News from the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers Vol. 12, No. 10B • October 15, 2016
Headlines:
1. U.S. Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in U.S. v. Texas -The Court’s refusal to reconsider the case means that DAPA and expanded DACA remain blocked. The original DACA program is unaffected.
2. USCIS Increases Validity of Work Permits to Two Years for Asylum Applicants -USCIS has increased the validity period for initial or renewal Employment Authorization Documents for asylum applicants from one year to two years.
3. ABIL Submits Comments on DOJ Proposed Antidiscrimination Rule -ABIL argued that, among other things, the proposed rule, without adequate or convincing justification, would inter alia unlawfully expand the class of individuals protected against citizenship status discrimination to include all non-citizens, and unfairly expand the liability of employers and other respondents alleged to have engaged in unfair immigration-related employment practices.
4. New Publications and Items of Interest -New Publications and Items of Interest
5. ABIL Member/Firm News -ABIL Member/Firm News
6. Government Agency Links -Government Agency Links
Details:
1. U.S. Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in U.S. v. Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court denied rehearing of United States v. Texas on October 3, 2016. The Court’s refusal to reconsider the case, on which it was deadlocked 4-4 in June, means that several Obama administration deferred action programs remain blocked by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s order. The programs include Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The original DACA program is unaffected and has continued since 2012.
President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court has languished for more than 200 days as Senate Republican leaders have refused to take up the matter, holding out for the next presidential election. In its petition for rehearing, the Obama administration had argued that the Court should grant rehearing to provide for a decision when the ninth Justice is appointed, rather than leaving in place “a nationwide injunction of such significance”:
Unless the Court resolves this case in a precedential manner, a matter of “great national importance” involving an “unprecedented and momentous” injunction barring implementation of the Guidance will have been effectively resolved for the country as a whole by a court of appeals that has divided twice, with two judges voting for petitioners and two for respondent States.
Other litigation is progressing or may be taken now that the Supreme Court has decided not to take up the case again. Meanwhile any efforts toward comprehensive immigration reform continue to languish. Stay tuned.
MORE INFORMATION ON DAPA AND DACA
2. USCIS Increases Validity of Work Permits to Two Years for Asylum Applicants
Effective October 5, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased the validity period for initial or renewal Employment Authorization Documents for asylum applicants from one year to two years. Applicants with pending asylum claims file applications for employment authorization (Forms I-765) under category “(c)(8).” This change applies to all (c)(8)-based applications that are pending as of October 5, 2016, and all such applications filed on or after October 5, 2016.
3. ABIL Submits Comments on DOJ Proposed Antidiscrimination Rule
The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) recently submitted comments on the Department of Justice’s proposed rule, “Standards and Procedures for the Enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act.” Among other things, the proposed rule would provide a new definition of the phrase “citizenship status,” amend a discriminatory intent requirement for employers, expand the time periods for investigation and deadlines to file discrimination complaints, and change the definition of “charging party.”
ABIL’s comments note:
[T]he proposed rule, without adequate or convincing justification, would inter alia unlawfully expand the class of individuals protected against citizenship status discrimination to include all non-citizens, and unfairly expand the liability of employers and other respondents alleged to have engaged in unfair immigration-related employment practices. These changes contravene the statutory text and the legislative history of the governing statutes, and would impose unreasonable burdens on employers, even though an employer’s actions were not motivated by immigration-related animus or hostility. The proposed rule would also substantially expand the authority of the Special Counsel to investigate allegations of immigration-related unfair employment practices and the time periods within which individuals and the Special Counsel must file complaints against employers with the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO).
ABIL member Angelo Paparelli wrote the comments on behalf of ABIL and submitted them to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice on October 13, 2016. The proposed rule is at 81 Fed. Reg. 53965, with deadline extended at 81 Fed. Reg. 63155.
4. New Publications and Items of Interest
Department of State Q&A. The Department of State (DOS) met with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on October 6, 2016, to discuss a wide range of topics, including updates to the Foreign Affairs Manual, the ConsularOne Online Passport Renewal service, the Enterprise Payment System for passport applications, the Consular Electronic Application Center portal for immigrant visa processing for six pilot posts, the Interview Waiver Program, “permanent resident” for purposes of Form DS-160, blanket L issues, five-year visas for petition-based nonimmigrant categories other than L, validity of a TN visa with a new employer, India issues, Cuba issues, F-1 preference opt-outs, and other issues. Appendices include a summary of AILA’s observations on FAM provisions governing the L classification, J visa questions and answers, and other issues. The 32-page DOS-AILA Q&A.
