TSA’s Pistole said that the expansion of the pilot program is a “move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more intelligence-driven, risk-based transportation security system.”

This move will also result in greater scrutiny of passengers who are not enrolled frequent flyers and U.S. citizens, including the use of more random and unpredictable security checks for those flyers. Thus, it would be wise for those with Green cards and visas to have their paperwork in order prior to flying.

If TSA determines a passenger is eligible for expedited screening following the TSA Pre√™ vetting process, information will be embedded in the barcode of the passenger’s boarding pass. TSA will read the barcode at the security checkpoint and then may refer the passenger to a TSA Pre√™ lane, where they will undergo expedited screening, which can include, at TSA’s discretion, boarding without removal and inspection of shoes, laptops, jackets and belts.

TSA Pre√™ is currently operating with American Airlines at airports in Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Los Angeles, and with Delta Air Lines at airports in Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Minneapolis. US Airways, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are all opting in new passengers and will begin operations later this year. As part of the initiative’s expansion, TSA Pre√™ will be fully implemented at nearly 30 airports throughout 2012, including but not limited to:

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL)
• O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Orlando International Airport (MCO)
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

TSA will continue expanding TSA Preê to additional airlines and airports once they are operationally ready. Individuals interested in participating in the pilot can apply via Global Entry at this link.

However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (the “USCIS”) will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Petitioners can also still file for visas on behalf of workers from Chile and Singapore, to the extent those visas are available, pursuant to special trade agreements with those countries that permit the granting of up to 6,800 H-1B visas annually to their citizens.

U.S. companies use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.

Employers might want to consider preparations in 2012 for filing a petition to sponsor H-1B workers for fiscal year 2013, which starts as of Oct. 1, 2012. Petitions for worker start dates on or after Oct. 1, 2012 may be filed on or after April 1 of the coming year. Petitions should be filed as soon as possible to avoid being shut down by the annual cap limitation for the H-1B program (cap amount of 65,000 expected for FY 2013).

Some petitions for fiscal year 2013 will be exempt from the cap if they are made on behalf of certain individuals who have obtained an advanced U.S. degree, but USCIS grants the exemption only to the first 20,000 applications.

H-1B petitions, in order to be properly filed, must be complete and accurate. Necessary documents include, but are not limited to the following:

• A Form I-129 petition with appropriate supplements;
• Labor condition applications on Form ETA 9035;
• Required evidence of a beneficiary’s educational background;
• Duplicate copies of certain documents; and
• Consulate-specific forms required by the Department of State where appropriate.

If you are in need of more information about business immigration, please check the pertinent section of our Website or call our offices at (847)564-0712.

Last year, the process was used to run computer searches on roughly 1.6 million suspected overstays that had arrived since 2004. As it turns out, the CFR noted, half had already left the country, and only about three dozen of the remainder were deemed to represent security risks that justified further investigation.

Furthermore, the new automated system is expected to soon be able to flag suspected overstays as soon as they occur, and to calculate overstay rates on a country-by-country basis.

The CFR report looked with optimism on the promise of having real-time, widely available data to assess the likelihood of a visa overstay, as well as a probable actual overstay in progress.

The possibility of facilitating e-mail warnings to visa holders about looming overstay deadlines also exists, and could greatly reduce violations, the CFR contended.

This blog will continue to monitor and publish news about developments in visa screening, tracking and processing. In the meantime, if you are in need of legal assistance in connection with immigration issues affecting you or your family, do not hesitate to contact this office at (847) 564-0712 for an appointment. You might also want to visit the pertinent section of our Website for additional information about our services.

Individuals traveling from these countries can rapidly and accurately be checked by an automated system for identification of threats (the Electronic System of Travel Authorization). Furthermore, the U.S. government still retains the absolute discretion to deny entry permission to any suspicious traveler and require them to obtain a visa in any given case.

The CFR asserted in its policy memorandum that the VWP should be expanded to more cooperating countries, but added that the “hold-up” on expansion has been due to legislation requiring the government to first implement a system utilizing biometric identification (which has not been fully developed).

This blog will continue to monitor and publish news about developments in visa screening, tracking and processing.

In the meantime, if you are in need of legal assistance in connection with immigration issues affecting you or your family, do not hesitate to contact this office at (847) 564-0712 for an appointment. You might also want to visit the pertinent section of our Website for additional information about our services.

Currently, visa delays of months or even years are not uncommon when consular officers must vet applicants with face-to-face interviews and manual background checks. Additional security vetting measures are often layered on to the process, including but not limited to: biometric identifications; checks against terrorist watch lists; and so-called Security Advisory Opinion background checks.

That is why the CFR is calling for faster approval and implementation of an automated process that holds the promise for rapid and accurate identification of threats. The CFR asserts that the U.S. needs an automated system that is faster, more efficient and more accurate so that scarce resources can be dedicated to scrutinizing higher-risk goods or people that are entering the country while allowing rapid passage for those that are not only safe, but beneficial to our commerce.

The CFR adds that “both the administration and Congress need to recognize that, with current capabilities, visa delays now produce significant economic costs for no security benefits.”

This blog will continue to monitor and publish news about developments in screening and processing. In the meantime, if you are in need of legal assistance in connection with immigration issues affecting you or your family, do not hesitate to contact this office at (847) 564-0712 for an appointment. You might also want to visit the pertinent section of our Website for additional information about our services.

The process, which was launched on Dec. 9, 2011, enables eligible petitioners (currently only privately held companies and the federal government) to update their company or organization information via an update page (see the USCIS site) that was initially available only to U.S. government customers.

Companies who submit petitions for work-related visas can use the Web-based VIBE system to present commercially available information about their organizations to USCIS officers, who can then review a petitioner’s relevant information without having to access bulky paper packages submitted with each petition.

The system is intended to expedite the processing of certain immigration petitions by business sponsors, and the USCIS encourages comments and suggestions from users, which can be submitted to VIBE-Feedback@dhs.gov.

If you are an employer or agent of an employer responsible for compliance with immigration rules, please do not hesitate to contact our office for assistance at (847) 564-0712. You might also want to visit the pertinent section of our Website for additional information about our services.

The report entitled, “Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Creating Jobs and Strengthening the U.S. Economy,” recognizes not only the efforts of the giants of immigrant entrepreneurship, such as Sergey Brin of Google and Pierre Omidyar of eBay, but also the work of thousands of other science and technology entrepreneurs. These immigrants are quietly making a difference, creating almost half a million jobs for Americans and generating revenue of more than $50 billion.

This report, which profiles some of these entrepreneurs and shines a light on the difficulties they face, recommends that the U.S. should, among other things:

• Create a culture that is friendly to immigrant entrepreneurs;
• Cut the red tape by eliminating unnecessary and excessive documentation;
• Create access to permanent residence status for those who establish thriving businesses; and
• Remove hurdles to the obtaining of visas by the most promising foreign students studying in the U.S.

If you or one of your family members should need assistance with an immigration matter, please do not hesitate to call our offices at (847)564-0712 and/or check out our Website for more information on how we might assist you.

Submission of a valid and current state license applicable to a foreign applicant’s professional specialty is a requirement for proper filing of the H-1B petition.

Those who have studied here pursuant to J-1 student status, should allow themselves adequate time to apply for a license in the state where they want to practice professionally prior to filing their H-1B visa applications.

An applicant who obtains a temporary license with an expiration date may only be granted a visa up until that date expires.

All of the traditional H-1B visa slots have been filled for fiscal year 2012; however, up to 6,800 visas are set aside by the U.S. State Department for workers from Chile and Singapore pursuant to the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. So you still might be able to qualify for H-1B visas if you are a citizen of Chile or Singapore. Or you might want to consider preparations for a fiscal year 2013 application, which can be filed in April of this year.

If you need help with a business immigration visa, do not hesitate to contact our offices for an appointment by calling (847)564-0712. Feel free to check out our Website for further information on how we might assist you as well.

According to a recent Los Angeles Times article by Kim Murphy, Canada’s government has begun “rolling up the welcome mat” to asylum seekers who previously enjoyed a fairly generous chance at legal entry into Canadian provinces.

In addition to the recent changes in administrative interpretations of asylum, Canada has decided to launch a “balanced refugee reform” program in June that will speed up the asylum review process, slice through a backlog of pending decisions, fund deportation efforts, and likely send many people packing.

Reportedly, Canada is granting about 40 percent of asylum petitions now, and must move through a backlog of more than 42,000 cases while stepping up efforts to deport an estimated 124,000 people who have already been denied asylum but are still residing in Canada. At least 44,000 of them have ignored orders to leave and are facing arrest by the Canadian Border Services Agency.

Some immigration watchers have speculated that the changes in policy and the stepped up enforcement could result in a wave of immigration into the northern states of the U.S. this spring.

If you or one of your family members is a resident of Canada in need of immigration assistance, you may call our offices at (847)564-0712 for an appointment and/or check out our Website for more information about our services.

The H-2A program enables employers to hire foreign nationals for temporary agricultural jobs, and the H-2B program enables employers to hire foreign nationals for temporary non-agricultural jobs.

Effective Jan. 18, 2012, nationals of the following 58 countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs: Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nauru, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Vanuatu.

In addition to the 53 countries currently on the list, the following five countries were designated for the first time this year: Haiti, Iceland, Montenegro, Spain and Switzerland.

This new list does not immediately affect the status of beneficiaries who are currently in the United States in H-2A or H-2B status, unless they apply to change or extend their status.

If you are an employer or an employer’s representative responsible for hiring, we would be happy to assist you with any immigration counseling and support. Feel free to call us at (847) 564-0712 for an appointment and/or check out our Website for more information on how we can assist you.