The Maryland Dream Act

For the first time, qualifying undocumented immigrant students will be eligible for in-state tuition rates and state financial aid through the Maryland Dream Act. Thousands of students will benefit and will be able to access higher education in this state over the next many years. On passage of this initiative, Maryland will join 13 more states that offer some sort of a tuition equity for students who are undocumented.

Through the Maryland Board of Elections, an unofficial tally of votes was reported, with 58.3 percentage supporting the initiative and 41.7 percentage against it. An estimated 96 percent of this enclosing boundary have reported, which also included early voting and election-day voting. However absentee ballots were not included. Per reports, the final decision on the votes will not be officially tallied until Nov. 16. In addition to this. No official announcement will be made before December 7.

It needs mention here that the bill was passed in the state’s General Assembly sometime back in April 2011 and then got the approval of Gov. Martin O’Malley. However, opponents took this as a chance and gathered many signatures to force a referendum.

While this initiative draws its name from a federal bit of legislation, (the DREAM Act) this state level bill is limited in scope. The DREAM Act was proposed to provide a pathway to US citizenship for eligible undocumented young people who go to college or serve in the military. The bill last came up for a vote in 2010, but failed to get enough votes.

Remember, this Maryland Dream Act does not refer to citizenship in any way. It only permits some undocumented students a better opportunity to state funding for higher education. To be eligible under this Act, students should have attended a Maryland high school for at least 3 years and be able to provide proof that their parents have paid taxes. Alabama and South Carolina do not encourage enrollment for undocumented students, as well as some colleges in Georgia.

School Records Plays Important Role While Applying for Deferred Action

School record is one of the important documents that must be submitted while applying for deferred action by young undocumented immigrants, the new policy allows individuals who entered US as children to seek relief from deportation and gain work permit.

Applicants ensure that they are currently in school, have graduated from high school, or have obtained a General Education Development (GED). But school records will prove one of the major eligibility criteria that you have stayed in US for 5 years continuously.

It was advised by Department of Homeland Security Officials on Tuesday with educators who raised lot of questions regarding the student’s deferred action requests and also officials cleared the doubt about how official school records must be. DHS officials are not particular about form; what matters is information in the record like name of the student, about the time period that document covers and coursework evidence that it has been completed.

And also they cleared one of the school official questions about breaks in the education like summer months or school breaks, how one must prove that he stayed in US for five years. There was no requirement that applicants should prove about breaks in school and that agency will be aware that schools do have breaks said by DHS officials.

Educators also came up with another important question was whether students whose deferred action request are approved will be eligible to receive federal financial aid. The answer was no and also DHS officials said Deferred action gives only two facility ,one is it removes the potential deportation at least for two years ,second one is open up the possibility for obtaining work authorization.

There were several more questions from educators; all clearly got the answers by DHS officials and most of the school districts have taken the steps to streamline the document request process.

President Obama’s Decision Turned into Issues-Political Reason

The President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme turned into a hot election issue according to an advisor to Mitt Romney who launched a lawsuit against these issues. Also Kris Kobach, an advisor to the Romney campaign on immigration have filled a lawsuit against Administration claiming that DACA made it impossible for them to do their jobs.

The Obama’s new decision DACA was introduced last week, allows illegal immigrants to stay away from deportation for two years with work permit.

The DACA programme is not allowing agents to do their jobs and they are duty bound, by federal law, to detain and verify illegal immigrants but federal appointees are restricting them to do so.

They also argue that the DACA programme “unconstitutionally usurps and encroaches upon the legislative powers of Congress.”

The lawsuit claims that laws can be made by Congress in the US. So for political reason President has introduced DACA program to attract votes from the Hispanic community. Many of Undocumented young immigrants belong to Hispanic ethnicity, the Republicans point out.

Mr Kobach told Fox News yesterday that “the Obama administration has ordered federal law enforcement agents to break the law, to ignore the laws that they’re supposed to enforce and, in the case of the ICE officers, to actually break federal laws that say you’re supposed to deport certain people. And in each case, the Obama administration seems to be doing so for political reasons.”

At present, Polling suggests that Obama has more support that is 63% compared to Romney’s Republicans have 28% Hispanic support.

DREAMERS Relief Day – August 15th 2012

On Wednesday federal government started to allow certain young undocumented immigrants who entered US as children to apply for the right to legally stay and work in the country under new deferral program.

In the mid-June, Homeland Secretary announced the new Obama administration program with controversial change in immigration policy and USCIS started to accept application for deferred action. This application helps a immigrants a two year reprieve from any threat of deportation with renewal.

There was an event on Wednesday sponsored by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to help immigrants and thousands of people lined up, for one of many DREAMS Relief Day activities scheduled across the nation.

The people who say undocumented immigrants don’t really want to be part of this country will have to rethink that when they see hundreds of thousands or maybe a million young people come forward to sign up in the coming weeks and months,” Gutierrez, a strong backer of the new Obama policy, said in a news release.

