April, 2009

It was not yet noon on August 18 when our phone began ringing with people wanting to know how to “turn themselves in” to ICE in order to get a work permit. By the time we got good information later that day on the Obama Administration’s new enforcement policy, the rumor mill was already running. Since then, we have heard that unscrupulous “notarios” and other dishonest people are already preying on the hopes and fears of undocumented immigrants, charging fees to put people on a nonexistent “list” for work permission. Worse than that, people were actively turning themselves in to ICE, assuming that they would receive some sort of amnesty and work permission. Many of those individuals are probably sitting in ICE custody right now wondering what went wrong. In order to keep these scenes from reoccurring, this column provides some basic information on what the “new” enforcement policy is, […]

As many of our readers know, there is no one general “work” visa for the United States. Requirements for each type of employment visa are different, depending on the nature and needs of the employer and the skills of the prospective employee. Last month’s article addressed “H” visas for temporary workers. Today’s column addresses “J” visas for business trainees. J visas are used for various purposes, one of which is training of workers in the United States for employment abroad. J visas are usually arranged between a sponsoring agency in the United States and a similar agency in the worker’s home country. The worker enters the United States for a period of time to gain experience in a particular field, such as hospitality or restaurant, which the worker can use to improve his or her job performance at home. J visas are for a limited period of time, depending on […]