Some Foreign Students May Experience Scrutiny and Delays at U.S. Ports of Entry

Last week, the Homeland Security Department has ordered U.S. border agents, “effective immediately”, to verify that every international student who arrives in the US has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained by the Associated Press.

This decision came after it was discovered that a friend of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was admitted on an F-1 student visa even though his status had been revoked in SEVIS. Last year more than 500,000 student visas were issued by the U.S. Department of State.

CBP officers must now verify the status of each F-1, M-1 and J-1 nonimmigrant in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) before admission. However, not all border officers are equipped with access to SEVIS, so after preliminary processing, most students and exchange visitors are referred to secondary inspection, where their SEVIS record is reviewed and where they may be questioned further about their U.S. activities.

As a result of these new entry procedures, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors entering the United States should anticipate possibility of long waits at U.S. ports of entry. As always, we recommend that they are patient and answer all questions clearly and fully.

Please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics. If our office can be of any help, please feel free to contact us.

Entrepreneurs in Residence – One Year Later

On May 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) released a summary and assessment of efforts taken during the first year of its Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) initiative.  Launched in February 2012 in Silicon Valley, the EIR initiative brought together startup experts and USCIS immigration experts to work collaboratively to streamline pathways for a range of existing visa categories often used by entrepreneurs. As stated by Director Alejandro Mayorkas, the goal of the EIR program is “to ensure that we capture the full potential of current immigration laws to attract and retain startup enterprises that promote innovation and create jobs in America…”. With the uncertainty that continues to surround comprehensive immigration reform, initiatives like EIR become all the more important.

Some of the highlights of the EIR initiative over the past year include:

• Nearly 30,000 visits to Entrepreneur Pathways, which was designed to help prospective entrepreneurs understand their immigration options and the related processes;
• Approximately 500 participants across the United States in USCIS’s entrepreneur-focused engagements;
• More than 400 USCIS employment-based immigration officers trained on startup businesses and the environment for early-stage innovation; and
• More than 100 USCIS officers receiving additional specialized training to handle entrepreneur and startup cases.

In efforts to expand the program, USCIS is “seeking new private sector experts, using the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Loaned Executive Program, in the areas of performing arts, health care and information technology.”  The purpose of seeking expert input into these industry sectors, which are a critical part of the country’s economy, is to provide the agency with insights into these areas, and help strengthen USCIS’s policies and practices in an informed manner.  It is anticipated that the range of industries will be broadened over time.

At the initiation, the EIR initiate set three key goals:  1) production of public materials intended to assist entrepreneurs in understanding the visa categories; 2) equipping Immigration Service adjudicators to process petitions in the context of the complex business environment; and the streamlining of USCIS policies toward better reflecting issues and realities encountered by foreign entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Conclusion

While the full impact on EIR remains to be seen, USCIS continues to move away from policies that discourage high-skilled immigrants’ contributions to the economy. A broad and successful EIR program would ensure that the system is a magnet for both talented human capital and money. Please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics. If our office can be of any help, please feel free to contact us.

2013 CBO Report on Immigration Population in the United States

Yesterday, May 8, 2013, the Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) released an updated report to Congress analyzing the current immigration population in the United States.   The report is interesting not only in the context of the ongoing debate on the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) bill which is currently in Congress but also to get a current glimpse of the trends of composition of the immigrant population in the United States.   We are happy to provide  a summary of the report findings.

Size and Composition of the Foreign-Born Population

In 2012, about 40 million foreign-born people lived in the United States, making up about 13 percent of the U.S. population—the largest share since 1920. The number of immigrants was about the same in 2011, the latest year for which certain data on immigrants are available. Of that total in 2011, naturalized citizens (foreign-born people who have fulfilled the requirements for U.S. citizenship) accounted for about 18 million, and noncitizens (foreign-born people authorized to live and work in the United States either temporarily or permanently and people who are not authorized to live or work in the United States) accounted for about 22 million. About half of the noncitizens were people without authorization to live or work in the United States, either temporarily or permanently.   See chart.

In 2011, about 37 percent of foreign-born people in the United States were from Mexico or Central America; the next-largest group came from Asia and constituted about 28 percent of the total foreign-born population.  Of noncitizens unauthorized to live in the United States, an estimated 59 percent were from Mexico, and an estimated 14 percent were from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.   See chart.

Lawful Permanent Residents

From 2000 to 2012, more than 13 million people were granted lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States, an average of about 1 million per year. Lawful permanent residents are permitted to live, work, and study in the United States, and receiving LPR status is an important milestone on the path to U.S. citizenship. Roughly two-thirds of new LPRs were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or were admitted under family-sponsored preferences.

Demographic Characteristics of the Foreign-Born Population

In 2012, about 1 in 4 people in California and about 1 in 5 people in New York and in New Jersey were born in another country. However, in another 31 states, taken together, only about 1 person in 20 was foreign born. See chart.

Between 1999 and 2012, the share of the population constituted by foreign-born people increased in all but two states and, for the nation as a whole, rose by 2.8 percentage points, to roughly 13 percent.   See chart.

Level of education is somewhat less, on average, among foreign-born people than among native-born people, and it varies considerably depending on immigrants’ country of origin. In 2012, 27 percent of the foreign-born population between the ages of 25 and 64 had not completed high school, compared with 7 percent of the native-born population. More than half of the people from Mexico and Central America, 54 percent, had not finished high school, but only about 9 percent of the people from Asia and 5 percent of the people from Europe and Canada had less than a high school education. In addition, about 55 percent of the people from Asia had at least a bachelor’s degree, as did 51 percent of the people from Europe and Canada; just 33 percent of the native-born population had earned at least a bachelor’s degree.   See chart.

Labor Market Characteristics

An interesting analysis focused on the ability to seek/find employment and on the salaries received by various segments of the immigrant population.   For example, foreign-born men are more likely to be working or looking for work (that is, to be
in the labor force) than are native-born men; foreign-born women, however, are less likely than native-born women to be in the labor force.

The differences in educational attainment and participation in the labor force (as well as in groups’ concentration in particular occupations) were reflected in differences in annual earnings. The amount and distribution of annual earnings were similar for naturalized and native-born citizens, but earnings tended to be much lower among noncitizens. The amount of annual earnings among foreign-born workers also varied greatly by their country of origin. For example, in 2011, the median annual earnings of male workers from Mexico and Central America was $24,000—whereas among male workers from Asia, the median was $50,000; among their counterparts from Europe and Canada, it was $55,000; and among native-born male workers, $46,000. Among female workers from Mexico and Central America, median annual earnings were $17,000—whereas among their counterparts from Asia, the median was $30,000; among those from Europe and Canada, it was $35,000; and among native-born female workers, $32,000.

Conclusion

The CBO report is very interesting as it raises some questions with respect to the demographics and labor market participation of the individuals who would be covered under the proposed CIR.   Also, this report is likely to be used by all sides in the CIR debate as to why certain parts of the proposed reform should be kept or changed, depending on the political standpoint of those making the argument.

We continue to monitor closely developments in Congress related to Comprehensive Immigration Reform and we expect a lot of activity over the next days and weeks.   Please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics. If our office can be of any help, please feel free to contact us.

Group of Senators Releases Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Earlier today, a group of eight U.S. Senators released a proposed framework for a comprehensive immigration reform.   The document signed off by Senators Charles E. Schumer of New York, John McCain of Arizona, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Marco Rubio of Florida, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Jeff Flake of Arizona, outlines the framework for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to U.S. citizenship for about 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S.

Our office has closely monitored Congress’ attempts to enact into law a comprehensive immigration reform over the past few years; however, this time around it seems that passing a comprehensive immigration measure is actually possible, and even likely.    After the November 2012 elections, the Republicans have embraced the idea of immigration reform more warmly.   As a result, we will continue monitoring serious developments on this topic and provide updates for the benefit of our readers and clients.

The Proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Framework

Create a Path to Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants Already in the U.S.

Under the proposal, the law would allow undocumented immigrants with otherwise clean criminal records to quickly achieve probationary legal residency after paying a fine and back taxes.   Such immigrants could pursue full citizenship — giving them the right to vote and access to government benefits — only after new measures are in place to prevent a future influx of illegal immigrants.  Such measures would include border security, a new program to help employers verify the legal status of their employees and more stringent measures aiming to prevent immigrants to overstay their visas.

Minor children who are not documented and who were brought to the U.S. would not be subject to the “back-of-the-line” provisions and would have an easier path to citizenship.  Similarly, agricultural workers who have been working without documentation would have an easier path to citizenship.

Improve the Legal Immigration System and Attract the World’s Best and Brightest

The proposal seeks to reduce current backlogs  in the family and employment-based visa categories so that future immigrants see the lawful immigration system as the only way of entry into the U.S.   Also, a green card would be awarded to Ph.D. or Master’s degree holders in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) from an American university.

Stronger Employment Verification

The proposal calls for a “tough, fair, effective and mandatory” employment verification system making employers liable for hiring undocumented workers and making it harder for undocumented workers to falsify documents and find employment.

Increasing Foreign Workers Quotas

The proposal seeks to improve the system for hiring lower-skilled workers by U.S. employers by allowing more lower-skilled workers’ quotas and making it faster and easier for U.S. workers (after following procedural safeguards to ensure no U.S. workers are available for the job) to bring foreign workers.

Other Immigration Proposals in Congress

There are other immigration proposals, in varying stages, intended to deal with related issues.   For example, Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, a Republican, and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a Democrat, would propose a bill which would nearly double the number of H-1B temporary visas available each year to highly skilled immigrants. It would also free up more permanent resident visas, known as green cards, so those immigrants could eventually settle in the United States and go on to become citizens.

Conclusion

It seems as finally there seems to be broad enough consensus here in Washington, DC that the current immigration system must be reformed to deal with structural problems.   Our office faces and helps individuals who have to deal with such structural immigration system problems every day and we welcome these proposals.    Just because this is a framework, it is subject to (and will likely) change, negotiation and political manipulation by many; however, we hope that what would emerge as immigration reform law is a fairer system which would allow certainty and path to achieving the American dream to many.

We will certainly follow developments very closely and provide updates.   We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.  We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about this article.

USCIS Launches “Online Entrepreneur Resource Center”

In recent years, despite the U.S.’s rich history as a haven for ambitious immigrants, many foreigners looking to work in the U.S. have had to cope with increasingly restrictive immigration policies. As a result, the number of immigrant-founded startups in Silicon Valley, to take an example, has declined from 52.4% in 2005 to 43.9% in 2012.    A few days ago, on November 28, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas marked a significant milestone for the USCIS Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) initiative by launching an online resource center.   The resource center, Entrepreneur Pathways, provides entrepreneurs who seek to start a business in the United States an intuitive way to navigate the immigration process.

The Online Entrepreneur Resource Center

By launching the online resource center, USCIS acknowledged that “our nation has always attracted individuals with great drive and entrepreneurial spirit.” As the world’s greatest economy and a global leader in innovation, the United States must continue to welcome and retain the next generation of foreign entrepreneurs who will start new businesses and create new jobs here in America.

The Online Entrepreneur Resource Center is essentially a collection of materials describing (in a fairly cursory manner) the visa options for foreign entrepreneurs.   The guide has few sections, explaining what visa options there may be, how to file an application, what happens after approval, when an arrival can be expected, etc.   However, the descriptions and guidance provided are extremely broad and vague and are unlikely to provide an entrepreneur, willing to start a business or invest a substantial amount of funds, the level of accuracy and detail which are key for a sound business decision.

Clarifications to Options for H-1B Holders-Entrepreneurs

An interesting portion of the guide is how it deals with the option for H-1B work visa for entrepreneurs.   Our office has previously reported on the problems H-1B holders entrepreneurs face in the U.S.   Specifically, the issue of “right to control” (discussed below) effectively prevented many foreign entrepreneurs establishing a company and then having this company sponsor an H-1B for them.

