Congratulations again to our Managing Partner, Charles Kuck, who was named as one of the top 3 business immigration lawyers in the US by Who’s Who Legal, and congratulations to our firm, Kuck Baxter Immigration, which was also named one of the top 10 business and corporate immigration law firms in the US!
There is also lots of updated immigration news below Enjoy!
Tambien, puede leer estas noticias en Espanol! Y, puede ver a Charles Kuck, hablando con CNN en Espanol acerca de la “caravana” de inmigrantes buscando refugio en la frontera de los EEUU y Mexico: http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/
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Kuck Baxter Immigration’s clients enjoyed GREAT success in the H-1B Lottery
It looks like all the results are in for this year’s H-1B Lottery, and after tallying the receipt notices (the rejected applications still have not yet arrived, our selection rate is 53%! Not made for a lottery where USCIS received 190,000 applications for 85,000 visas. Of course, the hard work now begins and USCIS makes every effort to deny each application for new and invented reason!
Have You Checked Out Our Blog?
Our Blog is updated each week with information, breaking news, and answers to questions you need to know! Check out the most recent blog!
Here is the Immigration News
You NEED to Know Now
USCIS Plans to Revise Definition of Specialty Occupation, Employment, Employer-Employee Relationship, Among Other Actions – The letter does not specify how these definitions will be revised or when the proposed regulations will be issued.
Gorsuch Votes Against Trump Administration in Deportation Case; DHS, ICE Issue Statements – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the Democrat-appointed justices in a 5-4 decision in Sessions v. Dimaya holding that a federal law permitting the removal of foreigners guilty of a “crime of violence” is unconstitutionally vague.
Justice Dept. Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Texas Company – The investigation, initiated based on a worker’s complaint, revealed that Themesoft engaged in citizenship status discrimination against an asylee by refusing to process his application because he was not a lawful permanent resident, U.S. citizen, or H-1B visa holder. DOJ noted that asylees have permanent work authorization.
USCIS Announces Convictions in Two Immigration Fraud Cases – USCIS recently announced convictions in two cases related to immigration fraud.
Attorney General Orders ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy for Improper Entries at Southwest Border; President Issues Memo on ‘Catch and Release‘ – Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed federal prosecutors along the southwest border of the United States to adopt immediately a “zero-tolerance policy.” Later the same day, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on “catch and release” at the border and other enforcement actions.
USCIS Completes H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2019 – USCIS said it received 190,098 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 2, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS Launches E-Verify Website – The new website provides information about E-Verify and employment eligibility verification, including employee rights and employer responsibilities in the employment verification process.
EOIR Announces Controversial Metrics for Immigration Judge Performance – The new metrics, to be measured annually, include a goal of 700 case completions per year per IJ with a remand rate of less than 15 percent.
ICE Raids Meat-Packing Plant in Tennessee in Largest Single Workplace Raid in a Decade – Federal authorities arrested 97 people at a Tennessee meat-processing plant on immigration and other charges.
National Guard Troops Deploy to Southern U.S. Border – U.S. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis announced the authorization of up to 4,000 National Guard troops to deploy to the U.S. border with Mexico “to support the Department of Homeland Security border security mission there.”
SPLC Sues DHS for Unconstitutionally Blocking Detained Migrants’ Access to Lawyers –SPLC has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that DHS is violating the Constitution by blocking detained migrants from accessing lawyers. SPLC says the suit is the first of its kind to “highlight decades-long, widespread DHS violations of detained immigrants’ rightful access to counsel in civil immigration prisons in multiple facilities in the Southeast.”
Reminder: SAVE Goes Paperless – As of May 1, 2018, organizations must submit all verification requests electronically.
Global Immigration – Turkey is requiring companies to have online governmental communications accounts to file work permits.
USCIS Plans to Revise Definition of Specialty Occupation, Employment, Employer-Employee Relationship, Among Other Actions
On April 4, 2018, L. Francis Cissna, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), sent a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary discussing the agency’s review of existing regulations, policies, and programs and its development of “a combination of rulemaking, policy memoranda, and operational changes to implement the ‘Buy American and Hire American’ Executive Order.” Mr. Cissna said that, among other things, USCIS plans to propose regulations to revise the definition of specialty occupation “to increase focus on obtaining the best and the brightest foreign nationals via the H-1B program,” and to revise the definitions of employment and employer-employee relationship “to better protect U.S. workers and wages.” In addition, he said DHS will propose “additional requirements designed to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders.” The letter does not specify how these definitions will be revised or when the proposed regulations will be issued.