All undocumented immigrants were busy assembling the records and documents across the country to satisfy the application requirements and lots people showed up for a workshop.

Applicants get a receipt number once their application is received and also they should go to the application support centre to be fingerprinted and photographed.

According to Migration Policy Institute and Pew Hispanic Centre 1.7 million undocumented immigrants could be eligible to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Form I-812D for Deferred Action

August 15^th is the day when USCIS will start accepting Deferred Action. And the Form required in filing for obtain Deferred Action is Form I-812D. Along with the Form you should also file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization or Form I-765 W(Worksheet). Whether the application is accepted or rejected will be sent out using the Form G-1145, e-notification of the petition.

The purpose of the Form I-812D is to request USCIS consider deferring action based on the guidelines described in the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Memorandum. This process ensures that individuals will not put into removal proceedings or removed from the US for a specified period of time, unless Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chooses to terminate the deferral.

Form I-821D can be applied by Childhood Arrivals

• Not included in Removal Proceedings ever
• With Terminated Removal Proceedings
•  Holding a Final Removal Order, with Voluntary Departure or in Removal Proceedings.

To file this request you can visit the USCIS website www.uscis.gov/I-821D or you can contact USCIS National Customer Service Centre at 1-800-375-5283 and for TDD (hearing impaired) call: 1-800-767-1833.

Initial Evidence need to be submitted along with your Form I-821D:

• No need to submit the original Documents unless USCIS ask for it
• And Evidence should show that you meet all the eligibility criteria

Each document must be properly filled and signed along with requirements as instruction provided by the Form I-821D .The total cost of the form is $465 including $380 for the Form I-765 and $85 for biometric services.

Once completion of filling the application, you need to send the application depending on your residence. Direct filling address for Form I-821D, follow the link here.

Once you submitted the form you can fill a Form G-1145 at www.uscis.gov/G-1145  to receive email or text message notifying that your form has been accepted and you will get the notification within 24 hours of accepting your immigration forms.

US Border Patrol Agents Convicted for Fraud

Two former US Border Patrol, the brothers Raul and Fidel Villarreal were sentenced that they took money by allowing illegal immigrants into the U.S and conspiring to launder money. Raul Villarreal started a smuggling group in Mexicans and Brazilians and made Fidel Villarreal and a fellow agent, one of his recruits according to the prosecutor.

Raul Villarreal appeared as a public face of the patrol and also as a high-profile agency spokesman for the US Border patrol agency on television. Armando Garcia, was also found corrupted similar to those faced by the two brothers.

In 2005 and 2006, Garcia led groups of Mexican and Brazilian Immigrants across the border on foot, and then picked by these two brothers in their patrol vehicles and drop into U.S. according to media reports.

In May 2005, federal probe has been started with an informant’s tip to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with installed cameras on poles where migrants were dropped off, undercover recording devices were planted, tracking instruments on Border Patrol vehicles.

The prosecution case was relied on the evidence they got from migrants who entered the country illegally and also Brazilian woman given a statement telling that she has given &12,000 to reach border in a police car.

“They made the border work for them,” prosecutor Timothy Salel told jurors, the San Diego Union-Tribune daily reports.

The two men were tripped off about the probe themselves and fled to Mexico, where they got settled in Tijuana, across border from San Diego in 2006 and they were arrested by Mexican police and extradited to face the trial in 2008.

In November, two brothers will be sentenced and have a maximum of 50 years in prison and they will be charged at least $1.25m according to the Associated Press news agency.

Tightened Immigration Policies for Job Seekers in US

Due to global economy downturn, those who seek job in US might not feel welcome. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Says that unemployment rate has increased to 8.1per cent according to their survey. So the immigration policies have become tight for the job seekers in US.

In 2010, H1B visa’s fee has been raised by passing bill for temporary workers from foreign countries. And also for L1 visa holders, employees in international companies.

“You start with the general issues of the visa situation and the very high unemployment rate, and you add the fact that there used to be many more entry-level jobs at financial institutions and big manufacturing companies. That has shut down. You’re not seeing job growth.

“It’s not as easy to find positions, and as a foreigner or immigrant, you are not at the front of the queue, so it’s going to be tougher for you.”

So Immigration restrictions remain a hurdle for the foreign job seekers and creation of a global, flexible workforce is considered as a priority in most of the business. As a result, companies are controlling expense associated with expatriate postings by changing the assignment structure and shortening their duration. Expatriate packages cost is very high and most of them involve costs associated with relocation, housing, incidentals and transport. According to Human resource expert local hire is less expensive than appointing an expatriate to a given job.

The traditional expatriate assignments last between one and five years but many companies have started short term training or project-based assignment which exists between three and twelve months. So that employees can get the opportunity to spend time at multinational’s headquarters learning and being indoctrinated in the corporate culture.

The highly valued skills according to Ms.Fitzgerlad, an international career coach who works with expatriates, are depending on the nature of role, variance analysis, and experience in financial statements, annual and strategic planning and forecasting.

To be successful in today’s world, all of us should think in a broader way in this global economy.