New Publications and Items of Interest
E-Verify unauthorized worker detection rate. Westat has released an evaluation of the E-Verify program, which finds that "since the inception of E-Verify it has been clear that many unauthorized workers obtain employment by committing identity fraud that cannot be detected by E-Verify." The report puts E-Verify's inaccuracy rate for detecting unauthorized workers at approximately 54 percent.
The report is available HERE.
USCIS's synopsis of the key findings and program implications is available HERE.
High-skill immigration top blogger choice for economic recovery. The Kauffman Foundation has released the results of a survey of leading economics bloggers showing, among other things, that 63 percent support an increase in high-skill immigration to speed economic recovery.
The report is available HERE.
Undocumented statistics. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics has published Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2009. The report provides estimates of the undocumented population residing in the U.S. by periods of entry, leading countries of birth, and states of residence.
The data show that between January 2008 and January 2009, the number of undocumented people living in the U.S. decreased seven percent, from 11.6 million to 10.8 million. Between 2000 and 2007, the unauthorized population grew by 3.3 million, from 8.5 million to 11.8 million. An estimated 8.5 million of the total 10.8 million undocumented persons living in the U.S. in 2009 were from the North America region, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The next leading regions of origin were Asia (980,000) and South America (740,000). Mexico continued to be the leading source of unauthorized immigration to the U.S., with 62 percent of the undocumented population from Mexico. California remained the leading state of residence of the unauthorized population in 2009, with 2.6 million. The next leading state, Texas, had 1.7 million unauthorized residents, followed by Florida with 720,000.
The report is available HERE.
DOS annual report on immigrant visa applicants. The Department of State (DOS) has released its annual report on immigrant visa applicants in the family and employment categories as of November 1, 2009. The figures reflect only petitions the DOS has received and do not include the significant number of applications pending at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, such as applications for adjustment of status. As of November 1, 2009, the DOS's figures show that approximately 3.5 million immigrant visa applicants (and their spouses and children) are on the waiting list in the employment-based categories. That total includes 3,601 in the EB-1 category; 6,295 in EB-2; 119,759 in EB-3 (including 103,448 skilled and 16,311 other workers); 529 in EB-4; and 325 in EB-5. The report also includes listings of the countries with the highest number of waiting list registrants in each category.
The report is available HERE.
For the latest information on visa issuances at foreign service posts, see HERE.
Haiti information. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted links to immigration information and resources available from USCIS and the Department of State in response to the Haiti earthquake. Included are links on temporary protected status, humanitarian parole, and special situations.
The page is posted HERE.