The letter also confirms USCIS’ plans to propose regulatory changes to remove H-4 dependent spouses from the class of aliens eligible for employment authorization.
Mr. Cissna confirmed that USCIS is also drafting a proposed rule to remove the International Entrepreneur Rule, noting that the rule is currently in effect. He said USCIS has not approved “any parole requests under the International Entrepreneur Rule at this time.”
The USCIS letter is at https://www.judiciary.senate.
Gorsuch Votes Against Trump Administration in Deportation Case; DHS, ICE Issue Statements
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the Democrat-appointed justices in a 5-4 decision in Sessions v. Dimaya holding that a federal law permitting the removal of foreigners guilty of a “crime of violence” is unconstitutionally vague. Among other things, the Court noted that the “ordinary case” of a crime of violence is an excessively speculative thing, and that uncertainty about the level of risk that makes a crime “violent” is fatal. The case involved a permanent resident convicted of the crime of burglary.
Justice Gorsuch concurred in part and concurred in the judgment. Among other things, he agreed with the majority that the Immigration and Nationality Act provision at hand was unconstitutionally vague. He said that in the criminal context, the law generally must afford ordinary people fair notice of the conduct it punishes, and that it was hard to see how the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution might require any less than that in the civil context. With respect to the vagueness of the law in question, he said, “Vague laws invite arbitrary power.” Justice Gorsuch also noted, “The law’s silence leaves judges to their intuitions and the people to their fate. In my judgment, the Constitution demands more.” He said he was persuaded that the “void for vagueness” doctrine “serves as a faithful expression of ancient due process and separation of powers principles the framers recognized as vital to ordered liberty under our Constitution.”
Tyler Q. Houlton, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Press Secretary, said the decision “significantly undermines DHS’s efforts to remove aliens convicted of certain violent crimes,” and that it “allows our nation to be a safe haven for criminals and makes us more vulnerable.” Tom Homan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deputy Director, said he was “disappointed” by the decision. “As a law enforcement agency, ICE will certainly abide by this decision,” he said, but “it will have an adverse impact on our ability to establish that aliens convicted of certain violent crimes…are removable from the United States and ineligible for certain immigration benefits.” He said it was “yet another example of the need for Congress to urgently close the loopholes that allow criminal aliens to avoid removal and remain in the United States.”
The Supreme Court’s opinion is at https://www.supremecourt.gov/
Justice Dept. Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Texas Company
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 20, 2018, that it reached a settlement with Themesoft, Inc., a Texas-based company that provides consulting and staffing services to technology clients. The settlement resolves DOJ’s investigation into whether the company discriminated against a work-authorized immigrant by refusing to allow him to continue in the hiring process.
The investigation, initiated based on a worker’s complaint, revealed that Themesoft engaged in citizenship status discrimination against an asylee by refusing to process his application because he was not a lawful permanent resident, U.S. citizen, or H-1B visa holder. DOJ noted that asylees have permanent work authorization, like U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, refugees, and lawful permanent residents, so employers are generally prohibited from discriminating against them based on their citizenship status. The investigation also revealed that Themesoft requested specific immigration documentation from the worker because of his citizenship or immigration status, even though the INA’s antidiscrimination provision prohibits such conduct.
Under the settlement agreement, Themesoft will pay civil penalties for the alleged citizenship status discrimination and the unfair documentary practices. Themesoft will also post notices informing workers about their rights under the INA’s antidiscrimination provision, train its staff, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements for three years. During the investigation, Themesoft agreed to pay the worker back pay and offered him a job. The Department’s agreement requires Themesoft to timely pay the worker the remainder of the $12,000 in back pay it still owes him.
“Employers must not engage in unlawful discrimination against asylees,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “This settlement serves as a reminder that companies that refer workers to third-party clients should be mindful of their non-discrimination obligations.”
