MurthyBulletin
VOL. XV, no. 42; Oct 2009, week 3
Posted : Oct 16, 2009
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We know your immigration matters! SM
The MurthyBulletin is the eNewsletter on immigration from the Murthy Law Firm. 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.
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TOPICS in this Edition of the MurthyBulletin :
1. November 2009 Visa Bulletin
2. Company Targeted by ICE Resulting in Fines of $450,000
3. Conrad 30, Religious Worker and EB5 Program Temporary Extensions
4. Reminder : Murthy's Corporate Teleconference - Wed, Nov 04, 2009
5. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Investigations Section?
6. Important Processing Times and Dates
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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.
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1. November 2009 Visa Bulletin
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The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the Visa Bulletin for November 2009. The most recent Visa Bulletin chart can always be found on MurthyDotCom. The cutoff dates for backlogged categories remained either unchanged or had slight forward movement for November.
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Summary of Visa Bulletin
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Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1)
This category remains current for all countries of chargeability.
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Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB2)
This category remains current for all countries, except India and China. The cutoff date for India did not change. India continues to have a cutoff date of January 22, 2005. The cutoff date for China moved slightly, to April 1, 2005.
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Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB3)
This category remains extremely backlogged, due to high demand for limited visa numbers. The cutoff date for India moved forward slightly, to April 22, 2001. All other countries have a cutoff date of June 1, 2002. This is a forward movement for China and Mexico.
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Employment-Based, Fourth (EB4) and Employment-Based, Fifth (EB5) Preference
EB4 and EB5 are current. However, both the EB4 certain religious worker category and the EB5 pilot program category remain unavailable due to the expiration of these categories. The programs expired September 30, 2009, and were recently extended temporarily for just over a month, through October 31, 2009. Thus, the unavailability could change if there are further program extensions.
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Explanation and Conclusion
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The Visa Bulletin for November 2009 is the second monthly Visa Bulletin for fiscal year 2010 (FY10). This bulletin did not contain any dramatic or unexpected changes. We will continue to monitor the Visa Bulletin for MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.
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2. Company Targeted by ICE Resulting in Fines of $450,000
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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a September 15, 2009 press release announcing $450,000 in fines against a Missouri company for hiring undocumented foreign workers. This was part of long-standing enforcement efforts against George's Processing Inc. (GPI), a poultry-processing company. Investigation of GPI included a raid by ICE agents in May 2007, during which 136 undocumented workers from Mexico and Guatemala were arrested. An account of this immigration raid was included in a May 23, 2007 ICE press release.
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Company Charged with Fraud and Identity Theft
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ICE cooperated with the U.S. Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) in executing two criminal search warrants during the 2007 raid. During the two years leading up to the raid, ICE and the U.S. Department of Justice obtained convictions of four former GPI employees on changes of Social Security fraud, false claims of U.S. citizenship, and aggravated identity theft. Soon after a fifth GPI employee was indicted on related charges, ICE and SSA-OIG obtained subpoenas for the search of the GPI plant in Butterfield, MO.
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Company's I-9s Lead to Criminal Charges
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Following the ICE and SSA-OIG raid, five additional former employees of GPI each pleaded guilty to making a false claim of U.S. citizenship, aggravated identity theft, and misuse of a Social Security number. These convictions were announced in a September 10, 2007 ICE press release. Evidence of false claims of U.S. citizenship and misuse of Social Security numbers are likely to be found in Forms I-9 that are completed by individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States. Forms I-9, along with hiring, payroll and other human resource records, are usually seized by federal agents during workplace raids.
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Seven Members of Company's Management Charged
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Subsequent to the convictions of employees in September 2007, a federal grand jury issued indictments against seven of GPI's management-level employees. These employees were charged with crimes including the hiring and harboring of undocumented workers for commercial advantage or private financial gain. As explained in ICE's October 17, 2007 press release, these seven individuals were employed as supervisors, managers, human resource specialists, or were otherwise involved in GPI's hiring and employment process.
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Cooperation Between Federal Agencies
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ICE and SSA-OIG worked with the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri in investigating and charging these workers, supervisors, and managers. ICE and SSA-OIG were joined in the May 2007 raid by officers and agents of the Missouri Highway Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service's Fugitive Taskforce, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Case Ends with $450,000 Fine
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In October 2007, the federal prosecutor handling the investigation of GPI vowed to continue bringing charges against the company, which has 4,000 workers in its Missouri, Virginia, and Arkansas plants. Nearly two years later, ICE issued a September 15, 2009 press release announcing that GPI agreed to pay a $450,000 fine to resolve this investigation. In resolving the case, GPI also agreed to train its HR managers and employees on how to prevent the hiring of undocumented workers and to institute a new corporate compliance program. While GPI did not admit any corporate wrong-doing in agreeing to pay this fine, the sheer size of the fine should serve as a cautionary tale to businesses / corporations, their executives, managers, and HR personnel improper hiring practices, and failure to comply with Forms I-9 requirements can result in severe fines.
