Wednesday, January 31, 2007
USCIS PROPOSES MASSIVE FEE INCREASES
USCIS today proposed fee increases averaging 66% and in return is promising 20% processing time improvements by the end of 2009.
According to USCIS, fee increases will hit the following application types: (1) Application to Replace a Permanent Resident Card (I-90) – current fee is $190; proposed fee is $290; (2) Petition for Alien Fiancé (I-129F) – current fee is $170; proposed fee is $455; (3) Application to Register Permanent Status or Adjust Status (I-485) – current fee is $325; proposed fee is $9051; and (4) Application for Naturalization (N-400) – current fee is $330; proposed fee is $595.
The proposal drew the criticism of many groups including the American Immigration Lawyers Association which called on Congress and the White House to end the policy of making USCIS filing fees cover 100% of the agency's budget for processing cases.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:23 PM
HOUSE IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS NAMED
The shape of immigration reform legislation will largely be determined by the Immigration Subcommittees in the House and Senate. The House subcommittee members have finally been released and they are the following:
Zoe Lofgren - (D-CA) - Chair
Steve King (R-IA)- Ranking Member
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)- Deputy Ranking Member
Howard Berman (D-CA)
Artur Davis (D-AL)
William Delahunt (D-MA)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Daniel Lungren (R-CA)
Marty Meehan (D-MA)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:08 PM
BUSH CALLS FOR INCREASE IN H-1B NUMBERS
Hispanic Business reports on remarks given by President Bush to Dupont employees"I want you to know I understand that we need to make sure that when a smart person from overseas wants to come and work in DuPont, it's in our interests to allow him or her to do so. We've got to expand what's called H-1B visas. It makes no sense to say to a young scientist from India, you can't come to America to help this company develop technologies that help us deal with our problems."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:01 PM
SENATE PASSES MEASURE BARRING EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM RECEIVING GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
The Senate today passed S.2, the minimum wage increase bill. The bill includes a provision barring employers of illegal immigrants access to government contracts for seven years (or ten years if the employer was the recipient of government contracts at the time of hiring illegal aliens). Senator Sessions (R-AL) was successful in getting an amendment added that made an exception to this provision if an employer participates in the Basic Pilot program. The House version of this bill does not contain the Sessions Amendment and the two Houses will need to reconcile this difference before the bill goes to the President.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:51 PM
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
TEXAS SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO EXTEND MEXICAN TOURIST STAYS
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, introduced legislation to extend the time a Mexican citizen can remain in the US South Texas by increasing commerce and tourism. Cornyn is joined by his fellow Texas Republican, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as well as Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) who will introduce a similar measure in the House. The bill is titled the Secure Border Crossing Card Entry Act of 2007.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:17 PM
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
BUSH: WE NEED AN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM WORTHY OF AMERICA
President Bush addressed immigration early and prominently in his State of the Union Address this evening. The President initially noted that his Administration is doubling the size of the Border Patrol and funding new infrastructure and technology initiatives.
The President also outlined other immigration related goals:
- We must take pressure off the border. We need a temporary worker program so people don't have to sneak in. Border Patrol can focus on drug smugglers and terrorists.
- We must enforce immigration laws at the work site and give employers tools to verify the status of workers so there is no excuse left for violating the law.
- We must uphold the great tradition of melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.
- We must resolve the status of illegal immigrants already in country without animosity and without amnesty.
- Congress must engage in serious, civil and conclusive debate so the President can sign comprehensive immigration reform into law.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:30 PM
Monday, January 22, 2007
BUSH TO MAKE IMMIGRATION REFORM CENTERPIECE OF STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
The Arizona Republic reports that comprehensive immigration reform will be listed by Bush as one of his major priority's for the year.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:03 PM
Saturday, January 20, 2007
PASSPORT REQUIREMENT KICKS IN TUESDAY
Beginning January 23rd, citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda will need passports to enter each other's countries when traveling by airplane.
The requirement may come as a surprise to many Americans. According to DHS, at last count 17% of Americans were still traveling to these countries without a passport. Canadians seem to be better prepared as only 6% of them are still traveling by air without passports.
