States playing host to illegal immigrants

Interesting fact in this research, by the DHS, was that, illegal immigrants were reported in large numbers from states that relied primarily on tourism and agriculture. These were the states where job opportunities have been on the rise, in the recent years. Following states play the host for those who are illegally in the United States.

• California – 2.8 million
• Texas – 1.8 million
• Florida – 740,000

These account for half of the total number of illegal immigrant population in the whole of the US. Statistics indicate that the numbers have begun to dwindle in Florida over the past few years.

Apart from these states, New York plays the home for 630,000 illegals and Illinois for 550,000. America’s top 10 states contribute to 73% of the total population of the country’s illegal immigrants.

Categories of people who immigrate illegally to the United States

People who were in the age group of 25 to 34 years contributed the maximum of 32 % to the total illegal immigrant population whereas those above 55 yrs made up the minimum of 4%. Out of the 32% of the total undocumented immigrants in that category, male illegals were 34% and female were 31 %.

Country wise flow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States

Mexico seems to have secured an immovable place at the top of the list with very high figures of about 59 % of the total inflow of illegal immigrants. This is the only country that has a two digit figure of illegals. Others that make up the single digit contribution to the undocumented community are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, China, Philippines, India, Korea, Ecuador and Vietnam. This is not very surprising as there seems to be no change in this trend over the last decade.

These data are based on the research undertaken by the Michael Hoefer, Nancy Rytina and Bryan Baker for the US Department of Homeland Security ( DHS)

An Arizona Sheriff Larry Dever who recently attended the Supreme court hearing on the controversial Immigration control law said that this new law is bound to “go down in flames.” “If this law goes down in flames, you’re going to really see pressures — people rolling back in — some who have self-deported and others taking advantage of what they see as an open sanctuary policy in this state,” declared Dever.

When this law was passed in 2010 by Arizona, the SB1070 was put on hold by the courts which capitulated due to the objections of politicians and the U.N. which expressed the concerns of the citizens of Arizona. Dever says that the courts accepted the government’s policy of ignoring the law and not enforcing the laws against illegal immigration in order to stop SB 1070.

The federal government deported about 390,000 criminal aliens last year and it is a record. Though it is good news, “how many of them have even returned and came back because of the porous border?” he said and added that even if somebody wanted to cross the border he or she is able to do it.

The Sheriff also insisted that the claims of civil rights groups stating that the law could lead to racial profiling and harassment is not true. He also said that enforcement officials will not tolerate racial profiling. When complaints are made, it is investigated and when it is found, it could even lead ot termination. This is because of the revised statute criminal code in Arizona that specifically prohibits racial profiling.

This could also be one of the reasons why the attorneys of the U.S. Department of Justice are planning to strike down the law by not raising an argument before the High Court. While there has been no strong enforcement of the law in recent years, people are hopeful that presidential nominee Mitt Romney would do a better job protecting the U.S. borders than President Obama.

There should be a proper immigration enforcement not only in the border but also inside the country. The powers that be should also take a look at the illegal immigration process in order to find out what is wrong and how it can be corrected. Long drawn out legal processes for getting visas and the large number of illegal aliens is the reason for many of the failures in the system. Romney has also said that though he had not read about the Florida lawmaker’s version of the Dream Act, he would take up the issue of providing nonimmigrant visas to college students who have entered the country illegally.

It is also advocated that anyone entering the country illegally would be heavily penalized. If a crime has been committed, the penalty would be to deport the person with no chance of returning back. However, at present even though a lot of people are deported, they keep returning back. So unless the borders are secured no enforcement is going to be effective.

The Department of Justice, as of now does not have an answer to any of the questions and people might just have to wait and watch.

The Mexican-born population in the United States is close to 12 million and more than half of them are living illegally here. The latest study also confirms that the Mexicans entering the United States now is almost equal to the number of Mexicans migrating away from the country. Some of the other reasons for the migration are Mexican demographics and U.S. Border Enforcement.

Recently, in a radio interview Professor Rafael Fernandez de Castro from the Autonomous Institute of Technology in Mexico, said that the main reason for the migration is due to the lack of jobs in the United States especially in the construction industry. The siege against the Mexican population, in places like Arizona and Alabama, is also a big deterring factor, he adds. For undocumented workers, it is better to return to Mexico that has better living conditions than to stay back in the United States where there is no employment.

Meanwhile, with Arizona’s controversial law that has triggered a national debate on illegal immigration, the Supreme Court has highlighted that the Mexican population has fallen considerably. This news has come at a time when the Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments on Arizona’s new law that immigrants have to carry their registration document always and that police officers can question anyone they believe to be in the country illegally. Currently this is the key issue in the presidential campaign.