By way of background, the H-1B temporary work visa program was made off-limits to many individual entrepreneurs, as a result of the January 8, 2010 Neufeld Memorandum which required each H-1B work visa petition to show that the petitioning employer has the right to control, including to hire and fire, the foreign national employee.   Most often entrepreneurs are the owners or have a controlling interest over a company, and the right to control in many cases could not be shown.   Effectively, the Neufeld Memorandum prohibited H-1B self-sponsorship for foreign entrepreneurs.   In subsequent guidance, USCIS has indicated that certain corporate structures may permit companies to sponsor H-1B work visas for founders/owners if there is a mechanism (such as independent board of directors) which can provide the company’s right to control over the sponsored H-1B employee/owner.

The Online Entrepreneur Resource Center provides more information on the kind of documents/information which may be needed to establish the employer-employee relationship (or the right to control).   Specifically,

If you own your company you may be able to demonstrate an employer-employee relationship if the ownership and control of your company are different.  For example, if your company has a board of directors, preferred shareholders, investors, or other factors that show your organization has the right to control the terms and conditions of your employment (namely the right to hire, fire, pay, supervise or otherwise control the terms and conditions of employment), you may be able to meet this requirement. Some of the evidence you may submit to demonstrate the distinction between your ownership interest and the right to control your employment includes: Term Sheet, Capitalization Table, Stock purchase Agreement, Investor rights Agreement, Voting Agreement, Organizational documents and operating agreements.

This additional information is helpful as it provides a clearer guidance on what USCIS is looking for.   Essentially, it seems that they may consider the employer-employee relationship and the right to control established when the ownership (by the sponsored entrepreneur) and the control (voting, etc.) are by different parties.    In many situations, this may permit a foreign entrepreneur to qualify for H-1B; however, in many others, especially small startup companies, this structure may not be feasible or practicable.

In the welcome move, the EIR initiative announced that while the entrepreneurs will not be able to file the petition on their own behalf, in some cases the business entity that they will run or create may file as their employer. This effectively contradicts the 2010 Neufeld Memorandum’s requirement for a petitioner’s right to control.

Conclusion

We welcome USCIS Director Mayorkas’s announcements and welcome the additional options for entrepreneurs who seek to start a business in the United States. Please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics.   If our office can be of any help, please feel free to contact us.

USCIS Announces the Creation of a Separate EB-5 Program Office

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced the creation of a separate office which would be tasked with overseeing the EB-5 immigrant investor program.

Yesterday, July 18, 2012, USCIS Director Mayorkas announced that his agency has and will continue to increase the number of staff dedicated to the EB-5 immigrant investor program.    This is in a direct result of earlier criticism of too-long processing times and aims to streamline and provide a faster and (hopefully) more predictable EB-5 application review process.  Director Mayorkas identified the tens of thousands of new jobs for US workers and the billions of dollars injected by EB-5 immigrant investors into the US to date.  He also summarized efforts to date to increase agency resources dedicated to the EB-5 program.

USCIS is recruiting a new Chief of Immigrant Investor Program to manage the newly created office and that two full-time attorneys are being added to the program’s team.    Also, a Review Board is expected to be instituted by the end of July to review every pending application for regional center designation in which a denial has been recommended (essentially, a secondary review process for denials).  Regional center applicants will receive the opportunity to discuss their cases in-person before any final adverse decision.    The goal is to continue to deny regional center applications which do not deserve certification, but to allow legitimate regional center applications to have the certainty that adequate process exists to explain and support an application which may otherwise be denied.

EB-5 Program Office Creation Positive Step; Impact Yet Unknown

It is still too early to anticipate what the impact of the newly created EB-5 Program office would be.   The government’s goals are clear — make it easier for the U.S. to attract qualified foreign investors by streamlining the process and making the process faster and more predictable.      The EB-5 immigrant visa category remains one of the few categories with available visa numbers for this fiscal year.   According to recent data provided by the State Department,  approximately 6,200 immigrants will take advantage of the EB-5 program during this fiscal year, well under the allotted maximum of 10,000.    Demand is highest by nationals of China (3,710), South Korea (335) and Taiwan (106) distant second and third.

