I have had a very busy week in my practice but wanted to write a little something before I go home because all of it has been worth sharing.
Worth noting:
1. The Southern Poverty Law Center, the well known civil rights organization which has tracked hate crimes and hate groups and which has successfully prevailed in lawsuits against white supremecists around the nation, has named FAIR as a ‘hate group” in its annual report released on March 2008. Yeehaw! For far too long FAIR’s idealogy has been taken seriously by Congress and the media even though FAIR and its multiple offshoots are known to be funded by white supremecists and their idealogy.
Such idealogy includes the spread of racist propaganda about Mexicans and other Latino groups– which has substantially contributed to the undeclared war we are having in the US against undocumented immigrants who are largely Latino.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups in the US has increased by 48% since 2000, largely fueled by the anti-immigrant movement fueled by FAIR and its propaganda machine. In addition to these groups, in the past three years over 300 new groups referred to as ‘nativist extremists’ were formed to harass and intimidate immigrants, according to the SPLC report.
You can read this report in more detail at http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intpro.jsp
2. In more good news, The CIS announced that it was extending practical training for STEM students from its standard 12 months to 29 months. STEM stands for certain foreign students who have undergraduate or graduate degrees in computer science, actuarial science, engineering, engineering technologies, life sciences, math, physical sciences or military technologies. Naturally, the CIS wants employers to register for E-verify in order to benefit from this program – which is going to be the new requirement for all immigration benefits eventually, even though E-verify is known to have a high inaccuracy rate. In any event, this is evidence of how the CIS can fix problems when Congress can’t seem to fix the laws. Look at www.ice.gov/sevis
3. The LCA form will be going back to non-instant processing early next year according to a recent announcement. For years lawyers struggled with the delays in the LCA processing holding up the filing and approval of h1b petitions. The system became an online instant appoval system, making LCA delays a nonissue. Now they will be taking up to 7 days for approval starting in January 2009. Just in time for the next h1b crunch time in April 2009.
4. A colleague called me today to ask if I saw any immigration complications for a couple in the US having a surrogate mother give birth to their child in Canada. Would that child be able to enter the US as a citizen once released from the hospital? Feels like a law school exam question — uh, I have to think about that one.
5. My chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association has chosen this year’s winner of our 2008 Immigrant of Distinction Award as well as the winner of our 2008 lifetime Achievement Award. Stay tuned for details since I cannot reveal the winners yet. . . .
Peace,
Elizabeth Streefland
