Musings on Immigration

The permanent bar comes from a 1996 law called the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IRAIRA”). This law amended the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”), which is where all U.S. immigration laws are contained. Section 212 (a)(9)(C) of the INA is the provision that talks about the permanent bar. This section states that any alien who has been unlawfully present in the United States for an aggregate period of more than one year, and who enters or attempts to reenter the United States without being admitted, is inadmissible (meaning, cannot obtain lawful admission to the U.S.). Although called “permanent,” this bar lasts for only 10 years but there is no waiver an immigrant can give to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—this is why it is usually referred as permanent. How does the permanent bar work in real life?  Let’s use a hypothetical: Sarah crosses the U.S./Mexico border (with no visa) as an undocumented immigrant.  She stays in the U...

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 – America’s facelift turns 50 This past weekend marked the 50 th anniversary of the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Cellar Act. Then-President Lyndon Johnson, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty on October 3, 1965, signed legislation that forever changed the demographics of our nation of immigrants.  This act abolished the national origin quota system, under which immigrants were chosen on the basis of their race and ancestry. It established the current system which is based on family unification and attracting skilled labor and talent to the U.S. The 1960s was a turbulent time in U.S. history, and it is argued that the Civil Rights movement is what ultimately strengthened calls to reform U.S. immigration law. The national origins quota which was in place since the 1920s was viewed by many as inherently discriminatory. It set aside tens of thousands of visas each year for immigrants...

Because as of November 20, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has new enforcement priorities ( http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_prosecutorial_discretion.pdf ). If you are a non citizen in the U.S., and you fit one of the descriptions below, you may be placed in a detention center: • You have been convicted of a felony; • You have been recently apprehended at the U.S. border; • You have been convicted of an aggravated felony as defined in Section 101(a)(43) of          the Immigration and Naturalization Act; • You have been convicted of a “significant misdemeanor” (for example, an offense for DUI,          domestic violence, sexual abuse, burglary, firearms, and drug distribution/trafficking); • You entered the U.S. with no visa after January 1, 2014; • You have a final order of removal (meaning, there is no appeal pending) that was issued to         you a...

At this point Immigration Reform is still at least a Congressional summer vacation away from being passed.  Most people "in the know" will tell you that the Senate Bill (BSEOIMA, S.744) will never have a vote in the House of Representatives. That may or may not be true.  What is clear is that the House of Representatives is feeling a great deal of pressure to do something on Immigration Reform, but is hesitating on allowing people who came without papers or who overstayed their visas to ultimately obtain permanent resident status or U.S. Citizenship without going through the "normal"  immigration process. Everyone is focused on the "undocumented" part of the immigration reform process, but the reality is that the really significant parts of the Senate bill have nothing to do with "amnesty" or "legalization."  The key parts of the bill deal with the FUTURE of immigration to the United States.  If a version of the Senate Immigration ...

One of the striking things about reading hundreds of newspaper articles about "immigration reform" with thousands of quotes from politicians is the amazing misuse of words and phrases that form an essential part of the debate.  To aid you in your understanding of the immigration reform debate, here are definitions of the key words and phrases, as used by the different side,s on this very important issue. Word/Phrase                                    Immigration Reform The Senate Immigration Bill DACA/Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DREAMers Amnesty Border Security “Back of the Line” E-Verify ...

Interview with the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce discussing the new version of Form I-9. On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective immediately, all NEW hires by U.S. employers should fill out the new version of Form I-9 , which is identified in the lower, left-hand corner of the form with the label “Form I-9 03/08/13 N”.   Starting May 8, 2013 , use of the new version of the form is mandatory. [We previously reported that employers must start using the new form on May 7, 2013.  However, USCIS has now clarified that the correct date is May 8, 2013.  On March 20, 2013, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reported the following:  The AILA Verification and Documentation Committee took note of the conflicting information contained in the March 13, 2013 Federal Register notice introducing the revised I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form and contacted the USCIS Verification Division to...

