CIR back in the News

For a while, there has been little or no discussion about CIR--Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Every one was focused on Health Care Debate, which is a very important issue that the Obama administration has decided to tackle. Today, however, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, re-introduced CIR to the American people. She delivered an important speech on the need for CIR; that while her Department continues to do all it can on the enforcement front, their effort needs to be complemented by CIR. Video of the speech is available. Advocates of immigration reform, including the American Immigration Council, were impressed and felt reassured that the administration still has its sight on the CIR goals. We, at Paschal Nwokocha Law Offices, are elated by the announcement.

It seems quite ironic that this announcement comes just as Lou Dobs, a nativist and immigration demagogue, announced his resignation from CNN.

Peace to people of good will!

President Obama Signs Bills Into Law

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed legislation extending three critical immigration bills. In our last posting on these pages, we discussed these bills and how they impact our clients. This is great news to the immigrant communities and the clients of our firm. For religious workers, this means that we can continue filing the non-minister religious worker petition. As for the EB-5, regional center program, the investment opportunity for the United States and our investor clients will remain uninterrupted.

Now, if only we can get Comprehensive Immigration Reform implemented.

EB-5 and Other Immigration Laws Extensions

On October 20, 2009 the United States senate, by a vote of 79-19, approved the conference report of the Department of Homeland Security bill. The U.S. House had approved the same on October 15, 2009 by a vote of 307-114. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama who will sign it, thereby extending a number of expiring immigration laws. This includes the Religious Worker visa, the Conrad 30 (providing for foreign physicians in rural, medically under-served areas) and the EB-5 (regional centers) legislation. Religious worker visas allow individuals to enter the United States to work for religious entities. The EB-5 regional center program permits individuals to invest a minimum of $500,000 in qualified United States regional centers and in return the investor obtains permanent residency status for themselves, their spouses and minor children. Each of these laws were extended for an additional three years. None of these extensions came as a surprise to those of us who have followed their expiration and subsequent discussions about their renewal.

At Paschal Nwokocha Law Offices, religious workers and EB-5 petitions have continued to dominate a good portion of our immigration law practice areas. For some of our clients, the renewal now offers the needed certainty and assurance they need in making important strategic decisions.

One important item with the extension is that these visa categories were renewed without major changes to the underlying requirements. Thus, there are no major disruptions for those who have been preparing to initiate a petition based on the then existing laws. Though some of us had hoped for the liberalization of the job creation requirement aspect of the EB-5 program, we believe that the law as it stands still serves a critical need for the United States and for our clients, prospective clients and their families. For religious workers, major changes were introduced in November 2008, and practitioners and the USCIS continue to adjust to this major overhaul of the regulation.

We have been privileged to represent a good number of EB-5 investors from Sub-Saharan Africa. We are a leader in that market, and we believe the key reason is not only that the firm is led by an experienced immigration attorney who immigrated from Africa to the US, but also because we understand the clients, their unique concerns, and can relate to their needs. For some of the clients, the motivation is the education and development of their minor children. For others, this offers them an opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio. Yet for others, this is an opportunity to have a "Plan B", especially because of unstable political and security environments in their home country. Of course for some, they need a second or retirement home in the US.

We expect to begin processing a number of cases as clients make their end/beginning of year decisions. If any of our readers wants additional information or a consultation about how our office assists with immigration issues, please contact us.

Something New!

New: Extra Extra, get all your gadgets! or at least read about it.

We love technology and it's ability to simply our lives. If only our immigration laws were as dynamic. The future could be today. We can be the catalysts!!

Peace to all people of good will.

Finally, Something is Happening

After a couple of false starts, the president today has launched the immigration reform debate. He promised to immediately begin negotiations to craft CIR with the goal of passing legislation this year or early next year. This official statement from the White House is a good start to the conversation. This has been the much anticipated launch that we have discussed in previous postings on these pages. All the key players were present at the White house for the meeting. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told politico that "We’ve got one more chance to do this. If we fail this time no politician is going to take this up for a generation and that would be a shame for this country." We couldn't agree more with the senator. All hands must be on deck! We urge our readers to contact their congressional representatives. Make the phone calls, send email. Now is the time!