The law was passed by the Republican Governor Jan Brewer and has been praised by presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who was in turn endorsed by the bill’s author Kris Kobach. Though President Obama has challenged the law and won a victory in the lower courts to prevent four of its provisions from taking effect, neither Obama or Romney are in a big hurry to weigh the decline in immigration. Both of them also declined to comment on this issue.

In his 2008 campaign President Obama had promised to enact comprehensive immigration reform, however once he came to power, his administration failed to tackle these issues, focusing only on health care reform. While Republicans widely opposed the bill, even five Democrats voted to block it. However, the Latinos favor Obama and have a very unfavorable view of Romney. The Democrats however dub Romney an “extreme presidential candidate ever” on the issue of immigration. Romney has been mocked by his own party members for his “self deportation” policy.

It is also expected that President Obama will outperform himself among Latinos and win over two-thirds of the Latino vote he earned when he came to power. It is also believed that he will get an even higher percentage in 2012. While both sides have avoided discussing the drop in immigration from Mexico, it is believed that the recent drop in immigration is enough evidence of Obama’s efforts to address the issue.

Under the H-2A Visa Program, US employers can bring in foreign nationals to fill up temporary agricultural jobs in the United States. These non-immigrant workers can stay only up to a maximum period of three years in the United States while on this job. As per this extension, H-2A sheepherders, who have reached their 3 year limit, will have to depart the country by Aug 6, 2012 and remain outside for at least 3 months before they can apply again.

Citizenship and Integration Grant Opportunity

USCIS announced a competitive grant opportunity in order to promote immigrant civic integration. It is also aimed at helping the legal permanent residents to clear the citizenship process successfully. It has allocated approximately $5 million for this FY and organizations that get selected under this will be able to make use of it, to offer both citizenship and naturalization services to the permanent residents. USCIS will receive applications till May 7, 2012 and is expected to announce the recipients (approximately 31) in September 2012.

Acceptance of H-1B Petitions for the FY 2013

USCIS began to accept the H-1B visa applications for the FY2013 from April 2, 2012 onwards. This year’s H-1B limitation is 65,000 and the first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of those who have earned a US master’s degree or higher will get an exemption from the numerical cap. The USCIS will go in for a random selection of petitions, in case it receives more than the numerical cap for the year.

TPS status for Syria

Following violent agitations in the country, the Syrian Arab Republic has been placed under Temporary Protected Status by the USCIS. Janet Napolitano, the secretary of Homeland Security stated that the TPS designation will be effective till September 30, 2013 and eligible Syrian nationals in the US can register within September 25, 2012. By this announcement, Syria joins the list of countries like – El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan that are currently designated for TPS.

Proposal for a Process Change for Certain Waivers of Inadmissibility

On March 30, 2012 USCIS posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by which the time of separation of immediate relatives of US citizens will be considerably minimized, when they are trying to obtain an immigrant visa to the United States. If the US citizen relative is able to establish the fact that staying separated will result in extreme hardships, then he or she would be permitted to apply for a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence in the United States, while being present in the country. USCIS director, Alejandro Mayorkas, elaborated that the proposed change in the law will benefit families by reducing the time of separation.

Change in the Look and Feel of Form I-797C

Starting from April 2, 2012, Form I-797C (Notice of Action) will be issued with a new look and feel. This form will be printed on plain bond paper. This initiative is expected to lead to a savings of $1.1 million to the USCIS per year. It will also have on it, a direct intimation of the fact that this form will in no way grant any immigration status or benefit, to those who receive it.

The E-Verify self-check service is now available nationally. USCIS announced that this free online service, “is available in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.”

E-Verify is a result of efforts between the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. This service allows people to check their own employment eligibility status. It also guides them on how they can keep their DHS and SSA records updated. The service was launched in March 2011 and this announcement shows that USCIS has fulfilled its goal of making this service available nationally within one year. In fact, they have delivered ahead of schedule.

Outreach Program to Chinese Immigrant Community

On February 6, 2012 Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that there would be a series of public engagement programs conducted in Chinese and that these programs would be called “Jiao Liu” — meaning “engagement” in Chinese. The Director said that they had launched a similar program last year in Spanish called “Enlaces.” which also means “engagement” in Spanish.

The first of the “Jiao Liu” was conducted by USCIS on February 16, 2012. It was modeled on the Spanish-language “Enlaces”. This session was on “The Naturalization Process: Becoming a United States Citizen.”