The settlement agreement is at https://www.justice.gov/opa/
USCIS Announces Convictions in Two Immigration Fraud Cases
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced convictions in two cases related to immigration fraud.
On April 18, 2018, Jessica Godoy Ramos of Lynwood, California, was sentenced for stealing the identity of a New York attorney and filing immigration petitions on behalf of foreign nationals who believed she was a legitimate lawyer, USCIS announced. Ramos was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Upon completion of the prison term, she will spend six months in home detention. Calling the crimes “despicable,” presiding U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee also ordered Ramos to pay $29,693 in restitution to 16 identified victims.
According to USCIS, Ms. Ramos accepted tens of thousands of dollars from dozens of people who sought her services in an attempt to obtain legal status in the United States. Using the name of the New York attorney, Ms. Ramos filed immigration petitions on behalf of some of the people, but in other cases, she never performed any services. Ms. Ramos also created counterfeit immigration parole documents to make it appear that she had successfully represented her clients.
According to court documents, Ms. Ramos’ clients initially believed she was a legitimate immigration attorney, but several became suspicious when she directed them to appear at USCIS offices for interviews but they did not have any scheduled appointments.
Sentencing in the second case took place on April 19, 2018. That case involved the owner of four schools, Hee Sun Shim of Hancock Park, California. Mr. Shim enrolled hundreds of foreign nationals to fraudulently obtain immigration documents, which allowed them to remain in the United States as “students” even though they rarely, if ever, attended classes. He was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit more than $450,000.
Mr. Shim, along with two co-defendants, ran a “pay-to-stay” scheme through three schools in Koreatown: Prodee University/Neo-America Language School; Walter Jay M.D. Institute, an Educational Center; and the American College of Forensic Studies. A fourth school in Alhambra, Likie Fashion and Technology College, was also involved in the scheme, which ran for at least five years, USCIS said.
USCIS attributed the convictions to the “considerable efforts of the [USCIS] Los Angeles Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) unit. Los Angeles FDNS immigration officers worked closely with law enforcement and intelligence community partners to resolve potential fraud, national security and public safety concerns, and to ensure exchange of current and comprehensive information.”
The USCIS announcement is at https://bit.ly/2JhUyDU.
Attorney General Orders ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy for Improper Entries at Southwest Border; President Issues Memo on ‘Catch and Release’
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum on April 6, 2018, directing federal prosecutors along the southwest border of the United States to adopt immediately a “zero-tolerance policy for all offenses referred for prosecution under [8 U.S.C.] section 1325(a).” Later the same day, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on “catch and release” at the border and other enforcement actions.
Mr. Sessions said the new zero-tolerance policy supersedes any existing policies, and that it should be applied “to the extent practicable, and in consultation with [the Department of Homeland Security.” If adopting such a policy requires additional resources, Mr. Sessions directs each office to identify and request those resources.
“You are on the front lines of this battle,” the memo states. “I respect you and your team.” He reminded federal prosecutors that “our goal is not simply more cases. It is to end the illegality in our immigration system.”
8 U.S.C. § 1325(a) states:
(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
The Trump memo directs the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Defense, and Health and Human Services, along with the Attorney General, to submit reports detailing all measures that their departments “have pursued or are pursuing to expeditiously end ‘catch and release’ practices.” Among other things, the reports must include measures taken to “allocate all legally available resources” to ensure the detention of people for violations of immigration law at or near the U.S. borders, and must provide a “detailed list of all existing facilities, including military facilities, that could be used, modified, or repurposed to detain aliens for violations of immigration law at or near the borders of the United States.” The reports must also include the number of credible fear and reasonable fear claims received, granted, and denied, in each year since the beginning of fiscal year 2009, “broken down by the purported protected ground upon which a credible fear or reasonable fear claim was made.”
The Sessions memo is at https://bit.ly/2qeOzIH. The Trump memo is at https://bit.ly/2uS3Q7d.
USCIS Completes H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2019
On April 11, 2018, USCIS announced that it had used a computer-generated random process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap and the U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2019.
