We applaud today’s Supreme Court decision on the right to counsel for noncitizens charged with committing a crime. The Court held that criminal defense lawyers must advise their noncitizen clients about the risk of deportation if they accept a guilty plea. The Court recognized that current immigration laws impose harsh and mandatory deportation consequences onto criminal convictions, and that Congress eliminated from these laws the Attorney General’s discretionary authority to cancel removal in meritorious cases. The Court said, “These changes to our immigration law have dramatically raised the stakes of a noncitizen’s criminal conviction. The importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important.” The case, Padilla v. Kentucky, involved a Vietnam War veteran who has resided lawfully in the U.S. for over 40 years. His criminal defense lawyer told him not to worry about the immigration consequences of pleading guilty to a crime, but that advice was wrong. In fact, the guilty plea made Mr. Padilla subject to mandatory deportation from the United States. The State of Kentucky said that Mr. Padilla had no right to withdraw his plea when he learned of the deportation consequence. Today’s decision reverses the Kentucky court. It also rejected the federal government’s position (which had been adopted by several courts) that a noncitizen is protected only from “affirmative misadvice” and not from a lawyer’s failure to provide any advice about the immigration consequences of a plea. “The right to counsel is at the very core of our criminal justice system. The Court affirms that immigrants should not be held accountable when they rely on incorrect advice from their lawyers or where counsel fails to provide any immigration advice at all. Today’s decision also reminds us that the increased criminalization of immigration law and lack of flexibility has resulted in harsh results.

The right way to mend immigration

By Charles E. Schumer and Lindsey O. Graham

Friday, March 19, 2010

Our immigration system is badly broken. Although our borders have become far more secure in recent years, too many people seeking illegal entry get through. We have no way to track whether the millions who enter the United States on valid visas each year leave when they are supposed to. And employers are burdened by a complicated system for verifying workers’ immigration status.
Last week we met with President Obama to discuss our draft framework for action on immigration. We expressed our belief that America’s security and economic well-being depend on enacting sensible immigration policies.

The answer is simple: Americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration and support legal immigration. Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed to making this country more vibrant and economically dynamic. Once it is clear that in 20 years our nation will not again confront the specter of another 11 million people coming here illegally, Americans will embrace more welcoming immigration policies.
Our plan has four pillars: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs; fulfilling and strengthening our commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here.

Besides border security, ending illegal immigration will also require an effective employment verification system that holds employers accountable for hiring illegal workers. A tamper-proof ID system would dramatically decrease illegal immigration, experts have said, and would reduce the government revenue lost when employers and workers here illegally fail to pay taxes.

We would require all U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who want jobs to obtain a high-tech, fraud-proof Social Security card. Each card’s unique biometric identifier would be stored only on the card; no government database would house everyone’s information. The cards would not contain any private information, medical information, nor tracking devices. The card will be a high-tech version of the Social Security card that citizens already have.

Prospective employers would be responsible for swiping the cards through a machine to confirm a person’s identity and immigration status. Employers who refused to swipe the card or who otherwise knowingly hired unauthorized workers would face stiff fines and, for repeat offenses, prison sentences.

We propose a zero-tolerance policy for gang members, smugglers, terrorists and those who commit other felonies after coming here illegally. We would bolster recent efforts to secure our borders by increasing the Border Patrol’s staffing and funding for infrastructure and technology. More personnel would be deployed to the border immediately to fill gaps in apprehension capabilities.

Other steps include expanding domestic enforcement to better apprehend and deport those who commit crimes and completing an entry-exit system that tracks people who enter the United States on legal visas and reports those who overstay their visas to law enforcement databases.

Ending illegal immigration, however, cannot be the sole objective of reform. Developing a rational legal immigration system is essential to ensuring America’s future economic prosperity.

Ensuring economic prosperity requires attracting the world’s best and brightest. Our legislation would award green cards to immigrants who receive a PhD or master’s degree in science, technology, engineering or math from a U.S. university. It makes no sense to educate the world’s future inventors and entrepreneurs and then force them to leave when they are able to contribute to our economy.

Our blueprint also creates a rational system for admitting lower-skilled workers. Our current system prohibits lower-skilled immigrants from coming here to earn money and then returning home. Our framework would facilitate this desired circular migration by allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can show they were unsuccessful in recruiting an American to fill an open position; allowing more lower-skilled immigrants to come here when our economy is creating jobs and fewer in a recession; and permitting workers who have succeeded in the workplace, and contributed to their communities over many years, the chance to earn a green card.

For the 11 million immigrants already in this country illegally, we would provide a tough but fair path forward. They would be required to admit they broke the law and to pay their debt to society by performing community service and paying fines and back taxes. These people would be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English before going to the back of the line of prospective immigrants to earn the opportunity to work toward lawful permanent residence.

The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms.

