Free Republic

The Homeland Security Department expects applications for high-skilled immigration visas to outpace the available supply in a matter of days, one of the fastest runs on the much-sought-after work permits in years and a sign of continued economic recovery amid new hiring by U.S. technology companies. The urgent race for such visas -- highly desired by Microsoft, Apple, Google and other leading technology companies -- coincides with congressional plans to increase the number available to tech-savvy foreigners. The race to secure one of the 85,000 so-called H-1B visas available for the 2014 budget year started Monday and requests will be...

http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000028771/Barney-Frank-and-the-Law-of-Unintended-Consequences.aspx The short answer is yes,Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis,, the Jihadist terrorist who plotted to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan, was able to get a Visa more easily from the State Department because of the Frank Amendment. Congressman Barney Frank sponsored over 10 such amendments in the 1990's, bills that he sheparded into law which made it easier for terrorists to enter into the United States with legal visas. Bill Clinton's CIA Director James Woolsey, speaking on the Frank Amendment to the Wall Street Journal stated that "Congress had made it illegal to deny visas to members...

Leading up to next week’s UN General Assembly, the U.S. has denied visas to an estimated 20 Iranian government officials planning on attending the event, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Saturday. In preparation for the assembly, the Iranian delegation applied for about 160 visas two months ago, of which around 20 were turned down. The U.S. State Department gave no official reason, but the travel bans are likely due to sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose final term in office ends next year, will give his last speech in front of the General Assembly...

We stayed in a Lubbock Texas hotel this weekend which had several on their cleaning staff from Hungary. I inquired with the front desk and the clerk said they were on Visas due to an exchange program. I understood her to say the work program allows companies like Windham provide jobs to foreign residents who would like to relocate to the US. Does anyone know anything about this program? Sounds strange to me. One of the housemaids mentioned them and claimed that the citizen staff hours had been reduced in order to hire these Hungarians.

Tattoos linked to violent gangs are preventing some immigrants from getting green cards, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the paper, concern about foreign gangs has caused U.S. officials to delay or deny applications for permanent residency submitted by dozens of immigrants with tattoos--even those without connections to gangs.

At a time of high unemployment and with a struggling economy, why on earth would Obama go out of his way to push to extend the H-1B Visas of foreign workers while millions of American engineers are without jobs? That is the question being asked by Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly...

New Delhi An Israeli official said an explosion was hit an Israeli diplomat's car in New Delhi on Monday. He said one person was hurt in the blast, but did not identify the victim. Israeli Embassy spokesman David Goldfarb said the car was near the embassy when the blast went off. Indian police said only that a car was on fire on the street outside the embassy.

Suspected Iranian Blew Off His Own Leg In A Botched Terror Attack In Bangkok Robert JohnsonFeburary 14, 2012 One day after bombs targeting Israeli embassy staff went off in India and Georgia, another botched attack played out this morning in Bangkok. Through several reports, the incident appears to have played out something like this: Saeib Morabi, a suspected Iranian, was fleeing an explosion that rocked through his rented home in central Bangkok. While he was on the road looking for transportation, another explosion went off "on a nearby road." When Morabi finally managed to flag down a cab, the driver...

MK Michael Ben Ari is still being refused a visa to enter the United States – but the lawmaker says Hamas terrorists are allowed to visit. In an interview with Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service, Ben Ari said Wednesday that he is “still waiting” for a visa to visit the U.S.” Ben Ari noted that even after thousands of people were killed in the September 11, 2001 multi-site Al Qaeda terrorist attack on America, “The United States allows terrorists to enter its territory.” The lawmaker contended that “It shows something about the country, that what may happen to the next...

The US embassy in Riyadh revealed that 110,000 Saudi nationals applied for a visa to visit the US in 2011, an increase of 25,000 from the previous year. The embassy also revealed that 93 percent of these visa applications were approved, and 75 percent of visa application approvals were issued within one week. He also revealed that the US embassy is required to check all the required documentation, as well as interview the visa applicant, revealing that some visas are rejected due to the applicant’s failure to provide accurate answers at this stage. As for claims that some questions contained...

by John Hill Stand With Arizona As if Obama's plan to cut National Guard troops on the Mexican border by 75% at a time when there has been a sudden surge in border crossers wasn't leaving the United States vulnerable enough, now a report has revealed a new insanity - lowered standards for granting immigration visas: Higher-ups within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are pressuring rank-and-file officers to rubber-stamp immigrants’ visa applications, sometimes against the officers’ will, according to a Homeland Security report and internal documents....A 40-page report, drafted by the Office of Inspector General in September but not publicly...

