Some very good news in the EB-2 category for Indians and for the Chinese in both the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. Also good news for Mexicans in the EB-3 category - a six month advance for them.
Family 1st - Advancement of worldwide, China and India numbers by three weeks to 08 JUL 2002. Mexico moves up a week to 8 OCT 1992 and the Philippines stays at 15 JUL 1993.
Family 2A - Worldwide, India, China and the Philippines numbers advance one month to 1 JUN 2004. Mexico jumps five weeks to 22 SEP 2001
Family 2B - Worldwide, India and China numbers advance six weeks to 08 MAY 2000. Mexico is still stuck at 1 MAY 1992. The Philippines advances six weeks to 15 OCT 1997.
Family 3rd - Worldwide, India and China remains stalled at 1 AUG 2000. Mexico moves one week to 8 OCT 1992. One week advance for the Philippines to 1 JUN 1991.
Family 4th - Worldwide numbers advance one week to 15 FEB 1998. China moves one month to 22 SEP 1997. India advances ten weeks to 15 JAN 1998. Mexico moves two weeks forward to 22 MAR 1995. The Philippines is stalled at 1 MAY 1986.
Employment 1st - All categories remain current.
Employment 2nd - Worldwide, Mexico and the Philippines remain current. India jumps nearly half a year to 1 JAN 2004. China jumps nearly half a year to 1 JAN 2005.
Employment 3rd skilled/professional workers - All numbers are stalled and there is no movement for the fourth month in a row. Worldwide and Filipino numbers are at 1 May 2005. China jumps four months to 1 OCT 2002. India is stalled at 15 OCT 2001. Mexico jumps a whopping six months to 1 APR 2003.
Employment 3rd unskilled - Worldwide numbers are stalled at 15 MAR 2003. However, Chinese, Indian and Mexican unskilled workers get bad news - retrogression. China goes backward to 1 OCT 2002. India goes backward to 15 OCT 2001. And Mexico is also now at 15 OCT 2001. Last month these three countries were at 15 MAR 2003.
Employment 4th - All remain current.
EB-5 remains current.
It relates to health care availability for immigrant kids. Here's what America's Voice has to say on the subject:
The House is set to vote on legislation to reauthorize the StateChildren’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) this week, and the Senate Finance Committee will also take up companion legislation. On the table are key provisions that would help more Latino children access health care by eliminating the five year waiting period legal immigrant children must endure before qualifying for coverage under federal law.
This will be the first test on immigration for the Republican Party following crushing defeats in November 2008, when millions of Latino voters walked away from the GOP and supported the Democratic Party in record numbers. Since then, a number of Republican politicians and strategists—including Senator John McCain and outgoing President George W. Bush—have credited Congressional Republicans’ handling of the immigration issue with destroying the Party’s imagine among Latino voters and prompting this mass exodus from the Party.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice: “This is the first test of the Republican Party on immigration since its historic losses with Latino voters in 2008. Will Republicans in Congress heed the advice of their party leaders and replace anti-immigrant rhetoric with reasonable solutions? Or will they reach for the playbook of the past, and try to turn health care for children into a heated political debate?”
“The American people didn’t just vote for change in November, they voted for politicians to come together to solve tough problems. If the Republican Party fails to learn the lessons of the past, it is doomed to become a regional party for decades to come.”
Following up on this week's Golden Globes theme, today we honor Colin Farrell, the Irish-born movie star who won an actor award for his role in the film In Bruges. Farrell is a familiar face on the silver screen and is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. One of his next movies is Triage where he was cast to replace the late Heath Ledger. The Golden Globe is Farrell's first and his first major acting honor.
ABC News has published an excerpt from correspondent John Quinones' new book Heroes Among Us. The exceprt recounts how ordinary Americans stand up to bigotry against immigrants and why despite the loud hollering by groups like FAIR and Numbers USA, Americans are fundamentally welcoming of immigrants.
This is not exactly immigration news, but I was really pleased to learn that Professor Cass Sunstein has been selected by President-Elect Obama to be the Administration's new regulatory chief. This is a newly created position and the title is administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget. The position has oversight over environmental, healthcare, and safety issues.
I took several courses tought by Professor Sunstein when I was a law student at the University of Chicago two decades ago. After nearly a quarter century at the U of C, Professor Sunstein left for Harvard last year to be closer to his new bride, Pulitzer Prize winning Irish-American journalist Samantha Power (who is also on the Harvard faculty).
Professor Sunstein was one of my favorite professors in law school and had a big influence on my career. I took his administrative law course and got hooked. While I initially thought environmental law was the career for me, early on at my first firm I discovered another administrative law field that was more to my liking - immigration law.
Another favorite professor - Judge Diane Wood - is frequently mentioned as a potential Supreme Court nominee. I hope I have occasion to write a blog post one day soon congratulating her on a major nomination.
At tonight's Golden Globe Awards, British-born Kate Winslet pulled off the impressive feat of winning two statues - one for best actress in a supporting role for The Reader and the other for best actress in a dramatic film for Revolutionary Road. The New York resident has been nominated previously for five Oscars and is a sure bet for a nomination this year.
Surprise, surprise. Another hastily released rule designed to stick it to the Obama team turns out not to be ready to roll. Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports
Passengers had been told they must have clearance to fly three days ahead of their journey to avoid being denied boarding. But The Daily Telegraph has learned the US authorities will not strictly enforce the new system – known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation or ESTA – when it begins on Monday.
From Monday, the thousands of passengers who travel from Britain to the US every day should obtain authorisation from an American Government website in advance three days beforehand. So far more than 70,000 Britons have done so. But there are fears that some passengers – especially those who are not computer literate – will not have done so.
"There could be problems for people who don't fill out their ESTA forms and we want to avoid that situation," said a spokesman for the American Embassy in London. "We are trying to make sure that everybody gets on the plane. But people should fill out the form right now."
For the next few weeks passengers will be allowed to board as before and be allowed to fill out the information on a green card provided by the airlines during the flight.
Boy, that's smart. Implement this system - largely aimed at European Visa Waiver countries - in the middle of the period when all of the elderly retirees are off to Florida for their holidays in the sun. Is there a grown up around to explain to DHS that there are entire states in this country with economies that are collapsing because of dramatic declines in tourism over the last several months?
Argentine actress Josefina Scaglione is currently performing the lead role of Maria in the Broadway-bound revival of the classic musical West Side Story. She was discovered on, of all places YouTube. Ms. Scaglione is hardly an amateur actress. She's just played a lead role in the Argentine production of Hairspray. The Wall Street Journal profiles her this weekend.
E-Verify FAR rule being postponed - Free Legal Forms
Thanks to reader Vinay for the link.
Senate Bill 9 has been introduced by Harry Reid and has not much more than a title at this point - The Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009. The bill's stated purpose:
The fact that the bill has been introduced is the important thing. It shows immigration reform is a priority for the new Senate. This may be an indicator that immigration reform is going to be taken up quickly rather than pushed off until 2010 or later.
And he's working on immigration again. Excellent.
USCIS announces that 100,000 employers are now using E-Verify. That number is going to go up steadily as more and more states mandate its use and federal contractors start signing up.
How many more massive changes in the immigration system can this Administration impose before they're gone?
The ACLU reports on the latest blow against constitutional rights of due process:
"This order will have a tremendous negative impact on countless people who will be deported simply because they had the bad luck to be represented by the wrong immigration attorney," said American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project Deputy Director Lee Gelernt. "This is a dangerous move away from the U.S. tradition of fairness and due process. Losing your case because your lawyer missed a deadline or made some other egregious error can never be considered a fair process."
Days before President-elect Obama takes office, the Bush Justice Department has taken another step to undermine the fundamental rights of a uniquely vulnerable group," said ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project Director Lucas Guttentag. "This cries out for reform to preserve the core values of equality and fairness."
The ACLU has posted a number of letters of protest from groups including the American Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Hopefully, the new Attorney General will review this issue as one of the first items on his agenda.
Here is the case:
The Washington Post recently profiled Indian-born young film director Shilpa Priya Jagadeesh (who is know to her fans as Priyabharati Joshi). Ms. Jagadeesh is currently filming a Bollywood-style movie in the Washington, DC area. The film, titled e-Preeti, is intended, according to the director, to correct misconceptions people in India have about immigrant life in America.
About The Author
Greg Siskind is a partner in Siskind Susser's Memphis, Tennessee, office. After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Mr. Siskind is a member of AILA, a board member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and a member of the ABA, where he serves on the LPM Publishing Board as Marketing Vice Chairman. He is the author of several books, including the J Visa Guidebook and The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet. Mr. Siskind practices all areas of immigration law, specializing in immigration matters of the health care and technology industries. He can be reached by email at gsiskind@visalaw.com
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