Month: August 2008

The DOS has released the Visa Bulletin for September 2008.

A little over a year ago I decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons.  First, Lou Dobbs was never reading my e-mails on the air and second, I felt I had a great deal to say about the subject and wanted to put information out there that was pro-immigrant to counter what was, and continues to be, what I view as an anti-immigrant sentiment in America.  the Blog took about twenty minutes to set everything up and before I knew it, I was a blogger, writing about U.S. immigration laws and policies. 

The readership for immigrantconnect.com has ranged from a couple of dozen unique visitors daily when I first started to what I believe was over 8000 unique visitors the day of the July 2007 Visa Bulletin scandal when I took the day off to blog with minute-by-minute breaking news!  Currently, there are about 1000 unique daily visitors to this site, which although the site won’t be “going public” aytime soon, is still amazing.

In a couple of months, this blog will merge with what will be our firm’s new and vastly improved website.  The firm’s web address will be changed to www.immigrantconnect.com, our current URL, www.magedrost.com will become a Client Portal.  Most of the previously written content from this blog will be archived and new entries will be posted on the newly designed blog/firm site.  The site and blog will still be advertisement-free but readers will be easily able to read about our firm and the immigration legal services we provide.

I will provide regular updates on when the new website will launch and will look forward to any comments and suggestions on the new site. 

I sincerely thank those of you who regularly read or subscribe to this blog.  It is an outlet for my great interest in the subject of immigration and saves my friends and family from being subjected to my daily immigration updates and opinions on those updates…not great for cocktail conversation.

Smart politicians in other countries are fighting to bring and retain talented immigrants by easing the immigration rules.  This will give these countries an advantage in the global marketplace where there is an enormous competition for talent.

According to an article on globeandmail.com, a Canadian publication and website:  “The Harper government is creating a new fast-track immigration route for skilled foreign workers and students who’ve already proved employable in Canada: an effort to prevent an erosion of talent as global competition heats up for higher-value labour.”  Good for Canada!  The Canadian province of Alberta has gone so far as to advertise the fact that they welcome those who were unable to obtain H-1B status in the US because of the cap to move to Alberta…permanently. 

Our Congress, on the other hand, plays into the hands of anti-immigration organizations and cable news talking heads that stir up emotions at the expense of tackling the problem head-on and doing what is best for the economy, employers, immigrants (both legal and undocumented), and the country as a whole.

If you break a vase you can either glue it back together or trash it and buy a new one.  Our immigration system is shattered into many little pieces and is beyond repair…we need a new vase.   

ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) is now available for eligible travelers who wish to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.  Until January 12, 2009, use of ESTA by eligible travelers is voluntary. 

According to a USCIS Press Release:  “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it continues to make steady progress in reducing the significant number of naturalization applications it received last year.   USCIS now anticipates naturalization application processing will average 10-12 months nationally by the end of September 2008 – a substantial improvement from its estimated average processing time of 16-18 months first announced last year.”

Most immigration lawyers and many of nation’s largest employers have been waiting for the other show to drop ever since the Department of Labor announced through a Press Release that it would be auditing all PERM applications filed by the Fragomen firm, one of the world’s largest immigration law firms. 

Well it has finally happened, the firm has filed a 41 page Complaint against the agency in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.  I’m sure there will be plenty of news regarding this latest development and I will be posting details here as they become available. 

Better late than never, ICE has just released information on the Massachusetts sweep that I have been referring to over the past few days.  According to a Press Release:  “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents together with federal, state and local law enforcement partners across Massachusetts, have arrested 52 gang members and associates and 28 other criminals this week as part of the agency’s Operation Community Shield initiative, which targets violent street gangs.”

According to a USCIS Press Release:  “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is informing the public that the new U.S. Passport Card may be used in the Employment Eligibility Verification form (I-9) process.” 

According to a article on chron.com:  “When federal immigration agents raided a Houston rag factory and took 166 suspected illegal immigrants into custody, a Boston philanthropist and multimillionaire was ready to chip in bond money to help the workers.”

Robert Hildreth, a Boston Philanthropist who founded National Immigration Bond Fund wants to get the word out nationally that money is available and donations are accepted.  Hildreth admits there is a political motivation that drives his actions, the article goes on to say:  “Hildreth is frank about the bond fund’s goal: to push for immigration reform that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants in the U.S.”

A donation to the National Immigration Bond Fund can be made online. 

Still no official news stories on the ICE sweep in Massachusetts…seems strange. 

According to an AP article quoted on latimesblog.com regarding ICE’s self-deportation program, known as Scheduled Departure:  “… by Tuesday afternoon, only one person — in Phoenix — took the offer, according to an ICE official who spoke on condition of anonymity because not all the numbers are in. Officials in the other cities said they had no takers by midafternoon.”

Although free airfare may be an attractive offer for those who want to go home but cannot afford to, I doubt the lack of funds to buy one-way airline tickets is the reason the undocumented remain in the US even after being ordered removed.  There are no restrictions on leaving the US, so other than a possible free ticket home for non-Mexicans who ICE determines cannot pay the fare, it is hard to comprehend what incentive anyone would have to accept this offer.  

If and when the statistics come out on who participated in this “program”, I will post them here.