July 18, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
As a timely follow-up to my blog entry yesterday regarding the possible wage issues that could arise in the RI raid case, according to an article I found on chicagotribune.com: “Ten immigrant workers filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming they are owed thousands of hours of back wages from a temporary employment agency that hired them to work at several airlines at O’Hare International Airport and other companies.”
I believe that as these ICE raids continue, workers who have not been paid for work performed, including some of those detained, will be filing lawsuits against the companies that employed them. In certain instances, under the doctrine of “joint employers” some of the entities that hired the subcontractors to perform the work could be held liable as well.
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 17, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
According to an article on eyewitnessnewstv.com: “About 20 cleaning workers from Central and South America remained in custody Wednesday after a sweep of six Rhode Island courthouses that targeted illegal immigrants, including some who investigators said used fake names and Social Security numbers to get hired.”
It is no secret that undocumented workers are usually victims of wage violations such as nonpayment payment of wages, overtime or minimum wage. I do not know if this was the case here. However, if the state of Rhode Island hired these cleaning companies and knew or should have known that the workers were not paid the wages they were owed, the state could theoretically be held liable as a joint employer to these workers for unpaid wages. Undocumented immigration status does not preclude workers from pursuing claims for earned, unpaid wages.
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 17, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
If you are a nonimmigrant traveling within the US, when going through security you will need to present government-issued identification to the TSA. This ID does not need to be a passport or any immigration document. A valid state driver’s license is sufficient. If you present a passport, and the TSA agent questions the validity of your immigration status, this could lead to a delay and possible reporting to the Customs and Border Patrol. Even if you are in valid nonimmigrant status, this delay could cause you to miss your flight.
When possible, avoid presenting a foreign passport as your preferred form of ID.
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 17, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
According to the Associated Press: “A McDonald’s Corp. franchisee will pay a $1 million fine after pleading guilty in Las Vegas federal court to felony immigration offenses for giving false Social Security numbers to illegal aliens.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 15, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
According to a NY Times Editorial: “Anyone who has doubts that this country is abusing and terrorizing undocumented immigrant workers should read an essay by Erik Camayd-Freixas, a professor and Spanish-language court interpreter who witnessed the aftermath of a huge immigration workplace raid at a meatpacking plant in Iowa.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 15, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
According to a USCIS Press Release: “In an effort to provide better customer service to refugees, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would extend the validity of initial work authorization documents for refugees to two years after arrival in the
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 15, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
Although it seems that interest in the issue has died down considerably except of course for those who are ditrectly affected, both Senators Obama and McCain spoke at the National Council of La Raza conference and both expressed their support for CIR.
According to an article on washingtonpost.com: “Speaking at the National Council of La Raza conference today, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) engaged in a lively give-and-take with several Latino activists who questioned his stance on illegal immigration.”
The constitution of Congress will be the deciding factor as to whether CIR occurs. It is clear that either man, if he were President, would sign a CIR bill that provided a pathway to citzenship for the millions of undocumented aliens residing in the US.
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 11, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
The Department of State has released the August 2008 Visa Bulletin.
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 10, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
According to a USCIS Press Release: “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the suspension of premium processing service for religious worker (R-1) nonimmigrant visa petitions will continue at least until January 7, 2009. A previous six-month suspension was announced on January 4, 2008.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »
July 9, 2008 by Bradley Maged.
The revocation of approved I-140 - Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers by the USCIS. is occurring with relative frequency according to lawyer reports. The I-140 is the petition that is filed by a sponsoring employer after the labor certification application has been certified.
The USCIS has the authority to, and in fact does, revoke what they believe to be erroneously approved I-140 petitions. The issue could be the employer’s ability to pay or that the alien does not have the requisite minimum education or experience.
A USCIS Memo regarding the equivalency of Indian Bachelor degrees to US Bachelor degrees was issued last year. Therefore, in a situation where the USCIS approved an I-140 petition prior to the issuance of the Memo and later revisited the file to see that the alien did not in fact have the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree that was required for the position per the certified ETA 9089, the agency may revoke the approved petition.
What is disconcerting about this USCIS revocation power is that even if an I-485 application has been filed for an entire family, the USCIS can readjudicate the underlying I-140, revoke it and then proceed to deny all I-485 applications (principal applicant and dependents) that flowed from that I-140.
The uncertainty, costs, effects on familes and employers and the emotional toll such actions cause are enormous. In cases of fraud or misrepresentation by a peitioner or applicant, revocation of a previously approved petition is understandable. However, if the USCIS approved a petition and it was their error, it seems patently unjust for the agency to then simply revoke the I-140 and let the alien suffer the consequences of its error.
As if this were not enough, stay tuned, the DOL also has the authority to revoke certified Labor Certification Applications, although it has not exercised this power as of yet.
Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »