Obama Signs Off on E-Verify Extension

On October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the 2010 Fiscal Year Homeland Security Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2892). The bill includes an extension of the federal government's employment verification system—E-Verify—as well as extensions of three visa programs. The legislation provides for a three-year extension of E-Verify and $137 million to operate the system and further improve its accuracy and compliance rates. E-Verify is operated by the federal government and allows employers to voluntarily verify the work authorization of new hires.

The bill also extends visa programs for investors, religious workers, and medical doctors. The EB-5 visa program, created in 1990 by Congress, awards visas to immigrants who invest at least $1 million in a commercial enterprise benefiting the U.S. economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers. Some EB-5 visas are granted under a regional pilot program to immigrants who invest $500,000 provided the investment is made in specific geographic regions. The Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Visa Program, created by the 1990 Immigration Act, allows religious organizations in the United States to sponsor nonminister religious workers from abroad, such as nuns, religious brothers, and lay missionaries. Finally, the legislation extends a program allowing state health departments to submit requests directly to the State Department (DOS) to initiate the waiver process for a J-1 medical doctor.

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