REPUBLICANS TAP PRO-IMMIGRATION SENATOR FOR RNC HEAD
Mel Martinez, the Republican Senator from Florida, is expected to soon take the helm of the Republican National Committee, the organization that runs the national operations of the Republican Party. Martinez, a native of Cuba, is considered one of the most pro-immigration Republicans in Congress and played a key role last year in passing the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Many Republicans are unhappy that Martinez will be the new leader. According to Tom Tancredo, anti-immigrant candidate for President and leader of the House Immigration Reform Caucus:
"I believe he represents the already shopworn position that we need a guestworker/amnesty bill," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a presidential candidate and a leading advocate for restrictive immigration control, said in an interview on Thursday. "He will use whatever influence he has in that position to try to advance that cause. That's the wrong message."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:21 PM
TANCREDO TO RUN ANTI-IMMIGRANT CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT
Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican member of the House of Representatives best known for being the most anti-immigrant member of Congress, will take his cause to the campaign trail as he seeks the Republican nomination for President. Tancredo is only polling 2% according to the latest polls in Iowa, the location of the first big presidential caucus in early 2008. But Tancredo's run is largely seen as one designed to raise the profile of his single issue of interest. Many Republicans are worried that the 2006 congressional elections signal that the anti-immigration image of the party is hurting them and that Tancredo's candidacy will only increase the damage.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:58 PM
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES BILL TO GIVE TPS TO HAITIANS
Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has proposed legislation to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. The bill, the Haitian Protection Act of 2007, cites political turmoil in the country, rampant crime as well as the ongoing effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms. TPS designation would be granted for 18 months and would allow Haitians in the US to remain legally during that time and to work with an employment authorization document.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
AGJOBS BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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According to USCIS, fee increases will hit the following application types: (1) Application to Replace a Permanent Resident Card (I-90) – current fee is $190; proposed fee is $290; (2) Petition for Alien Fiancé (I-129F) – current fee is $170; proposed fee is $455; (3) Application to Register Permanent Status or Adjust Status (I-485) – current fee is $325; proposed fee is $9051; and (4) Application for Naturalization (N-400) – current fee is $330; proposed fee is $595.
The proposal drew the criticism of many groups including the American Immigration Lawyers Association which called on Congress and the White House to end the policy of making USCIS filing fees cover 100% of the agency's budget for processing cases.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:23 PM
The shape of immigration reform legislation will largely be determined by the Immigration Subcommittees in the House and Senate. The House subcommittee members have finally been released and they are the following:
Zoe Lofgren - (D-CA) - Chair
Steve King (R-IA)- Ranking Member
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)- Deputy Ranking Member
Howard Berman (D-CA)
Artur Davis (D-AL)
William Delahunt (D-MA)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Daniel Lungren (R-CA)
Marty Meehan (D-MA)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Zoe Lofgren - (D-CA) - Chair
Steve King (R-IA)- Ranking Member
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)- Deputy Ranking Member
Howard Berman (D-CA)
Artur Davis (D-AL)
William Delahunt (D-MA)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Daniel Lungren (R-CA)
Marty Meehan (D-MA)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:08 PM
BUSH CALLS FOR INCREASE IN H-1B NUMBERS
Hispanic Business reports on remarks given by President Bush to Dupont employees"I want you to know I understand that we need to make sure that when a smart person from overseas wants to come and work in DuPont, it's in our interests to allow him or her to do so. We've got to expand what's called H-1B visas. It makes no sense to say to a young scientist from India, you can't come to America to help this company develop technologies that help us deal with our problems."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:01 PM
SENATE PASSES MEASURE BARRING EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM RECEIVING GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
The Senate today passed S.2, the minimum wage increase bill. The bill includes a provision barring employers of illegal immigrants access to government contracts for seven years (or ten years if the employer was the recipient of government contracts at the time of hiring illegal aliens). Senator Sessions (R-AL) was successful in getting an amendment added that made an exception to this provision if an employer participates in the Basic Pilot program. The House version of this bill does not contain the Sessions Amendment and the two Houses will need to reconcile this difference before the bill goes to the President.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:51 PM
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
TEXAS SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO EXTEND MEXICAN TOURIST STAYS
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, introduced legislation to extend the time a Mexican citizen can remain in the US South Texas by increasing commerce and tourism. Cornyn is joined by his fellow Texas Republican, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as well as Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) who will introduce a similar measure in the House. The bill is titled the Secure Border Crossing Card Entry Act of 2007.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:17 PM
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
BUSH: WE NEED AN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM WORTHY OF AMERICA
President Bush addressed immigration early and prominently in his State of the Union Address this evening. The President initially noted that his Administration is doubling the size of the Border Patrol and funding new infrastructure and technology initiatives.
The President also outlined other immigration related goals:
- We must take pressure off the border. We need a temporary worker program so people don't have to sneak in. Border Patrol can focus on drug smugglers and terrorists.
- We must enforce immigration laws at the work site and give employers tools to verify the status of workers so there is no excuse left for violating the law.
- We must uphold the great tradition of melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.
- We must resolve the status of illegal immigrants already in country without animosity and without amnesty.
- Congress must engage in serious, civil and conclusive debate so the President can sign comprehensive immigration reform into law.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:30 PM
Monday, January 22, 2007
BUSH TO MAKE IMMIGRATION REFORM CENTERPIECE OF STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
The Arizona Republic reports that comprehensive immigration reform will be listed by Bush as one of his major priority's for the year.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:03 PM
Saturday, January 20, 2007
PASSPORT REQUIREMENT KICKS IN TUESDAY
Beginning January 23rd, citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda will need passports to enter each other's countries when traveling by airplane.
The requirement may come as a surprise to many Americans. According to DHS, at last count 17% of Americans were still traveling to these countries without a passport. Canadians seem to be better prepared as only 6% of them are still traveling by air without passports.
REPUBLICANS TAP PRO-IMMIGRATION SENATOR FOR RNC HEAD
Mel Martinez, the Republican Senator from Florida, is expected to soon take the helm of the Republican National Committee, the organization that runs the national operations of the Republican Party. Martinez, a native of Cuba, is considered one of the most pro-immigration Republicans in Congress and played a key role last year in passing the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Many Republicans are unhappy that Martinez will be the new leader. According to Tom Tancredo, anti-immigrant candidate for President and leader of the House Immigration Reform Caucus:
"I believe he represents the already shopworn position that we need a guestworker/amnesty bill," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a presidential candidate and a leading advocate for restrictive immigration control, said in an interview on Thursday. "He will use whatever influence he has in that position to try to advance that cause. That's the wrong message."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:21 PM
TANCREDO TO RUN ANTI-IMMIGRANT CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT
Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican member of the House of Representatives best known for being the most anti-immigrant member of Congress, will take his cause to the campaign trail as he seeks the Republican nomination for President. Tancredo is only polling 2% according to the latest polls in Iowa, the location of the first big presidential caucus in early 2008. But Tancredo's run is largely seen as one designed to raise the profile of his single issue of interest. Many Republicans are worried that the 2006 congressional elections signal that the anti-immigration image of the party is hurting them and that Tancredo's candidacy will only increase the damage.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:58 PM
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES BILL TO GIVE TPS TO HAITIANS
Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has proposed legislation to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. The bill, the Haitian Protection Act of 2007, cites political turmoil in the country, rampant crime as well as the ongoing effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms. TPS designation would be granted for 18 months and would allow Haitians in the US to remain legally during that time and to work with an employment authorization document.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
AGJOBS BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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"I want you to know I understand that we need to make sure that when a smart person from overseas wants to come and work in DuPont, it's in our interests to allow him or her to do so. We've got to expand what's called H-1B visas. It makes no sense to say to a young scientist from India, you can't come to America to help this company develop technologies that help us deal with our problems."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 11:01 PM
The Senate today passed S.2, the minimum wage increase bill. The bill includes a provision barring employers of illegal immigrants access to government contracts for seven years (or ten years if the employer was the recipient of government contracts at the time of hiring illegal aliens). Senator Sessions (R-AL) was successful in getting an amendment added that made an exception to this provision if an employer participates in the Basic Pilot program. The House version of this bill does not contain the Sessions Amendment and the two Houses will need to reconcile this difference before the bill goes to the President.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:51 PM
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
TEXAS SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO EXTEND MEXICAN TOURIST STAYS
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, introduced legislation to extend the time a Mexican citizen can remain in the US South Texas by increasing commerce and tourism. Cornyn is joined by his fellow Texas Republican, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as well as Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) who will introduce a similar measure in the House. The bill is titled the Secure Border Crossing Card Entry Act of 2007.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:17 PM
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
BUSH: WE NEED AN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM WORTHY OF AMERICA
President Bush addressed immigration early and prominently in his State of the Union Address this evening. The President initially noted that his Administration is doubling the size of the Border Patrol and funding new infrastructure and technology initiatives.