Different groups have issued statements applauding the president for the bold stand he has taken. I am not surprised. It appears that his heart is in the right place; he is clearly a product of the immigration system. We all should do our part--keep up the pressure!

Momentum Needed for CIR

There seems to be indication that the administration is trying to hold back on pushing for CIR. The much anticipated meeting between the White House and the Immigration Advocates have been rescheduled again. That is clearly discouraging news. We have to keep the administration's feet to the fire; we cannot let it off the hook. This country needs CIR and needs it now.

A number of organizations have come together to push for reform. The AFL-CIO, NAACP, National Council of La Raza, have all come together to clamor for change. We need to contact the White House and Congressional representatives. We need to contact them now.

Peace to all people of good will.

CIR-Lessons from the UEFA Champions League Final

I had a late lunch this afternoon at a nearby restaurant. Over a glass of cold beer, I watched the European Champion League final game between F.C. Barcelona and Manchester United. With me was another immigration attorney and friend who happens to be from Eastern Europe. It was a fascinating game in which Barcelona clearly dominated the game from the beginning to the very last end. Their ball control with exceptional. Manchester United was clearly outmatched.

The first goal was by Samuel Eto'o, the Cameroonian phenom in the 10th minute of the game which set the pace, while Lionel Messi, the Argentine, scored the second goal to seal it. What lessons we can draw from this game for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) debate? The answer: When the CIR advocates are ahead of the opposition it is exactly when to push ahead for the second goal to seal the game. There is indeed NO room to rest until the goal is achieved. For CIR, the first goal was the 2008 elections. The second goal has to be the actualization of CIR.

As reported in Politico, the White House has set a meeting on immigration reform on June 8 at the White House with congressional leaders. This follows the May meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus where the President promised to hold form on immigration reform. We cannot rest until the goal is accomplished. Any reader of this blog should call their congressional representatives and express support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Call now and call often. AILA has provided an easy way to contact congressional leaders regarding CIR. Opponents are doing just that. That is the only way our voice can be heard. In the meantime, we should thank those who have shown leadership on CIR, including Senator Schumer who held a hearing on May 20, 2009 on border security. He concluded the hearing promising that the subcommittee intends to hold "comprehensive hearings on…every difficult aspect of immigration reform." This is very much needed!

In the F.C. Barcelona v. Manchester United game, at the 70th minutes of the game, Lionel Messi, the Argentine whiz player of Barcelona scored the second and final goal of the game. CIR advocates have to have the same spirit. We cannot wait for others to do the heavy lifting for us. We have to be involved.

Another lesson is this: in the quest for excellence, the teams sought out talents from all over the world. Barcelona, with its unique international squad, in 2009 won a historic and the most coveted 'El Triple' (triple crown) of: The Spanish League Trophy, The Copa del Rey Cup (Spanish King's Cup) and The European Champions League Trophy, a feat no other Spanish team has ever accomplished. The two goal scorers in this final were not Spanish but they brought joy, pride and excitement to Spain and Spaniards of all backgrounds. Like F.C. Barcelona, every other business will like to be winners as well. The nationality of the workforce should not limit a business' potential.

Peace to all people of good will.

H1-B Visa Under Subscribed!!

On May 26, 2009, the USCIS announced that it has received only 47,000 petitions for H1-B visa classifications subject to the cap. This means that the USCIS has room for almost 20,000 HI-B visas for the 2010 fiscal year. This is amazing for a number of reasons. First, in the past few years, the 65,000 H1-B visas available annually were usually used up within a few days of their availability--by the first week of April. But this year, and this late in the period, we still have up to 20,000 visas available! Second, this announcement shows that the H1B visa process works. Employers will file petitions for professionals and skilled workers depending on need, not just for immigration purposes as opponents of the program allege. The decision to employ a foreign national and file immigration petition is clearly a business decision. The downturn in the economy has dictated what employers do, who they hire, and when. It should remain this way even when the economy improves. Third, it goes to show that the numerical limit on H-1B visa is arbitrary, artificial and has no place in today's economy. When economy improves, employers should and must have the flexibility to seek and hire talents wherever they are. That is clearly one way the U.S business can remain competitive.