We will continue monitoring the development of this EB-5 Program Office and report on related news and developments as we continue to pursue EB-5 applications on behalf of our clients.     Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance or answer any questions.  We also invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.

H.R. 3012 Update: Sen. Grassley Removes Hold on H.R. 3012; Bill Continues in Senate

We have been monitoring developments around the H.R. 3012 legislation aimed at removing the per-country annual limits for the immigrant visa categories.    We have written extensively in the past and many of our clients and readers are very interested in any developments with H.R. 3012 because of its wide (and significant) impact on employment-based immigrant visa applicants.

Senator Grassley Removes Hold on H.R. 3012  – July 11, 2012

Many of our readers would remember that Senator Grassley placed a hold on H.R. 3012 because of his concerns with the H-1B program and possible abuses.   We wrote on June 28, 2012 of Senator Grassley’s proposal that in exchange of his lifting his hold on the bill, the bill would be amended to include significant H-1B audit and enforcement mechanisms.

Subsequently, Senators Grassley and Schummer have reached an agreement and on July 11, 2012, Senator Grassley removed his hold from H.R. 3012.   Here is his statement, as added into the Congressional Record on July 11th:

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I lift my hold on H.R. 3012, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. This bill would eliminate the per-country numerical limitations for employment based immigrants and change the per-country numerical limitations for family-based immigrants. When I placed a hold on the bill, I was concerned that the bill did nothing to better protect Americans at home who seek high-skilled jobs during this time of record unemployment. Today , I lift my hold because I have reached an agreement with the senior Senator from New York, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security.

I have spent a lot of time and effort into rooting out fraud and abuse in our visa programs, specifically the H-1B visa program. I have always said this program can and should serve as a benefit to our country, our economy and our U.S. employers. However, it is clear that it is not working as intended, and the program is having a detrimental effect on American workers.

For many years, Senator Durbin and I have worked on legislation to close the loopholes in the H-1B visa program. Our legislation would ensure that American workers are afforded the first chance to obtain the available high paying and high skilled jobs in the United States. It would make sure visa holders know their rights. It would strengthen the wage requirements, ridding the incentives for companies to hire cheap, foreign labor.

While I could not get everything that was included in the Durbin-Grassley visa reform bill, there is agreement to include in H.R. 3012 provisions that give greater authority to program overseers to investigate visa fraud and abuse. Specifically, there will be language authorizing the Department of Labor to better review labor condition applications and investigate fraud and misrepresentation by employers. There is also agreement to include a provision allowing the Federal Government to do annual compliance audits of employers who bring in foreign workers through the H-1B visa program.

I appreciate the willingness of other members to work with me to include measures that will help us combat visa fraud, and ultimately protect more American workers. I look forward to working with others as H.R. 3012 progresses in the Senate.

See the PDF version provided by the Government Printing Office.

Plenty of Work Still Ahead for H.R. 3012

Sen. Grassley’s hold removal is a significant step towards H.R. 3012 becoming a law.   However, many steps (and time) remain before the bill would actually become a law.   First, the bill must continue to make its way through the U.S. Senate where it must pass.   Afterwards, the bill must be taken by the U.S. House of Representatives and must be reconciled with the version of H.R. 3012 which was earlier passed by the House in a different form.

A quick reminder on how Congress passes laws:  a bill must pass both the Senate and the House in identical form and must be then signed by the President to become a law.

Only after the House votes on the bill, in identical form to the text which was approved by the Senate, would then President Obama have a chance to sign it into law.

Conclusion

In an election year, as the politics heat up, we simply do not know what other roadblocks the bill may face in the Senate or later, after it gets to the House.    We will continue to monitor developments on this legislation and provide updates.    Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance or answer any questions.  We also invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.

Brookings Report on the H-1B Program: Demand, Availability and Training Fees

The Brookings Institute has completed and released an interesting report (PDF document, accompanied by interactive charts) on the H-1B program.    The report aims to provide a deeper analysis of the H-1B program and to understand the issues and the competitive advantages (or lack thereof) of one of the H-1B work visa which is the most common U.S. temporary foreign worker program.

