Health Care bill hinges on Immigration Issues

The Health care bill needs 40 democrats to vote to pass the House. According to Washington Post, 20 Hispanic democrats may not vote if the immigration language in the bill is taken out.

The Bill states that illegal immigrants cannot buy private insurance plans with their own money under the new plan.

Yes, the Obama administration is bending over backwards to pacify the anti immigrant Republicans. But these republicans, and yes, even Mr. Joe “You lie” Wilson of South Carolina have to have some amount of pragmatism.

These illegal immigrants are working here, making money. Many don’t pay taxes. And guess what, they do fall sick. So they end up at Hospital Emergencies all across the United States and then we tax payers foot the bill for them. So in essence we are giving them free health care, and will continue to do so under the Republican “You lie” health care scheme.

Come on Republicans, do you want to give these hated illegal immigrants free health care? Let them buy their own out of the money they make in America.

 

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information

Quotas In Immigration Law

Today’s Wall Street Journal has their main front page article on how H-1B quotas have not been used up yet and argues that the market should dictate the numbers rather than Government quotas.

Arbitrary quotas have been ruled unconstitutional by all courts in every domestic affairs except for immigration law. You cannot have quotas for segregation or desegregation, for diversity in public education. You cannot have quotas at workplace. We read in Law School that quotas inherently violate due process. But I had to throw my constitution down my office window when I started practicing immigration law.

When the colonists came to America, there was no problem, no quotas. White Anglo Saxon Protestants could simply come and work. Then as more and more Italians and Chinese came in, restrictions began to be put in from 1875 onwards. Chinese were banned because they were “Coolie labor” for lewd and immoral purposes. After World War 1, the Congress restricted immigration to 2% of their nationality already settled in America. Since there were no non white people in the US at that time, most of Asia and Africa was shut out from the US. This was done to preserve the racial mix in the United States. Since then a lot of restrictive immigration Acts establishing arbitrary quotas were enacted and still valid today. The Permanent Residency Process has quotas in both Employment based and Family Immigration. So does the H-1B program for bringing in the brightest and the best.

These quotas have risen from anti Immigration and Xenophobic attitudes prevalent in America. As the Wall Street Journal points out, why should a very bright person from say India or China come to the US to be treated as a second class citizen, at the bottom of the social ladder? They would rather stay in their own country which are emerging economies. Yet, as the WSJ articles point out, 35% of Microsoft patents were developed by immigrants, and the person who developed Google News was an H-1B from India.

Those patents will just go to India, and someday the children or grandchildren of these anti immigration forces will seek immigration to India.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Foreign Labor Divison should only hire ROBOTS

In a number of recent cases the DOL has proved again that it values form over matter. It has set up rigid rules and follows the rules rather than understanding the rationale behind it. Thus it runs contrary to the philosophy of Common Law, which gave birth to our legal system. By taking out reasonableness and a humane case by case approach, the labor certification process has been reduced to at best a farce, and at worst hurting both American employers and American labor force.

The rules dictate that the PERM application be filed within 180 days of the first advertisement. In Matter of Spires Restaurant, The Board Of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) ruled that the PERM application filed 187 days later will be denied. The 180 days is meant to be a current test of the labor market, and anything more than 180 days would be considered too old. But 7 days is de minimis and penalizing an employer for just seven days is ridiculous. There should not be a hard line rule, and each application should be judged on a reasonable standard in a case by case basis.

In another case, the DOL rules that the prevailing wage request exceeded the job requirement mentioned in the PERM form. If anything, that would generate a higher Prevailing Wage. The DOL, whose job it is to see that Americans get the job before it is given to aliens, should not mind if the employer posts a higher wage than is required for the position. In The Matter of Florida Restaurant group, LLC

The last one is equally inane. In The matter of EDWARD J. TIERNEY the position was that of a DOMESTIC worker. This was a family. The DOL required a FEIN number instead of a Social Security Number. I wonder if the family of Bill Carlson has a FEIN, and if it does, what type of business do they conduct? With all his contacts at DOL, I would not be surprised.

Of course, the DOL continues to advocate publishing in major Sunday newspapers. That really is a good thing for Employers seeking to hire Aliens. No one reads those anymore, and in a matter of time, the only major newspapers will only exist in NYC and LA areas. The rest of the country will be left with community newspapers. But the DOL will not change!

We have now a ton of personnel working at Foreign Labor division of the DOL. These people will never loose their job. Why then are they doing the work that a computer system will do just as well. I say, replace them, from Bill Carlson down to the lowest level with ROBOTS. Lets use that money for health care instead.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.