OSC electronic charge form now available in 11 languages. The Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) recently announced that members of the public can now complete and submit charge forms online through OSC’s website in Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese in addition to English and Spanish. The public can continue to submit charge forms by mail, fax, and email. FORMS
The latest E-Verify webinar schedule from USCIS is available HERE.
The latest edition of the Global Business Immigration Practice Guide has been released by LexisNexis. Dozens of members of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) co-authored and edited the guide, which is a one-stop resource for dealing with questions related to business immigration issues in 30 immigration hotspots around the world.
The latest edition adds chapters on Malta and Romania. Other chapters cover Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, the European Union, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Latchi Delchev, a global mobility and immigration specialist for Boeing, called the guide “first-rate” and said the key strong point of the book is its “outstanding usability.” She said she highly recommends the book and notes that it “is helpful even to seasoned professionals, as it provides a level of detail which is not easily gained from daily case management.”
Mireya Serra-Janer, head of European immigration for a multinational IT company, says she particularly likes “the fact that the [guide] focuses not just on each country’s immigration law itself but also addresses related matters such as tax and social security issues.” She noted that the India chapter “is particularly good. The immigration regulations in India have always been hard to understand. Having a clear explanation of the rules there helps us sort out many mobility challenges.”
Charles Gould, Director-General of the International Co-operative Alliance, said the guide is “an invaluable resource for both legal practitioners and business professionals. The country-specific chapters are comprehensive and answer the vast majority of questions that arise in immigration practice. Its clear and easy-to-follow structure and format make it the one volume to keep close at hand.”
This comprehensive guide is for:
- Human resources professionals and in-house attorneys who need to instruct, understand, and liaise with immigration lawyers licensed in other countries;
- Business immigration attorneys who regularly work with multinational corporations and their employees and HR professionals; and
- Attorneys interested in expanding their practice to include global business immigration services.
This publication provides:
- An overview of the immigration law requirements and procedures for over 20 countries;
- Practical information and tips for obtaining visas, work permits, resident status, naturalization, and other nonimmigrant and immigrant pathways to conducting business, investing, and working in those countries;
- A general overview of the appropriate options for a particular employee; and
- Information on how an employee can obtain and maintain authorization to work in a target country.
Each chapter follows a similar format, making it easy to compare practices and procedures from country to country. Useful links to additional resources and forms are included. Collected in this Practice Guide, the expertise of ABIL’s attorney members across the globe will serve as an ideal starting point in your research into global business immigration issues.
An excerpt of the book is on the ABIL website.
The list price is $431, but a 15% discount is available by visiting LexisNexis and entering discount code “ABIL15”. Contact your Lexis/Nexis sales representative; call 1-800-833-9844 (United States), 1-518-487-3385 (international); fax 1-518-487-3584
ABIL on Twitter. The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers is available on Twitter: @ABILImmigration. RECENT ABIL BLOGS
5. ABIL Member/Firm News
Robert Loughran spoke about the EB-5 program, the current state of U.S. immigration, and the need for comprehensive immigration reform to the University of Texas’s Lamp organization on October 6, 2016.
Cyrus Mehta has published a new blog entry. “Immigration Inadmissibility, Legal Ethics and Marijuana”
Angelo Paparelli has published a new blog entry. “Beware the Justice Department’s Stealthy Grab for Enhanced Power to Enforce Immigration Discrimination Rules”
Stephen Yale-Loehr was quoted in Spanish by Univision on October 3, 2016, about the Supreme Court’s decision refusing to rehear its 4-4 tie in the DAPA immigration executive action case.
6. Government Agency Links
Follow these links to access current processing times of the USCIS Service Centers and the Department of Labor, or the Department of State’s latest Visa Bulletin with the most recent cut-off dates for visa numbers:
USCIS Service Center processing times online
Department of Labor processing times and information on backlogs
Department of State Visa Bulletin