Syllabus: Immigration Law and Business Spring University of Houston Law Center Prof. Janet B. Beck

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1 Syllabus: Immigration Law and Business Spring 2013 University of Houston Law Center Prof. Janet B. Beck Textbook: Professionals: A Matter of Degree, 5 th edition, by Martin Lawler and Margaret Stock (available at the UH Calhoun Lofts Bookstore). The book chapters are relatively short. Packet of Materials (POM): Pick up from Copy Center. The POM will contain cases, regulations and other information listed in the Syllabus. Suggestion: put these materials in a loose-leaf binder and make tabs pursuant to the Table of Contents provided. You must bring the appropriate POM materials to each class. Laptops: Students should bring laptops to class as some in-class exercises will require their use. General Description: This class is geared towards the development of practice skills.* There will be lectures as well as in-class exercises throughout the semester in which students will draft documents and find solutions to client problems. One of the inclass exercises will be graded (see Feb. 12 class); the others will not be graded. In-class exercises will require the application of the reading on the Syllabus as well as class lectures. There will be several short, graded assignments to be completed individually outside of class e.g. letter to USCIS as to why the individual qualifies for a particular visa. Exam numbers, not names, should be on all assignments. If you do not have a Spring 2013 Exam number, make up a number and we will link it up to your Spring Exam number when you get it. Final Exam: Take-home exam to be turned into Prof. Beck on May 7, 2013 at 6 pm in the classroom where class is held. Students should put their EXAM # s on the written exam and on the envelope in which the exam must be placed. The take-home exam will consist of two or more essay questions. Grades: Will be based on the following: 50% final exam, 25% out-of-class and in-class assignments and 25% classroom participation. *Practice Skills to be Taught in Class During the Semester Building and presenting a case before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Dept. of State (DOS) and U.S. Dept. of 1

2 Labor (DOL); interviewing; filling out CIS and DHS forms for different visas; research; and writing a legal advice letter to a client. Textbook: liii- lxv Textbook: Chapters 1, 12 POM: Overview January 15 OVERVIEW Business Immigration Law Types of non-immigrant and permanent resident visas/status Employment-based preference categories US Government agencies in charge of different visas/applications/petitions/status/appeals Legal Resources Statutes, regulations, Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) and Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) cases, USCIS adjudicator s field manual, USCIS memoranda, DOL online FAQ s, American Embassy/consulate websites, Visa Bulletin, M-274, and White House publications. Basic Concepts Filing petitions and applications, change of status, extension of status, adjustment of status, consular processing and employment-based preference categories. How to obtain temporary work visas and when an individual with a temporary visa may apply for permanent resident/green card status and then U.S. citizenship. How and when family members may be granted visas/status based on the principal family member s visa/status. Take-home assignment: Take the one paragraph L-1A letter distributed at the end of class, re-type it, and make it easier to read. Do not change or add any words. Follow the instructions on the assignment. Due on Jan. 22 at the beginning of class. January 22 PRACTICE SKILLS At the beginning of class, turn in Take-Home Assignment from Jan. 15 with Spring Exam #, not name. If you do not have your Spring Exam #, then put any number and later we will link it to your Spring Exam #. 2

3 POM: Photos of documents showing legal status Optional: Google M-274 (Handbook for Employers) and find pages relating to documents Immigration Documents: I-94, visas, passports, USCIS notices, EAD (Employment Authorization Document) when and how they are granted and how they are used Interviewing Techniques: how to get the relevant facts so as to be able to give good legal advice Letter-Writing: the differences among the following: letter to individual client, corporate client, US Government, Memorandum of Law Building A Case: Evidence gathering, legal research and putting it all together January 29 L-1A: INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES EB13: PR for Managers and Executives Textbook: Chapter 22: pps (do not read about Specialized Knowledge on p. 337) Textbook: Chapter 13 POM: Visa Bulletin- Employment-Based First Preference POM: 8 CFR 214.2(l) POM: I-129 and L supplement How to prepare an L-1A petition: a) drafting a response to a CIS Request for Evidence proving that the company and the individual meet the legal and evidentiary requirements for a new office and b) filling out the USCIS I-129 form, paying special attention to the legal requirements for the relationship between the parent company and the new office company. How a foreign national in L-1A status can file a petition for permanent resident (PR) status. February 5 L-1B: Intracompany Transferees Specialized Knowledge 3

4 Textbook: Chapter 22: pps POM: Legacy INS Fuji Ohate and James Puleo memoranda POM: WAC USCIS California Service Center, July 22, 2008 How to prepare an L-1B petition: legal and evidentiary requirements February 12 B-1, Visa Waiver Program, ESTA and Trusted Traveler Programs Textbook: Chapter 14 POM: Matter of Hira, 11 I&N Dec. 824 (BIA 1966) POM: Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) Notes POM: POM: SENTRI, NEXUS, FAST See Trusted Traveler Programs The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) See How to answer a company s questions about whether a Foreign National (FN) meets the legal requirements for a B-1 visa or business visa waiver and, if so, how the individual would be able to enter the U.S. Students will write a letter to a client in class based on a fact pattern which will be distributed in class. Students will the letter to Prof. Beck during class and she will return to students with comments as soon as possible. This letter will be graded. February 19 F-1: Student and Visa Processing at an American Consulate Textbook: Chapter 24 POM Optional: ICE Policy Guidance, April 23, 2010 Optional: 8 CFR 214.2(f) Application process for an F-1 visa at an American consulate. Regulatory requirements for employment authorization for students and what their legal options are when their employment authorization expires. 4

