Fast for Families

We previously mentioned Rev. Samuel Rodriguez's fast for immigration reform, and he is not the only one. Activists with Fast for Families are fasting (no food or drink, except water) to "follow the examples of Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi to touch the compassion and sensibilities of our elected leaders to address the moral crisis of an immigration system that fails to comport with our national values, our creeds and belief in justice." Last Friday Vice President Joe Biden visited the group at their tent on the National Mall. Other visitors have included Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), activist Gloria Steinem, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Representative Denham (R-CA) and Reverend Jesse Jackson (who committed to a three day fast in solidarity). The fasting leaders, including among others Eliseo Medina, a prominent labor organizer, Sang Hyug Jung, a Korean immigrant and father of two DACA children, and Cristian Avila of Mi Familia Vota, are fasting "until they are medically prevented from continuing their efforts." FOX News reports the fast is spreading across the country.

UPDATE: President Obama and the First Lady visited. And the fast for four of the activists, who have been fasting on the National Mall since November 12, has ended.

"Thanksgiving" Outside Speaker Boehner's Home

Photo by yashmori used under Creative Commons license. Activists staged a mock Thanksgiving at House Speaker John Boehner's house early Wednesday morning on November 20 to call for immigration reform. The empty place settings represent family members deported and absent due to US immigration policy.

US Immigration Response to Typhoon Haiyan

USCIS has issued a press release highlighting the ways Filipino nationals affected by Typhoon Haiyan can make use of certain immigration relief measures. Since natural disasters can affect "an individual’s ability to establish or maintain lawful immigration status in the United States," USCIS offers these benefits (which apply to not only Filipino nationals but others affected by natural disasters or extreme situations): 

• Change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even when the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired;
• Extension of certain grants of parole made by USCIS;
• Extension of certain grants of advance parole, and expedited processing of advance parole requests;
• Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship;
• Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs);
• Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, where appropriate; and
• Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without immigration or travel documents, such as Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards).

More information on these humanitarian relief measures and others is here. It is also important to be aware of any scams.

FWD.US Sponsors Hackathon for DREAMers

Fwd.us, an organization started by technology leaders (including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg) to keep America "competitive in a global economy" by promoting immigration reform, education reform, and support for scientific research, is sponsoring a 24-hour Hackathon for DREAMers at the LinkedIn headquarters in Silicon Valley. According to the organization website, the Hackathon (which begins today) will pair up the undocumented immigrants with experienced mentors to "build tools to advance our advocacy efforts, creating projects and applications to help supporters share stories, contact members of Congress, and show family and friends why they supporting meaningful immigration reform."

In their pursuit of immigration reform ("I think this is one of the biggest civil rights issue of our time." Zuckerberg says at the Hackathon), Fwd.us is not without controversy. The LA Times reported:

Mark Zuckerberg is being unfriended by progressives angered by television ads from his political advocacy group Fwd.us that praise lawmakers for supporting the expansion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

There is a live video feed of the Hackathon and it's on Twitter at #DREAMerHack.

Immigration Impact: "USCIS to Offer Stay of Deportation to Certain Military Family Members"

Immigration Impact reports on the USCIS memo (in PDF here) regarding granting "parole in place" to non-citizen family members of current and former military personnel:

The memo indicates that the noncitizen family members may be afforded “parole in place.”  “Parole in place” is a discretionary tool that allows a noncitizen who is in the United States without authorization to remain here, at least temporarily.  

The memo notes that parole in place can be granted in 1-year increments absent "a criminal conviction or other serious adverse factors..."

Blog Editor Joseph "Working"

Oh to be Australian, Canadian, Mexican, Chilean, or Singaporean

The H-1B is one of the most common visa categories that foreign nationals utilize to come to the United States to work for a US employer in a professional position.  The H-1B, however, is limited by Congress at an annual cap each year. Currently there are 65,000 H-1B visas available for those with a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent) with an extra 20,000 set aside for those with a US master’s degree. Since it’s one of the most popular visa options, it is common for more people to apply than there are numbers available. This has resulted in an annual lottery of H-1B petitions. In previous years, the lottery pool has included petitions submitted on the first five business days the numbers become available (which is April 1st each year).  Of course, this often means that unless a foreign national is one of the lucky people to “win” one of the allotted H-1B numbers, she/he must wait and submit a new H-1B petition when the next year’s numbers become available. There are, however, special exemptions to the cap number as well as H-1B-like visa options for certain foreign nationals, namely those whose country of citizenship is Australia, Canada, Mexico, Chile, or Singapore. I examine these exemptions and options in the chart below (click on chart to open in PDF):

Through all the differences between the various visa categories, one thing is certain: it is good to be from a country that allows you options should an H-1B number not be available. In fact, depending on the situation, these may be even better options than the H-1B.  

40 Day Fast to Inspire Immigration Reform

While the third-ranking House Republican says there won't be an immigration vote this legislative year and immigration activists occupy the Bakersfield office of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, The Blaze reports on Rev. Samuel Rodriguez who is undergoing a forty day fast for immigration reform:

“In the spirit of Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders who have acted on the moral imperative to do justice, as well as our ultimate example found in Jesus, I likewise sense an urgent conviction to engage in the spiritual exercise that in my faith narrative produces great results,” said the faith leader in a press release announcing his effort.

In other religiously-themed immigration news, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent a letter (in PDF here) to House Speaker John Boehner: 

As a moral matter...our nation cannot continue to receive the benefits of the work and contributions of undocumented immigrants without extending to them the protection of the law...Keeping these human beings as a permanent underclass of workers who are unable to assert their rights or enjoy the fruits of their labor is a stain on the soul of the nation.

New York Times: "EU Court: Homosexuality Can Be Grounds for Asylum"

The New York Times reports that the top court of the European Union has decided refugees facing imprisonment in their home country because they are gay might on a case by case basis be granted asylum:

The existence of laws allowing the imprisonment of homosexuals "may constitute an act of persecution per se," if they are routinely enforced, the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice said.

A homosexual cannot be expected to conceal his sexual orientation in his home country to avoid persecution since that would amount to renouncing a "characteristic fundamental to a person's identity," the EU court added.

Meanwhile, ABC News reports on asylum seekers to the US who have obtained asylum due to anti-gay persecution they faced in their home countries. One of these is Oliver from Nigeria, who was at one point locked inside a church in Nigeria with angry mobs outside. "'It was horrifying,' he said. 'I wanted to kill myself.'"