February 2012 ★ This Month in Immigration News

The Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices has released the following do’s and don’ts for employers facing audits (PDF) by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

DO:

• Develop a transparent process for interacting with employees during the audit, including communicating with employees that the employer is subject to an ICE audit.
• Provide all workers with a reasonable amount of time to correct discrepancies in their records identified by ICE. Treat all workers in the same manner during the audit, without regard to national origin or citizenship status. This means that all workers with like discrepancies who are asked to present additional documents are provided with the same timeframes and the same choice of Form I?9 documents to present.
• If your workers are represented by a union, inform the union of the ICE audit and determine whether a collective bargaining agreement triggers any obligations.
• Inform employees from whom you seek specific information that you are seeking this information in response to an ICE audit.
• Communicate in writing with employees from whom you seek information, and describe the specific basis for the discrepancy and/or what information you need from them. Follow the instructions on the ICE notice and the instructions for the Form I?9 when seeking to correct Form I?9 defects, including the Lists of Acceptable Documents and the anti?discrimination notice.

DON’T:

• Selectively verify the employment eligibility of certain employees based on their national origin or citizenship status based on the receipt of an ICE Notice of Inspection.
• Terminate or suspend employees without providing them with notice and a reasonable opportunity to present valid Form I?9 documents.
• Require employees to provide additional evidence of employment eligibility or more documents than ICE is requiring you to obtain.
• Limit the range of documents that employees are allowed to present for purposes of the Form I?9.
• Treat employees differently at any point during the audit because they look or sound foreign, or based on assumptions about whether they are authorized to work in the U.S.

The Department of State issued 2,364 EB-5 green cards between October 1, 2011, and mid-January 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced at its quarterly EB-5 stakeholders meeting on January 23, 2012. At that rate, over 9,000 EB-5 visas might be issued this federal fiscal year, which is very close to the statutory cap of 10,000.

USCIS refused to discuss what it would do about pending EB-5 petitions if Congress fails to renew the regional center pilot program by September 30, 2012. Approximately 92 percent of I-526 petitions (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur) filed each year are filed by investors in regional centers. Historically, about 80 to 85 percent of I-526 and I-829 EB-5 petitions are approved each year. The California Service Center (CSC) now has four teams of EB-5 adjudicators, an increase from one team a year ago. Despite the increased staffing, case adjudication times have not improved because of the increase in case filings.

USCIS also announced that it would defer to state determinations on what constitutes a targeted employment area (TEA) for EB-5 purposes. The agency will check the data behind states’ methodology, however. USCIS did not say whether a single census tract may qualify as a geographic area. USCIS said that would be covered in written materials not yet available publicly, and referred stakeholders to its December 2009 memorandum for further details (PDF).

USCIS acknowledged that many regional center applications are being held up at headquarters pending resolution of economic methodology issues. The USCIS hopes to resolve those issues soon. USCIS is analyzing all the I-924A forms submitted by regional centers and will draft a report that includes regional center-specific information sometime this year. The USCIS acknowledged growing pains in determining what constitutes a “shovel-ready” project for EB-5 purposes. It hopes to address this issue later this year when it revises the I-924 form to provide greater consistency.

USCIS also released its latest data on EB-5 filings and regional centers (RCs):

• RC approvals continue to increase. As of January 28, 2012, there are 217 approved RCs operating in 40 states, including the District of Columbia and Guam.
• The agency reported 41 initial RC proposal filings in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2012, compared to 192 initial filings in all of FY 2011 and 110 initial filings in all of FY 2010. The number of amended RC proposal filings was 17 by the end of the first quarter; there were 86 filings received for all of FY 2011 and 42 filings received for all of FY 2010.
• In the first quarter of FY 2012, the agency approved 14 of the 41 initial RC proposals and denied 22, an approval rate of 39 percent. In FY 2011, when USCIS approved 80 and denied 51, an approval rate of 61 percent. The approval rate of amended RC proposals in the first quarter of FY 2012 was 57 percent, with 4 approvals and 3 denials. By comparison, in FY 2011 USCIS approved 43 amended RC proposals and denied 7, an approval rate of 86 percent.
• USCIS also reported significant increases in individual I-526s and I-829s (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions). In the first quarter of FY 2012, USCIS received 1,293 I-526 petitions, compared to 3,805 for all of FY 2011. USCIS received 250 I-829 petitions in the first quarter of 2012. By comparison, USCIS received 2,345 I-829 petitions in all of FY 2011.
• In the first quarter of FY 2012, the agency approved 1,076 I-526 petitions and denied 222, an approval rate of 83 percent, while in all of FY 2011 USCIS approved 1,563 and denied 11, an approval rate of 93 percent. USCIS approved 1,067 I-829 petitions and denied 46 in all of FY 2011, an approval rate of 96 percent.

See also:

• The full list of RCs by state
• The next USCIS stakeholder engagement meetings are scheduled for May 1, 2012 (general EB-5 discussion); July 26, 2012 (regional center discussion); and October 18, 2012 (general EB-5 discussion).

On January 20, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opened its newest immigration field office in Queens, New York.

The new office, located at 27-35 Jackson Avenue, includes an Application Support Center (which offers fingerprinting and photographic services as part of the application process), a naturalization ceremony room, and interview and file rooms. The hours are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Queens office is expected to serve about 500 people each business day.

Approximately 100 employees were transferred to the Queens office from the now-closed Garden City, Long Island, office. USCIS recently opened an additional office in Holtsville, Long Island.

See also: USCIS Announcement

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State, has identified 58 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A (temporary agricultural) and H-2B (temporary nonagricultural) programs for the coming year. Each country’s designation is valid for one year from the date of publication.

USCIS generally may only approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs. USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries not on the list if it is determined to be in the interest of the United States.

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

Effective January 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.

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.

See also: PDF

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date of March 9, 2012. The 18-month extension of the TPS designation of El Salvador is effective March 10, 2012, and will remain in effect through September 9, 2013. The 60-day re-registration period began January 9, 2012, and will remain in effect until March 9, 2012.

DHS determined that an extension is warranted because the conditions in El Salvador that prompted the TPS designation continue to be met. There continues to be a “substantial, but temporary,” disruption of living conditions in El Salvador resulting from a series of earthquakes in 2001, and El Salvador “remains unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return of its nationals.”

The notice sets forth procedures necessary for nationals of El Salvador (or those having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) with TPS to re-register and to apply for an extension of their employment authorization documents (EADs) (Forms I-766) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Re-registration is limited to persons who previously registered for TPS under the designation of El Salvador and whose applications have been granted or remain pending. Certain nationals of El Salvador (or those having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) who have not previously applied for TPS may be eligible to apply under the late initial registration provisions.

USCIS said it will issue new EADs with a September 9, 2013, expiration date to eligible Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs under this extension. DHS recognizes that all re-registrants may not receive new EADs until after their current EADs expire on March 9, 2012. Accordingly, the notice automatically extends the validity of EADs issued under the TPS designation of El Salvador for six months, through September 9, 2012, and explains how TPS beneficiaries and their employers may determine which EADs are automatically extended and their impact on the I-9 and E-Verify process.

See also: PDF