MurthyBulletin VOL. XIII, no. 38; September 2007, week 2 Posted : Sep 14, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "We know your immigration matters!" SM The MurthyBulletin is the eNewsletter on immigration from the Murthy Law Firm. This bulletin is not sent unsolicited. The information provided is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Murthy Law Firm. Full Disclaimer available. To receive MurthyBulletin via eMail, follow this link to subscribe. To Unsubscribe, please go to the end of the eMailed MurthyBulletin and click the URL provided. This an Announcement Only list. Subscribers cannot post to the list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOPICS in this Edition of the MurthyBulletin : Announcement : Remember the Immigration Voice Rally on Tuesday, Sep 18th 1. October 2007 Visa Bulletin ©MurthyDotCom 2. DOL Proposal to Revise PERM Form ETA 9089 ©MurthyDotCom 3. House Revives the STRIVE Act ©MurthyDotCom 4. State and Local Attempts to Legislate on Immigration Backfire ©MurthyDotCom 5. Temporary WHTI Accommodation Ends Sep 30, 2007 ©MurthyDotCom 6. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Legislation Page? ©MurthyDotCom 7. Important Processing Times and Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engaging the Murthy Law Firm : Our office can conveniently and efficiently represent clients located anywhere in the United States or abroad on U.S. immigration matters. Consultations with attorneys at the Murthy Law Firm : You may contact our office to schedule a one-time paid consultation with no further obligation. A scheduled consultation with an attorney at the Murthy Law Firm provides you with details and recommendations based on the specific facts of your case. This will help you with making the right decisions based on the legal options and strategies available. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Announcement : Remember the Immigration Voice Rally on Tuesday, Sep 18th ©MurthyDotCom Justice does not help those who slumber but helps only those who are vigilant. - Mahatma Gandhi ©MurthyDotCom The words of Mahatma Gandhi call us to actively work for change. We at the Murthy Law Firm would like to commend those who are making their way to Washington DC on September 18, 2007, to participate in the peaceful rally organized by Immigration Voice. We wish you great success in your efforts to convince lawmakers of the need to address the problems in the U.S. immigration system. If you are not able to attend the rally, we encourage you to work in your own way to make a difference. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was an American disciple of Gandhi, took his words to heart and led others in the peaceful quest for justice. ©MurthyDotCom Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ©MurthyDotCom Join the Sep 18th Immigration Voice Rally!  Posted Sep 07, 2007 Immigration Voice Group Organizes September Rally  Posted Aug 23, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. October 2007 Visa Bulletin ©MurthyDotCom After much speculation as to its possible content, the October 2007 Visa Bulletin has been released. It had been suggested by the U.S. Department of State that this bulletin would resemble the February 2007 Visa Bulletin. To some degree, this prediction was accurate, in that EB3 is quite retrogressed across all countries of chargeability and EB2 has cutoff dates for India and China, only. The October Visa Bulletin reflects the start of a new fiscal year (FY2008), with a new allocation of visa numbers. As always, the most recent visa bulletin chart can be found on MurthyDotCom. ©MurthyDotCom Summary of Visa Bulletin ©MurthyDotCom Employment Based First Preference (EB1) This category is current for all countries of chargeability. ©MurthyDotCom Employment Based Second Preference (EB2) This category is current for worldwide, Mexico and the Philippines. China's cutoff date is January 1, 2006; while India's cutoff date is April 1, 2004. These cutoff dates for India and China remain the same as they were in the September 2007 Visa Bulletin. ©MurthyDotCom Employment Based Third Preference (EB3) This category has cutoff dates of August 1, 2002 under the worldwide category and for the Philippines. India and Mexico have cutoff dates of April 22, 2001. China's cutoff date is September 1, 2001. The "other worker" category has an October 1, 2001 cutoff date for all areas of chargeability. ©MurthyDotCom Employment Based Fourth (EB4) / EB5 / Religious Workers and Targeted Employment These categories are all current. ©MurthyDotCom Conclusion ©MurthyDotCom The October 2007 Visa Bulletin did not contain any predictions of cutoff date movement in the EB categories for the future. It is possible that the DOS is waiting for the USCIS to complete its I-485 receipting process to gauge the number of I-485s filed during July and August 2007 and will then determine future cutoff dates based on the number of cases filed, their priority dates, nationals filing these I-485s, employment-based categories, and other factors. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will be informed of any news regarding the movement of priority dates. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. DOL Proposal to Revise PERM Form ETA 9089 ©MurthyDotCom The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a revised Form ETA 9089 on August 24, 2007, as a proposed regulation, providing for a 60-day comment period. Form ETA 9089 (the PERM labor certification form) is used by U.S. employers to file labor certifications for current or prospective foreign national workers. The filing of the labor certification is generally considered the first major step in the green card process. ©MurthyDotCom Suggestions for Revisions to the PERM Form ©MurthyDotCom As was reported to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers in our April 27, 2007 article, Murthy Law Firm Submits Proposal to Revise PERM Form, a proposal to revise Form ETA 9089 was submitted by our firm to a taskforce comprised of members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Our proposal, along with comments from other