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Conclusion
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We at Murthy Law Firm bring this investigation to our readers' attention to emphasize the U.S. government's ongoing strategy to dramatically increase the level of scrutiny of I-9s, H1B public access files, and other immigration-related company records. No U.S. employer is immune from investigation. Each must recognize the responsibility of ensuring that Forms I-9 are properly completed and that no unauthorized workers are hired for or retained in employment. The Murthy Law Firm is available to consult on proper procedures and to conduct internal audits of your company's records BEFORE the government decides to investigate. We also will continue to monitor federal compliance efforts to keep our readers informed of these important matters.
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3. Conrad 30, Religious Worker and EB5 Program Temporary Extensions
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President Obama signed a continuing resolution on October 1, 2009, temporarily extending funding for the Conrad 30 program for physicians, the Non-Minister Immigrant Religious Worker category and EB5 immigrant investor pilot programs until October 31, 2009.
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Regular readers of MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin may recall that these programs were previously extended until September 30, 2009, as noted in our March 27, 2009 NewsBrief, Conrad-30 Investor Pilot Program and Religious Worker Extensions. Funding for these programs for an additional three years is contained in pending appropriations legislation, which is in process as of this writing.
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Conrad 30 Program Extended
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The Conrad 30 (or Conrad State) Program was created in 1994 to provide a waiver of the two-year home residency requirement for international medical graduates (IMGs) in J-1 status. The program provides each participating state with 30 waiver slots for J-1 physicians who agree to serve in medically underserved areas for three years. A detailed discussion of the Conrad 30 Program is available on MurthyDotCom in our article, Congress Extends the Conrad State Program until June 1, 2008 (16 Mar 2007).
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EB5 Investment Visas Alternative Still Viable
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As explained in the March 27, 2009 article cited above, the EB5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program targets special regional centers around the United States for additional foreign investment. One of the major advantages of this pilot program is that the requirement to create ten jobs has been modified. Under the normal EB5 process, ten jobs must be created directly from the intending immigrant's investment. Under the pilot program, these ten jobs may be created indirectly. The EB5 visa may be a workable alternative for business people looking to make investments in the United States. A discussion of the EB5 visa program can be found on MurthyDotCom in our article, EB5 Investor Must Satisfy All Legal Requirements (14 Mar 2008).
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Religious Worker Program Extended
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The President's action has also extended the Non-Minister Immigrant Religious Worker category, which otherwise would have been allowed to sunset. This immigrant visa category provides an avenue for obtaining lawful permanent residence (green card) status to certain religious workers who have been employed by a religious organization for at least two years. A detailed discussion of this program was included in our August 15, 2003 MurthyDotCom NewsBrief entitled Religious Workers Provisions 'Sunset.'
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E-Verify Extended
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President Obama's approval of this continuing resolution also provided funding to continue the E-Verify program of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This program was explained in our July 17, 2009 MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, DHS to Withdraw No-Match Rule.
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Conclusion
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The immigration programs at issue, the EB-5 Pilot Program, the Conrad 30, and the Non-Minister Religious Worker, are all valuable. The United States should continue to utilize the immigration system to attract those willing to make substantial investments and create U.S. jobs. Job creation of all types should be supported, whether it involves direct employment with the EB-5 investor's company, or the indirectly-created jobs permitted under the EB-5 Pilot Program. The Conrad 30 Program provides medically-underserved areas with highly-trained physicians. Since the economy and health care are currently top priorities nationally, it seems only logical that these programs should be extended. We will continue to update MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers on the status of these important and useful programs.
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4. Reminder : Murthy's Corporate Teleconference - Wed, Nov 04, 2009
Topic : Consular Processing H1B/L-1 Nonimmigrant Visas & EB Immigrant Visas
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The topic of this teleconference in our series for employers and their representatives is an overview of consular processing for H1B/L-1 visas as well as for employment-based (EB) immigrant visas. The session will also address some consular matters specific to employees of IT consulting companies. As many employees are now planning to travel during the holiday season, this is a timely discussion for employers who may be concerned about their employees' consular processing. Attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm will discuss basic requirements for consular processing, special issues for IT consulting companies, and some of the most frequently asked questions about consular processing.
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Employers and their representatives : register for Nov 04, 2009 here.
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5. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Investigations Section?
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In this post-9/11 world, immigration enforcement has been tied to national security concerns and caused a shift in focus to "enforcement first" as our nation's immigration policy. The result is stepped-up workplace investigations and regular raids of allegedly noncompliant worksites. These enforcement efforts on the part of U.S. government agencies are not limited to attempts to locate undocumented workers. Employers who are believed to be in violation of the requirements of employment-based immigration sponsorship are also targeted. The Murthy Law Firm stands ready to help your company avoid expensive fines and interruption to production, through compliance with U.S. government requirements. More on this is available on our Investigations Section of MurthyDotCom (formerly our Compliance Page).
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MurthyChat : Because Attorney Murthy has other obligations for the remaining Mondays in October, the next MurthyChat session will be Monday, Nov 02, 2009, 9-9:30pm Eastern Time (U.S.). In response to your requests, we will then return to providing the MurthyChat EVERY MONDAY night. Please check the chat page for any necessary changes to the schedule. Meanwhile, search the chat transcripts for answers to your questions.
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MurthyDotCom - MurthyBulletin - MurthyChat - and MurthyForum - Your ultimate U.S. immigration resources on the Internet all start with MURTHY!
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6. Important Processing Times and Dates
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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.
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