Skilled Workers Win Reversal of Decision on Green Cards

The N.Y. Times (here) reports that the U.S. government has switched positions in a highly publicized and controversial immigration matter.

On June 12, the State Department encouraged highly skilled immigrants here on temporary employment visas to apply for permanent employment visas, known as green cards, to become permanent residents. The department said the visas would be available starting July 2. But on that date, the department announced that all available employment-based visas had been distributed for the year.

On Tuesday, however, the immigration agency, Citizenship and Immigration Services, said it would accept applications for these visas if they were filed by Aug. 17.

State Department officials have said the alert in June was meant to speed visa processing, to make sure no visas went unused. Both agencies have tried to reduce green-card application backlogs. Applicants for these employment visas are required to submit certified documents, among them employer sponsorship forms and federal certification that no American workers are available for their jobs, and must also undergo medical examinations. Many of them have a long work history in the United States.

The American Immigration Law Foundation, a group that advocates for immigrants’ legal rights, had been poised to file a class-action lawsuit to oppose the government’s July 2 decision.   For the Foundation’s view of the resolution of the matter, click here.

KJ