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USCIS and Customs and Border Security (CBP) have rolled out an automated I-94 card system effective this week.  Foreign entrants into the US via air and sea ports will no longer be given paper I-94 cards at the inspection desk.  Foreign nationals will be electronically registered by the Port of Entry officer.   This is a good step toward an all-electronic entry and exit system.

CBP has set up a dedicated webpage through which foreign nationals can review the electronic record of their entry and print out a paper copy of the I-94.  The paper copy is often needed by other federal and state agencies for immigration benefits and US drivers licenses.  One would hope that these agencies will be able to tap into the CBP system rather than relying on paper copies.

It is important to recognizethat this is just an Outline.  Several of the Outline’s bullet points areinconsistent and outright contradictory with other bullet points.  It isalso important to note that the bill is far from becoming law.  The Senatewill have hearings to amend the bill throughout April and May. 

If the bill passes the SenateJudiciary Committee and the Senate as a whole, a separate ComprehensiveImmigration Reform bill will be announced in the House ofRepresentatives.  The House bill will also have to pass that chamber andthen be remedied with the Senate bill.  Only then will it be presented toPresident Obama for signature.  The key take-away is that this bill isstill many steps from becoming law. 

Keeping in mind that thefinal CIR may look different than this one, this MU Law Visa Advisor only highlights severalkey items that will be of interest to our clients and friends.  Also,although the 17-page Oultine includes sections on Border Protection andUndocumented Worker Legalization we have not summarized these areas of the lawin this MU Law Visa Advisorsince they are of lesser interest to our clients and friends.  

Here is the brief MU LawSummary of the Senate’s CIR bill:

EMPLOYMENT-BASEDGREEN CARDS
–         The Senate CIR bill calls for an immediate elimination of retrogression for currently-pendinggreen card applications.  If this provision is true as listed in theSummary hundreds of thousands of long-delayed EB-2 and EB-3 applications wouldbe immediately eligible for Adjustment of Status, Immigrant Visa appointments,and Green card issuance.  It is unclear how the USCIS and State Departmentwould handle this immense overload of applications.

–         Going forward employment-based green card numbers would dramaticallyincrease.  Theoretically this could mean that future retrogression issmall.

EMPLOYMENTVERIFICATION
–         All employers will be required to use E-verify over a five-year phase inperiod, which will include enhanced photographic measures.

H-1B / L-1 VISAS
–         The H-1B visa cap will increase to 110,000, and can increase to 180,000 overseven years.

–         Spouses of H-1B visa holders will gain work eligibility.

–         H-1B prevailing wage rules may be changing, mandating higher wages for H-1Bworkers.  It is somewhat unclear in the Outline to what extent theprevailing wage rules will change.

–         Employers with more than 50 employees and who have 50% of their workforce who(a) hold H-1B and/or L-1 and (b) who do not have a green card pending, must payan additional $10,000 in H-1B / L-1 filing fees.

–         Employers with more than 50 employees and who have 30% of their workforce who(a) hold H-1B and/or L-1 and (b) who do not have a green card pending, must payan additional $5,000 in H-1B / L-1 filing fees.

–         By 2016 any employer who has more than 50% of its workforce on H-1B / L-1status will be ineligible to petition for H-1B and/or L-1 visas.

–         All employers who wish to hire an H-1B must advertise the position on agovernment database for 30 days.

TheUSCIS has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2014 (H-1BRegular Cap). USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed onbehalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption (H-1BMasters Cap).  This is the first year since FY 2008 that the cap has beenreached so quickly.

On Friday the USCIS announced that the H-1B cap has been reached.  The USCIS will hold a lottery and return any petitions for Beneficiaries who do not win the lottery.  F-1 students who wish to use the “cap-gap” rules must be lottery winners. F-1 students who do not win the lottery must exit the US at the conclusion of their F-1 period.

The H-1B cap opened on April 1.  Any H-1B cap-subject petition that isreceived on or before April 5 is considered a first day filing.  It is unknown at this time whether the H-1Bcap will be reached on the first day or not. In a March15, 2013 press release the USCIS predicted that,

A little self-indulgence today.  I’m taking a brief time-out from the usual updates on healthcare immigration to note that this blog is seven years old.  The first blog post was on March 27, 2006 with my prior law firm.  At that time few immigration law blogs existed.  The idea of a blog with such a narrow focus seemed a little naive, but thanks to a regular readership the blog has thrived.  

In November 2007 Sam at ILW.com asked if I would like to syndicate my blog through ILW.com, which I immediately agreed to do. Readership doubled.   ILW.com has been a leader in immigration law information and a great supporter.  ILW.com now houses about a dozen blogs.  This one was the second.

The blog regularly attracts 10,000 monthly page views, sometimes doubling or tripling that number.  The current iteration of the blog (since 2009) has attracted about a half million page views, which is a number that I never would have thought was possible in March 2006.  

The best part about the blog has been the people that have connected with me through the blog.  I’ve been in Senate staff meetings and had their senior staff tell me that were regular readers.  AILA’s Annual Conference is always a fun time because there are always a few attendees who read my name tag and tell me that they are regular readers.  Readers are always commenting. They are the blog’s lifeblood. 

Thanks to all of you for your kind words and input.

The blog is accessible through a number of channels.  I hope that you will keep reading and commenting.

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