Immigration for New Businesses

The Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas, recently said, in a speech at MIT that the Obama administration realizes that immigration process is bad for new business /entrepreneurs and is working to make it better.

The Obama administration in keeping with their party line, has been far worse than the previous administration on business immigration.  ( And yes, I am a democrat).  In 2010, the administration issued an inane memo about employers "directly controlling" their employees.  When people, including ex Congressman who helped draft the H-1B bill complained, the CIS started selectively using that memo for H-1B from Computer Consulting industry and not other industries. Where is the rule of law, Mr. President?  Additionally,  the approval depends on the whim of individual officers rather than any objective criteria. I know its hard to create an objective black and white rule about businesses which will last, and others which won't, but the CIS should be able to have some of that "direct control" over its employees.

I understand that there is a lot of fraud. Employers may bench employees for some time. However this is the reality of their business. Why not let the market place solve this issue?  It amazes me that change/extension of status is so hard for employment based visas.  Yet these people entered legally and is highly educated.  Why not defer action them, and show some mercy to people who are actually working in high paying jobs and paying taxes?

Business Immigration is an issue that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on.  These immigrants are not illegal, educated with at least a Bachelor's Degree or higher, bring in money, or work and produce income and is good for the economy.  Last year a bill to do away with country quotas passed with a 97% approval in the House. Yet all democrats voted against the Republican sponsored STEM act in December.  Republicans and Democrats, you wont offend anybody, including your base, by agreeing with each other for once.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Immigration Reform Can and Should be done Piece Meal

At the onset let me make it clear that I am a Democrat.  And a liberal one at that. But today, I applaud the Republicans and perhaps hate the Democrats on Immigration issues. Today the House will vote for the STEM Act. The Stem act does away with the Diversity visa and gives visas to highly qualified Science and Technology Graduates, who are in the country legally.

The Democrats of course think that these Science and Tech grads will become high earning and won't vote for them. Seriously, Silicon Valley is largely Democratic. But if the Democrats dont do anything for them, maybe Silicon Valley will turn Republican. They Democrats want a huge comprehensive Immigration Act. This is an act for illegals and legals and everyone else.  And this will take time, and may not materialize. The Democrats are also behaving in a high handed manner.  Yes, the country voted Democratic ( for the record I also voted straight party Democrat) for the Presidential election. But the House is still majority Republican. And if the Democrats don't compromise, then just like the last four years, we will have no legislation.

The Democrats have to answer this:  Would the United States benefit more from a highly qualified Science and Math graduate who was born in say India or China, rather than a High School Graduate born in Africa who will come in with the Diversity Visa. Bear in mind, this country still have a lot of high school graduates (heck we still have a lot of college graduates) still looking for work.

Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues simply cannot be ANTI BUSINESS IMMIGRATION.  Lets face it, the word COMPREHENSIVE means both business and family immigration.  And Immigration is too big an issue to handle all at once.  And lets start piece meal. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Thanking for What?

I wish I could say Thank you for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. I wish I could say thank you to a Congress that actually cared about the people rather than their own reelection. I wish the Republicans and Democrats could work together. 

But I can't. I cant even give thanks to Mr. Obama for the new DACA law.  Why? Because most officers are asking for documents that are sometimes impossible to get. The applicants have to prove that they were in the United States from 07.  After they graduate High School, they work illegally for cash. They live with their parents. Why is it not enough that they went to school here in the United States and graduated high school? 

But the Immigrant vote is growing.  And both Republicans and Democrats need those votes to win.  

On my list:

1. Give legal status to people here illegally, (provided they have a job and clean status) so that they can pay taxes and pay for services rendered to them

2. Do away with country quotas which are remnants of Xenophobia and grant visas to people irrespective of national origin or color, equally

3 Do away with quotas for non immigrant visas and let the free market system dictate the amount

4. Standardize the granting of visas from all consulates around the globe. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

4 More years----We need Immigration Reform

We the people voted in Obama for a second term. In the first term many Republicans in Congress simply would not pass anything.  They wanted the President to fail.  They simply collected pay from the taxes of American people and did nothing.

Mitt Romney, in his concession speech said he would like America to come together. I don't know if this is just another Romney lie. Hopefully they will cooperate, because if not, the public will not look at them favorably in 2016.

However if they dont, Obama need to forge ahead with Immigration Reform. The Deferred action for illegal Immigrants need to become law.  So does business immigration, including entrepreneurs and investors.  And Professionals, And researchers. We build this nation by Immigrants. And to do away with restrictive country quotas for visas. 