USCIS said it received 190,098 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 2, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS announced on April 6 that it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 and the master’s cap of 20,000. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees unless the petition is a prohibited multiple filing.
USCIS conducted the selection process for the master’s cap first. All unselected master’s cap petitions then became part of the random selection process for the 65,000 cap, USCIS said.
The agency said it will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, also will not be counted toward the FY 2019 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:
- Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
- Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
- Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
- Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.
The announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/
USCIS Launches E-Verify Website
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently launched a new website, E-Verify.gov. USCIS called it “the authoritative source for information on electronic employment eligibility verification.” The website is intended for employers, employees, and the general public.
The website provides information about E-Verify and Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, including employee rights and employer responsibilities in the employment verification process. The site “allows employers to enroll in E-Verify directly and permits current users to access their accounts. Individuals with myE-Verify accounts can also access their accounts through E-Verify.gov,” USCIS said.
Employers can access E-Verify from a Web browser. Nearly all employees are confirmed as work-authorized “instantly or within 24 hours,” the agency said. The system, which has nearly 800,000 enrolled employers, compares information from an employee’s I-9 to records available to the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to verify authorization to work in the United States.
USCIS said it “encourages all U.S. employers to verify all new hires through E-Verify.” The announcement is at https://bit.ly/2JAvJnl.
EOIR Announces Controversial Metrics for Immigration Judge Performance
In a move that provoked immediate controversy, James McHenry, Director of the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), sent a memorandum on March 30, 2018, to all Immigration Judges (IJs) announcing the establishment of new performance metrics effective October 1, 2018. The memo notes that the “impact and implementation” of the metrics are subject to bargaining with the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ)
.
The new metrics, to be measured annually, include a goal of 700 case completions per year per IJ with a remand rate of less than 15 percent. “Needs improvement” is defined as completing more than 560 but fewer than 700 cases per year and a remand rate of between 15 and 20 percent. Benchmarks for satisfactory performance include, among other things, cases completed on the initial hearing date for 100 percent of credible fear and reasonable fear reviews unless the Department of Homeland Security “does not produce the alien on the hearing date.”
Lawrence O. Burman, secretary of NAIJ, predicted that “[i]t’s going to be a disaster and it’s going to slow down the adjudications.” The president of NAIJ, Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor, said, “Clearly this is not justice,” and predicted the plan will “undermine the very integrity of the court.” Paul Schmidt, former chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals, echoed those concerns, noting that when cases were rushed in the past, not only were mistakes made that resulted in returns from the federal Courts of Appeals, thus increasing the backlog, but some of the “botched, incorrect orders resulted in unjust removals because individuals lacked the resources or were too discouraged to fight their cases.” Judge Tabaddor also said in an email to Mr. Schmidt:
Last Friday we all received the Director’s announcement of his decision to impose quotas and deadlines on immigration judges as a basis of our individual performance evaluations effective October 2018. To clarify any confusion, I would like to re-iterate that at no point has NAIJ ever agreed that quotas and deadlines are an appropriate manner in which to evaluate immigration judge performance. To the contrary, NAIJ has always remained deeply concerned about this unprecedented decision which undermines our independent decision-making authority, invites unnecessary litigation, and adds to the existing burdens and demands on our judges.
Mr. McHenry’s cover memo is at
http://www.abajournal.com/
ICE Raids Meat-Packing Plant in Tennessee in Largest Single Workplace Raid in a Decade
In the largest single workplace raid in a decade, federal authorities arrested 97 people at a Tennessee meat-processing plant on immigration and other charges. Of those, 86 were reportedly arrested on civil immigration charges; 32 were released without explanation and 54 were detained. In addition to the immigration charges, company owners are being investigated for alleged tax evasion and hiring undocumented workers.
The operation was conducted jointly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
National Guard Troops Deploy to Southern U.S. Border
U.S. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis announced on April 6, 2018, the authorization of up to 4,000 National Guard troops to deploy to the U.S. border with Mexico “to support the Department of Homeland Security border security mission there.” National Guard troops began deploying after the announcement.
In a joint statement, Mr. Mattis and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said DHS worked closely with border-state governors and identified security vulnerabilities the National Guard could address.
