DV-2012 Period October 5, 2010 - November 3, 2010

The online registration for DV-2012 DV Lottery begins noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT -4), Tuesday, October 5, 2010, and ends noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT -4), Wednesday, November 3, 2010. All entries must be submitted electronically during the registration period, when applicants may access the Electronic DV Entry Form DS-5501 at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be accepted.

H-1 Filings Now!

If you plan to file an initial H-1 petition on April 1, the start of the 2010 fiscal year, the time to prepare your case is right now. 

Each H-1 petition must be accompanied by a US Department of Labor (DOL) certified Labor Condition Application (LCA). It takes approximately one week, or could take more or less time, to get the LCA back from DOL. Until such are received back from DOL as of today, an H-1 petition cannot be filed.

65,000 H-1 petitions can be approved in any fiscal year plus those that are exempt from the cap, most notably, applicants with masters degrees from the U.S.

For further information, write to Ms. Yardum-Hunter at alice@yardum-hunter.com.

EB-5 Seminar Recording

Due to overwhelming popularity of the March 20, 2010 EB-5 seminar organized by Alice Yardum-Hunter for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the seminar was recorded and is available as of April 1, 2010. You can purchase it either by going online to LACBA's website at www.lacba.org or by calling their Member Services Department at (213) 896-6560.

Yardum-Hunter to Speak on USCIS Policy Updates - H-1, O-1, EB-1 and generally for the Australian American Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles

Tax & Immigration Seminar

Tuesday, March 23
8:30 am - 10:00 am

Ramada Plaza - West Hollywood, CA

Join an esteemed panel of experts as they review the latest developments in American/Australian tax and immigration policies:

Alice Yardum-Hunter - Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, Law Corporation
Pamela Meyer - Law Offices of Pamela G. Meyer
Mark Kruspodin - Duffy, Kruspodin & Company

This is a free seminar offered by the American Australian Association

Coffee/light breakfast provided. Participants are invited to stay after the event to ask individual questions of the speakers. Event contact: Dan Levek, AAA Regional Director, California, dan.levek@aaanyc.org

EB-5 Seminar - LA County Bar

As 2nd Vice Chair of the Immigration Section for the LA County Bar Association, Ms. Yardum-Hunter has organized on their behalf a seminar titled EB-5 Employment Creation Today scheduled for March 20, 2010, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. This six credit Continuing Legal Education seminar and workshop is intended for all levels of immigration attorneys and is also open to the public. Speakers include Sheila Fisher, Office of the Chief Counsel, Citizenship and Immigration Services; Blake Goto, Supervisory Immigration Officer, EB-5 Unit; EB-5 expert attorneys Mark Ivener, Linda Lau, and Lincoln Stone; and others. To register, go to: http://onlinestore.lacba.org/calendar/index.cfmfuseaction=ViewCalendarEvent&CalendarEventID=3030

Canadian I-130s

Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a Press Release concerning Petitioners who live in Canada who are filing a stand alone I-130 petitions for relatives. They must now file at the Chicago Lockbox of the US CIS and use a new form dated June 14, 2010.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b18c904c2593a210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Yardum-Hunter to Speak in Beverly Hills

Alice Yardum-Hunter will give a talk for the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP in Beverly Hills to educate their lawyers on updates in immigration and nationality law. Ms. Yardum-Hunter will discuss updates concerning O-1, TN, H-1, EB-1 Extraordinary Ability, EB-5 Employment Creation and Focus on Enforcement. She is honored to make this presentation.

PIHRA Legal Update

The Professionals in Human Resources Association will present its 23rd annual Legal Update at the dates and times below. Ms. Yardum-Hunter will speak on Immigration Issues: Paradigm Shift or Business as Usual. Please join her at these locations: 

January 12, 2010
Crowne Plaza Garden Grove, 12021 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92840
For more information and to register, go here: http://www.pihra.org/calendar.aspx?id=174

January 13, 2010
Hilton Ontario Airport, 700 N. Haven Ave., Ontario, CA 91764
For more information and to register, go here: http://www.pihra.org/calendar.aspx?id=175

January 14, 2010
Sheraton Universal Hotel
333 Universal Hollywood Drive
Universal City, CA 91608
For more information and to register, go here: http://www.pihra.org/calendar.aspx?id=176

H-1 Petitions Accepted With Uncertified LCAs

From today until March 4, 2010, CIS will accept H-1 petitions filed with uncertified Labor Condition Applications that were filed on the DOL's iCert online system a minimum of seven calendar days prior to filing the H-1 petition. Evidence of the LCA filing must be filed with the H-1 petition. CIS will issue a Request for Evidence and given employers 30 days to submit the certified LCA.

It is unknown whether CIS will approve an H-1 petition initially filed with one LCA but which is supplemented with a different LCA filed after seven days before filing the H-1 petition.

Yardum-Hunter to speak for the American Bar Association

On Friday October 16, 2009, at 2:00 pm, Alice Yardum-Hunter will deliver a talk at the annual American Bar Association Solo and Small Practitioner conference. The audience will be nonimmigration lawyers on issue spotting in immigration cases. The seminar will also assist lawyers who are considering practicing immigration law in deciding whether to specialize in this practice. The presentation will take place at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. For more information go to http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/events/.

Yardum-Hunter to speak at Toronto Conference

At its semi-annual conference this year in Toronto, Canada, Ms. Yardum-Hunter will address attorney members of the Armenian Bar Association and guests on cross- border Canada-U.S. immigration issues. The conference will be held at the Toronto Hilton Hotel, 145 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For more information about the conference, please go to http://www.armenianbar.org or write: info@armenianbar.org.

India and China 2nd Preference

Great news for 2nd Preference advanced degree professionals and persons of exceptional ability from India and China. The State Department's September Visa Bulletin shows advances in priority date from October 1, 2003 to January 8, 2005. All other countries of chargeability in this category remain current. This will clear the way for many Indian and Chinese 2nd Preference aliens to apply to adjust status to permanent residence or to immigrate on an immigrant visa. Only those with priority dates before the January 8, 2005 cut off date are eligible. When demand for immigrant visas outstrips supply (quota), then the cut off date retrogresses (goes backward) or becomes unavailable for everyone. Supply is restored when demand does not exceed the quota.

State Department Expands Definition of "Immediate family"

To facilitate diplomatic visa issuance, the U.S. Department of State amends the definition of "immediate family" for the Foreign Government Official nonimmigrant visa category to include, "upon authorization form the Department on a case by case basis, any other alien who is not a member of some other household, who resides regularly in the household of the principal alien, is recognized as a family member of the principal alien, and considered by the sending Government to be a member of the immediate family of the principal by qualification for diplomatic or official passport and other allowances.” 

This expansion recognizes the familial status amongst unmarried adults at least for some domestic partners who qualify for diplomatic immigration status in the U.S. References to gender and marital status are excluded.

I-9 Compliance Best Practices

Walmart, one of the largest employers in the world was the object of two investigations concerning undocumented workers which cost the company $11 million dollars. That experience taught Walmart a lesson and now it adheres to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) "10 Best Practices for Employers", which is includes in ICE's IMAGE ("Ice Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers") Program. These practices required for employers who contract with the U.S. government: include registering with the E-Verify Program, conducting training programs for all staff related to I-9 compliance, annual internal and third party I-9 audits, implementing an internal tip line, and full cooperation with government officials from the Department of Homeland Security. Walmart, its general contractors, all sub-contractors and sub-sub-contractors also adhere to these various programs. All this is quite burdensome and as long as an employer is not contracting with the government, not all aspects are recommended for all employers, however, educational training of employees concerning I-9 compliance, internal and external audits are highly recommended for all employers. The I-9 seems like a simple process and form, but it is far more complex and errors in paperwork are extremely common as well as substantive violations. A change in business culture must also take place in order for perfectly compliant I-9 records and U.S. workforce becomes the norm.

ICE issues 652 I-9 Audit Inspection Notices

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced issuance of an historic 652 Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to audit businesses concerning the legal immigration status of their workforces. 

These employers weren't from a particular part of the country or a particular industry like I-9 Audit ventures of the past. Instead, these audits are as a result of investigative leads, like disgruntled employees who report their employers to the government based on their perception of an employer's hiring practices; from labor certification filings for undocumented workers (processing to become lawful permanent residents) and through victims of identity theft whose identities could have been sold to an unsuspecting undocumented alien. Those aliens who receive stolen social security numbers, for example, don't do it to harm the credit of individuals, but in order to work. The U.S. Supreme Court recently found prosecution of undocumented workers for identity theft to be a punishment much harsher than the crime and disallowed this government practice.

When supervisors have knowledge of an employee's use of false identification or otherwise knows an employee to be undocumented, it is implied that management possesses this knowledge too resulting in liability on the part of managers and executives of a business even though they have no direct knowledge themselves. The business employer has the knowledge as a result of a supervisor's knowledge and the business entity becomes liable and along with it, those who lead the business.

