USA Green Card Immigration Blog

The Associated Press: Shift on marriage energizes immigration activists.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — President Barack Obama’s shift to support gay marriage is energizing young Hispanic voters who have been working side-by-side with gay activists in their push for immigration reform. The alliance has been growing across the country, helping dispel what many say is an outdated notion that Hispanics are less tolerant of gays than the general public.

“My members are telling me that we need to learn from the gay community,” said Dee Dee Garcia Blase, founder of the Phoenix-based Somos Republicans. She is now head of the Tequila Party, which she formed last year with the goal of registering young Hispanics to vote for immigration-friendly candidates like Obama.

“We need to take a lesson from the (lesbian and gay) community with regard to being that loud, squeaky wheel that gets fixed,” Blase said. “We need to be more aggressive, and we realize it.”

Both the Democratic and Republican parties are focused heavily on winning the Hispanic vote, not just because it holds the key to battleground states but because Latinos make up the fastest-growing minority group. The government projects Hispanics will account for roughly 30 percent of the population by 2050, doubling in size and boosting their political power. Some 600,000 young Hispanics who were born in the U.S. turn 18 each year to enter a widening pool of more than 21 million Hispanic eligible voters.

Conservative Hispanics see the president’s endorsement of same-sex marriage as an opportunity to draw Latinos to the Republican Party. According to a 2007 religion survey of U.S. Latinos by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, two-thirds of Hispanics said their religious beliefs are an important influence on their political thinking. While more than two-thirds of Hispanics identified themselves as Roman Catholic, 15 percent said they were born-again Protestants. Evangelical Latinos, who cite Biblical teaching for their stance against homosexuality, are twice as likely as those who are Catholic to vote Republican.

But a poll released in April 2011 by the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights advocacy organization, and Social Science Research Solutions, a public opinion research firm, indicated that while 66 percent of those surveyed identified as Roman Catholic, 49 percent favored allowing same-sex marriage and that number climbed to 59 percent in favor of giving gay and lesbian couples the same legal rights as married couples. A surprising 69 percent favored allowing gay or lesbian couples to marry in their church or religious institution and 52 percent did not view homosexuality as a sin, compared to 38 percent who did. Some 69 percent said that good Christians should accept all people as God’s creation and not cast judgment, while 60 percent viewed discrimination against gays and lesbians as a sin. Most of those surveyed, 71 percent, were under the age of 50.

While George W. Bush won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, by 2008, 67 percent of the Hispanic vote had swung toward Obama. And that vote was pivotal to his success in states like Colorado, where exit polls show Republican Sen. John McCain would have won if only Caucasians had voted.

For many young Hispanics, both immigrant and U.S.-born, the DREAM Act — the proposed legislation would make students who entered the country without authorization as children eligible for permanent residency and higher education — is a key issue. Obama supports the proposal, while Romney’s hard line against the measure, which he has called a handout, has alienated many Hispanic voters. The Pew Hispanic Center found in a December 2011 survey that 91 percent support the legislation.

Juan Rodriguez, who is active in the Florida Immigrant Coalition and an immigrant himself, said the gay rights and immigrant rights movements are “very aligned and becoming moreso every year.

The co-president of Blase’s Tequila Party, Shara Mora James is gay. And two so-called Dreamers, or leaders in the movement to pass DREAM Act, have recently taken over two emerging gay rights groups, Freedom to Work and Get Equal.

“The immigrant rights movement is grounded on advocating with the most oppressed out of our community, and in many cases, that has been queer undocumented youth,” said Rodriguez. “We are figuring out more and more ways of supporting each other because we all grew up being told we needed to live in fear because of the communities we love.”

Hispanic leaders and political watchers say they don’t expect Obama’s announcement to have much impact on the Latino vote, which could be key to victory in battleground states like New Mexico, Florida, Nevada and Colorado.

“No, no, no, no, no. It’s not going to affect my vote,” said Sister “Molly” Maria Luisa Munoz, a Roman Catholic nun in Denver who works with immigrants and the gay and lesbian community. “My mother straightened us out right away,” she said. “God made everybody. How we came out? That’s God’s creation. Nobody should judge.”

At Barela’s Coffee House in Albuquerque’s predominantly Hispanic South Valley, manager Geri Lucero said when the talk turns to politics there, it’s almost always about the economy.

