Wednesday, February 12, 2014

March 2014 Visa Bulletin is Here

To see the complete U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for March 2014, please click:  March 2014 Visa Bulletin

Family-Based Immigrant Priority Dates

Family-SponsoredAll Chargeability Areas Except Those ListedCHINA-mainland bornINDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
F101FEB0701FEB07 01FEB0715OCT9315AUG01
F2A08SEP1308SEP1308SEP1315APR1208SEP13
F2B01SEP0601SEP0601SEP0601MAY93 08JUN03
F315JUN0315JUN0315JUN0308JUN9315FEB93
F408NOV0108NOV0108NOV0115NOV9601SEP90


Employment-Based Immigrant Priority Dates 

Employment- BasedAll Chargeability Areas Except Those ListedChina - mainland bornINDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
1stCCCCC
2ndC15FEB0915NOV04CC
3rd01SEP1201SEP1215SEP0301SEP1201MAY07
Other Workers01SEP1201SEP1215SEP0301SEP1201MAY07
4thCCCCC
Certain Religious WorkersCCCCC
5th
Targeted
Employment
Areas/
Regional Centers
and Pilot Programs
CCCCC

Boehner: Immigration reform stalls because GOP has ‘widespread doubt’ about Obama

The Washington Post

By David Nakamura and Ed O'Keefe

A week after signaling that House Republicans would pursue an overhaul of immigration laws, Speaker John A. Boehner declared Thursday that his caucus is unlikely to move forward until President Obama gains their trust.

“There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws,” Boehner (R-Ohio) said during a midday news conference at the Capitol. “And it’s going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes.”

Boehner was making his first extended public remarks since releasing a list of GOP “standards” for immigration policy at a conference retreat last week. His attempt to place the burden on Obama illustrated the mounting opposition from hard-line conservatives and laid the groundwork for blaming the White House if a deal fails.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said this week that an immigration deal remains a long shot in a sharply divided Congress. Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-
Idaho) suggested that Boehner could lose his speakership if he pursues a bill in a midterm election year.

To read the full article, please click:  Boehner: Immigration reform stalls because GOP has ‘widespread doubt’ about Obama

Monday, February 3, 2014

House G.O.P.’s Immigration Plan Presents Tough Choices for Obama

The New York Times

By Michael D. Shear and Ashley Parker

President Obama and his allies may soon confront a difficult decision: whether to abandon the creation of a new path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants and accept tough border security and enforcement measures that they have long criticized.

Those are some of the concessions that Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio signaled he would demand in exchange for a willingness to overhaul the immigration system. Mr. Boehner outlined those standards in a one-page document released on Thursday, and if they lead to legislation, Democrats and immigration advocates will be pressured to compromise.

Mr. Obama hinted in an interview broadcast on Friday that he was open to a plan that would initially give many undocumented workers a legal status short of citizenship, as long as they were not permanently barred from becoming citizens.

To read the full article, please click:  House G.O.P.’s Immigration Plan Presents Tough Choices for Obama

House GOP releases plan for immigration reform

Arizona Republic

By Daniel González, Erin Kelly and Rebekah Sanders

Republican House leaders released long-awaited guidelines for overhauling the nation’s immigration system Thursday, drawing measured praise from reform supporters for opening the door to negotiations with Democrats that could lead to passage of a bill this year.

But the guidelines also set off a fiery debate among immigration advocates. On one side are those who are willing to settle for the GOP’s offer of legalization for undocumented immigrants but no special pathway to citizenship. On the other are those who insist any immigration reform bill must ultimately include citizenship.

“I would take it for now,” said Lydia Guzman, national immigration chair for the League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil-rights and immigrant-advocacy group.

“No,” said Petra Falcon, executive director of the Phoenix-based advocacy group Promise Arizona.

To read the full article, please click:  House GOP releases plan for immigration reform

Obama careful on immigration in State of the Union, lawmakers say

Los Angeles Times

By Brian Bennett and Daniel Rothberg

President Obama urged Congress in his State of the Union speech to “fix our broken immigration system,” saying both political parties stood to gain by helping millions of undocumented immigrants get a legal foothold in America.

“Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades,” he said. “And for good reason: When people come here to fulfill their dreams – to study, invent and contribute to our culture – they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone.”

But Obama, aware that House Republicans won’t appreciate any hectoring from him, didn't set out any legislative markers, including requiring a pathway to legal status and ultimately citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Obama was smart not to make specific demands of Republicans for immigration reform.

To read the full article, please click:  Obama careful on immigration in State of the Union, lawmakers say