Immigration and Firm News

A list of the Senate Judiciary Committee's proposed amendments to the massive comprehensive immigration reform bill, S. 744, "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act," run the gamut from efforts to eliminate major core benefits such as eligibility for the legalization program known as Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status, to efforts to expand benefits, such as to LGBT families, to minor tweaks, as well as special interest provisions. Over 300 amendments … [Read more...]

US Senate Judiciary Committee members have filed their amendments to S. 744, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act." The amendments are being uploaded online now at http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/legislation/immigration/amendments.cfm. This is an interesting process where Chairman Senator Leahy has requested that all amendments be filed by 5pm today EST. Having them online available for the public is in stark contrast to the 2006-2007 reform efforts … [Read more...]

Lornet Turnbull has an article in today's Seattle Times entitled Foreign workers' spouses often stuck in limbo, in which she recounts the experiences of several H-4 visa holders who are the spouses of H-1B temporary professional workers. Ms. Turnbull captures the angst mixed status couples face in deciding whether to come to the US at all, and whether to stay and/or pursue permanent residence. Although H-1B visa holding spouses can work for specific employers in specific jobs, the dependent … [Read more...]

On April 16, 2013 the US Senate introduced S. 744, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act" (BSEOIMA), an 844 page comprehensive immigration reform bill. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) produced a detailed summary of the bill, as amended by the sponsors on May 1, 2013, which can be found here. The core features of the bill include: Increased enforcement and funding for enforcement; Reforms to the temporary and permanent legal … [Read more...]