Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2006 (18. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)

2006-05-26 / 22. szám

Immigration Reform Affects US Hiring In today’s world of complex Immigration Laws, senate reform proposals, and immigrant rights debates, many U.S. employers con­tinue to have a genuine need for qualified foreign professional work­ers. Employing these professionals enables U.S. businesses to expand and stimulates U.S. economic growth. It is estimated that by 2010, with the Baby Boomer population retiring, the need for immigrant workers will increase and 22 million jobs will be held by immigrants. Immigrants contribute to the economy in numer­ous ways including taxes and social security contributions. An understanding of the employer-sponsored work visa options will enable Human Resource Managers to more effectively recruit and retain foreign professional work­ers while gaining access to a deeper pool of talented professionals. But what impact will immigration reforms have on US employers? The proposed changes to Immigration laws and polices will undoubtedly affect American employers, recruit­ers, and HR professionals. Immigration affect on high­­growth sectors: In high growth industries such as Biotech, there continues to be a shortage of skilled American profes­sionals. These companies require skilled professionals to contribute to scientific advancements and help US companies maintain a global compet­itive advantage. What happens when foreign talent is not leveraged by US companies? Outsourcing. Outsourc­ing is a direct result of US employers’ frustration with Immigration barriers and visa caps. These companies require the best in the world to com­pete, and when they cannot bring those folks here, they effectively take their company to those foreign work­ers by setting up businesses in their home countries. As more companies contemplate Globalization, they recognize the need to become better equipped with diverse human capital to com­pete within the Global business ecosystem and improve the ease of doing business with their customers. Both around the world and at home, accommodating the unique tastes of consumers - cultures, languages, cus­toms and traditions - that make up a diverse customer base are becoming increasingly important competitive advantages. Employer-sponsored Visas: There are many different types of visas that a foreign worker can obtain. Each has it own applications, dates of validity, and requirements. Among these visas are: H-1B, L, F-l, TN, O, E, J-l, M-l, & B-l, but the most common non-immigrant work visas are the Hl-B, LI, and TN. They are generally intended for professionals with at least a Bachelors degree (or work experience equiva­lent) who have a US employer spon­sor and a job offer for an approved area of work. Most visa applications are submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services which is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If the employer wishes to retain the employee long-term, they may provide them with sponsorship for Permanent Residence (PR) result­ing in a Green Card. As of March 28, 2005, the Department of Labor (DOL) implemented a new system called Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) which consti­tutes a major change in the Labor Certification (LC) process and is designed to significantly reduce the processing time of LC applications for the permanent employment of foreign nationals in the United States. The previous LC processing system was called Reduction in Recruitment or “RIR” processing. It is important understand the options available to employers for hiring foreign workers and to file visa petitions appropriately to adhere to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which crimi­nalized the act of knowingly hiring an undocumented worker and estab­lished financial and other penalties for those employing them. Professionals from Mexico and Canada: Canadian and Mexican nationals are eligible to work in the US on a TN visa (in addition to other work visas) under provisions of the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While the TN visa has its own prerequisite, it is often a good option for US employers wishing to hire Canadian or Mexican profes­sionals in certain specially occupa­tions for a finite period of time. A TN visa is valid for 1 year and can be renewed indefinitely. Since the TN visa does not have Dual Intent, the employee needs to demonstrate con­tinuing ties to their home country. The proposed Guest Worker Program: This compromise legislation modifies the Guest Worker Program and the Conditional Nonimmigrant Worker Programs. At this point, we are still waiting to see what the full text of this Senate compromise immigration reform legislation will contain. In the mean time, the immigra­tion reform legislation currently favored by the House of Representa­tives is almost completely enforce­ment-based and advocates, among its stringent provisions, mass depor­tation, non-compliance penalties, additional employer sanctions, and further building of a wall along the U.S. and Mexico border. Although the Senate compromise is quite significant, once the full U.S. Senate approves this bill it must still be reconciled with the “enforcement­­only” bill passed by the House of Representatives last December. In other words, this Senate compromise legislation must next be approved by the House/Senate conference com­mittee by a 2/3 majority, before it can be presented to President Bush for signature. Then, and only then, will this legislation become law. Sharing documentation: In sponsoring an employee applicant, there is always some information about your company and the available position that you will be required to provide to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It’s important to recognize that certain information from the company will be required and that cooperation with you attor­ney and government agencies is vital for success in securing the foreign employee. The information that may be requested for the visa petition, and ultimately shared with USCIS may include the