The White House has been working on immigration initiatives, including the DACA program enacted in 2012, since President Obama was first elected in 2008. The DACA program, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, has already helped countless individuals who came to the United States as minors remain united with their families. The latest expansion of DACA, currently on hold pending a court challenge, will have an impact on potentially millions of immigrants looking to make a better life in America. Thousands of other hopeful immigrants seek to bring their valuable talents and human resources to our country through viable work visas or green cards.

Employment Visas

Mark Zuckerberg and other tech titans appear have keen interest in different aspects of immigration policy as it applies to work visas. These influential business leaders are people to pay attention to because they are leading the charge to open up the number of employment visas for skilled workers to come to the United States. Zuckerberg and others founded a political action committee in support of immigration, and have been supportive of President Obama’s recent executive order pushing new immigration guidelines.

Opposition

There are opponents to the expansion of employment visas, including some legislators who have also voiced harsh criticisms of President Obama’s executive actions. For example, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has expressed concern over the number of work visas carved out for the nation of Ireland within a recent Senate bill, particularly when it comes to “lower skilled” workers. There are provisions within immigration reform legislation that limits the number of work visas within a particular city, if unemployment within the community hits 8.5% or higher. Provisions protecting the unemployed that were put in place by the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 appear to conflict with President Obama’s executive order in many ways.

Evaluations

A number of evaluations have been performed concerning how DACA might impact the fiscal picture of the United States. There are those who believe that millions of jobs will be created once 8 million immigrants ultimately receive legal status. The immigration issue and President Obama’s executive orders will clearly have an impact on the direction and future of our country, and the debates will likely continue for many years to come.

Contact the Atlanta immigration offices of Brownstein & Nguyen for expert help with employment visas and investment visas and other immigration questions and assistance.

On Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, President Obama addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House. The subject – immigration reform. In a bold and controversial move, the President announced executive actions that represent an important policy change on deportation and provided temporary relief to undocumented, law-abiding immigrants who meet certain requirements.

“You can come out of the shadows,” President Obama said to millions of immigrants currently without papers but who are committed to ‘playing by the rules’ if given the chance. These immigrants include parents of U.S. Citizens, those who have been in the U.S. for five or more years, those willing to pay taxes and – should future measures permit – those willing to pursue a legitimate path to citizenship.

The immigration reforms will afford eligible immigrants a chance for deferred deportation, providing much needed relief for up to 5 million including for many the ability work legally. Under a ‘felons, not families’ policy, new measures will shift the emphasis of deportation efforts away from routine round-ups of undocumented immigrants and instead focus on identifying criminals and security threats. An additional 20,000 border patrol agents would be introduced, along with a crackdown on companies employing undocumented workers.

A summary by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services details the initiatives enacted under the announced executive actions, which include:

• Broadening the eligibility criteria for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to include those under 16 who have been in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2010, as well as extending relief and employment authorization under the program to three years
• The introduction of a Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program, which would allow parents of U.S. citizens and other lawful permanent residents present in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2010 the same period of deferment and employment authorization
• Making spouses and children of lawful permanent residents and children of U.S. citizens eligible for provisional waivers.
• Simplifying the legal immigration process to continue to aid in job creation and economic recovery
• Promoting and improving both citizen education and public awareness for lawful permanent residents

President Obama’s address began with a famous line of scripture: “We shall not oppress a stranger for we know the heart of a stranger – we were strangers once, too.” At its core, the executive actions aim to promote a process by which those already in this country who follow the law and contribute to society are legally recognized. The executive actions do not grant permanent legal status or citizenship to anyone.

Those who qualify for deferred deportation and are permitted to work will receive Social Security cards, provided they meet certain conditions: that they pay a fine for illegally entering the country, pay taxes, learn English and are willing to ‘go to the back of the line’. Underlying the reforms is a move to promote accountability on the part of immigrants, as well as providing the means by which this accountability may be honored and enforced.

For millions in limbo as Congress and the White House battled over immigration reform for the past 6 years, the new measures are nothing less than a “massive breakthrough for the immigration rights movement” according to Deepak Bhargava, director of the Center for Community, in an article in The New York Times. Aimed at directly supporting ‘hard working parents’ and those with families, the initiatives honor the American culture of inclusion and a society built on the energy, hard work and innovation of foreign entrepreneurs and immigrants.

For more information about immigration issues, please feel free to read through the information found in our Immigration Practice pages. If you, a loved one or someone you know might be eligible for deferred action or has a question regarding the latest executive actions on immigration, please contact the Atlanta immigration specialists at Brownstein & Nguyen.

While recent headlines have focused on the ongoing debate in Washington and around the country about immigration reform, very little attention has been given to the intersection between private, for-profit businesses and the detention of immigrants. We would like to share some important facts about profits and immigration policy in our country.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) follows a congressional mandate that the government must detain and house  34,000 immigrants each day. William Selway and Margaret Newkirk outline that this quota does not come cheap for taxpayers; each of those slots costs about $120 per day to keep filled. In total, the United States spends over $2 billion in taxpayer dollars a year to detain immigrants who are awaiting government action on their cases (which can take years). Over half of that amount – more than $1 billion – is spent on private prison facilities. Public financial information from the country’s largest private prison operators shows that the private prison industry is profiting from our country’s current immigration detention policies.

Does the current detention mandate make sense? Should private corporations that spend millions lobbying in Washington profit from the detainment of immigrants?

At Brownstein and Nguyen, we do not claim to have the answers to these policy questions. However, we have seen firsthand the often harsh effects of the government’s detention policies in the lives of honest, hard-working immigrants and the families who depend on them. We are proud to state that we have been able to help thousands of immigrants over the years who seek only a fair chance at a better life for themselves and their families in the United States.

Please do not hesitate to contact Brownstein and Nguyen, your Atlanta immigration law experts regarding immigration custody and detention and other immigration concerns. We have a proven track record of success, showing time and again that our knowledge and experience in immigration law provide clients with the best possible representation when they need it most.

For the past several years, immigration reform has been the subject of much political debate and maneuvering and a hot topic in the news. But to the millions of immigrants peacefully living and working, paying taxes and raising families in the United States, immigration reform is much more politics. Take a look at a recent article, regarding the story of Josue Noe Sandoval-Perez, and it is hard not to feel the gut wrenching pain that some of the current immigration enforcement practices place on families. In the midst of the headlines, and the current state of progress on immigration reform, it may seem that there is no hope. However, even under current law there is much that can be done to help immigrants wanting to make this country their home.

Citizens of foreign countries who seek to enter the United States generally must first obtain a U.S. visa. Visas fall into two main categories: non-immigrant visas and immigrant visas. For those wishing only to travel to, visit, or study abroad in the United States on a temporary basis, they would need to obtain a non-immigrant visa. If a non-U.S. citizen wishes to reside permanently in the United States, an immigrant visa would be necessary. There are numerous categories and methods of obtaining immigrant visas, or green cards, each with their own requirements. Generally, these categories include relative, spouse and finance’ visas, investor or employment visas, and various special circumstance visas. For more information about the various types of visas available, please click here.

For the past 20 years, the Atlanta, Georgia law firm of Brownstein & Nguyen has helped thousands of foreign citizens obtain visas to come and live in the United States. Founding attorney Tien G. Nguyen has the necessary expertise to help individuals and families with their visa needs, including visas and green cards, citizenship and naturalization, and removal/deportation. If you, a family member or someone you know needs expert advice or representation in immigration law, do not hesitate to call or contact our Atlanta, Georgia immigration law attorneys today for a free consultation.