organizations, was later forwarded by AILA to the DOL, which is the agency in charge of maintaining and administering the form. The DOL incorporated some of the changes from AILA, including some submitted by the Murthy Law Firm, and published the new, revised form, seeking comments from interested persons and organizations. Our firm is now in the process of submitting comments to the DOL during the 60-day review period that will close on October 23, 2007. ©MurthyDotCom Proposals from the Murthy Law Firm Incorporated in the Revised Form ETA 9089 ©MurthyDotCom Some of the changes our firm submitted to the DOL through AILA include: providing for experience in multiple occupations as a primary requirement (before, only the job offered could be the primary requirement); eliminating the need for special descriptive language when it should not be required (which previously may have resulted in inappropriate denials); replacing the response option "years of experience" with "months of experience," better reflecting the true requirement; adding a separate question regarding required travel and relocation; and creating a special section pertaining to licenses and/or certifications, which better reflects the situation when a license is required but the job requires no experience. These are positive changes that should help U.S. employers, employees, and their attorneys in answering specific requirements and overcoming possible difficulties in filling out the PERM application. ©MurthyDotCom Conclusion ©MurthyDotCom We consider the revised Form ETA 9089 to be a positive step towards addressing long-existing problems in filling out the PERM application form. As every person's situation is different, and the requirements for the labor certification eligibility are highly complex, attorneys and petitioners often have been unable to overcome the deficiencies in the current Form ETA 9089. The new Form ETA 9089, however, may require some further revisions to make it more user-friendly over the long term. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. House Revives the STRIVE Act ©MurthyDotCom On Thursday, September 6, 2007, the Immigration Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced the Security through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act, which was put on hold earlier this year by the U.S. Senate. The session on September 6, 2007 was called by Subcommittee Chairwoman, Representative Zoë Lofgren, and came as a surprise, as the bill has little chance of being passed by Congress before the 2008 presidential election. An announcement of a hearing on the bill and a list of witnesses providing testimony was not available until shortly before the hearing date, which is also unusual for this type of a session. ©MurthyDotCom Background on the STRIVE Act ©MurthyDotCom As regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will recall from our March 30, 2007 article, STRIVE Act of 2007 Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the STRIVE Act is a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill containing provisions on various issues. Among those matters addressed are: border security; strengthening interior enforcement; more stringent employment verification requirements; a new worker program; protection of families; avenues for earned legalization for certain qualified, hardworking immigrants; various miscellaneous provisions pertaining to the immigration court system; relief for immigrant victims of the 9/11 attacks; and facilitation of naturalization for members of the armed forces. ©MurthyDotCom Testimony from Affected Witnesses ©MurthyDotCom The Immigration Subcommittee considered testimony from about a dozen witnesses, including House members, activists, and individuals whose lives have been affected by the lack of comprehensive immigration reform laws. The latter included a Navy officer on active duty who fears that his wife may be removed (deported), because she is unlawfully present in the United States. Another witness's wife was removed and returned to her home country, having been denied asylum in the United States. Her removal came after 14 years of marriage and resulted in the dissolution of the family when the couple's son went with her. ©MurthyDotCom Request to Increase H1B Quota and Other Concerns ©MurthyDotCom Resurfacing as a familiar theme was that of raising the H1B annual quota - a pressing issue for the last few years. Numerous articles on this subject can be found on MurthyDotCom. In addition, subcommittee members continue to debate that the bill creates a new amnesty program for undocumented foreign nationals. Whether the bill adequately provides a more comprehensive solution for workers who contribute to the U.S. economy and for families separated by immigration laws and policies is also a matter of discussion. ©MurthyDotCom Conclusion ©MurthyDotCom As this recent hearing attests, the STRIVE Act may not be dead, yet. As it is revived in the U.S. House of Representatives, it becomes more and more vital that immigration be addressed and, hopefully, resolved by Congress in the near future. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will be informed of new developments with regard to the STRIVE Act and any other important immigration-related legislation. Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. State and Local Attempts to Legislate on Immigration Backfire ©MurthyDotCom Anti-immigrant laws and ordinances are being passed by state and local governments in the wake of congressional failure earlier this year to agree upon comprehensive immigration reform. Most of these laws require employers to verify the immigration status their employees and impose harsh sanctions on those who fail to do so. One popular resolution is the English-only requirement, being used, for example, to justify mandatory removal of billboards with bilingual English-and-Spanish advertisements. ©MurthyDotCom Readers will recall our August 3, 2007 article, Court Strikes Hazelton Municipal Ordinances Against Immigrants and our August 17, 2007 article, States' Regulation of Foreign Workers is Arguably Unconstitutional, concerning federal lawsuits that challenged such ordinances as unconstitutional. In the Hazelton case, the court ruled against the local anti-immigrant ordinance. In fact, many more such lawsuits are already pending or being filed in federal court in further response to the lack of sufficient federal guidance with regard to immigration. ©MurthyDotCom [For a comprehensive list of state immigration legislation, go to Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a project of the Center for Community Change.] ©MurthyDotCom Recent Arizona Law Challenged ©MurthyDotCom Civil rights advocates sued the state of Arizona in federal court on September 4, 2007, asserting that the state's Legal Arizona Worker Act violates the U.S. Constitution and threatens the success of Arizona businesses. The new law revokes business licenses of those employers who fail to verify employment eligibility of their workers through a federal database. While Governor Janet Napolitano agrees that immigration is a federal responsibility, she signed the bill this year explaining that "Congress seemed incapable of comprehensive immigration reform." ©MurthyDotCom The plaintiffs, who include civil rights groups Chicanos Por La Causa and Somos America, say that the law conflicts not only with the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which ensures due process, but also with federal immigration law. According to the plaintiffs, the law also encourages business owners to discriminate against individuals suspected to be foreign, rather than risk the fines and penalties under the law. They argue that the law violates the core due process principles on which our country is built.  ©MurthyDotCom AILF's IPC Examines New Anti-Immigrant Trends in State Legislatures ©MurthyDotCom The American Immigration Law Foundation's (AILF's) Immigration Policy Center (IPC) issued a report on August 21, 2007, authored by Walter A. Ewing, entitled Missing the Target : Anti-Immigrant Ordinances Backfire. This IPC report examines the popular arguments used to promote anti-immigrant ordinances. Supporters of anti-immigrant laws often claim to take this stand because Latino immigrants do not want to assimilate into U.S. society. The IPC report provides counterevidence to this popular argument, showing that the children and grandchildren of Latino immigrants speak English as their native language and move up the socioeconomic ladder in much the same way as the progeny of the European immigrants who entered the U.S. a century or more ago. ©MurthyDotCom Conclusion ©MurthyDotCom Until Congress acts on the much-anticipated immigration reform, states are likely to continue attempting to regulate immigration through state laws and local ordinances. The new wave of federal lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of these state and local laws will not resolve the problems in the immigration system. Congress should enact federal immigration laws that reflect our core principles and values, as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Temporary WHTI Accommodation Ends Sep 30, 2007 ©MurthyDotCom The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release on September 4, 2007, reminding the general public that the temporary Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) accommodation will end as scheduled on September 30, 2007. Under WHTI, U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda are required to present their passports when traveling by air. These requirements became effective January 23, 2007. Due to the high demand and the delays in issuing U.S. passports, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the DHS agreed to allow travel under WHTI through September 30, 2007, based upon proof of application for a passport. U.S. citizens who depart the U.S. prior to October 1, 2007 under this travel accommodation will be allowed to return with the same documents, even if they are returning after September 30, 2007. ©MurthyDotCom About WHTI ©MurthyDotCom Background and further information on WHTI, are available in our June 15, 2007 MurthyBulletin article, Western Hemisphere Travel Accommodations for Delayed Passports, available on MurthyDotCom. WHTI was mandated by Congress in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. It addresses the findings of the 9/11 Commission and is designed to promote safer travel. It requires a U.S. traveler going to or entering from any neighboring country to present a passport or other approved document that establishes the bearer's identity and nationality, in order to enter or reenter the United States. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Legislation Page? ©MurthyDotCom At the Murthy Law Firm, we are often asked questions indicating that there is confusion surrounding proposed legislation and new laws. We have a Legislation Page on MurthyDotCom, where we clarify these matters for our readers. We also provide an article on How a Bill Becomes a Law and instructions for contacting your congressional representatives,  so that our readers may understand and become involved in the legislative process. ©MurthyDotCom The next session of the MurthyChat will be Monday, Sep 17, 2007, 9:00pm Eastern Time (U.S.). Please check the chat page for any necessary changes to the schedule. Meanwhile, search the chat transcripts for answers to your questions.  ©MurthyDotCom MurthyForum : Consider joining those who have discovered the value of this service. Our message / discussion board is visited daily by one of our attorneys. MurthyDotCom - MurthyBulletin - MurthyChat - and MurthyForum - Your ultimate U.S. immigration resources on the Internet all start with MURTHY! ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Important Processing Times and Dates ©MurthyDotCom Processing Times : For links to processing times for the USCIS Service Centers, district (or local) processing times, the Administrative Appeals Office, Department of State visa bulletin, and Department of Labor dates for the processing of labor certification applications. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved
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