We have again elected a black President.  The other choice was a Mormon. Its high time we give Liberty and Justice for all---whether they are gays, immigrants or different religious beliefs.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Getting to the end of the Green Card Process

The Labor Certification in effect certifies that no qualified Americans are there to do the job.  Provided an employer advertises and tests the job market, and cannot find an American to do the specific job, a labor is certified.  Many employers have not found anyone in the first place, therefore they employ the beneficiary.  But that is NOT the end of the road. To get the Green card (Permanent Resident Card)

However this is NOT the end of the road. The next step is I-140. here the USCIS ascertains that the Employee has the required education, experience and training. The Employer also has to have the ability to pay the employee. And often this is where the labor certification is denied and the process ends. 

There are a lot of reasons for this. Sometimes many employees want Second Preference, especially if they were born in India or China.  However the prevailing wage for that is very high, especially if one uses a Bachelor's Degree and five years experience.  The employer may not be paying the employee that much.  And many employers take deduction and do not show net profit.

The easiest and surest way to prove that the employer has the ability to pay is either the employer pay the employee the amount of prevailing wage or the employer shows more than this amount in their net profit. There are other ways too, for instance:

The employer had some unforeseen expenses like opening a new office and took Depreciation 

The employer is an established business and routinely earned a high income, however due to a particular recession (like the 2009 housing bust) they are unable to perform in a particular year. 

Note these factors are not sure bets.  The USCIS looks at the totality of circumstances.  However all these factors needs to be discussed BEFORE filing the labor certification.  It is also a good practice to get the Prevailing Wage from the Dept of Labor before advertising, so that the process can end if the employer cannot meet the wages, or the Labor can be filed under EB-3 with lower wages instead of EB-2. 

Also the Employer has to show the ability to pay from the time of the filing of the Green card until the employee gets the green card.

Also bear in mind that the ability to pay has to be shown from the year the Labor Certification is filed. So if the employer has financial difficulty in 2012, it is better to file the labor certification in 2013.  However it is completely useless to get a labor certified if the I-140 and even the I-485 is not certified. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

DOMA ruled Unconstitutional

Edith Windsor was in a relationship for a long time, and was married in Canada in 2009. She is 83 and lived in New York. When her spouse died the federal Government levied a tax of $363,000/- that would not be ordinarily levied on a widow.  Why? Because Edith was a lesbian, and the marriage was same sex.

The IRS looks to a State law in determining whether the person is married. New York recognized gay marriages in 2011. But the couple was married in 2009. Under the Federal Law Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) , the word spouse is defined as a person of the opposite sex. The second circuit yesterday became the second federal court to rule that DOMA is unconstitutional. It takes away the rights of same sex couples that are inherent in heterosexual couples.

Although this case is a tax case, it has humongous impact on Immigration. Many long term same sex couples cannot get the immigration benefits from being married to their long time spouse.  They are actually penalized more heavily than even Edith Windsor.  Many times they are forced to live illegally, with no immigration benefits, but simply because of the love for their partners. If that partner dies, they cannot gain anything monetarily.

Same sex marriage is legal in 6 states and the District of Columbia. 5 more States allow Civil union. 4  States are voting on the issue in November.  Hopefully the tides will turn and we can actually become a land that guarantees "liberty and Justice for all."

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Documentation for the Undocumented

President Obama decreed that students and those who at least graduated high school, has a clean record, and had arrived here illegally as a minor through no fault of their own would not be deported and can get temporary work permits.  The children had to have arrived before 2007,  before the age of 16, and have been present continuously present in the country and been here on June 15, 2012. This sounds good, and many people qualify.  But the problem for many kids is getting the documents.  If they were registered in school since 2007 to present, then school records should suffice.  But the problem comes in where the children graduated from high school before June 2012.

After they graduate, many children simply live with their parents.  They dont have lease, or utility bills under their name.

They work illegally for cash. Their employers dont want to say that to the government, and understandably so.  Since they deal in cash, they dont have receipts, bank accounts or credit cards.

They are generally in good health and don't visit doctors or hospitals.

Although they attend church regularly, what United States Citizenship and Immigration Office is looking for is baptism, first communion or wedding records. Just letters from pastors stating that he has seen them attend church may not be enough.

