Haines Borough Manager David Sosa said last week he believes it is in the municipality’s best interest to help planning and zoning technician Tracy Cui obtain her “green card,” a process that could cost the borough up to $10,000.
The borough hired Cui, a Chinese national, in 2012. It spent $6,000 in attorney fees and processing to secure an H1-B visa for Cui, which allows her to work in the country for three years.
Sosa said the borough has spent $1,300 so far this year on the process. While the borough could apply for the second half of the H1-B visa – allowing Cui to stay for another three years – Sosa said he would prefer to pursue the green card. A green card must be renewed every 10 years, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“Tracy is very competent and does her job well. I believe it is in the borough’s best interest to assist Tracy in obtaining a green card, given her qualifications for the position and her performance to date,” Sosa said.
The green card process has two steps. The first step, obtaining certification through the Department of Labor through a program called the PERM process, costs about $6,000. The second step, completing an I-140 petition, costs about $3,500-$4,000, Sosa said.
Federal law prohibits the employee from paying for any part of the PERM process, which is conducted through the Department of Labor. However, according to several law firms specializing in immigration cases, the employee can pay for the I-140, the second part of the process which is conducted through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
According to the Chicago-based law firm Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, “there is nothing that precludes payment of I-140 fees by the employee. Therefore, an employer may enter an agreement specifying that the employee is responsible for all costs associated with this process, including filings fees and attorneys’ fees.”
In addition to costing the borough money, pursuing the green card avenue also is risky, Sosa said, because it requires the municipality to readvertise the position and prove there aren’t U.S. citizens willing or able to do the job.
“There are costs associated with sponsoring Tracy that are the responsibility of the employer to bear. There is also risk because a new hiring process is required and if a qualified citizen is found, we would have to hire that person and let Tracy go, at which point she would lose her visa,” Sosa said.
That would be a loss to the borough, Sosa said. “It is not likely that we would find another person with Tracy’s level of expertise who would stay beyond three years. More likely is that we would settle for someone only marginally qualified and then have to spend time and money training that individual to do basic skills that Tracy has already mastered.”
Cui has a master’s degree in planning from the University of Florida. Before moving to Haines to take the planner job, she worked as a municipal intern and researcher in Florida and Massachusetts. She also worked as an intern for the building and zoning department of the city of Palatka, Fla.
“Tracy has a master’s degree in planning from a top-tier school in this field, and has an excellent work background. Additionally, she was recently approved to sit for her certification, which required submitting a professional resume for her to be allowed to take the test. At least one-third of the applicants routinely are told that they cannot test. This speaks to her professional qualification and proficiency in the field,” Sosa said.
Cui has also proven she can and will enforce code and hold people accountable, Sosa said, something that had been lacking before she arrived on the job.
“While some may not be happy with this, I will argue that it is a good thing for our community when code is appropriately enforced as it demonstrates that the rule of law is paramount and not arbitrary decision-making,” Sosa said.
Sosa said he intends to include funds for the green card process in his upcoming budget, which is due to the assembly no later than April 1.
While some employers try to work clauses into contracts that require the employee to stay with the municipality for a certain amount of time after obtaining the green card, Sosa said the borough’s lawyers have advised against this.
“There are times when employers sponsor persons, and then they soon move on after obtaining the green card. Other times the effort engenders loyalty,” Sosa said. “In general the attorneys who advise us on these matters suggest avoiding liquidated damages clauses because the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division has been generous to employees in wage claim disputes in matters like this.”
In 2012, Cui was chosen over 10 other candidates for the position, which enforces planning and zoning code and serves as staff to the borough planning commission.