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The Bush Administration, in its final days, implemented rules to make it easier for farmers to hire temporary foreign laborers. These rules also arguably cause the reduction of wages and the proliferation of poor working conditions for all farmworkers, foreign and domestic. Although Romben Law, APC is in Los Angeles, we have had inquiries about the wages and conditions of employment faced by foreign farmworkers.

The Obama administration today moved to roll back some of those Bush Administration rules. This roll-back is expected to result in an increase of about $1.44 per hour for the average wage for farmworkers — who often do back-breaking work for very long hours. The change in rules would also protect American workers from being displaced, if Americans wish to apply for and take such jobs. –jcf

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eye.jpgOn 18 August 2009, the Obama Administration issued new directives about the inspection, search, and even seizure of electronic media belonging to travelers passing through border checkpoints. This set of policies and practices has concerned immigration lawyers, constitutional attorneys, and other civil rights advocates, including the immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles.

All electronic media devices are susceptible to search: computers, hard drives, thumb-nail drives, mp3 players, iPods, mobile phones, CDs, DVDs, Blackberrys, etc.

This practice of inspecting, detaining, and even copying travelers’ electronic media — without a warrant or even suspicion — began before the Bush Administration’s so-called “war on terrorism.” Given the amount personal information that people keep on their digital devices, attorneys and constitutional advocates have worried that such searches and seizures can be potentially more intrusive than having a border guard riffling through one’s luggage.

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The Los Angeles immigration Romben Law, APC would like to acknowledge the passing on 25 August 2009 of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, US Senator for the State of Massachusetts.

Not merely the scion of a famous family, Senator Kennedy was a champion on issues close to the hearts of many immigrants: immigration reform, education, union representation, and health care. Deeply aware of his own background and immigrant roots, Senator Kennedy helped craft the Diversity Visa, the so-called “green card lottery,” that has permitted so many people from different nations to immigrate to the USA when no other avenue was available to them.

His voice will be missed. –jcf

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Because the debates about Health Care Reform are taking so much of the Congress’ energy, the Obama Administration believes that Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) will not be considered by the Congress until the beginning of 2010. Romben Law, APC has many clients in Los Angeles, CA and throughout the nation who would benefit from the passage of CIR. In a recent article, President Obama restated his commitment to humane immigration law reform.

Two of the most anticipated provisions of CIR would be the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

The DREAM Act would allow the normalization of the immigration status of certain undocument students who were brought prior to age 16 to the United States by their parents or guardians. These students have lived and been educated in the USA, and it would be fundamentally unfair to deny them immigration status, when they did not come to the USA through their own decision, and when the USA is often the only country these students have ever really known.

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H-1B quota update…what’s going on with the H-1B cap? Just updated today, the USCIS now reports that as of August 14, 2009, about 45,000 cap-subject cases have been received. So that’s about 100 more than what USCIS reported a week ago.

Based on what USCIS has reported in the last 4 months, this seems to be a pattern. Up by 100, down by 100. Whatever the reason, H-1B season remains open! At some point, cases already counted in the queue can also be denied, so that might keep the quota open longer.

As for the advanced degree cap, commonly called the “advanced degree quota,” USCIS tells us in their most recent H-1B quota update that they have collected approximately 20,000 applications. However, the USCIS reports that they will still continue to accept master’s (advanced) degree cases until the quota has been filled.

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As a direct result of the Ruiz-Diaz religious worker litigation, the USCIS announced this week that religious workers should file their I-485 applications for adjustment of status by the end of this month.

The USCIS issued this statement to remind religious workers to file for adjustment of status if they have pending or approved I-360s. The reason for this comes from the fact that the employment-based fourth preference category will become unavailable beginning September 1, 2009. The USCIS will only accept adjustment of status applications from those ministers or non-minister religious workers if they have a pending or approved I-360.

Filing an adjustment of status application will toll or protect the worker from accruing unlawful presence. Religious workers or religious organizations that have questions regarding this should call Romben Law, APC as soon as possible to ensure that they protect their workers and/or their organization from employer sanctions or other immigration penalties. –ecf

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Breaking news. Just posted today are the H-1B quota numbers. It is the same as my previous posts. Cap count is approximately 44,900. Roughly two weeks ago, USCIS reported the cap count was approximately 44,900. So no difference in the quota count to report.

USCIS is still accepting regular H-1B cap cases. USCIS is still accepting US Master’s degree H-1B cases, also known as advanced degree cap cases. Nothing much new here. But check back in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we’ll continue to post other topics of immigration interest and intrigue! —ecf

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The H-1B quota has been hovering around the 45,000 mark since April when the H-1B filing period first opened. I have been giving updates every few weeks when the USCIS releases new counts on the number of H-1B cap-subject petitions that have been filed.

We have watched the FY 2010 H-1B numbers yo-yo back and forth from 44,400, 44,900 and 45,000 since June 12, 2009 to present. On July 10, the USCIS announced that it had received approximately 44,900 petitions, about 100 less than the approximately 45,000 reported received on July 3.

What is the reason for the up and down in numbers? Denials, lay offs, less jobs being offered. Sometimes, cases aren’t filed properly, something as simple as a typo on the filing check can result in a rejection, though not a denial. Those types of cases can be re-filed, assuming that the quota is still open as it remains today.

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Premium processing is now available again for religious worker petitions. After a long hiatus which caused many delays in religious worker processing, the USCIS is once again accepting premium processing (Form I-907) on R-1 petitions for religious workers, ordained ministers, nuns, monks, priests, religious education teachers, cantors, etc.

The premium processing service in which employers or workers will get a response in 15 calendar days is however, only available to religious organizations that have already passed a site visit or Benefit Fraud Assessment (BFA) by the USCIS Office of Fraud Detection and National Security.

The availability of the premium processing service will alleviate the long waiting times and delays caused by the new regulations in procedures for bringing in R-1 workers. Wait times for an I-129R adjudication without premium processing can be months. However, religious organizations which have already attained a positive BFA can utilize the premium processing service and avoid those costly delays. If you or your employer are awaiting a BFA or are awaiting the results of a site visit, you can call Romben Law, APC to see if there is any way to take advantage of the premium processing service or request that the final results of the BFA be issued without further delay. —ecf

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USCIS has recently opened an “International Adjudications Support Branch” in Anaheim, California. This purpose of this office is to help process some of the applications and petitions received from international USCIS offices. The office is meant to help overseas USCIS offices handle periodic fluctuations in work. We at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles have noticed that some of our immigration law clients’ forms are being processed at this new office.

The office is located in the same facility as the Los Angeles Asylum Office, and it does not handle or accept inquiries, appointments, or walk-ins.

Currently, this support branch is handling I-601 Waiver cases — except health-related waivers — from the US Consulate-General in Ciudad Juárez, México. It is not yet known what other cases will be assigned to this office. –jcf

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