In a move to cut down on fraud, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services revamped the Employment Authorization Document and the Certificate of Citizenship form last fall.

The new forms will deter fraud and strengthen security, according to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “These enhanced documents are more secure than ever,” he said in a press release. “They advance our efforts to safeguard against fraud and protect the integrity of the immigration system.”

The application process for these forms is unchanged. But the look and feel of the documents is radically different.

The forensic laboratory at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement helped USCIS develop the new EAD card. It uses new technology and tactile elements in order to help with easy card authentication, according to the release.

The new card, which looks similar to a driver’s license, has a photo of the cardholder as well as his or her fingerprint – and are both laser engraved. The card number and the case number are now both published on the front of the card.

The ICE forensic laboratory, which has been around since 1978, is the country’s authority on document authentication.

The old cards are still valid until they expire and will be replaced with new ones as people apply for renewal.

The agency hopes the new card will help law enforcement and employers more quickly identify the card and recognize the holder as being authorized to work in the country, according to the release.

USCIS also redesigned the N-560 Form, or the Certificate of Citizenship. This document goes to people who became citizens while living in the United States or people who were born outside the country to American citizens and applied for U.S. citizenship.

The agency has applied more tamper-proof printing methods to the new documents (which look similar to a birth certificate). It has a multi-colored background and a watermark to discourage fraud. It also has a digitized approval signature.

Previously issued Certificates of Citizenship are valid indefinitely, according to the release.

The new certificate does not make the list of accepted I-9 documents. Until 2007, the certificate was usable for proof of employment eligibility and identity under list A. The certificate is still on I-9’s list C that establishes employment authorization.

The agency is in an ongoing effort to update more secure and fraud-resistant documentation. USCIS created new Permanent Residency Cards in 2010 and redesigned the N-550 Certificate of Naturalization adding a photo and a signature.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The American Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New Economy recently commissioned a study looking at the relationship between immigration and the job market in the United States.

The groups did the study to help advise policymakers in hopes that immigration policy changes could spur economic growth, according to a press release from AEI.

The study found that the current immigration policy is not hurting but enhancing the job market. The agencies conducting the survey sought to use the data to advocate for specific policy changes that could boost U.S. job growth.

Researchers looked to find out if immigrants take jobs that would be filled by U.S. citizens, if they create jobs, or if there is no net effect. They also looked into what types of jobs were being taken or created by the immigrants.

The study outlined two broad schools of thought on how immigration impacts the labor market. The first idea says that immigrants and native-born Americans share the same skill sets and must compete for the same jobs. The second idea says that Americans and immigrants have different skills and complement each other in the resulting diversified work force.

Employers and policymakers both point to two groups as being critical to the U.S. economy – immigrants with advanced degrees and temporary work visa holders. Researchers looked at Census Bureau data and temporary worker applications to look at states individually to try and learn how likely an American citizen is to have a job in states with more immigrants. The study went on to look at the benefits these immigrants receive relative to their taxes.

Researchers came up with four significant findings. Immigrants with advanced degrees boost U.S. employment; temporary workers, skilled and unskilled, boost U.S. employment; no evidence shows immigrants hurt U.S. employment; and foreign-born workers pay more in U.S taxes than they use in benefits.

The data on immigrants with advanced degrees showed that workers who studied in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – at U.S. universities had a big positive impact on jobs here. For every 100 skilled workers with advanced degrees from U.S. schools, 262 jobs were created for American-born workers between 200 and 2007.

Foreign-born workers with advanced STEM degrees from schools around the world including the United States also had a positive impact on jobs with 86 jobs created for every 100 high-skilled immigrant working here.

The addition of 100 temporary workers also resulted in more jobs for native-born Americans, according to the study. H-1B workers created 183 jobs for every 100 immigrants and H-2B workers created a whopping 464 jobs for Americans.

The researchers used the data from the survey to make policy suggestions aimed at boosting the American economy.

The American Enterprise Institute suggests giving priority to immigration applicants with advanced degrees in STEM fields and increasing the number of green cards for high-skilled workers.

A qualified immigration attorney can help skilled workers and employers work with immigration services to get visas to work in the United States.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The U.S. State Department provides B-1 visas for citizens of other countries to come to the United States to conduct business.

Most people travelling to the United States from around the world need a non-immigrant visa in order to enter the country. The visitor visas are B-1 for business and B-2 for citizens of foreign countries coming here for pleasure, tourism or medical treatment.

Business travel visas are given for a variety of reasons. Some foreign citizens come to the United States to consult with associates, attend seminars or conferences in their industry, or negotiate and close business contracts. Others come as athletes to compete in American contests or lecturers who speak at events.

There are 35 countries that participate in a visa waiver program and citizens of those countries usually do not need a B-1 visa when travelling to the United States for business.

Those countries are Andorra, Hungary, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, San Marino, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, South Korea, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Malta, Sweden, Germany, Monaco, Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom.

Qualification for a B-1 visa is determined by the U.S. Embassy in the country where the applicant holds citizenship. It is important to apply well in advance of the proposed travel date as the application process can be time-consuming, according to the State Department.

The application process will likely require an interview at the embassy. Applicants who are younger than 14 or older than 79-years-old usually do not need to interview in the process.

The embassy will ask for some documentation including an online DS-160 form, a valid passport (that will remain valid for six months after an applicant plans to leave the United States) and a photograph.

There are often fees associated with acquiring a B-1 visa as well. The State Department recommends applicants contact the U.S. Embassy in their country as soon as they know they need to travel to find out more about the necessary fees.

There are provisions in the rules that allow domestic employees or personal assistants to travel with their employers.

Carrying a B-1 visa is not a guarantee that a businessperson from another country will be granted access to the United States at a port of entry. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have the ultimate say on who can enter.

Companies hoping to bring business associates to the United States to work on projects, sign real estate deals or attend conferences can benefit from hiring a qualified law firm to help make the process as smooth as possible for the traveler.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston, Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled website at http://www.visatous.com.

Since inadequate legal immigration policy in the United States prevents many international entrepreneurs from crossing the Pacific to Silicon Valley to create jobs, one California company plans to meet them in the middle – of the ocean.

In order to preserve Silicon Valley’s reputation as the world’s leader in technology innovation, Blueseed is building a Visa-free offshore technology incubator.

The company wants to “…enable countless great ideas and talented individuals to test themselves in the hotbed of Silicon Valley,” according to the Blueseed website. “With our incubator, startups and individuals will also get a chance to establish the connections and capital necessary to move their operations onto land if they so choose.”

The Blueseed team is responding to an American legal immigration policy that leaves many international technology workers on the outside looking in when American companies could be hiring them and creating more jobs.

The U.S. government gives out about 140,000 visas every year to skilled workers from other countries. The State Department restricts those H-1B visas so that no more than seven percent of that 140,000 can come from any specific country. This means workers from countries like India and China get just as many employment-based visas as workers from Iceland and Greenland.

The year’s supply of H-1B visas is regularly taken in the first couple of months into the fiscal year.

There are bills under consideration in Congress that would lift some of those restrictions and make it marginally easier for skilled workers to come to American technology companies.

But Blueseed is not going to wait and see. In an interview with ARS Technia, Blueseed CEO Max Marty, a son of Cuban immigrants, admitted that it would be better if the United States just updated and modernized its policy.

While trying to benefit from inadequacies in U.S. immigration law, Blueseed also will need to depend on the State Department’s generosity. Part of the company’s sales pitch is that entrepreneurs would be able to make frequent trips using B-1 visas that allow international businesspeople to come to the United States for training, conferences and even meetings, according to ARS Technia.

The next step for the company is to raise money to finance the ship, as its projected 300-person crew and interior would make it feel like an office. Blueseed announced in late November that Paypal founder Peter Thiel will lead the company’s seed financing round.

The Blueseed vessel would be parked about 12 nautical miles from Half Moon Bay – south of San Francisco and west of Palo Alto, Calif.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

The newest industry to push Congress for changes to the country’s visa processing policies might be a surprise. It is the tourism industry.

The International Tourism Facilitation Act was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, D. Minn., and Roy Blunt, R. Mo., in October to make it easier for people to visit the United States from around the world.

Klobuchar and Blunt pushed the proposal as a potential economic lift for the country. About 10 percent of all the jobs created so far this year in the United States were tourism jobs, according to a press release from Klobuchar’s Senate office. Each visitor from overseas spent about $4,000 in this country in 2010.

The bill’s goal is to cut long wait times at consulates and American embassies around the world that can prevent people from visiting the United States. The bill also would give the State Department incentives to make the changes.

“By streamlining our visa processing system without jeopardizing our nation’s security, we can help spur economic development and job creation,” Blunt said in a release.

The U.S. Travel Association was quick to support the proposed bill. “International business and leisure travelers stimulate our economy, and the ‘International Tourism Facilitation Act’ is the legislation our country needs to create U.S. jobs and to improve our visa process,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association in a release.

The USTA also said the State Department simply cannot meet its own goals for timely processing of applications in some markets. Provisions in the bill would allow the State Department to reinvest application fees on infrastructure to meet growing demand.

Travelers discouraged by visa wait times will take their dollars elsewhere around the world. The Boston Globe reported in November that the 10-year change in long-haul arrivals in the United States had remained an almost-flat two percent while the numbers in China and India jumped 126 percent and 124 percent respectfully.

These visas are not just necessary for people wanting to see the Grand Canyon or a Dodgers game, many of the people in line for these visas want to visit their children in grad school or network with professionals at a business conference. Even though these types of visitors will not choose another country to visit instead, they would likely come more often if it was made simpler for them.

The USTA even put together a website with clever graphics, videos and cartoons to help illustrate the need for visa reform: www.smartervisapolicy.org.
An attorney with visa application experience can help get clients through the process so their family can come visit for business or pleasure.

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.