Immigration News

U.S.. Customs and Border Protection is reminding travelers planning spring break trips to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean to make sure they have the proper documents.

All travelers, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, are now required to present proof of citizenship and identity to enter the United States at land and sea ports of entry. This can include a passport, trusted traveler program card like NEXUS or SENTRI, or a birth certificate with a driver’s license. Travelers 18 and under can present just a birth certificate. For a complete list of details, see the Fact Sheet available at www.cbp.gov, as well as Frequently Asked Questions, a Public Service Announcement and CBP Travel Update video. A passport has been required for all travelers entering and departing the United States by air since January 2007.

Allen and Pinnix attorneys Lynn Calder and Jack Pinnix were among the presenters at the recent Sterling Education Services program "Ensuring Compliance When Hiring Foreign Naionals; Immigration Law & Employer Compliance."

The following areas were addressed: Is your company in full compliance? Will you be liable for hiring an undocumented worker? Are you adequately documenting personal decisions? Are you ready to guide clients through the legal minefield of hiring? What changes are on the horizon?

Sterling noted that the "presenters are experts in all phases of immigration and employment law who can provide workable answers to your questions".

The program was intended for attorneys (Immigration, Employment Law, Labor Law, General Practice, Civil Practice, Sole Practitioners, Legal Service Organizations) Human Resource Professionals, Immigration Advocacy Organizations, Business Owners, Business Managers, Payroll Professionals, Labor Organizations, Staffing Agencies,College & University Administrators, SES Immigration Law & Employer Compliance.

This seminar has been approved by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Continuing Legal Education for 6.5 hours of the general requirement for CLE credit, including 1.0 Ethics.

This seminar has been approved by the South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization for 6.67 credit hours, including 1.0 Ethics.

This seminar has been approved for 6.75 general recertification credit hours toward the PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has told the House Judiciary Committee that the average processing time for naturalization applications has increased from 7 to 18 months. The increase in processing time was partially caused by a surge in applications between June and August 2007; the surge was occasioned by applicants filing before a substantial fee increase.

USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez testified that family-based adjustment of status applications now take an average of 12 months, up from the recent norm of just six months in many areas of the United States.

Until recently naturalization interviews ranged from 7 to 9 months at the Charlotte, NC USCIS Sub-Office and family based adjustment interviews took approximately 8 or 9 months, according to Raleigh based attorney Jack Pinnix of Allen and Pinnix, P.A.

The Department of Homeland Security has established minimum standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards that federal agencies would accept for official purposes on or after May 11, 2008. This includes: information and security features that must be incorporated into each card; application information to establish the identity and immigration status of an applicant before a card can be issued; and physical security standards for facilities where driver's licenses and applicable identification cards are produced. The rule extends the enrollment time period to allow States determined by DHS to be in compliance with the Act to replace all licenses intended for official purpose with REAL ID-compliant cards by December 1, 2014 for people born after December 1, 1964, and by December 1, 2017 for those born on or before December 1, 1964.

Beginning January 31, 2008, border crossers will be asked to present documents denoting citizenship and identity when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry. This change primarily affects United States and Canadian citizens, who have previously been permitted entry by oral declaration alone, and marks the transition toward standard and consistent documents for all travelers entering the country.

U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older should no longer expect that an oral declaration alone will be sufficient to prove identity and citizenship for entry into the country. Travelers will be asked to present documentation from a specified list of acceptable documents when entering the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry. Examples include birth certificates and driver's licenses. A list of acceptable documents is available to travelers at ports of entry and at www.cbp.gov. Children ages 18 and under will only need to present a birth certificate.

The Associated Press reports that a federal judge has ordered Cameron County Texas property owners to comply with the government’s request for access to their land for 180 days. Brownsville residents, including Mayor Pat Ahumada, have been vocal critics of the border fence, which President Bush and Congress have ordered built to stop illegal immigration and smuggling.

Saying that federal government had "lost control" of its borders and left states to deal with the consequences, the Governor of New York has abandoned a plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. "I have concluded that New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own." the governor said said.

Allen and Pinnix attorney Jack Pinnix has long criticized restrictions on drivers licenses based on immigration status.

In a 2007 address Pinnix told a Campbell University symposium: "Under the guise of national security, North Carolina joined the ranks of states restricting the issuance of driver licenses to immigrants. Directed at undocumented foreign nationals, the law has proven to be inartfully drawn and overly broad. Many lawful nonimmigrant workers and their families are unable to secure drivers licenses. Critics note that barring undocumented foreign nationals from securing licenses does little to keep them off the roads. In the absence of public transportation, they need to drive to their jobs, their physicians, buy groceries, and to take their children (some who are U.S. citizens) to school. The unintended consequence of the restricted law is unlicensed motorists who are not tested on the rules of the road and are now unable to secure liability insurance".

The Associated Press reports that a federal judge has voided a Hazleton, Pennsylvania's law, that "imposed fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs. Another measure would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit".

U.S. District Judge James Munley declared the law unconstitutional.

"This decision should be a blaring red stoplight for local officials thinking of copying Hazleton's misguided and unconstitutional law," said Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which represented the plaintiffs.