WASHINGTON POST: "DEPORTED VETERANS: BANISHED FOR COMMITTING CRIMES AFTER SERVING IN THE U.S. MILITARY"

The Washington Post has an illuminating article on the fate of Milton Tepeyac, a US veteran and greencard holder who committed a felony and was subsequently deported to Mexico, where he hadn't lived since he was three. Mr. Tepeyac, who served eight years as a U.S. Marine, now lives in Hermosillo, Mexico and works at a call center for $3 an hour. "'It was a stupid thing to do,' Tepeyac, 37, said of his crime. 'I feel like I’m stuck in a perpetual nightmare. I can’t seem to adjust to this life. In the Marines, we have a motto that we never leave a man behind. I feel like I’ve been left behind.'" Although Mr. Tepeyac was eligible to apply for citizenship, he never did so, mistakenly believing he automatically became a citizen once he swore the Marine Corps Oath. The article notes that his lawyer, Craig Shagin, believes Tepeyac’s best chance is if comprehensive immigration reform allows deported veterans to return to the US, or a lawmaker introduces a “private bill” specifically for Tepeyac, reversing his deportation. Neither, however, seem likely. The article notes: "Although deported veterans are banned for life, they are welcome to return when they are dead."

[read: "Deported veterans: Banished for committing crimes after serving in the U.S. military"]

10 Things We Like in the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill

It’s been decades since the last major immigration reform bill and now after many delays the most recent bill (S. 744) is slowly moving forward.

It was introduced in the Senate on April 16, 2013, by Senator Schumer of New York and was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.  S. 744 as amended passed the Senate on June 27, 2013 by a vote of 68-32.  The bill will now be considered by the House of Representatives. Any number of things can happen now including a complete rejection of the bill.  There is unfortunately a strong sense that the House of Representatives will not pass a comprehensive reform bill but rather address certain areas of immigration in a variety of other bills. And it is almost certain that the bill will change if and when it is sent to the president. Notwithstanding any future changes, though, here are ten things we like in the current bill and hope survive in the final version of immigration reform:

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NPR: "MANEUVERING THE SYSTEM THAT IS THE H-1B VISA PROGRAM"

NPR has a short (but fairly accurate) look at the H-1B process and also gives a glimpse inside the Vermont Service Center in St. Albans (which "looks like a law school library on the day before exams"). The news report follows the H-1B petition for Paddy, a programmer from India. GymPact, a web-based exercise motivator in the US, is petitioning for H-1B classification for Paddy (incidentally, I asked Protima, our managing partner who is Indian, how many Indian Paddys she shows. Zero, she said). NPR Reporter Zoe Chace gets inside the Vermont Service Center at 75 Lower Welden and speaks, yes, to a real immigration officer! As anyone who has spent time on either the national USCIS 1-800 customer service number or the premium processing line will know, this is a rare treat. Unfortunately the immigration officer doesn't know about Paddy's H-1B petition (perhaps it's at the California Service Center?). But Zoe Chace does get an adjudications officer to show her the Occupational Outlook Handbook and tells Zoe that in adjudicating an H-1B she looks for evidence of the degree and transcripts. Not exactly revelatory, but still reassuring. Perhaps the important information we can take from this report is that much of it "comes down to how precisely Paddy's lawyer filled out his paperwork." Ah yes, lawyers. They are useful sometimes.

[Listen to NPR story >]