“Economics is more important right now because people are struggling with their money,” the 57-year-old said, noting that conversation on the day after Obama’s announcement revolved around two recent pit bull maulings, not gay marriage.

Will Obama’s stance impact her vote? No, she replied.

Despite the increased acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage among Hispanics, one of the most recent polls of registered voters on the issue, from Quinnipiac University in July 2011, shows only 37 percent of Hispanics said they would support a law in their state that would allow same-sex couples to get married, compared with 46 percent overall. But a Pew Research Center survey of Latinos in March 2011 showed 59 percent of Hispanics said homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared to 58 percent of the general population.

Gary Segura, director of Chicano studies at Stanford University, said that even though Hispanics hold more conservative views on family and social issues than the general population, “it’s not how Latinos vote. It’s about jobs, the economy, education.”

The morning after Obama’s announcement, discussion on a Spanish-language radio station popular with Cuban-Americans in Miami focused on the president’s embrace of same-sex marriage, but most callers seemed more interested in discussing the likely political calculations that went into the decision than in slamming the president for violating their religious principles.

Delsa Bernardo, who co-owns Yiya’s Gourmet Cuban Bakery and Café in Miami with her life partner, said Obama’s shift has actually re-energized her support for the president. Bernardo said she backed Obama in 2008 but has since become disillusioned with him, mostly over the difficulty she’s had in getting business loans from banks that received the bailouts backed by the president.

“It might swing my vote more to him because he’s more open on this,” she said.

Still, some conservative Hispanics said they will use Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage to try to woo more Latinos to the Republican Party.

About 25 conservatives representing 10 southern Nevada churches met Thursday at the Casa Don Juan restaurant in downtown Las Vegas. The group of pastors, Hispanic activists and social conservatives blasted Obama’s stance, fretting about the future of the family in the United States.

“He’s destroying the fabric of the family,” said Juan Sclafani, a Republican pastor at the First Spanish Baptist Church in Las Vegas. “His motivation is to get votes, but he doesn’t realize that he is destroying our nation.”

Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles in Washington, D.C., said his group expects to use the gay marriage debate to recruit new Hispanic supporters for Romney. They plan to focus on voter registration in Nevada and then branch out to Florida, North Carolina, Colorado and New Mexico.

Colorado’s Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio, who is both gay and Hispanic, said it was difficult to say how Obama’s statements would affect the presidential race in Colorado this year.

“While it may not be the most politically advantageous decision to make, he made the right decision,” Palacio said. “I think that’s more important than anything else. He’s putting the right thing to do ahead of politics.”

The US State Department (www.dvlottery.state.gov/esc) has posted all results of last year’s Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery. All applicants who completed their registrations through USA Green Card have already received their results via email. You can now prepare your early registration for the next program. You can learn more and register at http://www.usa-green-card.com

The results of the DV-2013 US Visa Lottery are expected to be announced in the next few days.  If you registered in the calendar year 2011 program, known as the “DV-2013″ lottery, then you will be able to check your results at the DV Lottery web site using your registration confirmation number here:  https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/

If you registered with USA Green Card, you will also receive an email with your results in the coming days.  You can always login to your account to check your status as well:  http://www.usa-green-card.com/GC2_AccountAdminLogin.aspx

The US Government had previously announced that the results would be ready on or about May 1, 2012.  As of today, Thursday, May 3, 2012, the US State Department HAS NOT YET PUBLISHED RESULTS.  As soon as these are ready, information will be posted here.

Mitt Romney will ‘study and consider’ Marco Rubio’s Republican alternative to the DREAM Act – Political Intelligence – A national political and campaign blog from The Boston Globe – Boston.com.

Mitt Romney’s campaign said Wednesday that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will “study and consider” the immigration bill outlined by Florida Senator Marco Rubio but stopped short of offering an endorsement.

Rubio, a rising GOP star rumored to be a possible running mate for Romney, said Tuesday that he is putting together a conservative alternative to the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. That bill, supported by Democrats and popular among Latinos, would facilitate citizenship for illegal immigrant youths who enroll in college or enlist in the military.

The plan by Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, would allow these young illegal immigrants to stay in the United States but would deny them citizenship.

The Wall Street Journal and NBC News reported that Romney cited a Republican version of the DREAM Act as an important overture to Hispanic voters when he spoke Sunday at a private fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla. Romney opposes the DREAM Act as written.