This same argument applies to the rest of the employment visa categories. We have consistently argued in this blog and elsewhere for elimination of numerical limitation on various categories of employment based visas. Certainly, it is counter intuitive to advocate for more progressive immigration policy under the current economic and political environment. But, this is exactly the right time to advance such policies--it helps individuals and businesses with all the tools needed to move ahead once the economic environment improves. Businesses need to have the tools for the competition before the real game starts. To wait for the economy to completely improve may be too late.

Peace to all people of good will.

Specter and Obama on Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)

April 29, 2009 marked the 100th day of the Obama administration in office. If there was any doubt about his commitment to immigration reform this year, the president put that to rest. He stated: “We can't continue with a broken immigration system. It's not good for anybody. ... what we're trying to do is take some core — some key administrative steps to move the process along to lay the groundwork for legislation. Because the American people need some confidence that if we actually put a package together, we can execute.”

The Senate also started taking testimony on CIR this past week. Former Central Bank chief, Alan Greenspan, a major supporter of immigration reform testified before Charles Shumer’s committee. According to Greenspan, reform should happen now. His testimony left no doubt that immigration reform will benefit the U.S. economy. It will have a positive effect on the economy, housing market and job creation. Several advocates issued statements congratulating Shumer and the committee to taking the first step towards CIR.

Coincidentally, Senator Arlen Specter announced that he was switching party affiliation, from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. This gives the democratic party a 59-39 edge. With the Minnesota senatorial race almost over, the Democratic Party is likely to reach the 60 vote mark, a number necessary to break any filibuster in the Senate.

In March 2009, Senator Arlen Specter addressed a Continuing Legal Education session, organized by AILA in Washington DC. Though he looked frail, he expressed his commitment to CIR. Now that he is no longer in the GOP he will be able to freely push any CIR legislation in the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. These facts, combined with the President’s commitment, makes it look like a good year for CIR.

Peace to all people of good will.

Great Immigration Conference in Minnesota

On April 30 and May 1, 2009, the Minnesota Dakota Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) held its Upper Midwest Immigration Conference in Bloomington, Minnesota. This event was held jointly with the Advocates for Human Rights. I serve as the chair of the organization and the co-chair of the conference committee. It was an excellent opportunity for professionals in the region to meet, learn, and exchange ideas on the cutting edge issues in immigration. Special sessions lead by national experts on the anti-immigration lobby and the prospects of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) were highlights this year. Almost 200 people attended including national experts and representatives from U.S. government offices.

Heidi Bierich of the Southern Poverty Legal Center, Alabama was our luncheon speaker. She was outstanding. She is the national expert on anti-immigrant hate groups in the country, groups she has closely monitored in the last several years. She explained how interconnected organizations like FAIR and neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups are. She further showed how violent some of the anti-immigrant groups can be. Her latest report, published in Intelligence Report, is a must read for all involved in the CIR debate: you need to fully understand your opponents to fully respond to their attack.

Marshall Fitz, the Advocacy Director of AILA was our speaker on national immigration reform. His update from the capitol was a source of hope to all in attendance. It is certainly premature to predict what will happen, but there was an optimistic sense that this is the year for change. Other community business leaders expressed their readiness to join in the fray for CIR.

A colleague and I presented on religious worker visas, focusing on the regulatory and case law updates in the past one year. It has been only 5 months since the new religious worker visa regulations went into effect, and practitioners are still figuring out how that will impact petitions filed under the old and new rules.

Furthermore, it has been less than a month since the landmark federal court ruling in Washington State. This suit is a nationwide class action lawsuit brought on behalf of all religious workers who have been unable to file Form I-485 petition because the regulations do not permit it. The court found the rules prohibiting concurrent filing of Form I-360 Special Immigrant for Religious Workers and Form I-485 Adjustment of Status is impermissible. According to the court, there is no reason under the statute why religious worker petitions should be treated differently from other employment-based petitions. The court had also stayed all unlawful presence or unauthorized employment resulting from the prohibition of concurrent filing.

Peace to all people of good will.

Status of Liberians in the U.S.

On April 10, 2009 Her Excellency, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia was in Minnesota as part of her U.S. book tour for “This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President” published by HarperCollins Publishers. The Advocates for Human Rights and the Organization for Liberians in Minnesota held receptions for her. I attended as a guest of the International Leadership Institute and had the opportunity to take a picture with Her Excellency.

It was a wonderful event to see Liberians happy to visit with their President. A President who spent more than one year in jail at the hands of Samuel Doe's regime, and was threatened by Charles Taylor's regime. She understands what it means to be persecuted, and is clearly a great departure from the presidents that destroyed the country and had no respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Minnesota is home to the second largest settlement of Liberians outside of Africa. It was refreshing to hear the President candidly discuss the country she inherited in November 2005 and the task ahead. While the country has made strides, the President stated that it was not ready to absorb the number of Liberians that will be forced to return home if the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) they now hold in the U.S. is terminated. She applauded the Obama administration for renewing the Liberians’ status, and supported the Liberians’ wishes that they be accorded Lawful Permanent Resident status in the U.S.

Liberians are overdue for permanent resident status. Thousands of them have been in the U.S for more than 20 years on TPS. They have U.S. citizen children who have lived here all their lives; they have homes here; in short, they are part of the fabric of the U.S. For these Liberians, it does not make any rational sense for them to be returned to Liberia. Not only will that be devastating to their lives and the lives of their families; it would create a huge hole in the lives of the Americans among whom they have lived for so long. At a moment when we do not want more homes on the market, they would be forced to sell theirs; at a time when they represent huge populations in cities in Minnesota and Rhode Island, their massive departure would be devastating to the businesses they work for and own. The funds they remit to their families in Liberia have been critical for both the family members and their fragile government with limited resources to provide for its nationals.

I represent Liberians in various immigration proceedings, and have observed that the new trend for the government is to argue "changed country conditions." They argue the country has made such huge changes that it is safe for those who fled to return. That is clearly not the situation. There has to be more progress on security and stability before one can conclude that the situation has fundamentally changed. Liberians are anxious to return home; but they also realize that if care is not taken, progress could be reversed.

Peace to all people of good will.

The Obama Admin on Immigration Reform in '09

This week saw the first post Obama inauguration push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). As first reported in the New York Times on April 9, 2009, the administration is committed to starting discussions on the subject this year. This is in line with public statements by House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid on the need to push for CIR this year. Then came the news today that Rahm Emmanuel the White House Chief of Staff supports CIR this year. For those who have followed the background discussions on this matter closely, Emmanuel's support is a really big deal. This means that the stars are finally lined up for CIR, except for one thing: the economy.

I expect public relations efforts in the next few months to engage the general public on this subject. Don't be surprised to see campaign-style commercials on your TV screen. Every effort will be made to reintroduce the subject as a humane issue that goes to what we are as Americans, and what we need to do to help the ailing economy.

Those opposed to the cause are mobilizing and working to spread the news and impression that if we do CIR, Americans will lose their jobs to foreigners; that the right approach is to kick out all foreigners so that Americans will be hired and unemployment reduced. See the Stein Report on the FAIR website. This argument misses the point. Most potential beneficiaries of CIR are in the US. They are our neighbors; we want them to buy homes to help stem the tide of foreclosures. Kicking them out will result in more foreclosed homes. Also, some of them are the engines the U.S. needs to remain a force in a competitive global economy. But most importantly, inclusiveness and keeping families together is a core American value.

We have leadership in the White House on this issue. We have congressional leaders who understand the issues. We have lessons from the bitter battle of 2007. We have a congress that is weary of this same fight that never goes away, and who wants to deal with it now and be done with it. We have political strategists who understand that this is an important issue for an increasingly influential constituency. We have the opposition who, following the painful electoral losses of 2006 and 2008, understand that one of the paths out of political wilderness is NOT to appear xenophobic and anti-immigration. But then again, we also have those who only care to bash those who are “different.”

This is an exciting time for all advocates of immigration reform. We will be providing regular updates on this blog on the state of the debate and report progress and setbacks.

Peace to all people of goodwill.