Lane Beattie, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber, and a Partner of Kuck Immigration Partners co-authored an op-ed that appeared in the Sunday, February 3, 2013 edition of The Salt Lake Tribune entitled,  Immigration Reform Good for Economy . " No one benefits from our outdated and broken immigration system. Bringing undocumented immigrants out of the shadows will enhance our recovering economy and position us for continued growth. Fixing the system will attract and retain the most educated and hardest-working talent for decades to come. " A Partner of Kuck Immigration Partners also appeared with University of Utah Sociology Professor Theresa Martinez as featured guests on KSL Channel 5's Sunday Edition with Richard Piatt to discuss the recently announced immigration reform proposals.  Sunday Edition - Segment One (Feb 3, 2013)

Yesterday we focused on the shortcomings of the "Gang of 8's" Four Pillars of Immigration Reform.  Let's take a look now at Utah Senator Orrin Hatch's new Immigration Innovation Act of 2013 or "I-Squared Act of 2013 (S.169) (now that a catchy little ditty of a title, no?)  Frankly, this is exactly what an immigration reform bill should look like if it is serious about making America competitive into the 21st century.  Senator Hatch's office released a summary, which I have paraphrased: Employment-Based Nonimmigrant H-1B Visas This bill Increases H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000 immediately. And, it establishes a market-based H-1B escalator, so that the cap can adjust — up or down — to the demands of the economy (includes a 300,000 ceiling on the ability of the escalator to move):  If the cap is hit in the first 45 days when petitions may be filed, an additional 20,000 H-1B visas will be made available immediately. If the cap is hit in the first ...

There has been much made of the Immigration Reform Proposal put forward by the "Gang of 8," a bi-partisan group of Senators seeking to "solve" the immigration problem in which we find ourselves. President Obama says he support most of these principles.   But the solution proposed by these well-meaning Senators will not really fix our Immigration System, and this solution may very well make our immigration problems worse. The "Gang of 8" is made up of  Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).  Potentially there is some really good immigration reform proposal that could come from these specific Senators.  What most folks don't realize is that the "Gang of 8" has NOT introduced any actual legislation!  All we have so far is an "outline" of what they believe an immigration bill...

Republican Senators Kyl, Hutchinson and McCain have introduced a terrible version of the DREAM Act called the "Achieve Act".   http://tinyurl.com/bumbsmy This bill is a counterfeit form of the immigration relief that kids really need.  The bill gives a "W" visa, good for two years, to work and study, to kids but does NOT lead to permanent legal status.  The qualifications are as follows: Must have entered the U.S. prior to age 14; Must be under the age of 29 on day of enactment, or under the age of 32 if individual has a college degree; Must have 5 years continuous presence on day of enactment; Must possess a High school diploma or GED on day of enactment; Must have Good moral character, no felonies, not more than one misdemeanor with a jail term of 30 days with certain exceptions, no crimes of “moral turpitude” and no final order of removal (no exceptions for driving without a license); and A $525 fee! This bill will NOT pass.  And, we can demand rea...

Now that Republicans have come to the immigration reform table, we have to ask ourselves, what will immigration reform look like five years after it was last addressed.  One thing is certain, the leverage has changed, and there are new players are at the table. Not the least of which are " Dreamers ."  What would pass for immigration reform in 2007 under a weakened President Bush will NOT be enough to satisfy all of the constituencies demanding immigration reform in 2013. What We Almost Had In 2007 There has been some talk of reviving the bill written in 2007 under President Bush.  This would be a monumentally bad idea and would be terrible for the future of immigration to America.   Let's take a look at what was on the table from a handful of Republicans, some anti-immigrant, (Graham, Kyl, Sessions, DeMint, Vitter, and some McCain), and more pro-immigrant Democrats (Feinstein, Martinez, Specter, and Salazar).  The  Comprehensive Immigration Refor...