IMMIGRATION: U.S. to process business green cards - A visa debacle for skilled workers has been resolved, with the State Department and the immigration service agreeing to process business-sponsored green card applications immediately.

Miami Herald, The (FL) - Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Author: ALFONSO CHARDY, achardy@MiamiHerald.com

After weeks of complaints and recriminations by angry immigration attorneys and skilled immigrants, the U.S. government announced Tuesday a solution to a weeks-long crisis that left in limbo tens of thousands of employer-sponsored green card applicants.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department announced that an offer made in June -- and retracted July 2 -- to process immediately business-sponsored green card applications had been reinstated.

That means the tens of thousands of applicants who expected rejection of applications filed before the deadline July 1 will be accepted and processed.

In fact, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will continue to accept July applications until Aug. 17.

South Florida immigration attorneys who specialize in business visas were shocked but pleasantly surprised that the government had rolled back their initial rejection of visa applications.

"This is tremendous news for all those trying desperately to get their green card applications processed and who had been limbo for the past two weeks," said Michael Bander , a Miami immigration attorney.

"Quite frankly, I am speechless because I have never seen this before," said Tammy Fox-Isicoff, another lawyer who deals with business visa applicants. "It has been a roller coaster -- for us and our clients."

The crisis began in June when the State Department made an unusual announcement.

It offered to process immediately business-sponsored immigrant visa applications, which are pernennially backlogged.

But on July 2, the State Department abruptly withdrew the June offer and said that company-backed immigrant visa applications would not be available until Oct. 1. Officials later said the reason for withdrawing the offer was because the normal annual complement of 140,000 employment-based green cards had run out.

That suspension set off a wave of angry recriminations by immigration lawyers and their clients. Their fury was mainly aimed at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes green card applications in coordination with the State Department.

"The public reaction to the July 2 announcement made it clear that the federal government's management of this process needs further review," Emilio Gonzalez, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement.