Реформы???

[Лев Кобрин]

Obama’s Immigration Policy May Benefit Indians
January 22, 2009
The new Obama administration in the US proposed immigration policy favoring an increase in the number of legal immigrants, which may benefit Indians, as many of the legal immigrants in the US are Indians.
"Fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill," according to the White House document that details immigration policy for the new administration.
"Our broken immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside and offering a complete solution that secures our border, enforces our laws, and reaffirms our heritage as a nation of immigrants," says Obama.
The agenda document also makes it clear that tougher action will be taken against employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
The Obama Administration supports a policy that will give undocumented immigrants a route to Citizenship. Undocumented immigrants in good standing will need to have good English and eventually be in a position to apply for US citizenship.
Previously as an US Senator Obama said in the Senate on May 23, 2007: "The time to fix our broken immigration system is now... We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace.
"But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America... Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should."

[Лев Кобрин]

США начинают иммиграционную реформу
07/05/2009
НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 7 мая - РИА Новости, Лариса Саенко. Первые слушания по иммиграционной реформе состоялись в профильном подкомитете сената США, положив начало процессу, который ставит целью амнистию нелегальных мигрантов в США.
"Поскольку эта реформа была в числе ключевых предвыборных обещаний Барака Обамы и демократы получили большинство в сенате и палате представителей, она, может быть, состоится уже в этом году", - сказал РИА Новости известный адвокат по иммиграционным делам Борис Палант.
По его оценке, число нелегально проживающих на территории США выходцев из бывшего СССР исчисляется в сотнях тысяч и, возможно, это пятая по величине нелегальная диаспора после мексиканцев, китайцев, индийцев и филиппинцев.
Как правило, русскоязычные нелегалы находятся в США с просроченной рабочей визой, либо въехали по туристической визе, и заняты в "сером" секторе экономики, оказывая услуги в строительстве, по уходу за детьми и престарелыми, домашнему хозяйству.
В ходе предвыборной кампании Обама пообещал активно поддержавшим его лидерам испаноязычных общин, что, став президентом, представит план, который позволит примерно 12 миллионам нелегалов получить гражданство США.
"12 миллионов - это самая мягкая оценка. Влиятельные американские консалтинговые компании называли цифру до 30 миллионов человек. Я думаю, реально на территории США незаконно проживают около 20 миллионов человек", - считает Палант.
По его словам, возможный механизм натурализации не будет автоматическим, он может учитывать срок проживания, включать уплату штрафов и налогов задним числом и отсутствие криминального прошлого. Вероятно, легализация будет сопровождаться предоставлением промежуточного статуса перед получением гражданства.
"Безусловно, будет введена черта отсечения натурализации, чтобы не привлекать новый поток нелегальных мигрантов", - считает Палант.
По его мнению, иммиграционная реформа, следствием которой станет уже законный приток родственников будущих "новых граждан" радикально изменит социальный и этнический состав США, в которых белое большинство перестанет быть доминирующей этнической группой.
"Реформа радикально изменит лицо Америки. Если она будет запущена в этом году, то к 2015-2020 году большинство в расовом составе населения страны будут составлять латиноамериканцы. Это неизбежный процесс, но ранее доминирование испаноговорящих групп прогнозировалось к середине нынешнего века", - сказал Палант.
Продвижение иммиграционной реформы неоднозначно воспринимается в США на фоне роста безработицы в связи с экономической рецессией. Ранее активное неприятие избирателями подобного иммиграционного билля, продвигаемого президентом Джорджем Бушем и поддержанное лидерами обеих партий в Конгрессе, стало непреодолимым препятствием на его пути.