Businesses today more than ever must audit themselves and have policies in place for a legal workforce and to properly prepare, update, correct and internally audit themselves for compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. As of that time, all new employees must prepare I-9s. If a company receives a Notice of Inspection to audit I-9s, they must provide their I-9s to the government in three short days. To avoid the difficulty in reviewing, updating and other wise correcting all I-9s at that time, ongoing self-audits and routine maintenance of I-9 records would alleviate having to do that in the context of a government initiated audit. 

I-9 audits have gone on to result in criminal liability of businesses and their leaders, and while aliens cannot be prosecuted for identity theft any longer, that doesn't mean their illegal status can be ignored. Hardly: with focus on business as a means of enforcing the U.S. immigration laws, the Obama administration is making good on their promise to enforce the law.

It is Ms. Yardum-Hunter's opinion that the administration is using the immigration enforcement carrot as a lead in to the stick of comprehensive immigration reform.

Yardum-Hunter to speak at Consular Processing for Experts Teleconference

On July 16, 2009 from 11 am - 12:30 pm Pacific Time, Ms. Yardum-Hunter will speak in an ilw.com teleconference on Consular Processing for Expert. To sign up for the teleconference, go here: https://www.ilw.com/secure/a/mpaycc.asp

Topics to be covered during the teleconference include:

* Avoiding Audits and Task Forces: Best Practices in an Environment of Data-Mining and Surveillance of Immigration and Consular Applications
* Background Checks of Non-Immigrants and Immigrant Visa Applicants - Who Gets Checked, How it Gets Checked, and What to Expect
* Specific systems and criteria that State Dept. visa officials and USCIS examiners use to identify problems
* Law Firm Risk Management of high-risk clients
* Profiling and red flags that DOS and various federal agencies use to assess the persons and entities they investigate
* Resources for attorneys to develop their own risk assessments, and a practical guide to risk factors and self-audits. Guide to approaching cases like a consular examiner or USCIS examiner
* Lessons learned from Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and counter-party risk reduction programs of large international banks and accounting firms to reduce/mitigate the risks counsel is ensnared in government databases and potential investigations
* Approaches for solo practitioners and small companies to develop in-house systems to identify and mitigate risks
* Discussion of select consular posts
* Hot topics update

Armenian Bar Assn. Pro Bono Workshop

Ms. Yardum-Hunter will field questions from those with immigration questions at a pro bono workshop organized in connection with the Armenian Bar Association annual meeting. The event will be held on May 8, 2009 at St. Mary's Armenian Church in Glendale, California, from 10 am to 3 pm. No prior registration is required. Interpreters will be available.

Comprehensive Immigration Law on Horizon

Yesterday, in acknowledging Senator Arlen Specter's change to the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama was clear when asked at his 100 day press conference about immigration. He said that the government is first setting the stage for comprehensive immigration reform by administratively enforcing the immigration laws that exist. This is consistent with what is happening: workplace enforcement, prosecuting employers of undocumented workers, enhanced border controls, more removal proceedings and faster appeals. It appears that the president wants the American people to know we will enforce the immigration laws first and then allow undocumented aliens to come out of the shadows to apply for legal status. If this is done correctly, it will prohibit a future wave of undocumented aliens once comprehensive reform takes place. In addition to the president’s statements, the Senate Judiciary committee led by Senator Charles Schumer has begun hearings on immigration reform. 

The time has come. 

While other immigration experts believed comprehensive immigration reform was possible under President George W. Bush, attorney Yardum-Hunter believed that at that time, the U.S. Congress was too conservative and the country to divided to pass such legislation, regardless of the desires of the president, and indeed that was the case. Now, however, the stage seems set for immigration reform with both a President and Congress in synch, particularly in light of Senator Specter's change of party. With the contested senate seat of Minnesota expected to go to Al Franken, also a Democrat, the Democrats will have a filibuster proof Congress. This does not mean that all Democrats will vote for and all Republicans against comprehensive immigration reform. Surely a few Democrats will not be in favor of it, however, as likely or possibly more likely, some moderate Republicans will also favor comprehensive immigration reform in sufficient numbers to pass a new law.

If you or someone you know is undocumented, has an expired visa or significant visa violations, now is not the time to leave the U.S. Instead, write directly to Ms. Yardum-Hunter who will keep you informed of the status of comprehensive immigration reform via email so you will know whether you qualify. To become a client of Ms. Yardum-Hunter's, go to our Initial Consultation page
(http://yardum-hunter.com/Main/Consultation.asp) to provide information about your case and set up an appointment.