President Donald J. Trump authorized the National Guard, with the affected governors’ approval, to enhance its support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southern U.S. border. The troops “will not perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants or other individuals detained by DHS without approval from Mattis,” according to the Department of Defense. “Arming will be limited to circumstances that might require self-defense,” the National Guard announcement noted.
The National Guard’s efforts will include “aviation, engineering, surveillance, communications, vehicle maintenance and logistical support,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said in a news briefing on April 5, 2018.
The National Guard’s statement is at http://www.nationalguard.mil/
SPLC Sues DHS for Unconstitutionally Blocking Detained Migrants’ Access to Lawyers
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is violating the Constitution by blocking detained migrants from accessing lawyers. SPLC says the suit is the first of its kind to “highlight decades-long, widespread DHS violations of detained immigrants’ rightful access to counsel in civil immigration prisons in multiple facilities in the Southeast.” The suit names DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal officials as defendants.
SPLC said that in 2017 it launched the “Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative” to enlist and train volunteer lawyers to provide free legal representation to detained migrants in removal proceedings in the southeast United States. “About 250 volunteers, including attorneys, law students and interpreters, have come to the South to offer free assistance, only to have client meetings delayed or denied, or they have been unable to communicate with clients due to limits on electronics that can facilitate interpretation,” SPLC said. “DHS intentionally selects private companies who operate immigration prisons as cash cows in remote, rural areas of the Southeast that are beyond the reach of most lawyers,” said Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director for the SPLC. “Their profit model is to simply warehouse as many people as they can for as long as they can, and they resist having to accommodate legal visits while remaining immune from any scrutiny or oversight. With this lawsuit, we are demanding that DHS be held accountable for the choices it makes.”
The complaint is at https://www.splcenter.org/
Reminder: SAVE Goes Paperless
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program issued a reminder that SAVE will become a fully electronic process. As of May 1, 2018, organizations must submit all verification requests electronically. SAVE will no longer process mailed submissions of Forms G-845, Documentation Verification Request, and Form G-845, 3rd Step Document Verification Request. Any paper forms received after that date will be returned without a response.
Questions may be emailed to [email protected]. For more information about SAVE, see https://www.uscis.gov/save/
ABIL Global: Turkey
Turkey is requiring companies to have online governmental communications accounts to file work permits.
Several years ago, Turkey created an online registration system for receiving official government communications and notices electronically. The Information, Communication and Technologies Authority of Turkey (under the Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication) created the online communication system for private companies and individuals to receive official notices from various government agencies, called the KEP system (kayitli electronik posta).
The Ministry of Labor (MOL) recently announced that companies and individuals who sponsor work permits must register and use the KEP system. MOL will use the system to electronically handle filings, approvals, cancellations, or Requests for Further Evidence.
KEP Registration Generally
All companies in Turkey (with certain exceptions regarding Liaison Offices) must be registered for the KEP system. A KEP account can be purchased by each company through one of the eight entities designated by the Information, Communication and Technologies Authority (link below). The company then designates a specific individual to act as contact, who is the company’s relevant Social Security (SS) e-notification authority (“designee”). The designee must then obtain an electronic activation tool in the form of a memory stick from the agency to load onto the company’s system.
KEP Registration for MOL/Turkish Work Permits
To initiate the KEP system for work permits, the designee must complete the Company’s MOL registration through the online system at https://ecalismaizni.csgb.gov.
Problems with the KEP System
The use of the KEP account has not been universally welcomed. One point of contention involves the lack of flexibility with regard to whom the company selects as the designee and e-signature memory-stick holder. This is because the KEP system for MOL requires that an e-signature be given to the person designated by a company to be the SS contact. Since many larger companies have third parties designated to be the SS contact (a payroll service provider, for example), reluctance to give that same third party an e-signature for the company is not surprising. Hopefully, the MOL and KEP managers may be able to increase flexibility or change the system to address this business concern.
For further information, see https://www.btk.gov.tr/tr-TR/
Government Agency Links
Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Service Centers and the Department of Labor, and the Department of State’s latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers:
USCIS Service Center processing times online: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/
Department of State Visa Bulletin: https://travel.state.gov/
Visa application wait times for any post: https://travel.state.gov/
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