schengen member states revised the Visa Code last year, but only recently adopted the new Visa Code last month.   

The main changes include:

Category B, a transit visa required for non-visa free travel through the Schengen area not exceeding five days, has been abolished, and replaced with Category C (short term visitor visas). Category D+C, a hybrid visa combing a long-term residence visa with a short term visitor visa allowed entrance to the issuing Schengen state for long-term stay in that state, but also free travel in the Schengen area (like a Category C visa), has also been abolished. Instead, new regulations will allow Category D, a national...

In recent months, VISANOW has worked closely with our clients to ensure their compliance with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations.  We have provided comprehensive audit services, designed to mirror potential government audits.

Our audits have uncovered several common mistakes and infractions:

Common technical violations included failure of the employer to date Section 2 or complete the date of hire in the middle attestation of Section 2. Common substantive errors included failure of the employee to complete Section 1 attesting to citizenship or immigration status or failure of the employee to sign Section 1. Also uncovered were several discrepancies where it was not possible to determine the employee's work eligibility, as well as, several instances of document fraud. 

In the event of a government audit, these infractions would have resulted in our clients being issued tens of thousands of dollars in fines. 

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