Hunton & Williams's Haiti Earthquake Advocacy Honored with 2011 National Law Journal Pro Bono Award

Hunton & Williams LLP has received The National Law Journal's 2011 Pro Bono Award, recognizing six law firms that "best reflect the pro bono tradition"  The firm was lauded as one of three law firms that led the profession's response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Representing Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services, a Hunton & Williams team -- including attorney Suzan Kern and senior professional assistant Carol Schlenker of the immigration practice group -- urged the Department of Homeland Security to extend the deadline for Haitians in the United States to apply for Temporary Protected Status, and conferred with USCIS to remove obstacles to the TPS filing process.

For details, please see the announcement on the Hunton & Williams website.

USCIS Announces Procedures for Adoptions of Haitian Orphans by U.S. Parents

USCIS recently announced how the agency will implement the Help HAITI Act of 2010, which authorizes lawful permanent resident status (a "green card") for orphaned children from Haiti who were paroled into the United States after the January 12, 2010, earthquake under the "Haitian Orphan Parole Program."  For more details, visit the USCIS's website on the parole program and its associated links.

USCIS Revises Employer Handbook for 2011

The USCIS has revised and released its Employer Handbook.  The Handbook contains detailed instructions for completing Form I-9, which is used to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.  It also contains a detailed FAQ section that answers the more common I-9 questions.  Employers should ensure that all those involved in the I-9 process have a copy of the updated Handbook.  A copy can be found HERE.

Tags:

USCIS Suspends Export License Certification Requirement on Form I-129 Until February 20

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced recently that US employers who petition for foreign workers in the H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore), L-1, and O-1A categories will not be required to complete Part 6 of Form I-129 until February 20, 2011.  Part 6 contains the employer certification regarding licensing requirements under export controls and ITAR, recently discussed in this blog. USCIS received a number of inquiries from stakeholders requesting that the agency delay implementation of this requirement in order to give petitioners time to establish the necessary internal processes to properly satisfy the attestation requirements.