The President also outlined other immigration related goals:
- We must take pressure off the border. We need a temporary worker program so people don't have to sneak in. Border Patrol can focus on drug smugglers and terrorists.
- We must enforce immigration laws at the work site and give employers tools to verify the status of workers so there is no excuse left for violating the law.
- We must uphold the great tradition of melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.
- We must resolve the status of illegal immigrants already in country without animosity and without amnesty.
- Congress must engage in serious, civil and conclusive debate so the President can sign comprehensive immigration reform into law.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:30 PM
Monday, January 22, 2007
BUSH TO MAKE IMMIGRATION REFORM CENTERPIECE OF STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
The Arizona Republic reports that comprehensive immigration reform will be listed by Bush as one of his major priority's for the year.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:03 PM
Saturday, January 20, 2007
PASSPORT REQUIREMENT KICKS IN TUESDAY
Beginning January 23rd, citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda will need passports to enter each other's countries when traveling by airplane.
The requirement may come as a surprise to many Americans. According to DHS, at last count 17% of Americans were still traveling to these countries without a passport. Canadians seem to be better prepared as only 6% of them are still traveling by air without passports.
REPUBLICANS TAP PRO-IMMIGRATION SENATOR FOR RNC HEAD
Mel Martinez, the Republican Senator from Florida, is expected to soon take the helm of the Republican National Committee, the organization that runs the national operations of the Republican Party. Martinez, a native of Cuba, is considered one of the most pro-immigration Republicans in Congress and played a key role last year in passing the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Many Republicans are unhappy that Martinez will be the new leader. According to Tom Tancredo, anti-immigrant candidate for President and leader of the House Immigration Reform Caucus:
"I believe he represents the already shopworn position that we need a guestworker/amnesty bill," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a presidential candidate and a leading advocate for restrictive immigration control, said in an interview on Thursday. "He will use whatever influence he has in that position to try to advance that cause. That's the wrong message."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:21 PM
TANCREDO TO RUN ANTI-IMMIGRANT CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT
Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican member of the House of Representatives best known for being the most anti-immigrant member of Congress, will take his cause to the campaign trail as he seeks the Republican nomination for President. Tancredo is only polling 2% according to the latest polls in Iowa, the location of the first big presidential caucus in early 2008. But Tancredo's run is largely seen as one designed to raise the profile of his single issue of interest. Many Republicans are worried that the 2006 congressional elections signal that the anti-immigration image of the party is hurting them and that Tancredo's candidacy will only increase the damage.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:58 PM
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES BILL TO GIVE TPS TO HAITIANS
Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has proposed legislation to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. The bill, the Haitian Protection Act of 2007, cites political turmoil in the country, rampant crime as well as the ongoing effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms. TPS designation would be granted for 18 months and would allow Haitians in the US to remain legally during that time and to work with an employment authorization document.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
AGJOBS BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, introduced legislation to extend the time a Mexican citizen can remain in the
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:17 PM
President Bush addressed immigration early and prominently in his State of the Union Address this evening. The President initially noted that his Administration is doubling the size of the Border Patrol and funding new infrastructure and technology initiatives.
The President also outlined other immigration related goals:
- We must take pressure off the border. We need a temporary worker program so people don't have to sneak in. Border Patrol can focus on drug smugglers and terrorists.
- We must enforce immigration laws at the work site and give employers tools to verify the status of workers so there is no excuse left for violating the law.
- We must uphold the great tradition of melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.
- We must resolve the status of illegal immigrants already in country without animosity and without amnesty.
- Congress must engage in serious, civil and conclusive debate so the President can sign comprehensive immigration reform into law.
The President also outlined other immigration related goals:
- We must take pressure off the border. We need a temporary worker program so people don't have to sneak in. Border Patrol can focus on drug smugglers and terrorists.
- We must enforce immigration laws at the work site and give employers tools to verify the status of workers so there is no excuse left for violating the law.
- We must uphold the great tradition of melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.