Rubio said Tuesday that he did not consult Romney before drawing up his plan, but added that “it’s important for him to feel comfortable with and be supportive of whatever endeavor we pursue.”

Though stricter than the DREAM Act, Rubio’s proposal still might conflict with Romney’s firm stance on illegal immigration.

“I’d build a fence, I’d hire border patrol agents to secure it, I’d make sure that we crack down on employers that hire people who are here illegally and make sure they use a system like E-Verify,” Romney said last week at a rally in Warwick, R.I.

Romney’s position on immigration has contributed to his deficit among Hispanic voters. A Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday showed 67 percent of registered Latino voters support President Obama, compared to only 27 percent who back Romney.

Lately, Romney has stressed his support of legal immigration and has said the Republican Party, not the Democratic Party, is “the pro-immigration party.”

“We are the party that values legal immigration,” he said in Warwick, where he spoke for several minutes about immigration. “We welcome people coming here legally; it’s a source of strength for us. Theirs is the party that talks about it, but does nothing about it. I want to make sure we stop illegal immigration, so we can protect legal immigration.”

Romney said immigrants do not have to abandon their native languages but should be able to speak English. To underscore the point, he said Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno, a Republican, had told him that “Spanish is the language of our heritage, and English is the language of opportunity.”

Romney also extended a special invitation to highly educated foreign nationals, saying “if you have advanced degrees from accredited universities here or elsewhere, I’d staple a green card to their diploma.”

Romney’s campaign said he would review “any proposals on immigration from his Republican partners.”

“We must work together on protecting and strengthening legal immigration, securing our borders, ending illegal immigration in a civil but resolute manner, and ensuring that any reforms do not encourage further illegal immigration,” Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement.

Demand Rises for H1-B Skilled-Worker Visas – WSJ.com.

In a sign of the improving economy, the U.S. government saw a sharp rise in petitions for skilled-foreign-worker visas during the first week of this year’s application season.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received 25,600 petitions for H-1B visas since April 2, nearly twice as many as it received for the entire first month of last year’s application period.

The agency began accepting H-1B petitions last week for jobs with a start date of Oct. 1 or later, typically in computer programming, engineering and other high-tech fields where there is sometimes a shortage of qualified Americans.

“Given the improved economy…it would not be surprising to see the quota filled very early this year,” said Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, an Arlington, Va., group that studies the H-1 program.

The H-1Bs fall into two categories. Each year, a maximum 65,000 visas are granted in a general category of skilled workers. An additional 20,000 H-1Bs are allotted to foreign nationals who hold an advanced degree.

Last week, the immigration agency received 17,400 petitions in the general category and 8,200 in the advanced category, for individuals who usually have a Master’s degree.

In contrast, last year in the first week, the government received 5,900 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap, and about 4,500 petitions for the 20,000 visas set aside for people with advanced degrees.

In all of April 2011, the government received a total of about 14,000 petitions in the two categories.

In the first application week in 2010, the agency received 13,500 general petitions and 5,600 petitions for individuals with advanced degrees.

Demand for the skilled-worker visas has fluctuated in past years, with the visa limit exhausted on the first few days of filing in 2007 and 2008.

That demand decreased during the economic crisis and its aftermath. In recent years, some lawmakers, including Sens. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Richard Durbin (D., Ill.), have expressed concern about the visa program and whether foreign workers, especially in the software sector, are displacing qualified Americans.

But the increased visa applications mirror a pickup in activity for related businesses.

“We’re the busiest we have been in four years,” said Steve Miller, a Seattle attorney who specializes in business immigration. His clients include large and midsize tech companies, as well as architecture firms.

“We’re seeing a widespread increase in hiring of new employees,” he said, adding that there appears to be “greater competition in the marketplace for top talent.”

Immigration officials arrest more than 3,100 – Boston.com.

Army Reserve Brothers Set To Become US Citizens | Fox News.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –  Two brothers assigned with the U.S. Army Reserve and originally from the Philippines are set to become U.S. citizens.

Rashniv and Odini Ramos are scheduled Wednesday to be naturalized during a special ceremony at the New Mexico Veterans’ Memorial in Albuquerque.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, military members with at least one year of service can apply for naturalization.

A naturalization applicant must be a person of good moral character, understand English and have a basic knowledge of U.S. history and government.

