Bogus 'Emergency' In Forest, Groups Say
Headline Legal News
Courthouse News reports that the US Forest Service declared a bogus "emergency situation" to push through a salvage timber sale in Northern California's Klamath National Forest, three environmental groups say in Federal Court. The Forest Service can declare an emergency when a project threatens imminent economic loss to the government, but the only ones who will lose if this project doesn't proceed is a private, third-party timber auction bidder, the groups say.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act, instead of the inaccurate and incomplete environmental analysis the Forest Service prepared, it needs to complete a more comprehensive environmental impact statement that also considers cumulative impacts and a full range of alternatives, the groups say.
Joining the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center as plaintiffs are the Environmental Protection Information Center and the Klamath Forest Alliance.
Represented by René Voss of San Anselmo, the groups seek withdrawal of the faulty environmental assessment, want the "emergency situation" to be set aside, and injunctive relief.
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USCIS Will Begin Accepting CW-1 Petitions for Fiscal Year 2019
On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. Employers in the CNMI use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are ineligible for other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2019 is 4,999.
For the FY 2019 cap, USCIS encourages employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to six months in advance of the proposed start date of employment and as early as possible within that timeframe. USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance. An extension petition may request a start date of Oct. 1, 2018, even if that worker’s current status will not expire by that date.
Since USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the number of CW-1 visas available for FY 2019, USCIS may conduct a lottery to randomly select petitions and associated beneficiaries so that the cap is not exceeded. The lottery would give employers the fairest opportunity to request workers, particularly with the possibility of mail delays from the CNMI.
USCIS will count the total number of beneficiaries in the petitions received after 10 business days to determine if a lottery is needed. If the cap is met after those initial 10 days, a lottery may still need to be conducted with only the petitions received on the last day before the cap was met. USCIS will announce when the cap is met and whether a lottery has been conducted.