Some of the other evidence would be maybe Facebook records or phone records for texting, or maybe internet postings.  But not all children are computer savvy enough to get this from 2007. And  many may not have Facebook accounts in 2007, and many may not have kept their MySpace accounts from 2007.  Also those records must somehow establish that the children were in the United States. These children certainly did not think, let me post, "Beautiful day in Houston" in 2007, in the hope that maybe sometime in the distant future this would establish that they were living in Houston since 2007.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

PERM Audits

Anyone who is recently filing a PERM-Labor Certification knows that the Department of Labor (DOL) is auditing a significant portion of them. I think this is in response to the financial melt down. Lehman Brothers fell in 2008 starting the financial crisis, but it takes DOL this long, (and right about the time we are going back to solvency) to institute a new policy.  Or maybe the Administration just wants to find work for its top heavy officers.  But for whatever reason, PERM audits have increased.

Those who have filed even one PERM knows that DOL is huge on form rather than substance. (After all this organization still believes in newspapers). You have to dot ever i and cross every t. So use the copy and paste function in your computer.  We draft one advertisement, and then copy and paste it for the ads, the prevailing wage, the notice, everything.

Be sure to say travel required nationally, if thats the case. And yes, you can input it in H-14.  But it is not necessary to input the Kellog magic language.  If you do, watch out for the DOL genie to come back and scrutinize if you have considered people with "suitable combination of education and experience. "

Its especially galling that DOL is asking whether the employer or employee paid for the perm. The employer already has to open their own account with the DOL and sign the attorney in. The DOL e mails the employer and asks about the filing once its done.  Why dont they have a question there asking whether the employer paid for the perm? Or in fact all the salient points. That way you save the hassle and time loss for an audit.  But then, when have Government agencies ever been paid to think.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Race and Immigration

The civil war abolishing slavery was won in 1865. Yet, race continued to be a factor in American society and legal system until the 1950s.  Blacks were never "equal" in the South until Brown vs. Board of Education was adjudicated in 1954. The history of Immigration law is replete with blatant discrimination against people of race, color and national origin. 

A series of acts were passed from 1882 to 1934 called as Asian Exclusion Act, aimed at excluding immigrants from China, Japan, India and Philippines.  It is actually quite funny how the court system tried to justify these exclusions.  They were of course based on nothing but color.  In Ozawa V United States (1922) the Supreme Court did not want to use the term "white" and exclude all other colors.  So they used the term "Caucasian".  However people from India are also of Caucasian descent. So Mr. Bhagat Singh Thind from India wanted to be granted Citizenship, the court was forced to use the term "white" and  exclude all other immigrants.  The court rationalized that unlike European "white" people, people from India cannot readily assimilate into the American society. 

I would love to say that was back then, and how far we have gone, but I simply cant. In 1952, the Mc Carran Walter Act abolished the Asian exclusion act, and started accepting Asians, although restricting them on an ethnic quota.  In 1965, the term "ethnic quota" was changed to "National Origin."  What that means is that if you are an  Asian born in UK you are Ok.   But if you were born in India or China, you have to wait longer than all other people.  And this despite the fact that people from India and China are generally highly educated. 

Asian Americans pay the highest taxes among all ethnic groups. They have the highest SAT scores.  Yet we have very few is any representation in all three branches of the Government. I thought our country was founded upon the principal of  "No taxation without representation."

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Eb-2 Visa Wait Times for India

The October visa bulletin released recently by the Department of State has retrogressed the Priority Date of the EB-2 petitions for India to September 01. 2004 and for China to July 15, 2007.  A lot of clients are asking whether that means they have to wait forever.  Unfortunately visa numbers don’t go by a clear cut mathematical progression, but rather a probability forecast by the Department of State based on approximation of current petitions pending at the Citizenship and Immigration Service.  

Every country is given the same quota for immigration purposes.  India and China being large countries with an enormous amount of higher educated people, the second employment based quota gets filled up very quickly.  Thus people born in India or China have to wait in line, while people born in other countries get the Green Card (Permanent Resident Card) without any wait. 

The Department of State has projected (and note this is a projection only) that the EB-2 numbers for India will go up to 2010 by Spring of 2013.  Also note that a bill was passed by the Congress overwhelmingly to do away with the per country quota.  It is being held up by one lone Senator, Senator Grassley in the Senate.  That bill will probably not get through until the new administration.  But if that bill ever gets passed, it will cut down the wait times for people born in India.

However, there is no guarantee.  And the pendulum can swing the other way and it might take a lot of years (ie even more than the current wait time of 8 years).  There simply is no way to predict. 

