1 Lone Star

Today, for those of you who are outside the USA, is our Flag Day.  It's not a holiday, but it is a day that is observed by government and military offices, and by patriotic Americans as a day of respect, not so much for our flag, but for those who have given their lives in America's wars for the freedoms Americans enjoy, as well as the freedom of other nations, such as during World War II, and, if I may be so bold, in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Whether you agree with the motivation, the wisdom, the honesty of our leaders, or the actions of guards and interrogators at Guantanamo (I do), or what you think of what happened at Abu Ghraib (I hate it, of course, and the perpetrators should be punished.), 99%+ of American soldiers, and those of more than 45 countries at one time or another did something awesome.  A nation is free that never knew it before, even though there are insurgents who want to plunge them--Iraq, into an ocean of their own blood.  The effort of American troops is therefore noble, and should be appreciated, and they should be brought home, then, as soon as possible--that is, once the Iraqi army is strong enough to take care of themselves.  Add on Afghanistan, and that's about 55 million people now in democracies.  Struggling, yes.  Full of dangers and corruptions and warlords and insurgents and foreign terrorists and inconsistencies and age-old tribal conflicts, yes.  But democracies nonetheless, bought with the hard work and enormous restraint of the American soldier, all under that flag.  Way to go, guys.

Now as to the law.  There is a lot of change going on right now, and there will be plenty to talk about in the near future.  There are two proposed changes to U.S. immigration law coming up, one offered by U.S. Senator John McCain (Rep.-Arizona), and another by Senator John Cornyn (Rep.-Texas).  The two proposed laws have some differences, but they both have in common several things, which are also an extension to the proposed change in the law made by President Bush:  1) That those immigrants who are able to demonstrate a bona-fide job offer from an employer, who is not bumping off a U.S. citizen to offer the job to that immigrant, would be able to get up to 6 years on a guest worker visa; 2) That those immigrants who so qualify, whether they are already in the U.S. or coming into the country, will be able to bring their families into the country legally under their visa; 3) That the U.S. Border Patrol will have a large increase in personnel, and that electronic surveillance of the borders with the U.S. will increase, to create, in essence a virtual fence; 4) That those immigrants who qualify under the new law, even though living illegally in the country up to now, will be able, after the six-year guest-worker term ends, to apply for legal residency and eventually U.S. citizenship; 5) That employers will only admit employees that have a fraud-proof Social Security identification, with a digitally-secured strip, showing their legalized status; 6) Those employers who don't will be prosecuted; 7) Those immigrants who seek citizenship would have to learn English and take classes in U.S. history and government, so as to gain an appreciation of the country where they will become citizens and vote.

They are rough similarities, and there's a lot of disagreements over how, or even whether these proposals should become law, and I am definitely describing them loosely, but that's the basic idea behind the new law in its final form, which will probably be passed within the year.  And all I can say is, it's about time.

In the meantime, since the time that President Bush signed into a law an extension for 20,000 additional places for H-1B work visas for highly skilled foreign professionals with a master's degree or higher, the number of places available has been surprisingly high.  As of May 20, only a little under 7,000 places had been filled.  And the pace at which they are being filled is not enough to get alarmed.  So it is likely that anyone who obtains such a job offer from an American employer and applies for an H-1B before the end of the U.S. fiscal year, which is October 1st, should be able to get his/her application, if in good order, approved by then, though the government expects all the places to be filled by then.  If you don't get to apply until later this summer, don't fear though.  There will be a fresh 65,000 H-1B places, plus an additional 20,000 special H-1Bs available on October 1st.  And with the economy continuing to improve, the likelihood of more places coming available next year will improve as well.

If you want to know more, just get in touch with me.  I can either discuss with you what I can do for that special person you know who wants to come and work in the USA.  I will also be able, if your situation is unique, to discuss how to get good professional legal help available.  Stay tuned, I'll be talking more about immigration matters tomorrow.

I'll be back, though most of my time will be taken up working on other business matters.  Much is changing in my life, and I feel like my hair is on fire, but I'm looking forward to what God has around the corner.  Adios and God bless.