Charles E. Schumer is a Democratic senator from New York. Lindsey O. Graham is a Republican senator from South Carolina.

DHS Unveils Initiatives to Enhance E-Verify.

Release Date: March 17, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

Contact: 202-282-8010

Agreement with Department of Justice and Outreach Initiatives Will Strengthen E-Verify for Employers and Employees

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today joined U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas to announce a trio of initiatives to strengthen the efficiency and accuracy of the EVerify
system.

These initiatives include a new agreement with the Department of Justice that will streamline the adjudication process in cases of E-Verify misuse and discrimination; an informational telephone hotline for employees to provide a more timely, effective and seamless customer experience for workers seeking E-Verify information; and new training videos focusing on E-Verify procedures and policies, employee rights and employer responsibilities in English and Spanish.

“E-Verify is a smart, simple and effective tool that helps employers across the country maintain a legal workforce,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The initiatives announced today will provide essential information to workers about their rights and ensure that E-Verify is used fairly while bolstering the Department’s efforts to protect critical employment opportunities.”
“USCIS continues to partner with our federal colleagues, as well as industry and employee representatives, to build a verification program that is accurate, efficient and fair for employers and workers alike,” said Director Mayorkas. “We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Department of Justice to ensure the continued integrity and improvement of EVerify.”

“This agreement will better enable us to protect individuals who are authorized to work in this country from national origin or citizenship-status discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez. “We will not hesitate to take action against employers who violate our nation’s civil rights laws.” The Memorandum of Agreement signed between USCIS and the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices establishes a streamlined process for addressing potential cases of discrimination and employer misuse of E-Verify and establishes protocol between USCIS and the Department of Justice for referring matters that fall within the agencies’ respective jurisdictions.

The two new, educational training videos, explaining E-Verify procedures and policies, employee rights and employer responsibilities in English and Spanish were created by the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and are viewable at www.dhs.gov/e-verify and www.youtube.com/ushomelandsecurity.
Additionally, the USCIS E-Verify help line will now offer employees information about the E-Verify process, as well as assistance in completing the Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification). Callers can also use the help line to file complaints about possible discrimination or employer misuse of the E-Verify program. The hotline number is (888) 897-7781 and will be active beginning April 5, 2010.

E-Verify is a free, easy-to-use Web-based system—operated in partnership by USCIS and the Social Security Administration
—that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly-hired employees. More than
192,000 participating employers at more than 705,000 worksites nationwide currently use E-Verify to electronically verify their
workers’ employment eligibility. Since Oct. 1, 2009, E-Verify has processed more than six million queries.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Launches ‘The Beacon – The Official Blog of USCIS’

WASHINGTON, March 16 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently unveiled The Beacon – the agency’s official blog and newest tool that provides immigration-related information and fosters an open dialogue with the public.

The Beacon provides an important resource for information about USCIS as well as a forum through which readers can engage USCIS staff and others who are interested in immigration and naturalization issues. Readers are encouraged to submit their comments, ideas, concerns and constructive criticisms to www.uscis.gov/blog.

USCIS will review all comments prior to posting. Detailed guidance is provided on the blog under the comment policy.

The Beacon can be accessed at www.uscis.gov/blog. For general information on USCIS and its programs, visit www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.

SOURCE U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CIS OR IMMIGRATION LAW MATTERS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US AT:

David H. Nachman, Esq.
NACHMAN & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Immigration and Nationality Attorneys
VISASERVE PLAZA
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450

Phone (201) 670-0006 (x100)
Facsimile (201) 670-0009

WE ALSO HAVE NEW YORK OFFICES LOCATED AT 7 WEST 36TH STREET, 14TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10018 (NEAR FIFTH AVENUE).

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT OUR OFFICES IN MONTREAL AND TORONTO, CANADA AND OUTBOUND IMMIGRATION OPTIONS TO CANADA PLEASE E-MAIL US AT INFO@VISASERVE.COM.

YOU CAN ALSO VISIT US ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT WWW.VISASERVE.COM.

DOL SECRETARY SOLIS ANNOUNCES THE DEPARTMENT TO EXERCISE ITS AUTHORITY TO CERTIFY U VISAS.

“On March 15, 2010 Secretary Solis announced that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) will begin exercising its authority to certify applications for U Nonimmigrant Status Visas (”U Visas”).”

So, what is the big fuss, you may ask? Well, if U.S. employers take a close look at the rules and regulations . . . it means that the U.S. Department of Labor has another enforcement tool in its “bag of tricks.”

The DOL can afford U Visa status to any foreign nationals that help the DOL investigate employers who are involved in Wage and Hour Violations and other Workplace Violations.

Employers need to be mindful (more then ever before) that they should carefully follow all of the DOL’s rules and regulations.

