Still Hoping for Immigration Reform in 2009

Due to national security concerns in a post September 11, 2001 reality, immigration reform will likely not return to the open door policy of years past. However, immigration reform can rest upon the American principals of equality and diversity. I advocate for the following immigration reform measures aimed at addressing the true problems of unauthorized immigration:

• Permit unauthorized immigrants to adjust their status to permanent resident if sponsored by a qualified family member or employer. This legislation should avoid arbitrary cut off dates and encourage as many as possible of the twelve (12) million unauthorized immigrants to step forward and be registered and rewarded with the ability to apply for U.S. Permanent Residence.
  
  
• Create an H-5 nonimmigrant temporary work status that would permit U.S. employers to sponsor nonimmigrants for work visas. Dependent family members would be eligible to accompany the H-5 nonimmigrant in a dependent status, such as H-4. Similar to H-1B regulations, the H-5 visa would be valid in three year increments for a maximum of six years. During this time, the employer could choose to sponsor an H-5 nonimmigrant for permanent residence by following the current procedure in place for H-1B or L-1B nonimmigrants. In place of requiring a degree or specialized knowledge, Congress would identify a list of occupations in which a shortage of unskilled workers exists, such as dishwashers, coffee shop cashiers, Construction Laborers, etc. Secondly, for occupations not listed or pre certified, the employer would be permitted to submit recruitment results to the local Department of Labor showing a shortage of U.S. workers in the field specified. Ideally this process would be streamlined like that of the PERM process and decisions would be made in ninety days or less. By creating a legal way for employers to fill essential unskilled jobs, we can expect to see more compliance with Employment Eligibility Verification procedures.
  
  
• Continue the overhaul the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification system by making it possible to confer the validity of documents online and making the list of acceptable identity documents shorter. Immigration Service can assist by reformatting visa and work authorization documents to be more uniform, state clearly the activities permitted, the duration of the permission and the penalties for employing an individual without proper documentation. The entire I-9 system could be administered online and be linked directly to various government entities such as USCIS and the DOL. Use technology to organize and administer the U.S. foreign national workforce on a national level.
  
  
• Address the severe family-based immigration backlog so that qualifying family members may obtain immigrant visas within reasonable amounts of time and not be forced to wait ten or more years for an available immigrant visa or resort to unauthorized entry rather than waiting many years for the backlog to become current.

Contact Melissa McNamee Venceslau to schedule a consultation if you need further information.