For those people fortunate enough to file the I-485 this spring or earlier, after 180 days of filing,  a new employer can port the sponsorship provided the new job is same and similar.  Another issue is that often, once the Priority Date becomes current, the Citizenship and Immigration Service  simply produces and sends the Green Card (Permanent Resident Card).  They do not check or issue any Request for Evidence. Sometimes beneficiary is not working for that sponsoring Company.  However when such beneficiary tries to get the US Citizenship, they risk the chance of losing their Green Card (Permanent Resident Card).  So please make sure that those portability letters are sent out to Citizenship and Immigration Service with the new employers, and keep a copy of it.

  Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

DACA PERILS

Last night in his acceptance for the nomination speech at the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama said, "You're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she's ever called home,"   

Yet the Deferred Adjudication for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has seen less applicants than predicted. There are two reasons for this:

Deferred Action is simply a means for the Government to say, we wont deport you.  But the process is entirely discretionary. ie Each Immigration Judge, or the CIS makes that decision.  

The regulations say that a person will be barred for a "Significant misdemeanor" .  There is no definition of that term.  It probably means that if anyone has just one misdemeanor  for say driving without license, it will be Ok.  But what if someone has 2 misdemeanors? I have been advising clients who have this, to hold off, and see outcomes in other cases. 

The other thing is the outcome of the elections.  DACA is just an executive decision. If Romney gets elected, he can easily stop the program, and even start deporting the dreamers. Thus it is prudent to hold off on filing these applications. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Texas Driver's License will be issued to DACA recipients

According to a  Department of Public Safety memo to its officers, the Texas DPS Public Relations Office says that the Deferred Action candidates will get the Texas Driver's License. Simply getting the I-821D and the work permit is not enough though. One will have to go through the whole process of getting a new license.  After getting the work permit, one has to get the Social Security number before applying for the Driver's license. 

"All first time applicants for a Texas driver license must:

1. Apply in person at a Texas driver license office.
2. Present documents that verify your identity.
3. Present documents that verify you are a U.S. citizen or have lawful presence. All information on each document must match. Additional documentation may be required to verify conflicting information, incomplete names, and date of birth.
4. Present proof of Social Security Number. If you do not have a Social Security Number, you must complete a Social Security Affidavit form available at the driver license office.
5. Present proof of your Texas residency.
6. Present proof of Texas vehicle registration and liability insurance on all vehicles you own.
7. Complete the application for driver license or identification card (PDF). You may type your information on the form, print it, and bring it with you to the office. If you don’t have a printer, the form is also available at the office.
8. Consent to be photographed, fingerprinted, and provide your signature at the time of application.
9. Pass the written, driving, and vision examinations. (Read more about foreign language examinations.)
10. Pay the required fee with a credit card, cash, money order, or a non-temporary check.
11. Provide a vehicle for the driving exam and present current liability insurance, Texas vehicle registration, and inspection for the vehicle."

The license will be horizontal, and look like a temporary license.  It will be issued for 2 years, or the validity of the work permit. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Dreamers' Hardships

Its hell to be poor.  Its even more hell to be poor and without papers.  As I am seeing the clients for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, (DACA) I am shocked to see how the police have treated them in Harris and Fort Bend Counties of Texas. These individuals are taken to jail at the drop of a hat.  Very often they don't have money to fight these charges.

One of my clients went to a local Jack in the Box to get breakfast for his family in a bright sunny Texas morning. When coming back,  in his neighborhood, a cop car followed him. He had his lights on, but my client did not see him, because it was a bright morning.  There was no  probable cause for following him.  My client pulled into his own home, 9 doors down from where he was followed by the police. The police handcuffed him, and took him to jail for evading arrest. There were no driving violations, why was the cop even following him? My client  got out the next day on bail. They found a lawyer and after spending $4000/-, their case was dismissed by the judge.

In several cases, the dreamers were jailed simply for speeding 10 miles over the speed limit.  A rich kid would never be booked for this.

These things are happening in Texas counties, I shudder to think what is happening in Maricopa County in Arizona. Even now Arizona and Nebraska (and maybe even Texas) are going to deny these dreamers the driver's license, even though the federal government is giving them work permits.  They will have to drive illegally and without insurance to get to work.

Governments are supposed to look after the welfare of their residents. But these Republican State Governors think its better to fight the Obama regime than to look after their citizen' welfare.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Immigration and Republicans

The republican campaign have on the whole catered to their socially conservative base and been either silent or hostile on the issue of immigration.  But today, two Republican proponents of Immigration, NYC mayor, Bloomberg, and Rupert Murdoch blasted Mitt Romney for the Republican stance on Immigration. In a panel discussion, Mr. Murdoch said that there is a huge shortage of  Technology and Science graduates and that he is amazed that we dont grant automatic visas to Master's Degree holders  instead of  making them go through the "restrictive H-1B visa process".