- We must resolve the status of illegal immigrants already in country without animosity and without amnesty.
- Congress must engage in serious, civil and conclusive debate so the President can sign comprehensive immigration reform into law.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:30 PM
Monday, January 22, 2007
BUSH TO MAKE IMMIGRATION REFORM CENTERPIECE OF STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
The Arizona Republic reports that comprehensive immigration reform will be listed by Bush as one of his major priority's for the year.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:03 PM
Saturday, January 20, 2007
PASSPORT REQUIREMENT KICKS IN TUESDAY
Beginning January 23rd, citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda will need passports to enter each other's countries when traveling by airplane.
The requirement may come as a surprise to many Americans. According to DHS, at last count 17% of Americans were still traveling to these countries without a passport. Canadians seem to be better prepared as only 6% of them are still traveling by air without passports.
REPUBLICANS TAP PRO-IMMIGRATION SENATOR FOR RNC HEAD
Mel Martinez, the Republican Senator from Florida, is expected to soon take the helm of the Republican National Committee, the organization that runs the national operations of the Republican Party. Martinez, a native of Cuba, is considered one of the most pro-immigration Republicans in Congress and played a key role last year in passing the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Many Republicans are unhappy that Martinez will be the new leader. According to Tom Tancredo, anti-immigrant candidate for President and leader of the House Immigration Reform Caucus:
"I believe he represents the already shopworn position that we need a guestworker/amnesty bill," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a presidential candidate and a leading advocate for restrictive immigration control, said in an interview on Thursday. "He will use whatever influence he has in that position to try to advance that cause. That's the wrong message."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:21 PM
TANCREDO TO RUN ANTI-IMMIGRANT CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT
Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican member of the House of Representatives best known for being the most anti-immigrant member of Congress, will take his cause to the campaign trail as he seeks the Republican nomination for President. Tancredo is only polling 2% according to the latest polls in Iowa, the location of the first big presidential caucus in early 2008. But Tancredo's run is largely seen as one designed to raise the profile of his single issue of interest. Many Republicans are worried that the 2006 congressional elections signal that the anti-immigration image of the party is hurting them and that Tancredo's candidacy will only increase the damage.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:58 PM
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES BILL TO GIVE TPS TO HAITIANS
Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has proposed legislation to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. The bill, the Haitian Protection Act of 2007, cites political turmoil in the country, rampant crime as well as the ongoing effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms. TPS designation would be granted for 18 months and would allow Haitians in the US to remain legally during that time and to work with an employment authorization document.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
AGJOBS BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:03 PM
Beginning January 23rd, citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda will need passports to enter each other's countries when traveling by airplane.
The requirement may come as a surprise to many Americans. According to DHS, at last count 17% of Americans were still traveling to these countries without a passport. Canadians seem to be better prepared as only 6% of them are still traveling by air without passports.
The requirement may come as a surprise to many Americans. According to DHS, at last count 17% of Americans were still traveling to these countries without a passport. Canadians seem to be better prepared as only 6% of them are still traveling by air without passports.
REPUBLICANS TAP PRO-IMMIGRATION SENATOR FOR RNC HEAD
Mel Martinez, the Republican Senator from Florida, is expected to soon take the helm of the Republican National Committee, the organization that runs the national operations of the Republican Party. Martinez, a native of Cuba, is considered one of the most pro-immigration Republicans in Congress and played a key role last year in passing the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Many Republicans are unhappy that Martinez will be the new leader. According to Tom Tancredo, anti-immigrant candidate for President and leader of the House Immigration Reform Caucus:
"I believe he represents the already shopworn position that we need a guestworker/amnesty bill," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a presidential candidate and a leading advocate for restrictive immigration control, said in an interview on Thursday. "He will use whatever influence he has in that position to try to advance that cause. That's the wrong message."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:21 PM
TANCREDO TO RUN ANTI-IMMIGRANT CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT
Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican member of the House of Representatives best known for being the most anti-immigrant member of Congress, will take his cause to the campaign trail as he seeks the Republican nomination for President. Tancredo is only polling 2% according to the latest polls in Iowa, the location of the first big presidential caucus in early 2008. But Tancredo's run is largely seen as one designed to raise the profile of his single issue of interest. Many Republicans are worried that the 2006 congressional elections signal that the anti-immigration image of the party is hurting them and that Tancredo's candidacy will only increase the damage.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:58 PM
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES BILL TO GIVE TPS TO HAITIANS
Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has proposed legislation to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. The bill, the Haitian Protection Act of 2007, cites political turmoil in the country, rampant crime as well as the ongoing effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms. TPS designation would be granted for 18 months and would allow Haitians in the US to remain legally during that time and to work with an employment authorization document.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
AGJOBS BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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Many Republicans are unhappy that Martinez will be the new leader. According to Tom Tancredo, anti-immigrant candidate for President and leader of the House Immigration Reform Caucus:
"I believe he represents the already shopworn position that we need a guestworker/amnesty bill," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a presidential candidate and a leading advocate for restrictive immigration control, said in an interview on Thursday. "He will use whatever influence he has in that position to try to advance that cause. That's the wrong message."
