Immigration Law Update

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Immigration Law Update

Spring 2009

 

The E-Verify Electronic Employment Verification System

E-Verify is a free, Internet-based system that employers use to confirm the legal status of newly hired employees, as mandated by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The system, a partnership of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA), verifies an employee's authorization to work, not immigration status. The system compares Social Security numbers and DHS's immigration databases with Form I-9 information. The average response time is three to five seconds. More.

U Visas for Victims of Specific Crimes

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (VTVPA) created a special nonimmigrant classification designated as the U visa for victims of specific crimes. The visa offers not only protection and temporary benefits to alien victims but also bolsters law enforcement capabilities to investigate and prosecute criminal activity. On September 5, 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would grant temporary immigration benefits to certain crime victims who assist government officials in investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity. More.

EB-1 Category for Outstanding Professors and Researchers

The First Preference Employment-Based Immigrant (EB-1) category for Legal Permanent Residence consists of three groups: 1. Aliens of extraordinary ability; 2. Outstanding professors and researchers; and 3. Multinational managers and executives. To qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher in this category, the applicant must demonstrate

  • International recognition as outstanding in a specific academic field;
  • At least three years of teaching or research in the field; and
  • An offer of employment.  More.

E-3 Visa for Australians

The E-3 visa was created in 2005 to allow for the admission of nationals of the Commonwealth of Australia who will perform services in a "specialty occupation." The E-3 visa contains components of both the H-1B visa and the E treaty visa and can be viewed as a hybrid useful to Australian nationals seeking work in the United States. The term "specialty occupation" means the occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher in the specialty (or its equivalent). This definition is the same as for an H-1B. More.