President signs Homeland Security Appropriations bill, includes three-year E-Verify extension
On October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the FY 2010 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892), which includes various immigration measures, among them a three-year extension of the federal government’s E-Verify program and $137 million to operate the program and further improve its accuracy and compliance rates.
The Senate approved the Act on October 20 in a 79-19 vote and the House approved the Act on October 15 in a 304-114 vote. E-Verify is the free, voluntary, web-based program operated by DHS, in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. The program compares information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against federal government databases to verify workers’ employment eligibility.
The law also extends the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Visa Program, the Conrad 30 J-1 program and the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program for three years. The Special Immigrant Nonmininster Religious Worker Visa Program provides up to 5,000 visas special immigrant religious workers in professional or non-professional capacity within a religious vocation or occupation. Under the “Conrad 30 J1” program, each state health department may submit a request directly to the State Department (DOS) to initiate the waiver process for a J-1 medical doctor.
This request enables J-1 doctors to obtain a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement, if DOS submits a favorable recommendation. Once the waiver is granted, J-1 doctors must practice medicine for at least three years in a medically underserved shortage area or areas. The Department of Health and Human Services designates the medical shortage areas.
The EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program, which allows qualifying foreign investors and their families to obtain green cards if the investor (among other things) invests $1 million or $500,000 (if certain criteria are met) in a commercial enterprise that will benefit the US economy and provides 10 direct or indirect jobs to US workers.
Reprinted with permission. © CCH
(Submitted Oct. 30, 2009)
<p>President signs Homeland Security Appropriations bill, includes three year E Verify extension On October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the FY 2010 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892), which includes various immigration measures, among them a</p>
President signs Homeland Security Appropriations bill, includes three-year E-Verify extension
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