Reading ISSS-BU News is essential in order to be informed regarding changing U.S. immigration regulations. ISSS-BU News is published every Monday, and is also posted to the “ISSS-BU News” section of the ISSS website, http://isss.binghamton.edu

1. Have You Changed Your Address?
2. Don't Place Your Immigration Status At Risk: Some Consequences of Illegal Employment
3. U.S. State Department Reports that Almost All Employment-Based Permanent Resident Visa Numbers Are “Current” for July 2007

1. Have You Changed Your Address?

Have you moved recently? Do you have a new address? International Students in F and J status are reminded that reporting your change of address to the ISSS is a requirement under federal SEVIS regulations. The ISSS makes this requirement easy for you by providing a web form where you can easily report this information. Just visit: http://isss.binghamton.edu/forms/addrChange.html for an easy-to-complete fillable form.

2. Don't Place Your Immigration Status At Risk: Some Consequences of Illegal Employment

The vast majority of Binghamton University international students have a good understanding of the federal immigration regulations with which they must comply* and cannot imagine violating any of them, as the risks are so great. This is especially true of F-1 student employment regulations, including practical training (which is limited to off campus employment that is directly related to a student's field of study) and authorized employment based on documented economic hardship.

But at one time or another, a student might wonder to himself or herself "Would anyone find out if I worked off campus without authorization, or took a job under authorized practical training that was not related to my field of study, or before I received my work authorization card?"

The short answer is, yes, so don't do it! -Here's why.

Any employment that is in violation of your F-1 status is a deportable offense if it comes to the attention of the Department of Homeland Security

An employer who hires you for a position that does not comply with the limitations set by your employment authorization category can be subject to civil penalties and in some cases, criminal penalties.

Your employer is required to report your earnings to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Internal Revenue Service, and you are required to file an income tax return reporting those earnings and paying any taxes due on them, even if the employment was not authorized.

If at some point in the future, you decide to apply for U.S. permanent residency (either through an employment petition, a petition filed by an immediate relative, or through the diversity visa lottery), you are required to submit copies of your past U.S. federal income tax returns as part of the application. If previous employment is indicated on your tax returns, the immigration officer can require that you present proof of work authorization for those jobs.

Regardless of whether you are applying for permanent residency or some other non-immigrant status (such as H-1B), if previous employment is indicated on your immigration paperwork (such as an endorsement for optional practical training on an I-20, or some other evidence of work authorization) the immigration officer adjudicating the new application may request specific information regarding the previous employment and its applicability to the work authorization you held.

As students, you have worked very hard to achieve a U.S. college degree. Don't risk all the time and money you have invested in that goal. Do not rely on your employer to determine whether your job meets the requirements for your employment authorization. Remember that compliance with federal immigration regulations is your responsibility, and the consequences for non-compliance are punitive.

*For a summary of the federal regulations with which students must comply, visit:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/imm/validf-1.html

The article on which this news item is based was first written in Fall 2003 by Ellen Badger, Director of International Student and Scholar Services. Stephen Yale-Loehr, nationally known immigration attorney with the law firm of Miller Mayer in Ithaca, New York, and an adjunct faculty member of Cornell University Law School, consulted on the original article's content.

3. U.S. State Department Reports that Almost All Employment-Based Permanent Resident Visa Numbers Are “Current” for July 2007

This news item may be of limited interest to our subscribers, since most are not applicants for U.S. permanent residency. But, the biggest news in many years for foreign nationals with pending Employment-Based permanent residency applications is that the State Department's Visa Bulletin for July 2007, just published last week, reports that nearly all employment-based permanent resident visa numbers are “current” for July 2007.

What does this mean?

There are five categories of employment-based permanent residents visas. For some categories, sufficient visas are available each year to meet the demand. For others, there is such high demand that world-wide, there can be backlogs of as long as four years. If an applicant is a national of Mexico, China, The Philippines or India (all countries that have large numbers of citizens immigrating to the United States) the backlogs can be even longer and can extend to employment-based visa categories that may be available for citizens of other countries.

Here's an example. As recently as May 2007, a citizen of India with an approved employment petition for U.S. permanent residency in the EB-3 “Skilled Workers and Professionals” category had as long as a six year wait for a visa to become available.

But that has changed, at least for the month of July, when nearly all employment based permanent residency categories are current. Thus, if a foreign national has already begun the process for employment-based permanent residency and has an approved Labor Certification, and/or a pending or an approved I-140 (Employment Based Permanent Residency Petition), they may now be able to file their adjustment of status application, or request consular processing, during July 2007.

However, with such good news comes the inevitable warning. This “current” status for employment-based permanent residency applications may not last very long, and retrogressions (roll-backs) of the dates could occur as early as August or September.

Please note that this news does not apply to family-based permanent residency applications, which currently have significant backlogs in many categories.

The State Department's Visa Bulletin may be viewed at:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

The following articles may be useful for general information on employment-based permanent residency:
http://www.millermayer.com/resources/immigrant/immigrant1cont.htm
http://www.murthy.com/gc.html
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=84096138f898d010
VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Please note that ISSS staff are not qualified to answer questions regarding employment-based permanent residency. However, staff are able to refer you to a qualified immigration attorney.

ISSS-BU is a listserv owned and managed by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Division of Student Affairs, at the State University of New York at Binghamton. It is the publisher of ISSS-BU News . Permission is granted to freely distribute the information posted to this list as long as its contents remain unchanged.