The Republicans have been friendly to business immigration.  However, Romney and Ryan dont seem to care about Immigration.  The Campaign's attitude is that Immigration is a Hispanic issue and they have given up on those votes.  The Deferred Action  of  Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been wrongly criticized by the Republican party as back door amnesty.  All these dreamers are getting is a work permit, and they are young, educated, came  into this country through no fault of their own and have no criminal records.  We educated these people in our public schools, and yet we don't give them the right to drive or work. They live and fall sick, and we pay for their health care. Yet they are denied the basic right of survival. Why not give them the right to work and earn their own living?

20 years from now, the population of the United States will not be a majority of religious, conservative, anti gay, anti women's rights, gun toting, country music loving individuals. And the rest of the population will not forgive this Republican party. Unless of course the Republican party  does another 360 degrees turn and become the party of Abe Lincoln again.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

The PERM form 9089 should completely match all advertisements

The DOL has complex rationale, where the filing of a PERM form, 9089 becomes a mechanical process, whereby one should suspend their thought process. In a recent case, Prosoft Associates Inc,  The employer put down "drug testing and background check in the job order for the State Workforce Agency, but forgot to add that to the 9089.  The employer later sought to amend it, but  the Board of Alien Labor certification (BALCA) cannot look at new evidence.  Neither does the Certifying Officer give any leeway to an employer to change anything. BALCA held that the requirement of drug testing and background check, not otherwise mentioned in 9089, would "deter otherwise well qualified individuals from applying."  Everyone with common sense realizes that the employer simply forgot to add this requirement in the 9089, and that such requirements are routine part of most employers.  But then, the Dept of Labor lacks that sense.  And of course people with common sense don't visit the DOL's website to look for jobs either. 

The simple thing to do is to craft a final job description, and then copy and paste it in the Prevailing Wage Request, every advertisement, and in the 9089. That way, employers wont make mistakes. Because whatever the employer does on the 9089 form is chiseled in stone like the ten commandments, never to be corrected. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

American Dreamers

Who Can File?

1. Did you come to the US before your 15^th birthday?
2. Did you live in the US continuously (ie did not leave US) since August 15, 2007?
3. Are you currently under the age of 31?
4. Are you currently in school, have a high school diploma, A GED certificate, or honorably discharged by the military?
5. Do you have any criminal record—ie Felony or a significant Misdemeanor?
6. Were you present in the US on June 15, 2012?
7. Were you out of status on or before June 30, 2012?

When can you apply?

The Citizenship and Immigration Service has said they will release information on August 15, and you can apply from that day

What documents do you need?

1. Proof of present enrollment in school, or Diploma or certificate or military
2. Proof of being in the United States before 16^th birthday----- proof of school records from 9^th or 10^th grade or below.
3. Birth certificate—If in other language, translated in English
4. Proof of current residence (in June) in the United States----like bills, pay checks, school records, etc
5. Citizenship and Immigration Service fees of $380/-
6. 2 passport size photos
7. If minor criminal record, proof of it.

What will You get?

You will not get the Green Card (Permanent Resident Card).  But you will get the WORK PERMIT, can work legally, and won’t get deported

What is the procedure?

You will file on or after August 15^th.

You will have to go in for fingerprints

You can check your status on line

Then you will have the Work Permit mailed to you by Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Michelle Bachmann has accused Hillary Clinton of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood because one of her long time aid, Huma Abedin is a Muslim. Others in the far right also "accuse" President Obama of being a Muslim, simply because his father happened to be Muslim.

Hard to believe that this country was founded on the principle of religious freedom. The Tea party and the far right build their campaign on hatred.  Huma Abedin, the Hillary Clinton aid was born of Muslim parents.  her father was from India, and her mother was from Pakistan, before the two countries were separated.  They both have their PhDs from U Penn, an Institution which Ms. Bachmann will never get into.

Meanwhile Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been accused of racial profiling in Arizona. And Scalia has stated slavery as a precedent for having individual states control federal immigration law. 