What the H-1B Auditors fill out

The following is a simplified version of the instruction sheet that the H-1B Audit inspectors have to fill out:

1. Does the facility visually appear to be that of the organization? (Take pictures if possible of the building with Number of building.

Include in narrative box:
1) Description of the location:
• Commercial office unit;
• Apartment or condominium complex;
• Single family residence;
• Mail center/postal location; or
• Virtual office (a business with multiple small workstations leased to numerous entities).
indicate if any other businesses are sharing the site location and the names

2. Was an organizational representative authority present?

In cases where contact cannot be made
Inquire with neighboring businesses and/or residents to determine:
• . If the business actively engaged in business activities.
• The business’ normal hours of operations.
• It they are familiar with the benefic1ary and/or petitioner.

3. Did results of site visit suggest the presence of a legitimate organization?

Include In narrative:
1) Indicate the product  and service the company provides.
2) Number of employees.
3) Number of H1B employees that work full time.
4) Number of H1B employees that work part time.
5) Number 01 employees working on-site at this location, verses off site.
6) Number of clients the company has where their H1B employees are working.
7) Number of employees how that are non immigrant aliens.
8} Number of employees that are lawful permanent residents.
9) Length of time the organization has been in business.
10) Number of other locations the organization is located. List other locations.

4. Did the organization have knowledge of the beneficiary and the petition filed on Please note that even if the employer’s secretary has knowledge of who the beneficiary is, and the signatory of the petition is not present, the secretary should only state that, and not try and guess on answers that the Auditors are asking

5. Was the beneficiary working for the organization
behalf of the beneficiary?

Include in the narrative:
1) Whether or not the beneficiary is employed by the organization and what supporting documentation was reviewed (i.e., recent pay stubs, business cards, Employee ID).
2) If the beneficiary is not currently employed by the organization:
• Indicate where the beneficiary is currently working; and
• Why the beneficiary Is not employed by the organization.
3) The hours the beneficiary works.
• Full-time or part-time position.
4) If the beneficiary Is employed somewhere else:
• Where?
• What type of work?

6: Were you able to identify and speak to the beneficiary

7. Was the beneficiary knowledgeable, cooperative, and forthcoming with questions

8. Was the beneficiary being paid the salary as indicated?
posed?

9. Was the beneficiary performing the duties as indicated

10. Do you recommend further inquiry?

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information

H-1B audits increase

Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS)is conducting raids to H-1B business in an effort to detect and deter immigration fraud. The following blog is borrowed from an article by American Immigration Lawyer’s Program, and is meant to advise employers as to what to expect.

Employers should right now have the public access files for their H-1B employees ready.  This file should contain the wage determination, the LCA, and a note on when the LCA was posted. It should also contain a copy of the H-1B petition.

The Government raids are conducted without warrants, and without prior notice.  The Officer usually carries a copy of the H-1B petition. The officer then inspects the premises (and can take pictures). They will request to speak to the person signing the petition, but since the visits are unannounced, the officers are fine if the person who signed is unavailable. They may ask for copies of the beneficiary’s pay records, W-2 and also the employer’s tax records, quarterly wages, etc to prove that business is being conducted.

Then they also interview the beneficiary. They may ask details about the job description, employment dates, position, dependents etc. After this they might also want to speak with the beneficiary’s supervisor or colleague.

Here are some suggestions from AILA if the Government shows up:

1. Call your attorney, they can be present over the phone while the raids are being conducted.

2. If there is no designated official in the Company at that time, who is knowledgeable about the petitions, the officials should be told about that. Company Employees should not guess and say answers if they don’t know about the petition. Also if your company has strict policies against photographing, etc, please advise the officials accordingly.

2. File amended petitions, LCAs as necessary to keep files updated with changing situations. Wrong information could lead to a denial of the H-1B, even though the initial adjudication was an approval.

3. Request the name, title, and contact information for the site investigator. Ask for a business card and phone number. Multiple agencies are doing these visits, and it is important to determine which one is doing the site visit.

4. Don’t speak to the investigator without a witness present. Make notes of what transpired as soon as the meeting ends. Keep a list of all documents submitted.

5 If the beneficiary has been placed at a client site not controlled by the client, the client should notify the end user about the current FDNS H-1B assessment program and the possibility of a site visit. If there are multiple companies between the H-1B employer and the end user, the end user should be made aware of the identity of the H-1B employer and review the terms of the assignment. The employer should request that the end user company contact the employer at the beginning of an FDNS site visit so that the employer and/or its representative may be present either in person or by telephone during the site visit at the end user’s location.