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:21 PM
Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican member of the House of Representatives best known for being the most anti-immigrant member of Congress, will take his cause to the campaign trail as he seeks the Republican nomination for President. Tancredo is only polling 2% according to the latest polls in Iowa, the location of the first big presidential caucus in early 2008. But Tancredo's run is largely seen as one designed to raise the profile of his single issue of interest. Many Republicans are worried that the 2006 congressional elections signal that the anti-immigration image of the party is hurting them and that Tancredo's candidacy will only increase the damage.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:58 PM
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES BILL TO GIVE TPS TO HAITIANS
Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has proposed legislation to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. The bill, the Haitian Protection Act of 2007, cites political turmoil in the country, rampant crime as well as the ongoing effects of recent hurricanes and tropical storms. TPS designation would be granted for 18 months and would allow Haitians in the US to remain legally during that time and to work with an employment authorization document.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
AGJOBS BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:50 PM
Howard Berman (D-CA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the House version of the AgJobs bill which would grant legal status to an estimated one to two million farm workers across the country. The bill, H.R. 371, is identical to another bill recently introduced in the Senate by Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Senate bill was introduced as S. 237 but recently was re-introduced as S. 340 with additional original co-sponsors. They include eleven new Senators:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Pete Domenici (R-MN)
Chuck Hegel (R-NE)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:06 PM
Sunday, January 14, 2007
KUDOS TO MY CO-AUTHOR BILL STOCK FOR GETTING USCIS TO ADMIT FUDGING THE FACTS
Just saw this posted on an immigration law professors news group:
Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
SENATOR S INTRODUCES AGJOBS BILL
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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Re the processing times, USCIS is playing dirty in an effort to make their stats look better. Anytime an application or petition is awaiting action from anyone other than USCIS -- whether it's a response to an RFE, or a security check from the FBI or another government agency -- it's not counted as being pending with USCIS.
This allows them to post processing dates that look much more current than they really are. This is also how, at a Practising Law Institute conference last fall, a USCIS official was able to tell the audience with a straight face that USCIS had managed to reduce its backlog from nearly 4 million cases to only 55,000. It was only through diplomatic but persistent questioning from co-panelist and fellow Immprof list member Bill Stock that the truth came out.
Bill is my co-author (along with Steve Yale-Loehr) on the J-1 Visa Guidebook, published by Lexis Nexis.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:30 AM
Though an agricultural guest worker section is likely to be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation to be introduced in the next few weeks, Senators introduced this week the AgJobs bill to legalize agricultural workers. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship with crucial support coming from Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL). The bill would grant "blue cards" to agricultural workers currently out of status who can show they have been in the US for five months over the last two years. After several years, workers will be able to obtain immigrant visas.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 9:34 PM
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TAKING SHAPE
The future of immigration reform legislation will largely be based on the make up of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as the immigration subcommittees in both houses. We don't know who will be on the subcommittees except that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will chair in the House and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will chair in the Senate.
We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS EXPRESS OPTIMISM THAT IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION WILL PASS
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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We did learn today who will be on on House Judiciary Committee. A welcome addition is Luis Guitierrez (D-IL), an outspoken pro-immigration advocate. Also new to the committee are Brad Sherman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and freshmen Steve Cohen (D-TN), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Hank Johnson (D-TN). Congressman Cohen, incidentally, is my Congressman here in Memphis.
The Republicans also announced their Judiciary Committee appointees. They include Ranking Republican Member Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Ric Keller (R-FL), Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Mike Pence (R-IN), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH). A noticeable omission is Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who is likely being removed from the committee as punishement for criticizing the GOP for it's anti-immigrant positions.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:30 PM
If the rhetoric of Democratic leaders are any indicator, the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform legislation passing this year are looking very good. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the new Senate Judiciary Committee chair, issued a strong statement this week supporting reform as he introduced S.9, the immigration reform bill. Incidentally, the bill starts as a "placeholder" bill that simply says very little, but will be amended later and will probably be hundreds of pages long before it passes.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Majority Leader in the House, helped to shed some fears that the House will not take up immigration reform. According to Reuters
House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush.
``He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration,''' said Hoyer.
``I think that's the case,'' said Hoyer, who did not detail the plan.
The Reuters story also quoted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as supporting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted Senate Immigration Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA)as predicting passage of the bill. The paper also quotes House Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as saying she is optimistic that the House will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
IS IT TIME FOR A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAWYERS?
Let me tell you a dirty little secret in the immigration bar. Some of the worst and most crooked lawyers in the US are immigration lawyers. The vast, vast majority of immigration lawyers are decent, hardworking folks and it is just a small number who soil the good name of the profession. But most of us in the field can tell stories of the lawyer who has practiced for decades and still tells every prospective client they have never lost a case. Or the lawyer who takes money and then disappears. Or the one who is just so incompetent that they just make up the law as they go along and have no idea what they're doing.
And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
TOYS R US DOESN'T HATE BABIES AFTER ALL
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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And we all know why this happens. Immigrants are frequently unfamiliar with the American legal system and are not sophisticated consumers capable of effectively researching who is qualified and who is not. And the worst lawyers look at their clients and see them as simply likely to go underground or leave via deportation and not make further trouble when the case tanks.
The Washington Post reports this morning on a dubious distinction for the Capitol's immigration bar. Complaints from the public are rising and it is now the practice area receiving more complaints than any other.
While I'm discouraged that our bar's good name is being diminished, I am pleased to see that more people are willing to come forward and complain. Unless incompetent and dishonest lawyers really fear being held to account for their misdeeds, we're not likely to see any real change.
I would also suggest revisiting an idea that has been floated for the past few years - offering a national certification examination for immigration lawyers. If such an examination were available, states would be more likely to certify immigration lawyers for specialization. And consumers would have a more meaningful way to know whether their immigration lawyer actually has the requisite knowledge to practice in the area. This idea has traditionally met opposition from a number of older lawyers who like things just the way they are. Unfortunately, in many communities it is just this group of lawyers who constitute the worst lawyers in the bar.
It's time to revisit this idea.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:05 PM
Talk about a public relations opportunity turning in to a public relations disaster. According to the NY Times, Toys R Us was offering a $25,000 savings bond to the first baby born in the United States on New Year's Day. Nice, right?
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
Well it turns out that the winning baby, Yuki Lin, is the daughter of an illegal immigrant. Yuki was born at midnight in New York City and is, of course, as American as any one else in this country since she was born on US soil.
But Toys R Us had a rule requiring that the parents of the winning baby must be legal residents of the US. Why have a policy that discriminates against a US citizen based on the national origin of the child's parents? Is that even legal? I'll stick to immigration law and not civil rights law, but it sure is dumb from a marketing standpoint.
Toys R Us quickly realized how ridiculous this policy is. The company awarded Yuki the prize and also awarded the child who was selected as the alternative the prize as well. According to the company
“We love all babies. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:03 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007
CITIZENSHIP IN EXCHANGE FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR AMERICA?
The International Herald Tribune reports on what sounds like a fair trade to me. The military is looking at proposals that might make it possible for those immigrants - both legal and illegal - who volunteer during wartime for the military to get US citizenship. Want to bet that the anti-immigrant folks who object the most loudly will have no military record? Just a hunch.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
SENATE TAKES UP IMMIGRATION REFORM RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's officeS. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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# posted by Greg Siskind @ 6:07 PM
New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the first ten bills that will be introduced in the Senate this year. These ten items will be the top priorities for passage in the new Senate. Reid has included immigration on the list signaling that immigration reform has a serious chance of passage. A number of observers have expressed doubt that the Democrats would take on the issue.