I guess there has always been a segment of society, who has hated other people. And most often they are fueled by religion. Every religion, in order to propagate their views has to state that they are the only religion.  And then they base their platform on hatred, whether its for gays, or Muslims or whoever is weak, in order to gain support for their cause.  And thus the religious people, in the guise of being pious, continue their culture of hatred, shaking the very foundation of America.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

How to Choose an Immigration Attorney

This is an age of specialization.  Of course, if you have an immigration issue, it makes sense to go to an immigration attorney. But there is super specialization even within the field of immigration.  There is business immigration (where employer sponsors). There is family immigration where a blood relative sponsors. Then there is Asylum, deportation, etc where courts handle the problems.  All these fields are varied, with vast knowledge required for each. Although there are lawyers who does every type of immigration, it is usually difficult to keep abreast of all types of immigration law. Thus if you have a simple problem, sure, a general immigration lawyer will do.  Just like if you have a cold or a hang nail, a GP will be fine.  But if you have a complicated problem, and go to a lawyer who does not specialize in that type of immigration law, the lawyer may not be able to competently handle your case.

I do mainly business immigration, and see a lot of cases where deportation lawyers screw up business immigration cases. For instance, I've seen lawyers doing PERM, instead of H-1B, thereby putting beneficiary out of status, and unable to adjust.  I have seen L-1A visa holders for whom lawyers did PERM on EB-3.  I've seen H-1B extended with B and then the lawyer files perm. Of course the B gets rejected due to the dual intent.

I am sure, that deportation lawyers might have seen similar horrible situations when business immigration lawyers do hearings.

It is hard of course for the common person to figure out what type of case they have, and what attorney to go to. Thus clients should ask their lawyers:

1. How many cases of exactly the same type have you handled previously

2. How many denials, how many approvals

Although no client has ever done this, and I know it probably impacts the lawyer client relationship, it may not be a bad idea to have this in writing from the lawyer. After all, the lawyer gives you a retainer agreement, I dont see why you cannot have things in writing from the lawyer.

Also, please check the educational certificates of the lawyer. In general,the higher the college they graduated from, the higher their ranking in their college, the better the lawyer will be. Check to see if they were in Law Review. Also, in general, lawyers graduating from a foreign college, (unless its a high profile college you've heard of, like Oxford or Cambridge) its usually a good idea to avoid them.  Foreign lawyers just have to pass a minimal standard bar exam, which they study for very hard and pass.  And even then, they have exams from the 50 states to choose from, and generally choose the easy states.

In the end, clients have to follow buyer beware rules. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Red State, Blue State

Increasingly, United States is divided into the Red State and Blue State.  One is liberal, asking for social rights, the other is conservative, asking for less governmental interference. Yet immigration was an issue that transcended party lines.  And for the most part it still does.  The doing away with per country quota for Green card passed the house and senate with support from both sides.  Business Immigration for the most part is supported by both sides. Yet the difference is becoming increasingly evident in the illegal immigrant field.

While Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia, the red states passed anti immigration local laws, California for instance has a bill termed "Anti Arizona."  California feels that if local law enforcement has the right to check immigration documents of people they stop for probable cause, it will lead to impermissible targeting of minorities. 

Yet in the final analysis, the decision to restrict illegal immigration is a financial one. If immigrants feel threatened in one state, they will just go into another.  Arizona businesses are already feeling the sting of the Immigration Act, and even Governor Brewer  was backing down on some of the principles of the bill. And Georgia had half its crops going bad, with no one to pick the crops.  And Republicans love businesses. 

If the Republican party can concede to their financial segment rather than their extreme right wing militia, they can come to terms with illegal immigration. Then the Congress can pass a comprehensive immigration reform.  If so, at the least, the American public will not hate Congress, at the best, everyone, from Mexican immigrants to big business will be happy with both parties. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Freedom from Hatred

Every year around the July 4th holiday we hear a lot of patriotic rhetoric, and many profess love for our country.  Yet can love be prefaced with hatred? To some individual, love for the United States translates to hatred for individuals, who they perceive to be here illegally. They go back to the birth of America but forget that at that time their forefathers were "illegal" in this land.

As Charles Garcia wrote in a piece by CNN, the term "illegal Immigrant" is a slur. This term was omitted in the majority opinion in  US v. Arizona, which recognized the contribution of immigrants in the modern US society.  Mr. Garcia notes that unauthorized stay in the US is a civil offense, while the term "illegal" is generally reserved for criminal offense.

The term aside, there is a prevailing attitude in our country that the face of a Us Citizen is white.  The term "All American" generally stands for blond white people. And even with a black President, we still think of the face of immigrants as colored.  Its so ingrained that the former president of American Immigration Lawyer's Association wrote an immigration blog with Jeremy Lin. But not with say Steve Nash, (from South Africa/ Canada) or Dirk Nowitzki (from Germany).

Its sad, but for us, colored people, even if we are born in this country, people ask where are you from? And if you answer a city in the United States, they ask where is your parent from. No one ever asked Scalia that question, even though his father was from Sicily.