Vermont Service Center has sent about 20,000 companies to be audited, and California would also send about the same.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Mojave Cross, Religion and Scalia

Dear Justice Scalia,

How can you say that the Cross is not a religious symbol? Is it really the “most common symbol of the resting place of the dead? “

How many Christian die in ratio of the addition of Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and all other religions?

You have not lived your life as a non Christian, especially in the South. When I first came into this country, I came with a commodity lacking in the US, a brain. My children were enrolled in River Oaks Baptist School in Houston, Texas.(ROBS)  There, they were probably the best students (they subsequently went on to Yale and Duke while the majority of ROBS students have IQs like Mr. G W Bush), they were severely discriminated against because of their race and religion. They were given bad evaluations, put in lower level classes, and constantly put down.

Once when we were seeing a Japanese dance, my six year old daughter commented that “mom can I paint my face white when I go to school.” When I asked why, she replied that , “then kids would play with me, and teachers will love me.”

She was told to expand on a bible verse that said that people who believe in images are like dogs.  We are Hindus.

When I went to law school at South Texas College of Law quite a few teachers thought that I was not smart because of my skin color or ethnic origin. I graduated third highest from that school. I also studied on a full academic scholarship.  Oh yes, grades were blind, profs did not know whose papers they were grading.

When I go to Court,  many judges do the same thing, look at me as if I don’t know anything.  And yes, in Texas Courts, the Judges have bibles on their desk. Its a chilling reminder to me that me and my faith are outsiders to this country.

We have to decide, whether we will be the open country for all religions, like we were when the pilgrims came, or be pro one religion, like Iran.

Look at the list of Nobel Laureates in Science in 2009. How many of them are American Citizens? All but one.  How many of them were born in America? None but one.

Justice Scalia, unless we create a tolerant society, we will loose our standing in the world. Do you really want to go back to the 50s America?

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Health Care and Illegal Immigrants

Last night during Pres. Obama’s speech on health care to the joint session of Congress, when President Obama said that the new plan would not cover illegal immigrants, Republican Senator Joe Wilson from  South Carolina could not hold back and shouted “You lie.” Without going into the fact that this was totally disrespectful, and not the way any US Congressman should behave, and reminiscent of those town hall meetings where conservatives just wanted to shout down any debate, we can safely assume that Mr. Joe Wilson hates illegal immigrants.

For the record, Obama’s administration is much harder on illegal immigrants than Bush’.

The E verify program has been extended in Obama’s time to encompass ALL federal contractors. The ICE crackdowns on illegal workers are much harder and frequent than the previous regime. For the first time, the money used to prevent fraud on H-1B categories is being utilized to see if any employer is violating the terms of the H-1B visa. And the health care bill in Congress now SPECIFICALLY prohibits illegal immigrants from the bill.

Yes, illegal immigrants are here.  They work for us. Many pay taxes and get sick. Most of them wind up in emergencies when they have something serious. The price tag for that is staggering? So what does Republicans like Joe Wilson want to do? Make the illlegal workers work in out kitchens, our gardens, and as soon as they become sick, deport them post haste? Are we becoming Nazis ?
Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Killing the Innocent in Texas

Today I am ashamed to be a lawyer from Texas. The recent issue of the New Yorker had a story about one confirmed case where the State of Texas put an innocent man to death. Mostly because the Texas Board of Parole and Pardon did not READ a forensic report in the man’s file!

Cameron Todd Willingham woke up one December morning in 1991 to his house burning in fire. He was found by a neighbor in the porch with soot on his chest, screaming, “My babies are burning up.” Even though by fireman’s accounts, he tried disparately to run into the burning house and save his three children, he could not. The fire was too intense and the firemen restrained him. His children died. The forensic report from Texas said that the fire was intentionally caused by Mr. Willingham. The Defense Attorney wanted him to plead guilty for a life sentence, but Mr. Willingham said he would not plead guilty to a crime he did not commit. This was taken by the Court to be a sign of unrepentance, and he was, like so many others in Texas put on death row.

However the forensic report was based on witchcraft and had NO scientific merit. Dr. Gerald Hurst, a Nationally acclaimed forensic expert studied his file pro bono and concluded that there was NO WAY the fire could have been started intentionally. He concluded that the forensic evidence in Wigginham’s trial was based on “junk Science.” But the members on the Texas Board of Pardon and Parole did not even bother to read the Hurst report!