following: 1) Supporting documentation regarding employer’s good-faith recruitment efforts 2) Documentation on the work­ing conditions in the occupation and industry 3) The, specifics of the job opportunity such as the position description 4) The salary which must meet the Prevailing Wage Requirement 5) Documentation on your company’s number of layoffs and categories of layoffs 6) Company tax returns or audited financial records Potential concerns: Within the past month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration & Customs Enforce­ment Section (ICE) conducted a massive round up of illegal foreign nationals throughout many states, all of whom worked for IFCO Sys­tems North America, Inc. (IFCO), a national wood palate manufacturing company. ICE then fded criminal charges against executives and man­agers of IFCO. Apparently, IFCO had been under investigation for many months. Allegedly, IFCO has been hiring illegal workers, provid­ing them with housing and making unlawful deductions from their pay. Interestingly, the proposed Guest Worker Program, if enacted into law, would provide protection to the majority of the arrested IFCO’s ille­gal workers. Again, it is important to stress adherence to the Immigra­tion Reform and Control Act of 1986 and particularly to its record keeping requirements. For companies wishing to gain access to global talent, the visas options for foreign workers can be attractive to the long-term interests of the company. It is important to rec­ognize how the immigration options available can assist with hiring and recruiting and benefit your organiza­tion overall. The immigration laws and polices are complex and ever­­changing and, therefore, we advise seeking an experienced immigration attorney who will listen to your con­cerns, answer all your questions, and expertly advise on your immigration matters as it pertains to your hiring and recruiting efforts. James E. Root, Principal Attorney for Root Law Group, has dedicated his entire legal career to fighting for and protecting the rights of U.S. immigrants and their U.S. employers. He is proactive in advocating reforms to the U.S. immigration laws and policies, especially those effecting pro­fessional workers and immedi­ate family members. Root Law Group: phone: (888) Root-Law; (888) 766- 8529. www.RootLaw.com . Május 26,2006 Do You Know These People? Left to Right: Golay, Rutterschmidt, victims McDavid and Vados Los Angeles - The Los Angeles Police Department is asking the public’s help in finding persons who may have been contacted by either of two women suspected in running a life insurance scam over the past several years. The women, 75-year-old Helen Golay and 73-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt, were arrested on federal mail fraud charges. “These women tend to target homeless men,” said LAPD Com­mander Harlan Ward. “They offer room and board in return for the man’s signature, then open life insurance policies on the man, making themselves the beneficiaries.” Los Angeles police traffic investigators discovered the scam during the investigation of a fatal hit and run last year. One investigator casu­ally mentioned in the squad room how unusual it was that two women had taken out large life insurance policies on a hit-and-run victim, 50-year-old Kenneth McDavid. Another investigator recalled having a similar case in 1999. When they compared notes, they found the beneficiaries in both cases were Golay and Rutterschmidt, and the hit­­and-run victims were both homeless men. The death investigations of both men, McDavid and Paul Vados, 73, were re-opened and assigned to Robbery Homicide Division. Investigators formed a task force involving the FBI, the United States Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Insurance, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney. Rutterschmidt was arrested at her home at 1776 N. Syca­more Avenue in Hollywood, and Golay was arrested at the triplex she owns at 424 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica. Both women were arraigned in a downtown federal court. Los Angeles Police Department News Release V *1* *4* •J' #4» q» q. Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Detec­tives Dennis Kilcoyne or Rosemary Sanchez at (213) 485-2129. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855), or the FBI’s hotline number at (310) 477-6565. Iran Eyes Badges For Jews Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country’s Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims. “This is reminiscent of the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. “Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis.” Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical “standard Islamic garments.” The law, which must still be approved by Iran’s “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims. Iran’s roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth. “There’s no reason to believe they won’t pass this,” said Rabbi Hier. “It will certainly pass unless there’s some sort of international outcry over this.” Bernie Färber, the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said he was “stunned” by the measure. “We thought this had gone the way of the dodo bird, but clearly in Iran everything old and bad is new again,” he said. “It’s state-sponsored religious discrimination.” Ali Behroozian, an Iranian exile living in Toronto, said the law could come into force as early as next year. It would make religious minorities immediately identifiable and allow Muslims to avoid contact with non-Muslims. Mr. Behroozian said it will make life even more difficult for Iran’s small pockets of Jewish, Christian and other religious minorities — the country is overwhelmingly Shi’ite Muslim. “They have all been perse­cuted for a while, but these new dress rules are going to make things worse for them,” he said. DUNA Travel 8530 Holloway Dr. #102 W. Hollywood, CA 90069 SPECIÁLIS ÁR LAX-BUD-LAX $566.-tól + ix. Információért hívják ZSUZSÁT TEL: (310) 652-5294 FAX: (310) 652-5287 1-888-532-0168 Hungarian Journal

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