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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
USCIS Creates E-mail Addresses for Questions on International Adoption Applications - 08/29/06
USCIS announced that parents with questions about international adoption applications can submit inquiries using designated e-mail addresses. Each District Office will have an e-mail address reserved solely for customer service on international adoptions.
[ more ]
Saturday, August 26, 2006
USCIS Publishes Revised Form I-907 - 08/26/06
Be prepared to use new I-907 premium processing application on and after August 28, 2006. The old version will no longer be accepted after this date.
[ more ]
DOS Announces Correction to Final Rule on Consular Review of Nonimmigrant Visas - 08/26/06
DOS announced a correction to a final rule expanding guidance to consular officers for the review of nonimmigrant visa issuances and refusals contained at 22 CFR 41.113(i) and 22 CFR 41.121(c) to specify who should conduct reviews, the types of cases to be reviewed and the goals of the reviews. (71 FR 50338, 8/25/06)
[ more ]
US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon Issues Updated Guidance on Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Processing - 08/26/06
Beginning Thursday, August 24 the Consular Section in Beirut will resume Immigrant Visa processing. Lebanese citizens who were previously scheduled for an immigrant visa interview will be re-scheduled immediately. Also beginning Monday, August 28 the Consular Section will resume limited Nonimmigrant Visa processing for F, H, J, L, M, O, P nonimmigrant visa applicants. Processing for all other visitor visa categories remains suspended until further notice.
[ more ]
Immigration and Customes Enforcement(ICE) Arrests 326 Foreign Nationals in Houston - 08/26/06
ICE officials arrested 326 foreign nationals in Houston, Texas during a week long immigration enforcement operation ending August 21, 2006. The arrests were carried out as part of ICE's nationwide "Operation Return to Sender" program in which ICE targets foreign nationals with final orders of removal. ICE enforcement teams worked with other Houston-area law enforcement agencies in last week's operation, including several local sheriffs and police departments. According to ICE, of the 326 individuals arrested during this latest operation, 30 are "fugitive criminal aliens" with final orders of deportation; 89 are non-criminal foreign nationals with final orders of deportation; 17 are undocumented aliens with criminal convictions; and 190 are "immigration violators". ICE has already deported 142 of the individuals arrested. [ more ]
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Outlines Reforms for Immigration Courts and Board of Immigration Appeals - 08/26/06
After the completion of a comprehensive review of the Immigration Courts and the Board that was initiated by the Attorney General in January 2006, following reports of judges failing to display temperament and produce work that meets the Department’s standards, the Attorney General directed the implementation of 22 new measures. [ more ]
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
USCIS announces the addition of two new classifications to the - 08/23/06
USCIS announced the addition of two new classifications to the premium processing Service, which allows US businesses to pay a $1,000 premium processing fee in exchange for 15-calendar-day
processing of their case. For the full release, see below.
[ more ]
Friday, August 4, 2006
Garmo & Associates, P.C. Opens a West Coast Immigration Law Office - 08/04/06
The Law of Garmo & Associates, P.C. is pleased to announce the opening of a second office in the San Diego area, California. The Michigan office will continue to provide the excellent service that our client are used to. Steven N. Garmo will continue to see clients at both Michigan and California offices on an appointment basis. The new San Diego office is fully operational and ready to serve the needs of the immigrant community in the West Coast. The office is located at: Garmo & Associates, P.C.
California Office
124 W. Main St,
Suite 200, El Cajon, California, 92020,
Tel: (619) 441-2500, Fax: (619) 631-6444
E-Mail: steve@garmo.com.
