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Government Relations Updates

Legislative Director Update: State of the Union – State of Immigration?

Thu, 01/26/2012
 
 
State of the Union – State of Immigration?
 
This week brought us America’s State of Union address, but what is the state of immigration?
 
On Tuesday, President Obama laid out his plan to build an America that lasts and recognized the importance of highly educated foreign-born professionals to our innovation ecosystem. Specifically, he called on Congress to increase the domestic pipeline of talent, while also calling for legislation to address the needs of foreign nationals graduating out of our U.S. universities with advanced degrees in business, science and engineering, so that they might stay and contribute to U.S. growth.

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


ACIP Notes from January 9th Inside the Beltway Series Kickoff

Thu, 01/12/2012
ACIP held its first monthly Inside the Beltway call on Monday, January 9th.  These monthly calls will give you an insider's scoop on what is going on in the immigration world.  The calls will be chaired by ACIP's government relations team and will recap the month's immigation events as well as look forward to what may be in store. 

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


Legislative Director Update - Will Christmas Come Early for Immigration?

Thu, 12/01/2011
In the last couple of weeks some remarkable things have happened on high skilled employment-based  immigration.  While 2012 will present challenges in moving any immigration legislation forward with the upcoming elections, there is still a small window of time for legislative action before the holiday and I am hopeful!  This week, ACIP commended the U.S. House for passing The Fairness in High Skilled Immigration Act of 2011(H.R. 3012) by a vote of 389-15. China and India, time to prepare for their workforce needs in a new first come first served green card system.  Keep in mind that even though the bill has been passed by the House, it is not yet law and must still pass in the Senate and be signed into law by the President. ACIP worked extremely hard to ensure the bill’s proposed elimination of the per country cap was phased in over a three year period.

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


Legislative Director Update – ACIP’s Message on the Backlogs and Need for STEM Visas is Being Heard in Washington!

Thu, 10/27/2011
Here in Washington DC this fall, we have seen a lot of activity in Congress responding to ACIP’s decades-long calls to streamline the green card process and provide more visas to U.S. STEM foreign graduates. In fact, the recent burst of activity began with an October House Immigration Subcommittee hearing which addressed the issue of whether America should retain these highly-educated foreign students.  Shortly after the hearing, the President’s Job Council issued a report, which on page 35, calls on Congress to enact legislation to retain highly-educated foreign student graduates.  In recent weeks we have seen members of the House introduce legislation to both streamline the green card process and retain foreign students graduating with U.S. STEM advanced degrees.  

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


From the Hill: Washington at Work! Markup of the Legal Workforce Act, a Continuing Resolution and the Introduction of the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act

Thu, 09/22/2011
While Washington remains laser focused on the debt debate and President Obama’s recently introduced American Jobs Act of 2011, Congress has been hard at work on issues that could potentially impact ACIP members, including the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885), the Fairness for Skilled Immigrants Act, and the continuing resolution (CR).  Contained in the full Director's Update are a number of key actions that recently took place on these issues in recent weeks.  Additionally, as the debt debate continues, ACIP will be tracking any legislative activity that could always unfold around additional visa fees. 

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


From the Hill: Senate & House Activities Dish Up Different Immigration Policies Ripe for Partisan Appetite

Thu, 07/28/2011
Bipartisanship has always been what Washington strives to cook up.  But, in a Congress where we have a Democratic-led Senate and a Republican-led House, it’s obvious that immigration is not a top priority and with so many cooks in the kitchen it has once again become clear just how challenging any bipartisan agreement on an issue as divisive as immigration will be.  On July 26th the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security served up an excellent  hearing, The Economic Imperative for Enacting Immigration Reform.  At the hearing Chairman Schumer (D-NY) emphasized the importance of high and low skilled immigration to America’s economic growth.  Of a much different flavor, this week the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the HALT Act (H.R. 2497), a bill meant to target the undocumented population by taking away the administration’s authority to use discretion in extraordinary cases and to suspend deportations.

Additionally, last week the House Judiciary Committee passed by a vote of 19-11 a bill sponsored by Congressman Goodlatte (R-VA) to eliminate the Diversity Visa program, the Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2011 (H.R. 704).  With the Congressional menu constantly changing stay tuned for more legislative updates after Congress’s recess.

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From the Hill: Immigration Fireworks Ignite Congress Before the July 4th Recess

Thu, 06/30/2011
Recent weeks have literally brought immigration legislatio fireworks to our nation’s Capitol before the July 4th holiday.  With the House on recess this week and the Senate on recess next week, it is the perfect time to highlight the bursts of legislative activity we have seen so far this summer. As ACIP updated members the week of June 14th, two important pieces of legislation were recently introduced by leaders in the House: The Legal Workforce Act and the IDEA Act of 2011.  In mid-June we also witnessed Senator Grassley (R-IA) introduce S.1196,  a companion bill to the House’s Legal Workforce Act H.R. 2164.  Additionally, on June 22, 2011, we witnessed Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and six Senate cosponsors, including Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) and Chairman Schumer (D-NY), re-introduce the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 (S. 1258), a nearly 700 page bill very similar to the bill the Senator introduced last  year.  Last, but not least, this week the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee held its first official hearing on the DREAM Act (S. 952).
 

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


From the Hill: A Call to Action! – The President Speaks on Immigration – Chairman Smith’s Secure Visa Act – Join ACIP’s Advocacy Day and Make a Difference!

Wed, 05/11/2011

On May 10th the President addressed the nation in El Paso, Texas to discuss the need for immigration reform and border security, ACIP listened.  As a part of its next steps, the White House is asking those who care about reforming our immigration laws to get involved and ACIP is leading the way as your voice!

Not only did the White House list ACIP as one of its supporters in a recent release by the Press Secretary, but we also have tweeted about the President's speech and plan to answer some White House questions that Cecilia Munoz, one of the President's senior advisors on immigration, has asked for feedbeack on by May 16th.

Additionally, ACIP is encouraging discussions on how critical high skilled employment based immigration reform is to our 21st century economy  at our June 6th Advocacy Day - “Create, Innovate and Compete”- in Washington, DC and launching a grassroots effort in your Congressional districts online that same day!  Not only will our Advocacy Day connect ACIP members to new and key Congressional offices on issues of employment based immigration, but ACIP will also be hosting a briefing for Hill staff where ACIP members will explain how employers are recruiting talent in a recovering economy, the latest trends in recruiting, as well as the importance of top global talent to innovation and workforce development. 

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.


From the Hill: ACIP’s Chairman Austin Fragomen Testifies before the U.S. House & Other Recent Hill Activity

Wed, 04/20/2011
For the next couple of weeks, Congress will be out on spring recess.  This spring “break” in Washington gives me time to reflect on the most recent activities in Congress last week. Of great importance, on April 14th, ACIP’s Chairman, Austin T. Fragomen, testified before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security regarding improvements to worksite enforcement policies, including a federal electronic employment verification system, to ensure a legal workforce and help prevent unauthorized employment.  Last week we also witnessed President Obama sign into law H.R. 1473, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011, which wraps up the fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) appropriations process and funds the government through September 30,2011.  We also viewed other activity on the Hill last week and even some immigration activity from the White House this week.  Yesterday, the President held a meeting with senior administration officials and principals from the stakeholder community to discuss the importance of fixing the broken immigration system for our nation’s 21st century economic and security needs so that America can win the future.

Full text available to ACIP members only. Contact us to inquire about membership.