Latest News

1) EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Extended till 2012 Visa

Description:

The fifth employment based visa preference category, created by Congress in 1990, is available to immigrants seeking to enter the United States in order to invest in a new commercial enterprise that will benefit the US economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs. There are two ways to invest which you may use within the EB-5 category and they are: creating a new commercial enterprise or investing in a troubled business.

Eligibility Criteria:

New Business Enterprise:

To qualify you must:

1. Invest or be in the process of investing at least $1,000,000. If your investment is in a designated targeted employment area (discussed further below) then the minimum investment requirement is $500,000.

2.Benefit the U.S. economy by providing goods or services to U.S. markets.

3.Create full-time employment for at least 10 U.S. workers. This includes U.S. citizens, Green Card holders (lawful permanent residents) and other individuals lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. (however it does not include you (the immigrant), or your spouse, sons or daughters).

4.Be involved in the day-to-day management of the new business or directly manage it through formulating business policy – for example as a corporate officer or board member.

Targeted Employment Area is defined by law as “a rural area or an area that has experienced high unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average.”

To qualify you must:

1.Invest in a business that has existed for at least two years.

2.Invest in a business that has incurred a net loss, based on generally accepted accounting principles, for the 12 to 24 month period before you filed the Form I-526 Immigrant Petition by an Alien Entrepreneur.

3.The loss for the 12 to 24 month period must be at least equal to 20 percent of the business’s net worth before the loss.

4.Maintain the number of jobs at no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years.

5.Be involved in the day-to-day management of the troubled business or directly manage it through formulating business policy. For example as a corporate officer or board member. 6.The same investment requirements of the new commercial enterprise investment apply to a troubled business investment ($1,000,000 or $500,000 in a targeted employment area).

Regional Center Pilot Program:

To qualify you must:

1.Invest at least $1,000,000 or $500,000 in a regional center affiliated new commercial enterpriose or a troubled business located within the area of the USCIS designated Regional Center. Regional Centers are defined and discussed further below.

2.Create at least 10 new full-time jobs either directly through the capital investment.

A Regional Center is defined as any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment. The organizers of a regional center seeking the regional center designation from USCIS must submit a proposal showing:

•How the regional center plans to focus on a geographical region within the U.S., and msut explain how the regional center will achieve the required economic growth within this regional area

•That the regional center’s business plan can be relied upon as a viable business model grounded in reasonable and credible estimates and assumptions for market conditions, project costs, and activity timelines

•How in verifiable detail (using economic models in some instances) jobs will be created directly or indirectly through capital investments made in accordance with the regional center’s business plan •The amount and source of capital committed to the project and the promotional efforts made and planned for the business project.

USCIS Announces Resumption of Premium Processing Service for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

According to a recent USCIS announcement, it has resumed Premium Processing Service for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker After an evaluation of its I-140 backlog reduction efforts and increased I-140 adjudicative efficiencies, USCIS has concluded that it is now able to provide Premium Process Service for this benefit. USCIS will accept Premium Processing requests for Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability, EB-1 Outstanding Professors and Researchers, EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability not seeking a National Interest Waiver, EB-3 Professionals, EB-3 Skilled Workers, and EB-3 Workers other than Skilled Workers and Professionals. Premium Processing Service is still not available for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers and EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability seeking a National Interest Waiver. Under the Premium Processing Service, USCIS guarantees petitioners that, for a $1,000 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice, or where appropriate, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within 15 calendar days of receipt. If the petition is not processed within 15 calendar days, USCIS will refund the $1,000 fee and continue to process the request as part of the Premium Processing Service. In addition to faster processing, petitioners who participate in the program may use a dedicated phone number and e-mail address to check on the status of their petition or ask any other questions they may have concerning their petition. Premium Processing Service continues to be available for previously designated classifications within Form I-140 and Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker.

2) A Call for a More Rational and Just Immigration Policy

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) calls upon the new Obama Administration to eschew the harsh, indiscriminate, "enforcement-

only" policies of the past 8 years in favor of a more rational and just approach to immigration policy that restores the rule of law and serves America's core economic, security, and humanitarian interests. AILA welcomes this opportunity to work with the new Administration to forge a new path toward a 21st century immigration system that meets the needs of the American people and respects the ideals upon which our country was built.

Over the past few years, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has spent billions of dollars on worksite and home raids and other enforcement efforts designed to arrest and detain as many people as possible without enough regard for capacity, resources, humanitarian concerns or due process. In its zeal to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible, the Bush Administration too often swept up U.S. citizens, lawfully present individuals, crime victims, and vulnerable populations, and put them into detention and deportation proceedings. Immigrant detainees have died in poorly run jails with no medical care, children have been separated from their parents, hard-working and otherwise innocent individuals have been criminally prosecuted, and massive detention operations have precipitated a crisis in jails across the country. In the face of inadequate resources to provide the appropriate legal process for the people caught up in these efforts, the past Administration engaged in far too many efforts to misdirect and intimidate people into abandoning their right to due process.

In its final weeks, the Bush Administration callously announced several new policies designed to further these "enforcement-only" policies: It issued a new regulation regarding the Social Security Administration's issuance of no-match letters that, if implemented, would plunge even more undocumented workers into the detention and deportation system. It issued another regulation that would expand, and make mandatory, the error-ridden "e-verify" electronic employment verification system to all federal contractors. It tried to strip immigrants of any right to be represented by counsel, with a last minute decision by the Attorney General, Matter of Compean, holding that immigrants do not have any right to be represented by a lawyer, and no legal or constitutional right to complain or have a new hearing even if that lawyer's work is defective, fraudulent, or completely absent. And most recently, in Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing in Nken v. Mukasey, the Bush Administration argued that an immigrant should not be allowed to obtain a stay of removal while his or her case is reviewed by a court.

Charles H. Kuck, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said, "In the waning days of the past Administration, dozens of new regulations, policies and decisions were unveiled that will only exacerbate the current immigration crisis. The Obama Administration urgently needs to do a top to bottom review of Department of Homeland Security policies and quickly develop a strategic new direction that will restore integrity to our immigration system, ensure that basic rights are respected, and promote transparency and accountability."

AILA is confident that the Obama Administration will move forward toward a rational approach to immigration policy by supporting comprehensive immigration reform, and by employing a proportional, fair and targeted approach to enforcement, focusing on national security risks and abusive employers, emphasizing strength over excess, and protecting basic due process rights.

3) USCIS Reminds Employers to Use New Form I-9

After December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use the new Form I-9 may be subject to all applicable penalties. All employers are required to complete a Form I-9 for each new employee hired in the United States.

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