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E&M Visa Update for January 12, 2004 Volume
Four, Number One sign
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Temporary Worker Program Proposed by President
Bush
US-VISIT
Program Initiates Automated Entry/Exit System for Nonimmigrant
Visa Holders H-1B
Cap of 65,000 for FY 2004 Not Likely to Be Reached in January U.S. Consulates Worldwide
Implement Visa Requirement of Fingerprinting and Photos Mexican TNs May Now Avoid Lengthy
CIS Processing by Applying for TN Status Directly at Consulates Immigration Processing Time Reports
Temporary
Worker Program Proposed by President Bush
On
January 7, 2004, President Bush proposed a “new temporary worker
program to match willing foreign workers with willing U.S. employers
when no Americans can be found to fill jobs.” Unless and until Congress backs some version
of the program, it remains unclear how this plan will function. However, if 10 million [or more] currently
undocumented individuals enter such a program, the already overburdened
immigration system will come to a complete halt. Individuals who qualify for current benefits should certainly begin
or complete those processes.
The
basic parameters of the Bush proposal are as follows:
All who participate must have a job offer.
The legal status will last three years, and will be renewable,
but will have an unspecified end.
Employers who extend job offers must demonstrate a shortage
of American workers. Participants will be issued a temporary worker
card that will allow them to travel back and forth between their
home and the U.S. President Bush expects temporary workers to return permanently to
their home countries after their period of work in the U.S.
has expired. This concept dooms the proposal to failure
because most immigrants seek to remain permanently. President Bush stressed that the program is not an "amnesty,"
and that he is opposed to "amnesty," stating that
it encourages the violation of our laws, and perpetuates illegal
immigration.
US-VISIT Program Initiates Automated Entry/Exit System for Nonimmigrant
Visa Holders
The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed the United
States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology program
(US-VISIT). Through
US-VISIT, border inspectors are now recording the entry and
exit of nonimmigrant visa holders traveling to the U.S. On January 5, 2004, the first phase of US-VISIT was initiated at
14 seaports and 115 airports across the country. DHS will be required to expand the entry/exit program to the top
50 high traffic land border ports by the end of this year, and
to the remaining ports of entry by December 31, 2005. The first time that DHS enrolls a traveler into US-VISIT at a port
of entry, the individual’s travel documents are scanned, a digital
photo and inkless fingerprints of both index fingers are taken
(IDENT), and the individual’s name is checked against the Interagency
Border Inspection System (IBIS) and the National Crime Information
Center (NCIC) databases. When working properly, DHS claims that the
enrollment process should only add another 15 - 30 seconds to
the standard inspection process.
Visa holders subject to US-VISIT must provide fingerprints
and have a digital photo taken upon each entry to the U.S.
Visa waiver entrants from 26 [mostly European] countries
are exempt from US-VISIT processing at this time.
H-1B
Cap of 65,000 for FY 2004 Not Likely to Be Reached in January
William
R. Yates, Deputy Director, Citizenship and Immigration Services,
announced in December that the CIS “is not near the cap at this
time.” This statement
came as the result of recent reports that the 65,000 H-1B cap
for FY 2004 is near to being exhausted.
At the present time, Director Yates has suggested that
the H-1B cap will not be met until the spring of 2004, but he
cautioned that he will not be more specific until the numbers
come out in late January. Because
the cut-off date is unpredictable, we encourage companies that
are considering H-1B status for new hires to apply as soon as
possible. Use of Premium
Processing can help to ensure receiving an approved visa petition
before more H-1B numbers become available again with the start
of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2004.
U.S.
Consulates Worldwide Implement Visa Requirement of Fingerprinting
and Photos The State Department has begun to enforce the requirement that applicants
applying for nonimmigrant visas at US Consulates abroad must
undergo an ink-free fingerprint scan of both index fingers. This “IDENT” procedure was created by the Department of Homeland
Security to collect biometric and biographic data pertinent
to the arrival and departure of nonimmigrants. Although State Department regulations require that all visa applicants
go through the IDENT procedure, few consulates have actually
begun to undertake the process due to a shortage of state-of-the-art
scanning machines. However,
applicants for visas abroad should be prepared to undergo this
additional procedure upon arrival at the Consular Section and
anticipate brief delays.
Mexican
TNs May Now Avoid Lengthy CIS Processing by Applying for TN
Status Directly at Consulates Beginning
January 1, 2004, the 5,500 cap on Trade NAFTA temporary working
status (TN-2) for Mexican nationals expired.
The number of Mexican TNs is now unlimited, as it has
been for Canadian TN professionals for over a decade.
The provision which required employers to file onerous
petitions with the Immigration Service for Mexican TN employees
has also sunset. Mexican
nationals may now apply for TN status directly at U.S. Consulates
in Mexico. This underutilized
nonimmigrant category is now a much more viable option for Mexican
professionals on the TN schedule and their prospective U.S.
employers.
Advance
Parole Applications Heavily Backlogged at Service Centers Nationwide;
Little Relief Available from District Offices US Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) Director Eduardo Aguirre
recently reminded applicants for immigration residing in the
U.S. to obtain Advance Parole before traveling abroad.
"Advance Parole" is permission to re-enter
the U.S. after traveling abroad and functions in lieu of a visa. Use of Advance Parole is required to avoid abandonment of a pending
Adjustment of Status application.
For family-based adjustment applicants who have filed at a local CIS
district office, the processing times for an Advance Parole
document vary, but are not usually longer than 4-6 weeks.
Issuance of Advance Parole can often be expedited by
proving emergent circumstances. There are few expedite options for the employment-based adjustment
applicant who has filed an Advance Parole application at the
Regional CIS Service Center.
The Service Centers are currently experiencing unprecedented
delays. For example,
applicants at the California Service Center are subject to a
6-month processing time, while the processing time at the Nebraska
Service Center is over one year.
The only solution to the backlog for these pending applicants is the
“expedite” Advance Parole, issued only sparingly on a case-by-case
basis at some local CIS offices.
Normally an applicant must provide proof of a family
/personal emergency, and complete a new I-131, along with the
required photo and fees.
Immigration Processing Time Reports The
Texas Service Center Processing Time Report was
updated on January 7 for the period ending December 31. The
Nebraska Service Center Processing Time Report was
updated on January 5 for the period ending January 1. The
Vermont Service Center Processing Time Report was
updated on December 23 for the period ending December 19. The
California Service Center Processing Time Report
was updated on December 12 for the period ending December 10. To
view and print out the most recent INS service center processing
time reports, please visit http://www.emvisa.com/bcisreports.htm The Visa Bulletin was updated on December 12 for January
2004. (The February
2004 Visa Bulletin will be made available this week.) Thank you for taking the time to read this
E&M Visa Update.
Elliot & Mayock LLP Immigration Attorneys "visas made easier" 1-866-321-VISA (8472) toll free 1629 K Street NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20006-1643 (202) 429-1725 Fax: (202) 452-0161 220 Sansome Street, 12th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104-2327 (415) 765-5111 Fax: (415) 765-5122
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