Dear Readers: 

I’ve just returned from the annual Washington lobbying day for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. I enjoy participating in this trip each year because it provides an opportunity to learn more about key immigration issues Congress is facing and it provides an opportunity for members of Congress to hear a pro-immigration point of view. Anti-immigration groups regularly and effectively get their views out to Congress, but the other side seems to have a tougher time.  

I spoke to my Congressman and Senators about several issues including advocating for the Dream Act, legislation to protect unaccompanied minors, H-1B and H-2B cap increases and a fix for the EB-3 green card rollback that is affecting Filipinos, Indians and Chinese. We also urged Congress to reject the REAL ID Act that recently was added to the House Supplemental Appropriations bill.  

While my experience was obviously anecdotal, my sense is that the anti-immigrant mood in Congress is easing and there are greater opportunities now for making progress on many immigration issues. We probably are still at least a year or so away from seeing real change, however. Much will depend on what President Bush does regarding his immigration plan. 

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Many of you have been writing me asking for news on the bonus H-1B quota of 20,000 visas for this fiscal year. As of March 22d, the USCIS had still not sent its notice to the Federal Register. We presume this notice will come in the next few days, but can’t report anything more specific than that. 

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Wal-Mart agreed to pay the largest fine in American history for immigration violations stemming from accusations that they conspired with contractors who hired undocumented workers as cleaners in the company’s stores. The government meant to send a loud message to employers across the country that it is going to go after immigration violators. The $11 million fine is actually not a big amount for a company like Wal-Mart – about 20 minutes worth of income. However, Wal-Mart also agreed to implement elaborate training and compliance measures that could cost the company much more. We write about the story this week. I also spoke with CBS News regarding the fine and the story was written up for CBS Marketwatch. You can see the article on our site at www.visalaw.com/news. Investor’s Business Daily also picked up the CBS story.  

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Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients and employers seeking to comply with immigration laws. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Regards,