US Senate confirms Menendez as federal judge in Minnesota
National News
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kate M. Menendez has been confirmed by the Senate to fill Minnesota’s federal court vacancy, the state’s two senators announced over the weekend.
Menendez was nominated by President Joe Biden in September. She appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early November to take questions and talk about her five-year stint as a magistrate judge, the Star Tribune reported.
Menendez previously served as a federal public defender for more than 18 years. Her experience includes several adjunct law professor roles, including at the University of Minnesota, Hamline University and St. Thomas University.
Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith said in a joint statement Saturday that Menendez was recommended by the judicial selection committee, comprised of prominent members of Minnesota’s legal community.
“Judge Menendez has dedicated her career to making our state a more just place,” Klobuchar said.
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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.