U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday, April 5, just five days after the H-1B high-skill “visa race” began, that they had received more applications than could be approved under the cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2014. Additionally, USCIS stated they had received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of individuals who are exempt from the cap. As such, USCIS will no longer be accepting additional H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2014. At this point, USCIS will use a random selection “lottery” process to allocate the 65,000 visas from the applications received through April 5.
Apr 08
H-1B Visa Cap Reached in Five Days
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/04/08/h-1b-visa-cap-reached-in-five-days/
Apr 05
Nativist Group Releases Confusing Report on Legalization
The work of the nativist Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is focused on grinding an anti-immigrant ideological axe, not on gathering evidence and employing rigorous analysis. A case in point is CIS’s recent report on the hypothetical cost of processing an “amnesty application.” It is difficult to discern what the point of the report actually is. It would seem to be that unauthorized immigrants are bad for the U.S. economy (which is false), and that legalizing them would offer no benefits for the U.S. economy (which is also false), so there shouldn’t be a new legalization program, but if there is going to be a new legalization program, it should be so expensive that lots of unauthorized immigrants can’t afford it, which would presumably leave a large unauthorized population in the United States, which would presumably still be bad for the U.S. economy. Needless to say, this is a rather convoluted analysis.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/04/05/nativist-group-releases-confusing-report-on-legalization/
Apr 04
The Associated Press Stylebook Drops “Illegal Immigrant,” The Times Debates Following Suit
On Tuesday, the Associated Press (AP) posted a blog saying that they are no longer going to advise writers to use the term “illegal immigrant” in the stylebook. The AP stylebook is considered the standard among American journalists, so the change is likely lead to a marked drop in the use of the controversial term over time. On Wednesday, as responses to the AP’s decision were still coming in, the New York Times blogged that they, too, are reconsidering the use of the term, though the Times’ public editor Margaret Sullivan said she did not expect them to completely “ban the use of “illegal immigrant,” as The A.P. has done.”
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/04/04/the-associated-press-stylebook-drops-illegal-immigrant-the-nyt-debates-following-suit/
Apr 03
Small Business Owners Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Small business owners throughout the United States have a pulse on the goings on within their local communities. They recognize that immigrant workers and their families are also consumers, which helps to create additional jobs and bolster local economies. Within that context, two new polls highlight small business owners’ perspectives of immigration and its positive effects on the ground in communities. Overwhelmingly, the surveys show small business owners, regardless of political affiliation, support comprehensive immigration reform.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/04/03/small-business-owners-support-comprehensive-immigration-reform/
Apr 02
Despite Governor’s Best Efforts, New Mexico Keeps Driver’s Licenses for the Undocumented
By Joan Friedland, Senior Advisor to the National Immigration Law Center
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has failed in her fourth attempt to persuade the New Mexico legislature to repeal the state’s driver’s license law. The law, in effect since 2003, provides access to driver’s licenses for eligible applicants, regardless of their immigration status. This year’s legislative session ended in New Mexico on March 16, after the House and Senate committees considered and rejected driver’s license restrictions.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/04/02/despite-governors-best-efforts-new-mexico-keeps-drivers-licenses-for-undocumented/
Apr 01
Labor and Business Strike Immigration Deal on Worker Program
Over the weekend, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO reached an agreement on a new type of immigrant worker program that has the potential to reshape the way temporary and permanent immigration visas contribute to American immigration policy. Although this is commonly referred to as future immigration flow, it should not be confused with other debates over increasing visas for high skilled workers or increasing employment based green cards. Instead, the agreement represents an attempt to reshape how business and labor will deal with the incredibly complex issues that are part of filling the demand for less-skilled labor in the United States. In the short term, it sets up a series of concepts that both sides would be willing to support in comprehensive immigration reform—but the Gang of Eight still has to convert those concepts into workable legislation.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/04/01/labor-and-business-strike-immigration-deal-on-worker-program/
Mar 29
Pro-Immigrant Measures Make Gains At The State Level
As we reach the midpoint in state legislative sessions, 2013 is shaping up to be a year where most states are moving in a more positive direction when it comes to immigration policy. Lawmakers from both parties have become more inclined to support pro-immigrant measures, shifting away from the anti-immigrant policies that swept across states in previous years.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/03/29/pro-immigrant-measures-make-gains-at-the-state-level/
Mar 28
U.S. Border-Enforcement Programs Target Immigrants Who Aren’t a Threat to Anyone
Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2003, its immigration-enforcement agencies—Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—have been officially devoted to the protection of U.S. national security and the prevention of terrorist attacks. However, the bulk of the work done by CBP and ICE on a day-to-day basis involves apprehending and deporting non-violent immigrants who have only committed immigration offenses such as unlawful entry or re-entry into the United States. The highly punitive treatment of these immigration offenders serves no national-security purpose and is not an effective deterrent.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/03/28/u-s-border-enforcement-programs-target-immigrants-who-arent-a-threat-to-anyone/
Mar 27
Facebook Founder “Likes” Comprehensive Immigration Reform
While immigration reform has long been important to Silicon Valley, for the most part the advocacy has focused on high tech issues such as expanded immigration for workers in science and technology fields and increased access to H-1B temporary visas. The breadth of support for more comprehensive reform, however, has been growing, as it becomes increasingly clear that issues like family-based immigration, enforcement, training the next generation of Americans for the next generation of jobs, and a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants are actually deeply connected.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/03/27/facebook-founder-likes-comprehensive-immigration-reform/
Mar 26
Immigration Reform is an LGBT Issue
By Victoria Neilson, Legal Director, Immigration Equality
This week the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in two cases, Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor, that will forever change the course of the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. While we are hopeful that the Court will strike down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) thereby clearing the way for the federal government, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State, to honor our marriages, no one can predict with any certainty what the Court will do.
Permanent link to this article: http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/03/26/immigration-reform-is-an-lgbt-issue/
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