IMMIGRATION UPDATE

Here are the most recent developments in U.S. Immigration:
1. USCIS Web Site Redesign
2. Immigration Officials Consider Fee Increases
3. No New Efforts from the White House

1. USCIS Web Site Redesign:

USCIS has redesigned its website. In addition to its bilingual features it appears to be more customer service friendly. An applicant or his attorney can now sign up to receive case updates from USCIS. You can choose to receive these updates in the form of an email or even in the form of a text message. Given that wireless customers have to pay to send and receive text messages, I would recommend using the email option for case updates.
USCIS has an FAQ for its redesigned site. Almost all of the questions and answers relate to the case update issue. If you would like to read this FAQ, you can access the following link:  ucis.gov

2. Immigration Officials Consider Fee Increases

“Alejandro Mayorkas, the new director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said during a visit to Los Angeles on Wednesday that “financial challenges” have caused the agency to consider potential fee increases but no decision has been made. The agency is facing a $118-million revenue shortfall this year in part because applications for citizenship and skilled worker visas are below projections, according to officials.”
[Source: The Los Angeles Times ]

As previously noted, the H-1B cap has not yet been met. Last year, the cap filled in the first 10 days or so of April. We are in the midst of a recession, and companies are all downsizing. So, it should come as no surprise that USCIS is losing income from reduced filings. We should also keep in mind that USCIS seems to challenge every application right now. USCIS has hired new adjudicators and the number of Requests for Evidence has skyrocketed. Companies are filing fewer applications for employees, and yet face a barrage of Requests for Evidence for applications when they do file.

This might be the real reason for the potential fee increase:
“And the agency is preparing for the possibility of legislation that could result in millions of undocumented immigrants applying for legalization, Mayorkas said. Already, he said, the agency has more than 130 support centers throughout the nation ready to accept more than 6 million applications.”
[Source: The Los Angeles Times ]

If The White House and USCIS expect 6-12 million illegal aliens to voluntarily register themselves with the agency, the government will need a lot more than increased filing fees. In my opinion, USCIS will need billions of dollars to administer this goal. After war in the Middle East, the Economic Stimulus Plan, projected costs surrounding Health Care Reform, how would the White House raise money or support for this task?

3. No New Efforts from the White House

This section is self-explanatory. Regarding immigration, the same president who tried to juggle a half dozen major policy initiatives in his first few months in office now seems unsure of his ability to — as he told Univision’s Jorge Ramos in an interview last weekend — “solve every problem at once.” [Source: CNN]

I do expect President Obama to have an outline on immigration reform before the end of the year. I am unclear as to how much momentum he would have to actually push forward this agenda in 2010.