Bipartisan Legislation Proposed to Extend and Expand Conrad 30 Waiver Program

On April 10, 2017, the website of Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota released a press release titled: “Kloubachar, Collins, Heitkamp Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Increase Number of Doctors in Rural and Other Medically Underserved Areas” [PDF version].

The press release announces that Senators Amy Kloubachar (D-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced bipartisan legislation titled the “Conrad State 30 & Physician Access Act” [PDF version]. The proposed legislation would extend the Conrad 30 Waiver Program until 2021 and would provide for the expansion of the Conrad 30 Waiver program beyond 30 slots “if certain thresholds are met.” The proposed legislation would also provide for employment authorization for the spouses of Conrad 30 Waiver beneficiaries. Senator Heitkamp proposed a version of the legislation in 2013.

Without an extension, the Conrad 30 Waiver program is slated to expire on April 28, 2017. The most likely scenario appears to be that the Conrad 30 Waiver program will be extended as is through September.

However, the Senate would be wise to consider the legislation proposed by Senators Heitkamp, Collins, and Kloubachar to extend the Conrad 30 Waiver program long term and to provide for its expansion under certain conditions. Last December, I wrote a post about why the Conrad 30 Waiver program is a valuable immigration initiative [see blog]. First, the Conrad 30 Waiver program allows a limited number of highly educated professionals to ply their craft in the United States. Second, the Conrad 30 Waiver program places talented physicians in areas of need that struggle to attract qualified American doctors. An immigration program that both encourages merit-based immigration and fills a crucial void left by a dearth of interested American professionals is well worth maintaining and strengthening.

Please see our full article to learn about the rules of the Conrad 30 Waiver program as it exists today [see article].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

June 2017 Visa Bulletin

INTRODUCTION

On May 9, 2017, the United States Department of State (DOS) released the June 2017 Visa Bulletin [PDF version]. The June 2017 Visa Bulletin contains dates for filing and application final action dates for the family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visa preference categories. On May 15, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that those seeking adjustment of status based upon an approved preference petition in the family-sponsored or employment-based preferences must rely on the application final action dates in June 2017.

In this article, we will reproduce the relevant charts for those waiting to adjust status in the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories. We will also examine the DOS's news and notes from the June 2017 Visa Bulletin. For an overview of using the visa bulletin as the beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa preference petition waiting to adjust status, please see our full article on the subject [see article]. Please also see our article explaining the differences between final action dates and filing dates [see article].

To compare the June 2017 Visa Bulletin to recent editions, please see our posts on the May 2017 Visa Bulletin [see article] and the April 2017 Visa Bulletin [see article].

FAMILY-SPONSORED CASES

The USCIS determined that the beneficiaries of approved family-sponsored immigrant visa petitions must rely on the final action dates for June 2017 when seeking adjustment of status. June will be the third consecutive month that family-sponsored applicants have to use the final action dates. The beneficiary of an approved family-sponsored petition may file for adjustment of status in June 2017 if his or her priority date is earlier than the applicable final action date. The following are the final action dates for family-sponsored preference cases in June 2017 [see here].

EMPLOYMENT-BASED CASES

The USCIS determined that beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant visa petitions must rely on the final action dates for June 2017 when seeking adjustment of status. The beneficiary of an approved employment-based preference petition may file for adjustment of status in June 2017 if his or her priority date is earlier than the applicable final action cutoff date. Please note that a final action date of “C” means that the date is current. The beneficiary of an approved employment-based preference petition in a category and chargeability area with a current final action date will be eligible to file for adjustment of status in June 2017 regardless of his or her priority date. The following chart contains the final action dates for employment-based preference cases in June 2017 [see here].

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE JUNE 2017 VISA BULLETIN

The DOS includes updates on visa trends and forecasts for future months with each edition of the Visa Bulletin. In this post, we will review the DOS's news in the June 2017 Visa Bulletin.

OVERSUBSCRIPTION IN FOR E1 CHINA (MAINLAND BORN) AND INDIA CATEGORIES

As we reported, the DOS noted in the May 2017 Visa Bulletin that it would soon be necessary to impose a final action cutoff date for employment-based first preference China and India categories. The DOS established final action cutoff dates for both China and India categories in the June 2017 Visa Bulletin. It explained that this was done in order to hold the number use within the worldwide E1 limit. The dates for both categories will become current again for the October 2017 Visa Bulletin, which will be the first month of fiscal-year 2018.

EXTENSION OF TWO EMPLOYMENT VISA CATEGORIES

The Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) and Employment Fifth Preference Pilot (I5 and R5) categories were slated to expire at the end of April 2017. We discussed the implications of the issue in the May 2017 Visa Bulletin. However, President Donald Trump signed the continuation of the categories into law in early May [see article]. These programs now have continued authorization through September 2017.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED FORECASTS FOR COMING MONTHS

The DOS explained that “[t]here has been an extremely large increase in Employment Third preference applicant demand during the past month” for Chinese applicants. The DOS attributed the increase to the “downgrading” of status of applicants who originally sought classification in the Employment Second preference category. Due to the increase in demand, the DOS held the Employment Third preference final action date in June 2017. The DOS explained that if the current level of demand persists, retrogression in the final action date will be required in either July or August.