The Report’s Findings

The report concludes that although the demand for H-1B visas has fluctuated widely over the last decade, in almost all years, the annual H-1B cap has been fully used.   The report points that there seems to be discrepancy between the actual demand of foreign skilled workers and the availability of H-1B visa numbers and suggests that an independent (non-political entity) should be tasked with evaluating demand of H-1B visas and adjusting the H-1B cap on the basis of actual local employer needs.

The report goes on to analyze H-1B demand by geographical area, over period of time and over types of workers (STEM v. non-STEM) to create a better understanding of how H-1B work visa demand fluctuates over time/geographical area and to also be able to create H-1B profiles for a number of geographical areas.

Also, the government has distributed over $1 billion from H-1B fees to fund programs seeking to address skills shortages.  However, the report notes that those fees have not been proportionately distributed to metropolitan areas requesting the highest number of H-1B workers.   According to the report, metropolitan areas with high demand of H-1B workers are only receiving $3.09 on average per working age person compared to $15.26 for metropolitan areas that have a lower demand level for 2010-2011.

HR 3012 Developments – Sen. Grassley Proposed Increased H-1B Enforcement In Exchange of Removing Per-Country Green Card Limits

Our office closely monitors developments here in Washington, DC on the proposal to lift the per-country limitations on immigrant visas (green cards).    Throughout the past couple of weeks, there have been significant developments on this proposal and we wanted to update our clients and readers.

H.R. 3012 Background

H.R. 3012, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act was introduced in September 22, 2011 by Rep. Chaffetz (R-UT) and its goal is to eliminate the employment-based per-country cap entirely by fiscal year 2015 and to raise the family-sponsored per-country cap from 7% to 15%.    If enacted into law, this Act would directly benefit the very high number of highly-skilled applicants for immigrant visa from countries such as India and allow them to obtain an approval much earlier (we are talking many years).

The current law places a limit so that immigrants from a country can obtain no more than 7% of the 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas (or green cards) issued annually.   That cap applies equally to all countries, regardless of the country’s population and creates an imbalance and backlogs for larger countries such as India and China.

Currently, with the per country caps, individuals from countries that produce a lot of high skilled immigrants, like India and China, have to wait much longer than similarly-skilled immigrants from the rest of the world.  There are just more engineers, for example, from India than Iceland.  When fiscal year 2013 begins on October 1, 2012, it is expected that Second Preference employment based immigrants for highly skilled workers with advanced degrees will have green cards available for those from India or China whose employers started the petitioning process 5 years ago (2007), whereas advanced degree workers from the rest of the world will have green card status current and available for cases started in 2012 (meaning that immigrants from some countries are waiting five times as long as other similarly situated workers).

As proposed, by removing the per-country caps, all employment-based green card holders will be selected so that individuals with similar skill sets will wait a similar period of time.    This will result some countries’ (India and China) nationals to wait significantly shorter period of time (1-2 years for EB-2, down from 5-7 years) while some other countries’ nationals (rest of the world) may need to wait longer (1-2 years, up from almost no wait now).

H.R. 3012 Was Blocked in the Senate by Senator Grassley in Late 2011

After H.R. 3012 passed the U.S. House of Representatives, it moved on to the U.S. Senate.   There, in late 2011, Senator Grassley (R-Iowa) placed a hold on the legislation, as passed by the House, citing concerns about misuse of the guest workers program and requiring certain protections for U.S. workers.   Under Senate rules, because of Senator Grassley’s “hold”, the legislative proposal and the momentum behind it stalled.

Senator Grassley Reportedly Close to a Deal — Increased H-1B Program Audits and Enforcement in Exchange of Removing Per-Country Limits

Over the past couple of weeks, it has been widely rumored that Senator Grassley has removed the hold on H.R. 3012.  This is not true.   Instead, Senator Grassley is reportedly close to a deal which would add extra level of audits and enforcement actions as part of the H-1B program in exchange of removing the per-country limits for immigrant visas.   As of right now, there is a draft proposal of Senator Grassley’s added H-1B enforcement requirements, but no action in Congress on them.   We will certainly provide updates as soon as they are available.

