On September 23, 2009, Ms. Maria Refugia Camarillo, a 72-year-old grandmother, was sentenced to serve 44 months in federal prison for operating a marriage fraud ring from 1980s until 2008. Ms. Camarillo had been investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector [...]

Permanent Residency in the U.S. is usually obtained through employer or family sponsorship. However, for those who do not have employer or family sponsorship, the Diversity Visa Lottery Program (DV Program) provides another avenue to immigrate to the United States. Approximately 50,000 diversity visas are available each year. In order to qualify for the DV [...]

On September 8, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) rule mandating E-Verify use by certain federal contractors and subcontractors became effective. The E-Verify program, a partnership of the DHS and the Social Security Administration (SSA), is an internet-based system that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees, regardless of [...]

What is an L-1 nonimmigrant visa? L-1 nonimmigrant visas are utilized by U.S. corporations to temporarily employ (up to 5 or 7 years depending on type) certain foreign workers employed by the company’s foreign parent, affiliate, subsidiary or branch office. The L-1 visa is broken into two eligibility categories: (1) international managers and executives, and [...]

Among immigration lawyers, 2009 will be known as the year of “un-cappable” H-1B visas. What is an H-1B nonimmigrant visa? H-1B nonimmigrant visas allow U.S. employers to temporarily (up to six years) employ foreign workers in what USCIS calls “specialty occupations.” The regulations define a “specialty occupation” as requiring theoretical and practical application of a [...]

On August 7, 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) announced that Shipley Do-Nut Flour and Supply Company, Inc. (“Shipley”) was sentenced to court supervision, forfeiture of $1.334 million to ICE, and a criminal fine of $250,000 for conspiring to harbor illegal aliens. In addition, three company managers and the company owner were sentenced to [...]