We are all Americans if we live and work to better this country.  And for those of us who chose this country as home, maybe we love this country even more.  We werent simply born here, we consciously chose it.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Justice Scalia and SB 1070

By now everyone knows that the Supreme Court struck down 3 of the 4 provisions of the controversial Arizona law restricting immigration. The only part that the court upheld in the 5-4 decision is that the Arizona police will have the right to check the immigration status of people held for probable cause. While  this might be a logistics nightmare for the Arizona police, it stands to reason that if someone probably commits a crime, there immigration status can be questioned, since being illegal is also a crime. 

But what is far more interesting is Justice Scalia's over the top rant ( dissent) on the majority (5-4) opinion. While the majority opinion, written by Justice Kennedy, recognizes the value of immigrants in American society, Scalia seems to think that all immigrants should be thrown out. He says that States kept out people that they did not like.  For example the Southern States kept out black people. And he implied that if Arizona (or any other states) knew of the majority's decision in 2012, when they joined the union, they would not have joined. 

Justice Scalia's father immigrated to the US from Sicily, according to the Wikipedia article on him. Salvatore Eugene Scalia came to this country, worked hard, became a professor and subsequently sent his son, the Justice to Harvard law school. And this immigrant, Salvatore Scalia gave America an excellent ranter, which adds color to otherwise drab Supreme Court opinions. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration AttorneyAnnie Banerjee, for more information

Dream Deferred a little more, Please Wait

Last Friday, June 15th, the Department of Homeland Security announced, following President Obama's announcement that "dreamers" people who were brought into this country by their parents through no fault of their own, and have studied here will get a work permit under what is called deferred action.  However immediately after the announcement  our phones kept ringing with all types of people asking to get work permit.  And I'm sure that there are lots of 'notarios' who are waiting to pounce on illegal people and getting their money.

First its still too early to file anything.  The Citizenship and Immigration Service has said that they will start offering deferred action from August 2012. Please wait for regulations to come out before handing over money to anybody.

Second one has to meet the categories below:

Eligible individuals must:

• Have arrived in the U.S. when they were under the age of sixteen
• Have continuously resided in the U.S. for at least five years prior to June 15, 2012 and have been present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012
• Currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have a GED, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces
• Not have been convicted of a felony offense, a “significant misdemeanor offense,” three or more non-significant misdemeanors, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety
• Have been under thirty-one years old on June 15, 2012

So lets make this clear.  This is not a work permit for all illegal people. This is not even a green card for eligible dreamers. Its just a temporary work permit to people who meet the above categories.

Filing now by anybody will hurt their case.  They can be deported without ever getting the chance to come back to the US.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney  Annie Banerjee, for more information

Voting and Illegal Immigrants

The anti immigrant forces are up in arms saying that illegal immigrants are voting in record numbers.  They point to statistics from 2005, that 3 % of 30,000 individuals called to jury duty was not citizens.  And hence they assume that everyone who is illegal is probably dying to vote.

First, in many states jury is selected by driver's license rather than voter registration.  Such is the case in Texas. Many permanent residents and non immigrants have the right to drive.  And the jury can be called based on that.  Which is why you have the question asking whether or not you are a citizen on the  jury questionnaire.

Second, lets face it, voting is a right, but its a chore. (Just like Jury duty). You stand in line, sometimes for hours, to vote.  Yet you get nothing out of it. Yours is just one vote, it does not even guarantee that your favorite candidate will win. While I am certainly not discouraging anyone from voting, lets face it, I have not voted in every race. And so is the case of most Americans judging by the poll numbers.

So why would an illegal immigrant, waste his time to vote, knowing that she might get caught doing an illegal act and be deported. Unlike working, voting does not give you money. An illegal immigrant would probably relax and sleep rather than waste her time voting.

Illegal immigrants come to this country to make a living. They have nothing in their country.  So they come, work and make a living. Its survival, the most basic of all instincts that lead them to work illegally.

The REAL ID ACT has denied a lot of illegal immigrants the right to drive. Yet they have to,  to work and to survive.   And they can't get insurance. Accidents can and do happen. And then we all share the cost. The same is true of medical insurance.  And we all as a society pay the cost, instead of the illegal immigrants paying for themselves.  I wish the anti immigrant organization were made to pay for this even for one day. They would change their stance and see the reality. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Retention of documents by lawyers

We lawyers compile a lot of paperwork, and this is especially true with lawyers like me dealing with the Government, in Immigration Law. The files just pile up.  The State Bar of Texas has no rules regarding file retention, and asks lawyers to adopt a best practice standard. So this is what we do:

1. We NEVER keep any original documents, we always keep copies only
2. When someone gets their permanent residency, we give them in writing that they need to pick up their files within one month  or we will shred them
3. For non immigrant cases, we keep the file beyond their expiration dates.  For example if your H-1B visa is valid until April 22, 2012, we will keep the file until at least  May 23, 2012.  By that time you would :   

• Either extended the status with their employer with another attorney
• Changed employer and no longer needs our services
• Gone back to their home country

We do keep copies of forms and petitions online in a secure server.  But they are not signed copies and they are our work product only. 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

H-1B Employers and Dept Of Labor

I am not condoning Xcel.  Most of the things they did were pretty awful to their employees.  Yet certain things might be very hard to do:

1.  The Employer should pay the beneficiary the Labor condition application wage or a higher wage if the employer is paying another employee with similar qualifications and experience a higher wage.
2. Post the notice of the labor condition application in 2 conspicuous place, and document it.  Yes, when you are an H-1B employee we don’t grant you the right to privacy about your wages.  Although many employers hate to do this to their employees, they have to.  Also they are supposed to keep the labor condition application and the Wage Determination in a file for public inspection.
3. If the business is H-1B dependent, there are further restrictions.  Not only does the business have to attest that no US Employee was fired in order to employ that H-1B employee, but also make sure that no Us Citizen was fired at an end client location.  This can be done by e mailing the end client.  If intermediate vendors prohibit contact with end clients, the employer should at least ask the intermediate vendor to make that request hopefully in an e mail.
4. And finally the Department of Labor will pierce corporate veil to assess monetary damage on the individuals if the finances of the corporation and the individuals are not kept completely separate.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information.

No Country for Battered Immigrants

The house passed HR 4970 to make Violence Against Women's Act (VAWA)  petitions for immigrant abused individual more harder to get the immigration.  Under the old VAWA law, if a relative abused an individual, then the abused individual could get immigration through that petitioner. Now they have to have a much higher burden of proof including 2 interviews, 2 adjudicators, etc.  Note that ordinarily, if that individual was not abused, immigration options were open to her.  For instance, if the US Citizen husband of an immigrant women did not abuse that women, loved her and filed a petition for her, then she would get the immigration.  However if he abused her, she would have to have 2 interviews, 2 adjudicators, etc to get the same immigration benefit.

Yes, there are some instances where women have used the law falsely to get the benefit. But those are rare. Even in normal marriages there are cases of people getting benefits without actually marrying.

What makes this all the more sad is that abuse is more common in immigrant communities  than the general American Communities. Many a times Immigrant men have grown up in a culture of subjugating women.  The women are more timid and don't complain unless it becomes unbearable. I have seen women locked inside houses, with no food, made to do horrible sex acts and yes, beaten. Very often, if they have to go back to their home country, the taboo of a divorce follows them.  They cannot marry again because no one will touch a divorced women.  With little or no education, they cannot work. They remain as a burden to their parents and brothers.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information

Eb-2 for India and China

In the June Visa Bulletin, the Eb-2 category for India and China are unavailable. The Department of State (DOS) thinks that it will remain unavailable for the rest of the fiscal year., ie until September 30, 2012.  This means that if someone born in India or China and has an Eb-2 petition with a priority date of  say 2001, they still cannot file for I-485 Adjustment of status.  They hope to restore the numbers to 2010, but this wont happen until at least the spring of 2013.

The reason that the DOS gives for this unavailability is that a very large number of people from India and China are converting from EB-3 to EB-2. Many of them had a Bachelor's Degree, but did not have the requisite 5 years experience when they filed.  They now do. Some individuals are also getting Master's Degree.  When you change or file another petition, you retain the old priority date. The current priority date for Eb-3 for India is September 15, 2002.  These people have been waiting for 10 years before they get their Permanent Residency. Yet, all this time, they have been living and working in the US with their H-1B visas. The job clearly exist for them.  Yet they have to wait and be punished simply because they were born in large countries which value education.

These people do have job, and will ultimately (hopefully in their lifetime) get the Permanent Residency.  They are on valid visas and pay their taxes.  They perform valuable service to the US, those technical jobs we do not graduate  enough people.  Yet farmers with political science and useless liberal arts degrees like Senator Grassley want to restrict these law abiding people from becoming United States' resident.  Senator, if the United States could perform solely with liberal arts degrees like you have, we would be the bottom nation of this world.  We would become like your home state, Iowa, good for producing corn only.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, or Houston Immigration Attorney Annie Banerjee, for more information