Senator Grassley’s H-1B Enforcement Amendments

It is worth analyzing what kind of H-1B program protections Senator Grassley seeks in exchange.     The text of the proposed amendment — in a barely-readable legalese — is here.   Simply put, Senator Grassley wants to add the following additional enforcement mechanisms to the H-1B program:

1. LCA Review Expanded. The Grassley amendment adds a review process based on clear indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of a material fact, in addition to the current LCA review process (which focuses on completeness and obvious inaccuracies).  As of right now, it is not clear if the review for “clear indicators” is limited to the attestation elements under the statute (§212(n)(1)(A)-(D), wages, strike, benefits and notice) or what a “clear indicator” of fraud or misrepresentation may be.
2. Investigation Triggers Expanded.   Currently, there are restrictions on when DOL can commence an investigation on an H-1B employer.   These restrictions are proposed to be removed by the Grassley amendment.
3. Time Period for Investigations Expanded.    Investigations that are not complaint-driven through the process for private sector LCA complaints will no longer have to be completed within 60 days under the Grassley amendment. No time period is identified as the outer limit for when the government must complete its investigation.
4. Added Compliance Surveys.   The Grassley amendment adds grant of authority to DOL to conduct a compliance survey of any employer who has hired an H-1B worker.
5. Annual Compliance Audits.   The Grassley amendment also adds grant of authority to DOL to conduct annual audit of any H-1B employer.   Furthermore, such annual audits are mandatory for all H-1B dependent employers.

Conclusion

H.R. 3012 and the proposed changes, if enacted into law, would affect many employment-based immigration beneficiaries.    Not only certain green card processing times would change (decrease for some, increase for others), but also many (or all) H-1B employers would face additional scrutiny as a result of the Grassley amendments.    It is very important to stress that neither H.R. 3012 nor the Grassley amendments are law yet — they are simply a proposal which has to be voted, in identical form, by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, before being signed into law by the President.

We will continue to monitor developments on this legislation and provide updates.    Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance or answer any questions.  We also invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.

DHS Report on Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrants Residing in the US

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its report on the numbers of unauthorized immigrants residing in the U.S. as of January 2011.     The report makes a notable change in the methodology and also takes into consideration the 2010 Census data.   The DHS report, perhaps unsurprisingly, indicates that an estimated 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U.S. in January 2011 compared to a revised 2010 estimate of 11.6 million.   The (very slight) decrease in the number of unauthorized immigrants is attributed mainly to the economic recession and some renewed removal efforts by the current administration.

Long Term Trends

The unauthorized immigrant population increased from 2–4 million in 1980 to 8.5 million by 2000.  After 2000, the number of unauthorized immigrants continued to increase. Previous estimates suggest a peak in about 2007 of 11.8 million or 12.0 million (variation is based on data from different surveys).    The January 2011 report of 11.5 million suggests a slight decrease over the past few years.

Period of Entry

Of the 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants in 2011, 1.6 million (14 percent) entered the United States on January 1, 2005 or later.  Larger numbers came during 2000-2004 (3.3 million or 29 percent) and 1995–1999 (3.0 million or 26 percent). Fewer came between 1990–1994 (1.6 million or 14 percent) or in the 1980s (1.9 million or 17 percent).

Estimates by Region and Country of Birth

An estimated 8.9 million (77 percent) of the total 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2011 were from North America, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.  The next leading regions of origin were Asia (1.3 million) and South America (0.8 million).  Between 2000 and 2011, the greatest increase in the unauthorized population occurred among natives of North America (2.8 million).

Mexico continued to be the leading source country of unauthorized immigration to the United States.  There were 6.8 million unauthorized immigrants from Mexico in 2011, representing 59 percent of the unauthorized population.   The next leading source countries were El Salvador (660,000), Guatemala (520,000), Honduras (380,000), and China (280,000).

Estimates by State of Residence

California remained the leading state of residence of the unauthorized immigrant population in 2011, with 2.8 million.  The next leading state was Texas with 1.8 million unauthorized residents, followed by Florida (740,000), New York (630,000), and Illinois (550,000).