[ more ]
USCIS REMINDS CUSTOMERS OF FILING CHANGE FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION DOCUMENTS - 08/04/06
USCIS is discontinuing local production of Form I-688B Employment Authorization Card (EAC) in favor of Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) produced at one central location using national systems. The locally produced I-688B lacks security features and is not well suited to employment verification by employers. Read below for more details. [ more ]
USCIS Reminds Eligible Salvadorans to Re-register for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by September 1, 2006 - 08/04/06
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today reminded eligible Salvadorans to re-register for the 12-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by September 1, 2006. Under this extension, those who have already been granted TPS are eligible to remain and work in the United States for an additional 12 months until September 9, 2007. Current employment authorization documents (EADs) have also been automatically extended until March 9, 2007. There are approximately 225,000 nationals of El Salvador (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) who are eligible for re-registration. To date, USCIS has received approximately 56,000 TPS re-registration applications from Salvadoran registrants. [ more ]
USCIS Announces Special Immigrant Status Available For Civilian Translators - 08/04/06
Afghan and Iraqi Nationals Working with United States Military Eligible to Immigrate
Special immigrant status is now available to Afghan and Iraqi nationals who have worked directly for the United States Military as translators. Created by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109-163), this new immigration category allows translators and their families to gain admission to the United States, apply for permanent residency and eventually acquire U.S. Citizenship. To request special immigrant status, translators must file a “Petition for Amerasian, Widow (er), or Special Immigrant” (Form I-360) with the required evidence listed below. [ more ]
DOS Issues Guidance on Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Processing for Lebanese Citizens - 08/04/06
DOS issued a Visa Policy Telegram providing guidance on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing for Lebanese citizens. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut remains closed and has ceased all visa processing for the duration of the current crisis. [ more ]
Social Security Administgration (SSA) Adopts Final Rules on Social Security Card Replacements - 08/04/06
The SSA has adopted final regulations that reflect amendments to the Social Security Act made by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. (71 FR 43054, 7/31/06). Effective December 16, 2005, individuals will be limited to three replacement SSN cards per year and ten during a lifetime. Reasonable exceptions are permitted on a case-by-case basis in compelling circumstances. Previously, there were no numerical limits on the issuance of replacement SSN cards. [ more ]
USCIS Clarifies H-2B Filing Procedures for the Remainder of Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007 - 08/04/06
USCIS issued a reminder to employers who use the H-2B nonimmigrant program to fulfill their temporary labor workforce needs that the "returning worker" provision of the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act (SOS) Act of 2005, which exempts those aliens counted toward the H-2B numerical limit during any one of the three fiscal years preceding the year of the requested start date, is set to expire October 1, 2006. [ more ]
USCIS Issues Guidance Memorandum on International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) - 08/04/06
USCIS issued a guidance memorandum for field officers regarding the amendments made by IMBRA to sections 214(d) and 214(r) of the INA. The Act requires that a petitioner for a K nonimmigrant visa for an alien fiancé(e) (K-1) or alien spouse (K-3) submit with his or her Form I-129F information on any criminal convictions of the petitioner for certain specified crimes, imposes time and numerical filing limitations, establishes a waiver of these limitations (including a general waiver, an extraordinary circumstances waiver in cases involving a history of violent offenses, and a mandatory waiver in cases where petitioner was subjected to battery or extreme cruelty), and obligates USCIS to track repeated petitions. The Interoffice Memorandum sets forth these statutory requirements and adjudication standards and provides procedural guidance. [ more ]
President Signs Sex Offender Bill with Significant Immigration Implications - 08/04/06
On July 27, 2006, President Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (H.R. 4472; PL 109-248). Drafted to strengthen penalties against child predators, the Act also bars convicted sex offenders from having family-based petitions approved and makes failure to register as a sex offender a deportable offense. Specifically, section 402 bars all U.S. citizens and permanent residents convicted of a specified offense against a minor (as defined in section 111 of the Act) from ever petitioning for any family member (spouse, children, parents, siblings, fiancées) for permanent residency. The only circumstance for waiving this bar is if the Secretary of Homeland Security, in his sole and unreviewable discretion, determines that the U.S. citizen or permanent resident poses no risk to the family member seeking permanent residency. [ more ]
Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Holds Domestic Battery Not a "Crime Involving Moral Turpitude" or "Crime of Domestic Violence" - 08/04/06
The BIA held that an alien’s conviction for domestic battery under sections 242 and 243(e)(1) of the California Penal Code does not qualify categorically either as a conviction for a "crime involving moral turpitude" under INA§237(a)(2)(A)(ii) or, in removal proceedings under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit, as a "crime of violence" such that it may be considered a "crime of domestic violence" under INA§237(a)(2)(E)(i). In re Sanudo, 23 I&N Dec. 968 (BIA 2006). [ more ]
FY 2007 U.S. Advanced-Degree H1B Cap Reached - 08/04/06
USCIS announced that, as of July 26, it had received enough U.S. Advanced Degree H-1B petitions to meet the exemption limit of 20,000 established by Congress for fiscal year 2007. Petitions received on July 26, 2006 will be subject to a random selection process. Under this procedure, USCIS will identify those petitions received on July 26, and conduct a computer-generated random selection to allocate any remaining numbers. Petitions that are not selected or otherwise exempt from the cap will be rejected and returned along with the filing fee. USCIS will continue to process petitions for current H-1B workers that do not count towards the cap. [ more ]
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
US Department of State Provides Instructions for Lebanese Citizens - 08/02/06
DOS summarizes guidance on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing for Lebanese Citizens. [ more ]
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