Senators May File Immigration Bill Today

Today the "Gang of 8" lawmakers may release their draft bill. Even Sen. Marco Rubio is said to support this negotiated compromise to immigration reform.

The bill is rumored to address topics previously reported in the media, including a ten-year waiting period for undocumented immigrants; a multi-million dollar increase in border security funding; and special provisions for "DREAMers," or children who do not have legal status but have been raised and educated as Americans. The bill may also include special provisions for agricultural and other workers. Businesses are pushing for increased visa eligibility for engineers and tech workers, which would help immigrant entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the bill could also end the "diversity visa" program and reduce the availability of visas for family members of U.S. citizens.

However, even when the Senate bill is released, this first draft could look significantly different from the final version. A poll by the Washington Post shows popular support for a "path to citizenship," but that issue is still contentious within Congress.

Immigration Reform Needs to Include Everyone

As Congress debates, negotiates, and writes immigration reform legislation, various groups of people are working to make sure their interests are included.

Tech companies are interested in making sure they can hire the best immigrant workers. LGBT couples would like specific provisions to ensure family unity. Supporters of the "DREAM Act" want to make sure that undocumented students and young people have the opportunity to gain legal status. It is unclear whether Congress will emphasize family connections or work skills in deciding who gets priority in becoming a citizen.

Do you have opinions on how immigration reform should proceed? What would you like included? Click here to find out how to contact your Senator and Representative. If you have questions about your rights under current immigration law, contact us.

Border Security is the Compromise for a Path to Citizenship

The Senate has come to a compromise on bill language, the New York Times reported today. In exchange for a path to citizenship for many immigrants currently in the US, the senators want to strengthen border security, at huge expense to taxpayers. The estimated $3.5 billion plan includes a mandatory worker verification system, an electronic visa system at all entry and exit ports to the US, and surveillance capabilities along the entire length of the U.S. border.

While the plan does offer undocumented immigrants an opportunity to apply for green cards, this plan would also make them wait ten years before they could begin to apply. Even worse, the availability of applications may depend on whether the border security programs are operational.

The senators seem to agree with the idea that undocumented immigrants should be given a way to become American citizens. However, this plan seems to thwart that goal. How will people manage to work when there is a mandatory verification system? Will they be able to visit their families during the 10-year waiting period, or will they be blocked by the electronic visa system? This bill is in its early stages, and there is no guarantee that the final result will have any of these provisions.

How Long Will We Wait for Immigration Reform?

Congress continues to negotiate immigration reform, and there is no clear timeline on when its members will come to an agreement. Senators are divided on whether they will actually make an agreement on language for an immigration reform bill by the end of the week, as hoped. They are focusing currently on plans to give agricultural workers and farmworkers a path to citizenship. However, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has still not given any strong indication of his support for any proposed bill. In the House, a group of representatives wrote a bill aimed at using technology and data to improve border security.

Immigration reform is critical right now for everyone, but especially for gay and lesbian immigrants. If the Supreme Court creates federal same-sex marriage, this will have far-reaching immigration consequences for gay and lesbian partners of American citizens.

Read more here:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/timing-of-senate-immigration-bill-remains-unclear/

NY Court finds lack of authority for breed specific prejudice.

In a victory for pit bull dogs, on April 4, 2013,  the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, dismissed a judgment from the lower court finding a pit bull type dog dangerous by virtue of its breed.   The case is based on an incident in November 2011, when a pit bull who had a collar on, was wearing a harness and was on a leash was attacked by a German Shepherd who broke loose from its tether.  The dogs fought and both were injured. The pit bull was determined to be a “dangerous dog” and its owner was ordered to pay a portion of the shepherd's veterinary bills even though it remained leashed throughout the incident.  The pit bull's owner appealed. The upper court noted that the law defines a dangerous dogs as a dog that “without justification” attacks a person, companion animal … or domestic animal … and causes physical injury or death.”  A dog shall not be declared to be dangerous if its conduct “was justified because the dog was responding to pain or injury, or was protecting itself [or] its owner…” The Supreme Court stated "The condemnation of an individual dog in the context of a dangerous dog proceeding solely by virtue of its breed is without any legal basis. We have repeatedly held that “‘there is no persuasive authority for the proposition that a court should take judicial notice of the ferocity of any particular type or breed of domestic animal.’”  The case is titled  The People of the State of New York v. Diana Shanks.   Glickman Turley LLP can help you protect your dog from breed discrimination. Call us for a consultation: 617-399-7770.

The House Proposes Three Pathways to Citizenship

On April 2^nd, The New York Times reported on a bipartisan immigration proposal being prepared in the House of Representatives.  This proposal would offer three distinct pathways to citizenship for the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.  This is in contrast to the Senate plan, which would provide one pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country.

The House plan would basically divide undocumented immigrants into three groups.  The first group would include undocumented youth (also known as “dreamers”), who were brought to the US as children, and low-skilled agricultural workers.  This group would qualify for expedited legal status.  It would be interesting to know what "expedited" really means - weeks, months, years?

The second group would include undocumented immigrants who would otherwise be able to apply for legal status through a family member or employer, except that they are currently out-of-status (expired visa) and are subject to a 3 or 10 year bar if they leave the country.  The House bill would supposedly ease the 3/10 year waiting period, but would still require them to return to their country at some point in order to apply for adjustment of status.  Without more detail, it is hard to see how this portion of the House plan differs all that much from the current law.

The last group includes all undocumented immigrants who do not fall into groups 1 or 2.  This group would have the longest pathway to citizenship.  They would be allowed to apply for provisional legal status if they came forward, admitted to breaking the law, paid fines and back taxes, and learned to speak English.  This provisional status would allow them to work and live in the U.S. legally.  After ten years, they would be allowed to apply for a green card.  Ten years is a long time to wait, especially if you've already been living in the U.S. for a while.  

How to Read a USCIS Processing Time Report

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publishes a monthly report on processing times at its service centers.  The Service Centers may vary according to which type of application you are submitting.  In New England, a variety of applications are processed at the Vermont Service Center, which released a new Time Report on April 3 with processing dates as of 2/28/13. 

So, how do you read a Time Report?  There are four columns:  “Form,” “Title of Form,” “Classification or Basis for Filing,” and “Processing Timeframe.”  Make sure you have the right form number and classification.  The processing dates represent the receipt dates of petitions and applications currently being processed by the Service Center.  If a certain type of application is being completed within USCIS target timeframes, the timeframe of days, weeks, or months will be shown.  If a USCIS service center doesn't meet the target timeframe, a date will be shown (January 1, 2009) to indicate what cases they are currently processing. 

For example, USCIS set a goal to complete an I-765 Employment Authorizations for Asylum Seekers within 3 weeks, and the service center is meeting this goal, so the processing report shows “3 weeks.”  Notice that the processing times may vary greatly for the same form, but a different classification.  For example, the processing time for an I-765 for someone who has a pending adjustment of status application (I-485) is three months.

For an example where USCIS is not meeting its processing goal, look at the processing time for an I-130 Petition for a U.S. citizen filing for a spouse, parent, or child under 21.  In the column for “Processing Timeframe,” the date listed is “August 6, 2012,” which means that USCIS is processing applications received on August 6, 2012.