During an interview with CNN's John King on Thursday, the Texas governor said that expectations that U.S. authorities are going to arrest and deport up to 15 million undocumented immigrants isn't realistic.

As part of its 2012 Diversity Visa program, the U.S. State Department is considering 5,662 applicants from countries deemed ‘State Sponsors of Terrorism’ – Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba. In 2011, the State Department awarded 2,427 Diversity Visas to people from Iran, Syria and Sudan -- 1,842 for Iran; 553 for Sudan; and 32 for Syria.

Illegal immigration has become a heads-we-win / tails-you-lose proposition in this country. If the supporters of amnesty and open borders could get that codified into law, they would. Since they can't, they support comprehensive illegal immigration reform, with the idea being that the amnesty will occur, but they'll stall and slow-walk the security measures into oblivion. Since the people are onto that ploy and have demanded security first, the latest tactic is just to refuse to enforce the law. We can pass a bill that says we're putting a fence on our southern border, but we can't get the fence...

I've long railed against the H1B Visa scam, and the premise that there aren't enough qualified American workers to fill jobs here, and thus corporations MUST insource workers from other countries... on the cheap... via H1B Visas. And, anyone that has been following the immigration bills knows that corporations like Microsoft gripe that they need the government to create MORE H1B Visas.Well, this video will make you sick. It's an attorney at a sit down panel showing HOW to avoid hiring Americans, side-stepping immigration laws IN ORDER TO insource workers on the cheap from other countries. CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR...

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee voted 19-11 to pass Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA) SAFE Act to abolish the Diversity Visa Lottery. The bill will now go before the full House. Most Americans do not even know that we have a lottery to give out Visas, but the rest of the world knows. In 2009, more than 15 million applications for the Visa Lottery were filled online. The only requirement is a high school diploma or some equivalency. The immigrants are selected by simply put the applications in a lottery. 50,000 Diversity Immigrant Visas are then granted random chance. John...

[snip] The new arrivals are buying or building high-end homes in Westlake, Lakeway and the northern suburbs, according to real estate agents. They're also buying apartment complexes, opening restaurants and investing in high-tech businesses. In October, information technology firm Evox, based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, invested $2.4 million in an Austin office, hiring 11 employees. That money helps the company bypass the long waiting list that forces many of their countrymen to wait years to immigrate legally. Many receive visas that give them legal residency in return for investing large sums of money in the U.S. and creating jobs. Some...

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday the United States is easing visa terms for Iranian students here as part of efforts to support their aspirations for political change back home. In what she called a "big step forward" in the Obama administration support's for Iran's people, Clinton said Iranian students and exchange visitors are now eligible for two-year, multiple entry visas. "This gives young Iranians the opportunity to return home for family events, to participate in internships, to travel outside the United States -- and they won't need to get a new visa every time," she...

Almost a decade after Middle Eastern terrorists with expired visas attacked the U.S., the government has failed to implement a security measure to adequately track foreigners like them who enter the country legally but never leave. As a result nearly half of the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants actually entered the U.S. legally but overstayed their visa, according to a new federal report. That’s because the agency responsible for keeping the nation safe—the Department of Homeland Security—can’t keep track of immigrants who remain in the U.S. after their visas expire. This clearly creates a huge national security issue...

The Obama administration is making it possible for more foreign students studying in the U.S. on visas to stay and get practical training in their career fields. The administration is expanding the list of science, technology, engineering and math degrees that allow foreign students who earn them to stay in the U.S. up to 17 months after graduating. Those months can be spent working. The time also could mean the student may not have to leave before getting an H-1B visa, a visa reserved for high-skilled workers that can last for up to six years.