DHS Office of Inspector General Report on EB-5

The Inspector General has issued its report on the EB-5 program. It concludes that:

• Currently, USCIS cannot administer and manage t he EB 5 regional center program effectively.
• The legislation establishing the regional center program did not give USCIS the necessary authority to prevent fraud and national security threats that could harm the U.S., and it assigned responsibility to USCIS for a program with mission areas outside USCIS’ immigration mission.
• Also, regulations were not always enforced, and USCIS did not always enforce its own regulations and procedures established to assist with managing the regional center program.
• To improve upon the administration and management of the program, USCIS needs to revise the regulations governing the EB 5 regional center program. USCIS also needs to execute memoranda of understanding with other agencies.

Immigration Reform--DV Lottery Should not be eliminated

The Senate mark up of the Immigration bill is set to start once members of congress return from their spring recess, sometime from May 3, 2013. It is therefore important that anyone with interest in the bill contact their respective representative, especially the U.S senator to express their support of the bill and the need for some compassionate and sensible modifications to the bill.

The bill eliminates the DV lottery, a visa category that conservatives have rallied against. We believe this is wrong. The DV lottery was conceived to address the historical bias in the U.S. immigration laws that made it difficult for certain people to enter the U.S. Africans, Irish, Asians were literally not wanted in the U.S. Though the DV lottery has made it possible for more people from these places to enter, there still remains huge imbalance in the admission rate. It is therefore premature to  eliminate the DV lottery.

Lives have been lifted and futures brightened for thousands of families, thanks to the lottery. The beneficiary's, in turn, helped their families and dependents. This in effect has became a very successful U.S foreign policy programs without expense to the U.S. Treasury.

U.S. has been blessed with talents and energy from the DV winners and their families. Businesses have been created; several of DV winners have joined the U.S military and served; others have become successful professionals. It will be a shame to let this very successful program be eliminated.

844 Pages of the Immigration Reform Bill

The test of the Senate bill is finally out. All 844 pages of the bill. We will provide section by sections analysis. In the meantime, our friends at the Advocates for Human Rights have prepared a chart that analyzes the human rights sections of the bill.

Outline of the Senate Bill

We now have the detailed outline of the new bill

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Introduced in Senate

Today, the Gang of 8 United States Senators will introduce the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, aimed to address most of the problems with the current immigration laws. The key components are: regularizing the status of 11 million undocumented people present in the United States that will result in creating a path to Citizenship; enhancing security at the border with Mexico; universal E-verify for all employers; and creating an easier path for employers to get the workers they need--skilled and unskilled. The Washington Post has a story today with more details about the bill.

Sahara TV Interview

Paschal Nwokocha was recently interviewed on Sahara TV about the immigration proposal from President Obama. Click here to watch and listen to the interview. We continue to update readers on the development through periodic posting on our blog.

Detailed Analysis of Obama Immigration Reform proposal

While the members of congress are working on the broad outlines and details of their take on immigration reform, The White House has put together the detailed draft of their legislation. And thanks to AILA, we now have a detailed section by section analysis of the provisions on the CIR. Of interest to undocumented individuals in the United States is the provision of Lawful Prospective Immigrant status.

The White House Immigration Reform

The Obama Administration's detailed immigration reform language is out. First leaked by the newspapers,  the released document includes the enforcement provisions, provisions for legalization Undocumentated Individuals  and employment verification provision.

Paschal Quoted in Paper about Immigration Refor

The Charlotte Post had an interesting article on black voices in the debate on immigration reform. Paschal Nwokocha was quoted.

The President Lays out his Immigration proposal

A day after the bipartisan U.S. senators introduced their immigration reform framework, the president took the stage in Las Vegas, where he laid out "markers" for immigration reform. We link here to the text of the speech.   The President's outlines appear pretty much identical to the immigration outline he discussed during a stop in El Paso,Texas on May 10, 2011.

For all immigration reform advocates, the heaving lifting begins: getting congress to finally pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Senators Introduce Frame Work for CIR

On January 28, 2013, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a frame work for comprehensive immigration reform. We link here to the actual text of the proposal.

New Immigration Rules to Facilitate Family Unity

The USCIS just announced the new rules to facilitate family unity and avoid protracted separation from loved ones. As has been covered elsewhere, the new rule will encourage more people to step out of the shadows and address their immigration status.

Under the new rule, an applicant must meet all of these requirements to qualify for the waiver:
1)Applicant must be present in the U.S. at the time they file for the waiver;
2)Applicant must prove hardship to U.S. citizen spouse or parent;
3)Applicant must be barred from readmission based only on unlawful presence in the U.S. and have no other grounds of inadmissibility;
4)Applicant must be a beneficiary of an approved immediate relative petition;
5)Applicant must have a case pending with the Department of State based on the approved immediate relative petition and paid the immigrant visa processing fee;
6)Applicant must depart from the United States to obtain the immediate relative immigrant visa; and 7)Applicant must be able to prove extreme hardship to her or his U.S. citizen spouse or parent.

This is great news for thousands of foreign nationals who qualify for unlawful presence waiver, but are afraid of taking trip overseas for fear of long separation from their loved ones. We join other immigration advocates all over the country in thanking and congratulating the Obama Administration on the steps it has taken in the past one year in making the immigration system more humane. More remains to be done.