Democrats Take Aim at Rubio-Romney on Immigration.

Tech Titans Aid Undocumented Students – WSJ.com.

A group of Silicon Valley technology leaders, impatient with attempts to rewrite immigration laws, is funding efforts to help undocumented youths attend college, find jobs and stay in the country despite their illegal status.

The group includes Jeff Hawkins, inventor of the Palm Pilot; and the family foundations of Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel Corp.; and Mark Leslie, founder of the former Veritas Software Corp. Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, has for years supported undocumented students through her organizations that help low-income high-school students.

The Silicon Valley money is part of a broader response by individuals and states to Congress, which hasn’t passed the Dream Act. That federal legislation would offer a path to legalization for illegal immigrants who graduate from a U.S. high school and attend college or join the military.

“We think Congress’s inaction…is devastating for these students and tragic for the country,” said Ms. Powell Jobs, who was one of the first in the tech community to champion the Dream Act by lobbying her congresswoman and writing an op-ed piece supporting the legislation.

The focus of the Silicon Valley philanthropists is Educators for Fair Consideration, or E4FC, a nonprofit that gives scholarships, career advice and legal services to students brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants can face civil and criminal penalties. Among other ideas, the Silicon Valley donors are studying the possibility of using unpaid internships as way for students to come to the attention of employers who might later sponsor them for a legal work visa.

After helping a few dozen students through college with small donations, the San Francisco-based organization expanded with money from the tech leaders. It now has enlisted immigration attorneys to offer legal advice to hundreds of undocumented students.

“We used to think, ‘Let’s just get them through college’” with scholarships, said Katharine Gin, a teacher who founded E4FC along with a college counselor. “We thought the federal Dream Act would pass and we would be helping these students in the interim period only.”

Several of the Silicon Valley supporters became aware of the issue close up: Mr. Hawkins got to know an undocumented student at his daughters’ high school. Liz Simons, daughter of the founder of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, mentored an undocumented honor student in high school who was struggling to raise funds for college because of his illegal status. Seth Leslie, son of Veritas’s founder, had encountered undocumented students in his work as a schoolteacher and principal.

The money involved is relatively small: The tech philanthropists and others gave hundreds of thousands dollars in the last year to the group, whose 2012 operating budget is $600,000.

“I have chosen to make this one of my philanthropic areas,” said Mr. Hawkins, who disclosed his giving for the first time in an interview but declined to state the amount. “It’s still at an embryonic stage; I’m willing to crank it up as we find solutions.”

California, Illinois and New York in recent months passed bills that enable undocumented students to receive financial aid for college. Thirteen states allow illegal immigrants who reside in their borders to pay in-state fees at public universities.

Despite bipartisan support in the past, the Dream Act never passed Congress after it became caught up in the broader debate over reshaping the nation’s immigration system, including what to do with the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally. The latest version of the Dream Act was passed by the House in December 2010 but failed in the Senate, after it was tacked onto a defense-spending bill.

To opponents, the bill is tantamount to an amnesty program for children whose parents broke U.S. immigration laws; they argue it would entice more people to sneak into the country. President Barack Obama supports the Dream Act; Republican Mitt Romney has said he would veto the measure if elected president.

On hearing of the efforts by the group, Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national group that lobbies against legalization, said: “You’d think they would help people in the country legally who face difficult times getting a start.”

About 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year, according to experts who follow the issue. The Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to deny a K-12 public education to children who are in the country illegally.

But after that, their future is uncertain because they can’t qualify for federal grants, work-study programs or bank loans to finance college nor can they obtain work legally.

U.S. tech companies have long backed raising the number of visas the government issues for skilled immigrants such as software engineers, and argue the country is losing its competitive edge as other economies attract skilled labor forces.

At a recent gathering in Los Altos, Calif., an undocumented 23-year-old with a degree in civil engineering, which he obtained on a scholarship, told funders of E4FC that he had five job offers in the last two months, only to have them revoked because of his immigration status. He said he has been willing to work for no pay to accrue experience required for a professional engineering license. Even that has proved challenging.

The U.S. has “put a lot of money into [undocumented students] already,” said Eva Grove, wife of Intel’s co-founder, whose family foundation gave $1 million to immigration-related groups last year. “It makes no sense to dead-end them after they are educated.”

Mitt Romney in talks over nationwide version of tough state immigration laws | World news | guardian.co.uk.