According to a press release from Reid's office
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
According to a press release from Reid's office
S. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform.
We passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate last year. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics in the House of Representatives. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again in 2007.
America’s immigration system is broken. Our borders remain un-secured. Our laws remain under-enforced. And we have 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay out a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here.
New Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also made a promising comment in his opening remarks on Republican legislative priorities for the new 110th Congress:
Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform — and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:15 PM
BLOGGING FROM THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
As many readers know, I'm pretty into technology and it's hard for me to pass on the latest new gadget. I've written a bestselling book for lawyers on the Internet that's published by the American Bar Association, I regularly speak at the annual ABA Techshow in Chicago and I write the technology column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Friday, January 05, 2007
IMMIGRANTS DRIVING JOB CREATION IN SILICON VALLEY
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
XML newsfeed
archives
09/2003
10/2003
11/2003
01/2004
02/2004
03/2004
04/2004
05/2004
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10/2004
11/2004
12/2004
01/2005
02/2005
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04/2006
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02/2007
03/2007
04/2007
05/2007
06/2007
07/2007
09/2007
10/2007
11/2007
01/2008
02/2008
03/2008
The big perk of all the writing I do each year on technology is my media pass to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The show is the Super Bowl of technology and is also the largest trade show on the planet. All of the new technology products you will see in late 2007 and in 2008 are likely to make their debuts this coming week. I'll be blogging from the show in addition to writing my annual gadgets column for AILA's Immigration Law Today.
I'll have my digital camera to show you the latest pictures and video from the show and will post on my new tech blog at http://gregstips.blogspot.com.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 1:21 PM
Not exactly a shocker, but there's an interesting new study showing that the same whiners complaining about H-1B workers taking their jobs should actually be thanking them for creating new jobs.
From today's Washington Post:
From today's Washington Post:
About 25 percent of the technology and engineering companies launched in the past decade had at least one foreign-born founder, according to a study released yesterday that throws new information into the debate over foreign workers who arrive in the United States on specialty visas.
The report, based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and at Duke University, found that immigrants -- mostly from India and China -- helped start hundreds of companies with estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 3:32 PM
ABA REPORTS ON RIPOFF OF VISALAW SITE
I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
NEWSWEEK: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TO GET NEW SECURITY UPGRADE
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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I have not mentioned this annoying subject to readers, but the ABA learned about a complaint we filed against a Miami law firm for taking whole sections of our web site and passing it off as their own work and has covered the news in the ABA Journal. There are dozens of articles at the Disney Thompson web site that copy word for word articles I personally wrote on the subject of immigration law. The site also not just resembles our web site in terms of it's look and feel, the Miami firm actually stole the graphics from our site. If you think I'm exaggerating, there is a "smoking gun" which should remove any doubt (though a mere glance at the two sites should make it obvious what's going on). If you look closely at the graphic above on the front page of their web site, you will see a PDA with a graphic image of our firm's logo with our firm's old name - Siskind Susser - visible on the PDA screen. And the business card below the word "Bulletin" is my business card with our firm's logo and name. I had hoped that a warning to Mr. Thompson would be enough and he would take the site down. When my request was ignored, I filed a complaint with the Florida bar. They have basically told me to take Mr. Thompson to court and if I prevail, they would consider disciplining him. And that's likely what we'll do.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 10:13 AM
Newsweek is reporting on a major potential change coming to the Visa Waiver Program. According to the weekly newsmagazine
Homeland Security officials are now accelerating efforts to tighten entry controls on people from these and other friendly countries, including Australia and Japan, NEWSWEEK has learned. The move follows revelations that European-born Muslims—particularly disgruntled young Brits—have been visiting Pakistan to attend terrorist training camps. One proposal under consideration: requiring visitors who don't now need advanced visas to submit electronic visa applications to U.S. authorities via the Internet at the time they purchase their tickets.
***
But if foreign fliers have to fill out an Internet questionnaire when they book tickets, American agencies would have more time and raw information about U.S.-bound travelers. A Homeland Security spokesman said visa application data could also be entered into U.S. government data banks, though he said it was "too early" to discuss how long the information would be stored or who'd have access to it. The spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has discussed proposed rule changes with congressional leaders but that no formal plan has been sent to Capitol Hill yet.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:19 AM
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