[Лев Кобрин]

Little New in Obama's Immigration Policy
While Embracing Bush's Programs, President Says Nuance Makes the Difference
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Although President Obama has spent much of his time in office moving away from the policies of his predecessor, on immigration enforcement, he has embraced several Bush administration initiatives, and the changes he has promised to make are couched in nuance.
THIS STORY
In recent days, for example, the administration has announced it will expand a $1.1 billion program begun under President George W. Bush to check the immigration status of virtually all people booked into local jails over the next four years. Obama will continue a "zero-tolerance" program that charges and jails any illegal immigrant caught crossing parts of the U.S.-Mexico border. And the administration will resume construction of a $8 billion "virtual" fence of tower-mounted sensors and cameras along the border.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has announced only one formal change from Bush administration policy: limiting controversial raids at workplaces. Under the new policy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators must give priority to prosecuting employers and can arrest workers only when officials have secured indictments, warrants or a commitment by prosecutors to target managers first.
At a news conference April 29, Obama said a stay-the-course strategy on aggressive border enforcement is needed to build public support for his pledge to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.
"If the American people don't feel like you can secure the borders, then it's hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows and on a pathway to citizenship who are already here," Obama said. "The attitude of the average American is going to be, well, you're just going to have hundreds of thousands of more coming in each year."
Obama advisers say more changes are coming to Bush's immigration policies, which they argue were ineffective because they were heavy-handed and lacking nuance. Still, Obama's effort to chart a course through the political minefield of immigration -- as Americans are losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month -- risks offending both sides, angering immigrant advocates who expected more tangible changes while failing to satisfy those who want tighter immigration controls.
The Bush administration drove up deportations of illegal immigrants to record numbers in recent years -- to 358,000 in 2008 -- partly by rounding up ordinary workers, while the portion of those deported who were criminals fell.
But Obama's vow to focus on employers, smuggling networks, and criminals or illegal immigrants who repeatedly violate the law means he is taking on the groups that are harder and costlier to catch. And that means the overall number of deportations could fall, which could be seen as backsliding.
"Deporting illegal immigrants convicted of crimes is not the only important part of our overall immigration enforcement strategy," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), senior-ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, who warned that a decreased emphasis on deporting noncriminals would amount to a "de facto amnesty" for illegal immigrants already here and encourage more illegal immigration. "Having to choose between criminal aliens and other illegal immigrants is a false choice. The administration can and should do both."
Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute who has been an influential voice among Obama advisers, said she faced similar choices as head of Immigration and Naturalization Services during the Clinton administration.
"There's a tension between quality and quantity, and it may very well be that in order to get more criminals or cases involving dangerous people, it may actually mean that you're handling less cases," Meissner said. "And then that simply has to be explained."
Marshall Fitz, director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said "the jury is out" on how much will change under Obama.
Advocates are waiting to see how Napolitano's stated priority of removing the "worst of the worst" is carried out through regulations and guidelines and to see whether the administration succeeds.
"They're laying down all the right markers, but ultimately we need evidence," Meissner said. "We don't have the evidence yet to document whether there's in fact going to be any difference."
ICE Chief of Staff Suzie Barr said one reason for delays is that Obama's nomination to head the agency -- John T. Morton, a career Justice Department official who built his career on prosecuting immigration crime, smuggling and human rights abuses -- was confirmed by the Senate only last week.
Still, Napolitano said the Department of Homeland Security is pushing ahead with plans to emphasize deporting illegal immigrants found at jails, not workplaces. Today, police chiefs from several major U.S. cities and the Police Foundation, a national law enforcement research group, will call on ICE to limit a program under which it has enlisted the help of 67 state and local agencies to catch illegal immigrants.
The groups say that the program should be limited to pursuing serious criminal offenders and illegal immigrants at jails and that police should not arrest people who are not suspected of committing non-immigration crimes, arguing that those activities divert scarce resources, alienate minority communities and trigger racial profiling complaints.
Barr said the changes ICE is proposing will bolster oversight "significantly," ensure that local agreements reflect ICE priorities and "strengthen the overall effectiveness of the program nationally."

[Лев Кобрин]

Momentum for immigration reform continues to build
Thursday, May 21, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomes several developments today that signal that immigration reform is gaining momentum!

AILA commends US Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) for introducing legislation today that seeks to restore America's commitment to family unity.

The Reuniting Families Act would help legal immigrants reunite with their families and end decade-long waiting times for legal immigrant visas. "This is momentous day for all Americans who understand the dire need for immigration," said Charles H. Kuck, president of AILA. "This important legislation promotes timely reunification of families by recapturing unused visas and eliminating the tragically long family immigration backlogs."

The legislation would reinforce our commitment to families and reduce current wait times in the family immigration system by:

- Helping an estimated 322,000 spouses and children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents who are waiting in line to reunite with their families by reclassifying them as immediate relatives

- Addressing the decades-long backlogs for certain countries by raising the per-country immigration limits from 7 percent to 10 percent of total admissions

- Protecting widows, widowers and orphans by allowing them to continue to wait in line for a visa after the death of the sponsoring relative.

- Recapturing an estimated 400,000 family-sponsored and employment-based visas that went unused between 1992 and 2007.

- Respecting the contribution of Filipino World War II veterans by reducing their children's waiting times for an immigrant visa.

- Promoting family unity by allowing more people who are already eligible for an immigrant visa to efficiently use our legal family immigration system.

- Providing equal treatment for stepchildren and biological children by allowing stepchildren under the age of 21 to immigrate upon their parents' marriage (current age limit is 18).

In addition to this important legislation, the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee today launched an aggressive effort to press for passage of comprehensive immigration legislation, with Subcommittee Chairman Charles Schumer, D-NY, saying conditions are ripe for Congressional action. Schumer also announced an agenda of hearings for the coming months and said he is "cautiously optimistic that we can pass strong, fair, practical and effective immigration reform this year."

Further, a report released today by the nonpartisan Police Foundation criticized efforts to have local law enforcement agencies enforce federal immigration laws. The group said the report "finds that immigration enforcement by local police undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities already distrustful of police."

Also, the National Foundation of American Policy released two studies earlier today. One study titled, "Common Sense, Common Interests," recommends combining fully portable work permits - not tied to a specific employer - with bilateral administrative agreements. The second study, "A Commission to Regulate Immigration? A Bad Idea Whose Time Should Not Come," concludes that creating a commission to establish the annual level of temporary visas and green cards for high and low-skilled workers would result in unaccountable officials with the enormous power to change the law based on little more than their personal preference.

And finally, the White House today announced that it will hold a high-level meeting with Congressional leaders on June 8th to discuss plans for immigration reform.

These important developments all keep the momentum building towards an immigration overhaul that is desperately needed by our country. AILA pledges itself to working closely with Congress and the Administration to make sure that immigration reform moves forward to a successful conclusion in the months ahead!

HTTP://SFLCN.COM/STORY.PHP?ID=6379

[Pavel]

пока не ясно как это скажется на профессиональной эмиграции

[Лев Кобрин]

Первоначальное сообщение от Pavel
пока не ясно как это скажется на профессиональной эмиграции
скажется, как обычно, плохо. Они начнут обрабатывать новые кейсы, а старые (те, которые уже в очереди) просто отложат. Они так уже делали много раз.

[Pavel]

нв этом году все еще H1B cap не выбран - или вы имеете в ввиду GK кейсы ?

[Лев Кобрин]

Вы говорите про КВОТЫ, а я говорю про ПРОЦЕСС обработки документов.
Квоты не выбраны потому что работы для спецов стало намного меньше в связи с кризисом.

[Лев Кобрин]

Immigration reform could emerge again in the fall
26 May 2009 @ 01:37 am

Senate Democrats may be close to 60 votes on a measure that would represent the first step towards immigration reform under President Obama. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a concept dear to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) heart, and while health care reform may get this summer's headlines in Washington, the DREAM Act may be a sleeper. Defeated in Oct. 2007 on a cloture vote of 52-44, the Senate's new math appears to approach the necessary threshold of 60 votes based on the 2007 votes, election results and co-sponsorship.