The DOS stated that the high demand in the India Employment Fourth preference and Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers categories “is likely to result in the India E4 per-country limit being reached during June.” For this reason, the DOS stated that we “should expect the implementation of July E4 and SR Final Action Dates for India.

SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA AVAILABILITY

The spending bill signed by President Trump on May 5, 2017, authorized an additional 2,500 Special Immigrant Visas under the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, as amended. Accordingly, the final action date for the SQ category for certain Afghan nationals employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan will remain current. Interviews for this category will resume.

The final action date for the SQ category for certain Iraqi nationals employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq remains current. However, the application deadline for this category was September 30, 2014.

The fiscal year 2017 annual limit of 50 Special Immigrant Visas in the SI category was reached in December 2016. For this reason, the final action date in this category remains “Unavailable.” No further visa issuances in the SI category will be possible until October 2017, which is the first month for which the fiscal year 2018 limit will be in effect.

CONCLUSION

It is important for beneficiaries of approved preference petitions who intend to seek adjustment of status to follow the month-to-month progress of the Visa Bulletin. Those intending to apply for an immigrant visa through either the consular processing process or the adjustment of status process should consult with an experienced immigration attorney for guidance.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

EOIR Announces Swearing in of 14 New Immigration Judges

On April 10, 2017, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) announced that it had sworn in 14 new Immigration Judges [link]. Chief Immigration Judge MaryBeth Keller presided over the investiture, which took place on April 7, 2017. The 14 new Immigration Judges were appointed by former Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.

The following is the list of new Immigration Judges and the Immigration Courts on which they will serve:

• Justin F. Adams — San Antonio Immigration Court
• Edward M. Barcus — Imperial Immigration Court
• Paula J. Donnolo — New York City Immigration Court
• Lauren T. Farber — Varick Street Immigration Court
• Paul M. Habich — Imperial Immigration Court
• Clara O. Knapp — Florence Immigration Court
• Maria Lurye — New York City Immigration Court
• Anthony E. Maingot — Miami Immigration Court
• Sarah B. Mazzie — Miami Krome Immigration Court
• Matthew E. Morrissey — Omaha Immigration Court
• An Mai Nguyen — Los Angelis Immigration Court
• Sean D. Santen — Boston Immigration Court
• Stuart A. Siegel — Miami Immigration Court
• Gwendylan E. Tregerman — Atlanta Immigration Court

The fourteen new Immigration Judges will sit on eleven Immigration Courts across the United States. The Imperial Immigration Court, New York City Immigration Court, and Miami Immigration Court each gained two new Immigration Judges from the April 7 investiture.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

Russian Opposition Figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Gives Interview After Surviving Poisoning for the Second Time

Back in February, I wrote a post on the case of the Russian opposition politician, Vladimir Kara-Murza [see blog]. At the time I wrote that post, Kara-Murza had been placed in an artificial coma due to multiple organ failure. The symptoms shown by Kara-Murza were similar to those he had when he became gravely ill due to the mysterious presence of heavy metals in his body. In both cases, Kara-Murza suspected — quite reasonably — that he had been poisoned by persons connected to the government of Vladimir Putin.

Fortunately, Kara-Murza has again recovered from a near-death poisoning experience. In the April 2017 edition of the National Review, he gave an interesting interview to Jay Nordligner that I would like you share with you.[1]

In the piece, Kara-Murza was asked about his work with Boris Nemtsov, a fellow human rights activist and close friend of Kara-Murza who was murdered in February of 2015. Together, Kara-Murza and Nemtsov had worked to urge the United States Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act, a law imposing sanctions on certain Russian officials involved in human rights abuses (it is named after the murdered Russian human rights activist, Sergei Magnitsky). Nordlinger asked Kara-Murza if the Russian government had made a mistake in murdering Nemtsov, specifically, “[d]id Nemtsov's murder backfire on them?” Kara-Murza responded that the Russian government — for its own purposes — did not make a mistake. His reasoning was that Nemtsov was such an effective activist that his contributions could not be replaced.

Kara-Murza explained that when his symptoms began in February, he immediately understood what was happening because they were identical to those he experienced when he was poisoned in 2015. He stated, “I knew I only had a few minutes before I would become completely incapacitated. I used those minutes wisely.”

In the article, Nordlinger explains that Kara-Murza was only given a 5-percent chance of survival on each occasion when he was poisoned. Prior to having been poisoned the first time, Kara-Murza had deemed his situation so precarious that he had sent his wife and children to reside here in the United States. One might think that after coming close to death twice in two years, Kara-Murza would see fit to join his family in safety. However, he told Nordlinger that he would return to Russia to continue his work despite the fact that his doctors told him he would not survive a third poisoning.

Nordlinger quoted Congressman Ed Royce (R, CA-39), the current Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who described Kara-Murza as “one of the bravest people I know.” Without question, Kara-Murza has shown his courage and commitment to liberty time and time again, and we can only hope against hope, as unlikely as it may be, that he is allowed to persist in his great work without the Russian government making further attempts on his life or the lives of fellow human rights activists working closely with him.

Please see my original article on the Kara-Murza case to learn more about his background [see blog].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

1. Nordlinger, Jay. A Defender Of His Country. National Review, April, 2017. (Page 22-24)

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com