Dear Readers:  

I spent part of this past week in Washington , D.C. working on immigration issues for various clients and organizations in which I am active. The conventional wisdom following last week’s election has been that immigration legislation would fly through Congress and be signed by the President. And while the odds are that this will, in fact, happen, there are still a number of things to watch as we make assessments on what will happen.  

First, we still do not know what will happen when Congress re-convenes for the lame duck session. The Republicans have an incentive to move immigration legislation both because it would allow them to pass a bill that is more to their liking and because it would deny the Democrats a political victory when they take over Congress next year. But time is very short and there may be enough anti-immigrant Republicans who will try and kill any pro-immigration bill even if politically it doesn’t make sense. Votes will take place on key bills in early December and we’ll have to wait and see whether immigration bills are included in the mix.  

Another possibility is that Congress will move some more modest legislation in the lame duck such as legislation to make more green cards available for nurses, extension of the Conrad J-1 program for physicians and possibly the SKIL Act, which would dramatically improve the situation for employment-based non-immigrant cases and permanent residency petitions.  

Second, assuming we have to wait until the new Congress is sworn in this January, we still don’t know what Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi’s plans are with respect to immigration legislation. The indications are that that Democrats will start from scratch with new legislation and new hearings. That could mean good news as far as getting rid of some of the more objectionable provisions put in last year’s Senate bill in an effort to compromise with the most anti-immigrant Republicans, but it will also mean the process will take longer than just a few weeks.  

Third, we still do not have final word on who will be leading the subcommittees in the House and Senate. We expect Senator Kennedy to take the committee chairmanship in the Senate, but the House Immigration Subcommittee may not go to ranking Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee. Instead, Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) is apparently interested in the position and since she has seniority over Ms. Jackson-Lee, Lofgren would be the likely chair of the committee. Both would no doubt be very pro-immigration. Ms. Jackson-Lee has an outstanding record on the committee and did an admirable job trying to come up with bipartisan, creative solutions in a decidedly anti-immigrant environment. Ms. Lofgren, also a veteran on the committee, has a background as an immigration lawyer and will no doubt bring very useful experience to the position.  

We will probably have a good idea by the end of the week what direction we’re headed in as far as immigration law goes for the coming year and I’ll report more next week.  

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Disaster. That’s about the only way I can describe the new USCIS web site at www.uscis.gov that went online this month. Half of the most useful features on the old site are missing and the remainder is now difficult to navigate and not nearly as useful as the old site. There were certainly problems with the previous version and I suspect that there are some technological improvements with the new site, but, really, what were they thinking?!  

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We’re gearing up for the Thanksgiving Holiday here at the firm and our offices will be closed Thursday and Friday. We like to think of the Pilgrims as just one of the more high profile immigration waves over the last few centuries and thank goodness the Americans already here (Indians, native Americans, indigenous people, or whatever name you choose) had a pro-immigration view! We all should remember their example. Happy Thanksgiving.  

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As always, we remind readers that if they are interested in Siskind Susser handling their immigration matters, you can call our office at 901-682-6455 to set up an appointment. Have a great weekend!    

Regards,  

Greg Siskind