1. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net U.S. Immigration Law and Policy--The Good, The Bad and the Downright Ugly Charles H. Kuck Kuck Casablanca LLC The Immigration Law Firm ckuck@immigration.net www.immigration.net 404-816-8611

2. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net The Good Sorry, I could not think of any.

3. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net The Good Okay, There is some State Department is MORE flexible in granting Student Visas –120 day Prior to Start of Study Visa App SEVIS, as the Student Tracking System, “seems” to be working somewhat efficiently Congress did NOT pass HB 4437!

4. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net The Bad Where do we start? What is going on? Why the great brouhaha about immigrants?

5. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Our Bizarre Immigration Laws 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Immigration Act of 1990 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act of 2000 Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act of 2000 Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act of 2000 Extension of 245(i) and other new laws for 2001 PATRIOT Act of 2001 Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002

6. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Why Immigration and Why Now? The Coming Worker Shortage 80 Million Workers in the “Baby Boomer” Generation 46 Million Workers in the Generation that Follows! Immigration must be part of the solution

7. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net 30 Million Workers Why do we need them? –It’s the Economy Where do they come from? –Immigration or higher birth rates? What options are available? How do we plan and manage this??? How do we deal with 12 Million “illegals”

8. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net What Can America Do? We clearly have an immigration crisis—our law are –Not uniformly or properly enforced, and –Do Not reflect the economic/demographic reality in which we live So, Do we: –Build a 50 foot wall all around America, and stretch a plastic cover over the top? –Deport every single person who has ever violated their immigration status and their U.S. Citizen Children? –Figure out a immigration solution that serves America’s Security and Economic Needs?

9. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Annual Migration to the U.S. Peaked in 1999–2000 Annual Immigration (in 000s)  Start  Peak  End 

10. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net New Immigration Growth Centers Immigration Categories Major Destinations (67% of Immigrants) (6) All Other States (23) New Growth States (1990-2000 > 91%) (22) Top 10 Growth States (135-274%) (10)

11. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net U.S. Border Enforcement Spending

12. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net 1996—IIRAIRA The BIG Kahuna of Immigration change Punish visa overstayers and illegal entrants –No legal way to legalize status if you come illegally; and –If you leave after being illegally here (even to fix your legal status), you can’t come back for 10 years SO, people chose to stay! Surprise!

13. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net The Immigration System is Broken I. The US immigration system is broken. –Visa number backlogs and processing delays are excessively long Visa number backlogs and processing delays are excessively long for immigrant visa applicants. –Family-based applicants have to wait from 4 to 22 years to come to the U.S. –Spouse of Permanent Residents have to wait 7-9 years to come into the U.S. legally

14. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net The Immigration System is Broken Employment-based visas are currently unavailable for Bachelor degree holders for 5-7 years For Unskilled workers 10-15 years Professionals (Degree Holders) entering as non-immigrants (H-1B) wait for over a year due to numerical cap

15. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Our Immigration System is Broken The current system does not serve our economic needs. –(1) US companies do not have enough skilled workers to remain competitive in the global market. The World is Flat—Thomas Freidman –(2) US employers, including hospitals, factories, software developers, and service providers suffer from employee shortage

16. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Our Immigration System is Broken The current system does not reflect American values of fairness and equality. –Our laws and rules violate due process rights. –We have arbitrary detention of citizens, secret immigration hearings, mistreatment of detainees, summary deportation and special registrations. –Families are separated for a long time because of the visa backlog and processing delays.

17. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net The Downright Ugly: The Politics of Immigration

18. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Would-be architects of “immigration reform” Sen. John McCain Sen. Edward Kennedy Pres. George Bush Rep. James Sensenbrenner

19. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Immigration Proposals in Congress President Bush’s Proposal McCain/Kennedy Compromise Senate Bill Sensenbrenner House Bill

20. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net What are the Solutions: Bush President Bush unveiled his immigration “proposal” in January 2004 and reiterated it in January 2005 and then again in May 2006. Its salient points are: –(1) It will grant temporary legal status to both foreign workers abroad and undocumented aliens in the US. –(2) Authorized period of stay will be 3 years renewable for an unspecified period. –(3) Travel back and forth will be authorized. –(4) A path to permanent resident status is provided –(5) Increased Border and Interior Enforcement

21. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net

22. What are the Solutions: McCain/Kennedy The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (S 2611) was passed by the Senate in May 2006. Its salient points are: –(1) It will give earned adjustment to folks present in the U.S. on April 5, 2001 (requires a fine/back taxes/wait in line for 6 years before starting 6 year process to residence/English language fluency) –(2) Deferred Mandatory Departure for folks in U.S. from April 5, 2001 to January 7, 2004. Will have to leave the U.S. after 3 years to begin a process of legalization which will take 6-12 years. –(3) AgJobs (worked in agriculture for 2 years-legal residence/payment of fines, back taxes, etc).

23. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net What are the Solutions: McCain/Kennedy (4) DREAM Act—Children brought against will who graduate from High School and College or who enter military service are allowed to legalize status (5) It will promote family unity and reduce backlogs by –(a) Exempting immediate relatives of lawful permanent residents from the 480,000 annual cap. –(b) Increasing employment-based numbers from 140,000 to 290,000 per year. (6) It will create a national strategy for border security and lots of money! (7) Guest worker program of 200,000 a year under safeguard of job displacement of U.S. workers

24. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net What are the Solutions: McCain/Kennedy Employer Sanctions –Increased substantially –Mandatory electronic verification system for all employers –Eliminates I-9 –Add 3,000 ICE enforcement agents nationwide

25. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net What are the Solutions: Sensenbrenner Enforce the border Big Fences Lots of Money More Border Patrol Bigger Fences And deal with affirmative immigration issues later; Maybe.

26. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net More Downright Ugly—The Sausage of Washington The Republican House cannot agree with the Republican Senate on what the Republican President wants to do on Immigration Reform Perhaps a Democratic House can agree with a Republican or Democratic Senate on what a Republican President wants to do on Immigration Reform

27. Kuck Casablanca LLC 2006 © www.immigration.net Kuck Casablanca Immigration Resources for Your Issues, Questions and Answers Charles Kuck ckuck@immigration.net 404-816-8611 1-866-286-6200 www.immigration.net