Texas has the highest death penalty rate than any other democracy. We put God knows how many innocent people to death. How are we different from North Korea, Iran or China? And if we are the same, how can we morally criticize those countries?

From all over the world people come to the United States as a beckon of freedom and liberty. We don’t hesitate to lecture to other countries whenever we see any breach of freedom. Yet we put innocent people to death! Shame on Texas and shame on all the lawyers who are licensed to practice in this State.  And that includes me.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.

Due Process at Consulates

Stories of unfair US Consular Decisions abound. People meet all the requirements of getting a particular visa, and the consulate officer denies the visa based on his or her innate prejudices. The denied applicant can almost always do nothing.

The petitioning entity in the US can usually appeal to a Congressman or Senator, who can demand the reason for the denial. However previously the Consulate did not have to give a reason for that denial under the Consular non reviewability doctrine. Under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, The Government cannot deny any person in the United States any rights without due process.  This usually means a hearing from the applicant and a right of the applicant to defend himself. This due process was denied to individuals who were not “in” the United States. Furthermore, a Consulate decision, no matter how egregious, was not reviewable by a Federal Court in the United States.

The Appellate Court in New York (2nd Circuit) changed that in Ramadan v Napolitano. The Court held that Federal Courts have the right to review Consulate decisions, and that Consulate posts need to provide an opportunity for individuals to explain their case.  This case involved a Muslim Scholar, Mr. Ramadan who was denied a visitor’s visa on the basis of the fact that he contributed money to a terrorist group that had ties to Hamas. However the contributions were made between 1998 and 2002.  The US did not designate this group as a terrorist group until August 2003.  Therefore Mr. Ramadan could not have known that he was making contributions to a terrorist group.

It is yet to be seen what influence this case will have in Consulates such as Chennai, which has the distinction of having the highest visa denials.  Will they provide the applicants with a hearing, and if so, is this hearing going to be of any length of time to be meaningful? Additionally, many people applying for visas all over the world have limited English knowledge, and may be made to sign papers which does not state the truth.

The Rule of Law is a high ideal and although most consulate officers follow it, many are still governed by innate prejudices against little people, little corporations. Yet these are the very people that the Constitution seeks to protect. Additionally these little individuals will not have the resources to appeal their case in an US Court of Law. At the very least, maybe the documents required to prove that an applicant has the “facially legitimate and bona fide” rights to a visa, will be the same for employees of big Corporations and little start up corporations. At least this is a step in the right direction.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information

iCert Gripe

Employer: I got this contract to start work in 1 week.  I have the perfect H-1B guy. Can you have the petition to me by tomorrow?

Attorney: No can do

Employer: Why? You always do that.

Attorney: That was before July 1. iCert will prevent me from doing that now.

Employer: iCert?

Attorney: Yes, the new LCA system. We file it, then wait 4-5 days. Then hopefully if the DOL can identify your FEIN, we may get an approval. If  not, you submit FEIN documents to DOL, wait 4-5 days.  DOL verifies it, then you need to file again. Then wait 4-5 days again…… This is a song that never ends, it goes on and on my friend

Employer: Stop singing, you have no tonal sense. So wait, wasn’t the purpose of AC-21 to increase competitiveness in the workplace with Employers being able to hire and get work done more quickly? Has Obama changed the century on us as well? Do we have a new AC-18?

Attorney: Ummm, the only thing that Obama wants fast is that health care reform. He said immigration has to wait.  Besides the DOL is terrified that we are all trying to pull one over them. All of us trying to file fraudulent LCAs, our Government doubts everything we do

Employer: Thats bullshit! This is not fucking North Korea. This country was built on trust, where we elect our Government and have mutual trust. Besides illegal people don’t file H-1B. H-1Bs are professionals who will go back to their country if they don’t have a job. So this Computer program that DOL has, was it even beta tested?

Attorney: Calm down Sir. You just have to be patient.  I quote from DOL’s stakeholder’s meeting on 07/31:”iCERT Program has only been operational for 3 months at this time, so bugs are to be expected at this point.”  Also Sir, If we file an LCA, and it is denied, the notice will only go to you, not us.  Can you kindly forward it to us?

Employer: I am not dealing with this. I’ll just outsource the work. Maybe the DOL should have hired H-1B professionals to design a better program.

Contact Houston Immigration Lawyer, Annie Banerjee, for more information.