5 February 26 H-1B visa/status Textbook: Chapter 17; Chapter 13 pps Textbook; Glance through pps , the list of cases defining professional/specialist occupations POM: Flow Chart POM: I-129 and H supplement, Labor condition application (LCA) Optional: 8 CFR 214.2(h); 20 CFR 656 POM (optional): CIS Neufield memo The requirements of an H-1B petition for the petitioning U.S. company and for the foreign national (FN) beneficiary. How to determine DOL prevailing wage categories. How to prove that the individual s proposed employment is for a specialty occupation. Evaluation of a foreign degree. March 5 TRADE NAFTA (TN) VISAS/STATUS Textbook: Chapter 21 POM: Memorandum on Scientific Technicians POM: 8 CFR Glance at Appendix 1603.D.1 and Footnotes to Appendix How to prepare a company and an individual for a TN application: the legal and evidentiary requirements as well as consular processing for TN visas for Mexican nationals and CBP Port of Entry requirements for TN Canadians. TN Assignment to be handed out at the end of class and turned in at the beginning of class on March 19. Based on a fact pattern, this assignment will consist of writing a letter to CBP as to why the individual qualifies for a Canadian TN. March Spring Break March 19 E-2 visa/status and Consular Processing Guest speaker: Silvia Romo Graves, esq., Graves & Graves, P.C. 5

6 Turn in TN assignment at the beginning of class. Textbook: Chapter 15 POM: 9 FAM Notes Optional: 8 CFR 214.2(e) The legal and evidentiary requirements for E-2 status. Consular processing of E-2 visas. March 26 Outstanding Professor/Researcher and National Interest Waiver Employment Preference Categories Textbook: Chapter 2 pps , Chapter 3 pps POM: Matter of New York State Dept. of Transportation (NYSDOT), 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Acting AC 1998); Matter of Mississippi Phosphate, EAD (AAO July 21, 1992) POM: Visa Bulletin- employment-based categories POM Optional: 8 CFR 204.5(i), (k)(3) Regulatory and evidentiary burdens for building a case for Outstanding Professor/Researcher and National Interest Waiver. April 2 Inadmissibility, Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) Waivers, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) exemptions and Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Guest Speaker: Pamelia Barnett, esq. The Barnett Law Group POM: Matter of Hranka, 16 I&N Dec. 491 (1978) POM: John Winston Ono Lennon v. INS, 527 F.2d 187 (2 nd Cir. 1975) POM: Inadmissibility summary POM Optional: INA 212(a)(2) POM Optional: Bring to class: DS-160, I-192, I-212 (see also POM Optional: Bring to class: Information on TWIC 6

7 Grounds of inadmissibility and nonimmigrant waivers. exemptions. NIV forms. Outer Continental Shelf April 9 O-1 and EB11 Permanent Resident Status Textbook: Chapter 23 Textbook: Chapter 2, pps POM: Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9 th Cir. 2010) POM: USCIS memorandum August 2010 Optional: 8 CFR 214.2(o); 8 CFR 204.5(h) The legal standards and evidentiary burdens for O-1 and EB-11 petitions. How to answer a client s question as to when s/he can file an EB 11 petition if s/he is in O-1 status. Take-home assignment to be distributed at the end of class and due on April 23 at the beginning of class. Based on a fact pattern, students will create a List of Exhibits for an O-1 petition. (See POM for List of Exhibits format.) April 16 LABOR CERTIFICATION Guest speaker: Judy Lee, esq., Partner, FosterQuan, LLP Textbook: Chapter 4 POM: Review PERM online application and Visa Bulletin- EB 2 nd and 3 rd preference categories Basic concepts of labor certifications: what they are, where to find the applicable DOL regulations and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ s) as well as drafting considerations. April 23 Turn in take-home assignment from April 9. Employer Sanctions 7

8 Guest Speaker: Nathaniel Martinez, esq., Harry Gee & Associates, PLLC POM: Optional: Optional: E-verify program M-274 Employer Handbook INA 274A E-verify program; I-9 compliance; Employer Sanctions for technical violations of I-9 s and for knowingly hiring and employer undocumented workers Take-home Final Exam will be distributed at the end of class. May 7, pm Turn in the take-home exam in the classroom. Prof. Beck will be present to collect them. If you wish to turn in the exam early, you must deliver it personally to Prof. Beck in the Immigration Clinic; it may not be left in her box or with any other person. IMPORTANT: Put your Exam in an 8 1/2x 11 (or larger) envelope with your exam number on the envelope and on the Exam itself. IMPORTANT: ALL EXAMS MUST BE TYPED and DOUBLE-SPACED with 2 spaces between sentences (i.e. 2 spaces after the period of the preceding sentence). Margins MUST be justified. 8