5. News from the Courts:

BALCA panel rules on university hiring

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) said that in cases involving a college or university teaching position, the employer may select the alien over less qualified U.S. workers regardless of whether the employer uses the basic recruitment process.  The Certifying Officer (CO) therefore erred in denying certification on those grounds, but the panel still upheld the CO’s denial on the grounds that the advertisements contained requirements not included in the application.

http://www.nafsa.org/resourcelibrary/Default.aspx?id=26339

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U.S. argues Arizona has no right to sue over border security

Capitol Media Services reports that Assistant Attorney General Tony West asked U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton not to review Arizona’s argument that the Department of Homeland Security is not enforcing law ‘achieve and maintain operational control for the Arizona-Mexico border.’  In February, Arizona issued a response to the federal government’s challenge of SB 1070, claiming that the state was forced to step-in because of the federal government’s failure to enforce immigration laws.  Arizona is also seeking reimbursement for costs incurred by the state incarcerating illegally present immigrants convicted of state crimes.    

West told Bolton that ‘the regulation of immigration and control over the borders are matters firmly entrusted to the political branches’ of the government, making the issue of whether or not the federal government is properly enforcing immigration law a ‘non-justiciable political question.’

http://azstarnet.com/article_727b95bd-783b-53a8-b230-43fa0edb7fed.html

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H-1B workers with pending extension pleas can stay

The Christian Science Monitor reports that a federal judge in Connecticut ruled that workers in the U.S. on H-1B visas may not be arrested for ‘overstaying’ while their visa extension applications are still pending.  The judge recognized that regulations allow H-1B employees to continue working for 240 days while their extension applications are pending.

In the case before the Connecticut judge, the plaintiff, a Lebanese national working as a medical researcher, was arrested for allegedly ‘overstaying’ his initial visa despite the fact that his employer had requested an H-1B extension nearly seven months earlier and a month before his H-1B status expired.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/h-1b-workers-with-pending-extension-pleas-can-stay-us-court/articleshow/7991126.cms

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