“Jiao Liu” provides assistance to customers in the form of information about the services and benefits offered by the USCIS. The sessions will address topics related to immigration and citizenship. While USCIS officials and experts would participate in these programs, they will not offer legal advice to the participants.

Director Mayorkas’ Testimony

On February 15, 2012 Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. His testimony was about the efforts of USCIS to, “to protect the integrity of our nation’s immigration system and to help safeguard our nation’s security.”

USCIS Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) Initiative

Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), launched the USCIS Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) Initiative on February 22, 2012. To launch this initiative, the Director Mayorkas hosted an Information Summit at the NASA Research Park in Moffett Field, California.

As a part of the event, Director Mayorkas conducted a naturalization ceremony for 20 people from Silicon Valley. He also recognized five American immigrant entrepreneurs, who are naturalized citizens, as Outstanding Americans by Choice.

The following USCIS forms have crossed their expiration dates: Form I-130, Form I-765, Form N-400 and Form N-600. However, the USCIS continues to accept the 01/08/12 edition of Form I-130, the 01/19/11 edition of Form I-765, the 06/17/11 edition of Form N-400, and the 10/30/11 edition of Form N-600 available on their website. Updated forms will be posted as and when they become available.

Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, has been updated. It has a new edition date of 10/19/11 but USCIS continues to accept previous editions.

USCIS Customer Service – e-Requests

The e-Request is a tool that allows customers to send requests to the USCIS regarding certain applications and petitions. Currently, persons who have filed Form N-400 or Form I-90 and find their petitions beyond posted processing times and I-90 applicants who are yet to receive an Application Support Center appointment can make use of the web-based e-Request to make an inquiry about their cases.

Customers need to have their application receipt numbers to be able to place these requests. Those who do not have their receipt numbers can contact the USCIS Customer Service for details. Those who have already placed a request with the USCIS will have to wait for 30 days and then they can contact the USCIS with another inquiry.

New USCIS Office at Queens

USCIS opened its newest field office at Queens, N.Y. The office is located at 27-35 Jackson Ave and its working hours are between 7 am And 3.30 pm.

“Opening the Queens office furthers our effort to become a part of the community and provide services where our customers live,” Director Mayorkas said. “We are confident that this new office will improve customer service and accessibility, and create new opportunities for the Queens community to engage with our agency.”

To recognize this day, USCIS has developed a page on their website to highlight the educational resources that they have “covering the powers and history of the presidency and some of the important leaders who helped shape this country.”

DOS generally issues the Hague Adoption Certificate or the Hague Custody Declaration in its counsular offices abroad. Only on issuance of this certificate can USCIS process a Form I-800. Now DOS will not be able to issue the required certification for cases involving adoption of Vietnamese children.

USCIS has urged U.S. parents not to file Form I-800 on behalf of a child from Vietnam and also not to file Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, identifying Vietnam as the country from which they seek to adopt.

The list of countries has been finalized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the Department of State (DOS). USCIS may only approve H-2A and H-2B visas for participants from the eligible countries. USCIS may approve visas for participants from non-eligible countries if they find it to be in the interest of the U.S.

U.S. employers can bring temporary employees to the U.S. to fill agricultural jobs under the H-2A program and non-agricultural jobs under the H-2B program. These temporary employees need to be nationals of the countries listed in the Federal Register. The eligibility list comes into effect from January 18, 2012 and is valid for one year.

The 58 countries on the list this year are: Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nauru, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Vanuatu.

Haiti, Iceland, Montenegro, Spain and Switzerland have been added to the list for the first time this year.

Persons currently in the U.S. under the H-2A and H-2B status will not be affected by this new list. They will be affected only in case they apply to extend or change status.

USCIS will update the details of the states and corresponding filing addresses on their website on January 1, 2012. People filing Form I-130 on or after that date are requested to mail their applications to the appropriate Lockbox in order to avoid delays in processing. Applicants who have any doubts or questions may contact USCIS’ Customer Service Center.

There is no change in the filing location for persons who are filing Form I-130 along with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Such applicants should continue sending their applications to the Chicago Lockbox facility.

Persons filing the petition from abroad may continue to send their applications to the Chicago Lockbox address if they are filing from a country which does not have a USCIS office. Persons filing from countries that have a USCIS office may file their petitions at the USCIS office having jurisdiction over their country of residence or may mail them to the Chicago Lockbox.

Only till the end of 2011 petitioners can send their applications to the Chicago address. Their petitions will be forwarded to and adjudicated at the appropriate USCIS Service Center.