CLICK on the link below to read the U Visa Certification Announcement from the DOL:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/opa/opa20100312-fs.htm

The VISASERVE Team Brings the Best and the Brightest to New Jersey.

Nachman & Associates, P.C. Immigration Lawyers:

New Jersey, just like the United States as a whole, is a global marketplace for ideas, goods and services and even talent. In fact, businesses and entrepreneurs across the Garden State benefit from the migration of highly skilled foreign national workers who are in demand in competing economies around the world. Highly skilled workers allow New Jersey companies to stay competitive by bringing the best and the brightest, add value to America’s economic infrastructure and assure the future stability of U.S. financial markets. Foreign countries, recognizing the value of these workers, often write immigration laws to attract them so additional incentives are needed to bring overseas talent to New Jersey and the United States. In this exclusive interview with COMMERCE, Nachman & Associates’ Managing Attorney David Nachman discusses the value of highly skilled foreign national labor to the economy, the competition for overseas talent and the challenges posed by immigration in the post-9/11 world. The H-1B season is about to begin, why not get up to speed on H-1B nonimmigrant visa issues?

LINK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY: http://www.cianj.org/pages/commerce_magazine/commerce-magazine.php?active_link=magazine

NACHMAN & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Immigration and Nationality Attorneys
VISASERVE PLAZA
487 Goffle Road
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450

Phone (201) 670-0006 (x100)

Facsimile (201) 670-0009

WE ALSO HAVE NEW YORK OFFICES LOCATED AT 7 WEST 36TH STREET, 14TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10018 (NEAR FIFTH AVENUE).

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT OUR OFFICES IN MONTREAL AND TORONTO, CANADA AND OUTBOUND IMMIGRATION OPTIONS TO CANADA PLEASE E-MAIL US AT INFO@VISASERVE.COM.

YOU CAN ALSO VISIT US ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT WWW.VISASERVE.COM.

CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES RELEASE: USCIS Starting to Do the Right Thing on H-1B? Some Promising Signs.

By David North, February 24, 2010

Sometimes it is hard to tell the significance of a government document just by reading it.

Sometimes the true impact becomes clear only when the activists speak out. A case in point: the recent USCIS announcement regarding employer-employee relationships in the H-1B program.

When I first read the USCIS document with the eye-glazing title “Questions & Answers: USCIS Issues Guidance Memorandum on Establishing the ‘Employee-Employer Relationship’ in H-1B Petitions,” I was not particularly intrigued. The first question and answer confirmed my eyes’
initial reaction:

“Q: Does this memorandum change any of the requirements to establish eligibility for an H-1B petition?

A: No. …”

But shortly thereafter the H-1B cheerleaders in the immigration bar started reacting.

At first, the reaction was pretty calm. Kate Kalmykov, with the New York and Philadelphia Klasko law firm, blogged:

…If the H-1B worker will be employed at a “job shop”/third-party worksite where they will report to a manager of that third-party company and the petitioner will not retain control over the beneficiary’s [i.e., the H-1B's] work, the petition will be denied.

That, of course, is the point of the exercise; the new guidance continues to make it easy for employers to import H-1Bs to work at their own firms, but raises questions when the petitioning employers farm out their H-1Bs to other firms.

Soon the inspectors working at least two airports got the message from headquarters; apparently sensing a geographical disconnect among the airport used, the location of the petitioner, and the actual jobsite, they denied admission to some arriving H-1Bs. Here’s a report from a clearly upset immigration lawyer, Matthew Morse, that appeared in Immigration
Daily:

In some recent cases US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspecting officers have separated H-1B visa holders from other non-immigrants applying for admission into the United States on arriving at a port entry. Several of these H-1B visa holders were denied admission by CBP inspecting officers and placed on an aircraft to be returned to their home countries. Unfortunately, some of these H-1B visa holders were placed in expedited removal by CBP inspecting officers, rather than being permitted to withdraw their applications for admission, which resulted in these individuals potentially being barred from re-entering the United States for a five-year period. Such treatment has been reported at John F Kennedy International Airport, New York and Newark International Airport, New Jersey.

This treatment of H-1B visa holders by CBP inspecting officers may be the result of a memorandum issued on January 8, 2010 by Donald Neufeld of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Then, on February 18, the USCIS Office of Public Engagement held one of its “collaboration sessions” on the subject in Washington. I was not there, but a friend was, and he told me that Bruce Morrison, the former chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee (D-CT), was the first to speak. He told the gathering that he wrote the H-1B law. He was very concerned that the Neufeld memo would threaten what he, Morrison, called the “staffing model” which he claimed had a long and successful history.

By then, the significance of the USCIS memo was pretty clear.

Frankly, anything that limits the flows of H-1Bs into the U.S. labor market, whether they work directly for the petitioning employer or for someone else, is good news. For whatever reason, it looks like USCIS, on this narrow issue, is moving in the right direction.