Webinar - Immigration Legislation in 2011 and 2012

Immigration Legislation:

A Look Back at 2011 and Our Predictions for 2012

Hosted by:Murali Bashyam and Ame Coats

Bashyam Spiro LLPwww.bashyamspiro.com

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Outline

1. HR 3021, DREAM, BRAIN, I-601? Breaking down the legislation introduced in 2011.

2. What does 2012 hold in store?

Today’s Dialogue Map…

HR 3012

HR 3012: Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act

• HR 3012 has already passed in the House w/landslide vote (389-15)!

• Three year transition period.

• Eliminates country specific caps for employment-based immigrant visas; unused numbers applied to India/China until 2015

• Raises family cap from 7 % to 15%

• Institutes a first-come, first-serve green card system

• Does not increase the number of immigrant visas available each year. More backlogs after 2015?

HR 3012

Grassley Amendments

•Eliminates increases in family numbers•Reduces employment-based per country to 15%•Eliminates Diversity Visa Lottery program•Increase enforcement/protection of US worker in the H1 and L1 programs

BRAIN Act

BRAIN: Bringing and Retaining Accomplished Innovators for the National

• The act would “staple” green cards to skilled immigrants who earn advance degrees

• Individual must find employment opportunity in the field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

• Does not increase the number of immigrant visas available each year.

• Bill originally called NERDS Act (New Employees for Research & Development and STEM)?

Start-Up Visa Act

Start-Up Visa Act

• An entrepreneur is eligible to receive a 2 year visa if a US investor sponsors the individual with a minimum investment of $100,000.

• Gives entrepreneurs three (3) different options

Option 1 - Immigrant entrepreneurs living outside the U.S. would be eligible to apply for a StartUp Visa if a qualified U.S. investor agrees to financially sponsor their entrepreneurial venture with a minimum investment of $100,000. After two years, their business must have created 5 new jobs and raised not less than $500,000 in additional capital investment or generate not less than $500,000 in revenue.

Option 2 - Immigrant entrepreneurs currently in the U.S. on an unexpired H-1B visa; OR immigrant entrepreneurs currently in the U.S. who have completed a graduate level degree in science, technology, engineering, math, computer science, or other relevant academic discipline from an accredited United States college, university, or other institution of higher education would be eligible for a StartUp Visa if;

•They demonstrate annual income of not less than roughly $30,000 or the possession of assets of not less than roughly $60,000; and•Have proven that a qualified U.S. investor agrees to financially back their entrepreneurial venture with a minimum investment of $20,000.

After two years, their business must have created 3 new jobs and raised not less than $100,000 in additional capital investment or generate not less than $100,000 in revenue.

Option 3 - Immigrant entrepreneurs living outside the U.S. would be eligible to apply for a StartUp Visa if they have controlling interest of a company in a foreign country that has generated, during the most recent 12-month period, not less than $100,000 in revenue from sales in the U.S.

After two years, their business must have created 3 new jobs and raised not less than $100,000 in additional capital investment or generate not less than $100,000 in revenue.

DREAM Act

DREAM: Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors• Provides a residency path to undocumented immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as

children.

• Basic Requirements:– Individual must have arrived prior to the age of 15– Be a person of good moral character– Graduated from high school– Lived in the U.S. five years before the Act passes– Must serve two years in the military

• Multiple versions have been introduced since 2001. The House passed the act in 2010, but was blocked in the Senate.

• Prior versions included providing a residency path to immigrants who will graduate from a four-year high learning institution.

Stateside Waivers

Stateside Waiver Processing for I-601• USCIS issued a notice of intent to change its current process for the adjudication of certain

applications for I-601 waivers of inadmissibility.

• A waiver application is needed when an immigrant relative of a U.S. citizen applies for a green card, but they are “inadmissible” to change their immigrant status.

• Examples of inadmissibility acts include unlawful presence, overstaying a visa, misrepresentation, criminal acts, and J-1 residency violation.

• Benefits of processing within the U.S:- Shortens the time the relative is separated from family. The process abroad takes several months to up to a year.- The act of leaving the U.S. triggers a three or ten year re-entry bar because of the relative’s unlawful presence.

What is in store for 2012??

• SR 1983/1857 introduced in the Senate. Similar to HR 3012 but adds E-3 visas for Irish Nationals.

• Chances SR /19831857 passes? And if it does, what’s next?• State-level mandatory E-Verify• Federal vs. State Constitutionality Litigation• Guide to State-level immigration laws:

http://immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/qa-guide-state-immigration-laws

Sign Online Petition on www.bashyamspiro.com

H.R. 3012 – Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act aims at making the employment based visa system first-come first-serve. It will eliminate the per country limits on employment based immigrant visas and reduce the wait times for severely backlogged countries.

Please support this bill by signing this online petition: Please Vote ‘Yes’ on HR3012 http://www.petition2congress.com/5686/please-vote-yes-on-fairness-high-skilled-immigrants-act/

Letter from Kay Hagen

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important matter.

On November 10, 2011, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (S.1857) was introduced in the United States Senate and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. If enacted, the bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants. Currently, the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that the total number of employment-based immigrant visas made available to any foreign country cannot exceed 7% of the total number of such visas made available in that year.

I certainly understand your concerns regarding the overwhelming backlog of visa applications. I am committed to achieving practical, bipartisan, comprehensive reform that will address the immigration issue at its core. With our economy in peril, it is more important than ever to create a comprehensive immigration system that protects American jobs and wages. While I do not sit on the Judiciary Committee, I pledge keep your thoughts in mind should I have the opportunity to vote on S.1857 the United States Senate.

Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Kay R. Hagen

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