|
E&M Visa Update for October 20, 2003 Volume
Three, Number Eleven sign
up to receive this newsletter via email
Homeland Security Department
Opening 7 Offices Overseas To Screen Visas Schwarzenegger To Face
Fight Over Drivers Licenses For Undocumented Aliens Amnesty/Guest Worker Legislation
Gaining Momentum Immigrant Religious
Worker Program Extended Through 2008 ABA
Urges Board Of Immigration Appeals To Discard Streamlining Immigration Processing Time Reports
Homeland Security Department Opening 7 Offices
Overseas To Screen Visas The Homeland Security Department plans to open law enforcement offices
throughout the Muslim world, with agents assigned to investigate
visa applicants suspected of ties to terrorist groups. Permanent
offices are slated to open next year in American embassies and
consulates in Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan and the United
Arab Emirates. These countries have been chosen because of their
visa volume and because of presence of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist
groups. Two offices have already opened in Saudi Arabia, one in
Riyadh, and the other in Jeddah. These offices reflect a major
expansion of the efforts to scrutinize visa applications. After
the September 11 terror attacks, the State Department was criticized
for lax visa policies that had allowed several of the suicide
hijackers to enter the U.S. without significant scrutiny. This
month, the Homeland Security Department was given ultimate authority
for deciding who is given a visa to the United States. That responsibility
previously lay with the State Department.
Schwarzenegger To Face Fight Over Drivers Licenses
For Undocumented Aliens The California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will
lead a campaign to repeal a law making drivers licenses available
to undocumented aliens. The law was signed September 5 by Governor
Gray Davis and takes effect January 1. Critics say the law sanctions
illegal immigration and poses a danger to national security, while
supporters say the law will actually increase public safety by
making sure immigrants are qualified to drive. The legislator
who sponsored the bill, state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles,
vowed to fight any effort by Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger
to repeal the law.
Amnesty/Guest Worker Legislation Gaining
Momentum With many members of Congress concerned with next year’s elections,
immigration issues are gaining bipartisan interest on Capitol
Hill. Two years ago, an amnesty program granting legal status
to millions of undocumented immigrants was on the verge of being
approved by President Bush. However, the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001 pushed those efforts to the back burner, as
the administration turned its focus toward securing borders rather
than helping undocumented immigrants. Now, more than two years
after the terrorist attacks, Capitol Hill appears ready to revisit
immigration reforms. Bills that have gathered bipartisan support
in recent weeks include: The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act,
sponsored by Orrin Hatch (R-UT), would grant legal status to undocumented
immigrants who are high school students, or graduates who have
been in the U.S. at least five years and have no criminal record.
The bill would also lift a restriction that discourages state
universities from charging the lower in-state tuition rate to
undocumented immigrants. The Craig-Kennedy farm workers bill, sponsored by Larry Craig (R-ID)
and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would grant legal status to 500,000
farm workers if they show that they did farm work for 100 days
over the past 18 months. Resident status will be granted on a
conditional basis; if they fail to do 360 days of farm work over
the next six years, they will lose their resident status. Senator
Kennedy is drawing up follow-up legislation for other industries;
his strategy is to use the farm workers' bill as a wedge to advance
other legislation that would grant legal status to other groups
of illegal immigrants, like the hundreds of thousands working
in restaurants and hotels.
Entries For The Next Visa Lottery Must
Be Filed Electronically Between November 1, 2003 And December
30, 2003 The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is a “green card” lottery administered
on an annual basis by the Department of State to provide for a
class of immigrants euphemistically known as "diversity immigrants"
(DV immigrants). 50,000 permanent resident visas are available
annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration
to the United States. For a list of the countries whose natives
qualify for the lottery, go the http://www.travel.state.gov/dv2005.html Applications for the DV-2005 Diversity Visa
Lottery must be submitted electronically between Saturday, November
1, 2003 and Tuesday, December 30, 2003. Applicants may access
the electronic diversity visa entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the 60-day registration period beginning
November 1. Paper entries will NOT be accepted. Photos must also
be submitted electronically. The lottery application no longer
requires a signature. Applicants will be selected at random by
computer from among all qualified entries. Those selected will be notified by mail between
May and July 2004. All information submitted will be retained
in government databases and is likely to be reviewed for national
security implications.
Immigrant Religious Worker Program Extended
Through 2008 On October 15, the President signed into law a bill extending the
special immigrant religious worker program. The program, which
expired on September 30, allows religious organizations in the
United States to hire on a permanent basis religious workers from
abroad who have been members of the denomination for at least
two years. Religious workers comprise a very small portion of
total legal immigration to the United States -- .3 percent of
the 1,063,732 immigrants in 2002. The law extends the religious
worker program to 2008.
ABA Urges Board Of Immigration Appeals To
Discard Streamlining On October 13, the American Bar Association called on the Board of
Immigration Appeals to discard streamlining procedures in order
to achieve justice for immigrants and their families. This announcement
came after a study was conducted over five months focusing on
the impact of procedural changes instituted by the Department
of Justice in 2002. The results demonstrate that these changes
are having a negative impact on both the quality and quantity
of BIA decisions. Its findings included: while 1 in 4 appeals
were granted before the procedural changes, just 1 in 10 are now;
the rate at which BIA decisions are being appealed to the federal
courts tripled from 5 percent in 2001 to 15 percent in 2002; and
massive changes in immigration law, not lack of diligence or efficiency
by individual board members, played a large part in the increased
backlogs between 1996 and 2002. The ABA report
is posted at http://www.abanet.org/immigration/home.html.
Immigration Processing Time Reports The
California Service Center Processing Time Report
was updated on October 10 for the period ending October 1. The
Vermont Service Center Processing Time Report was
updated on October 7 for the period ending October 1. The
Nebraska Service Center Processing Time Report was
updated on October 6 for the period ending October 1. The
Texas Service Center Processing Time Report was
updated on September 30 for the period ending September 30. To
view and print out the most recent INS service center processing
time reports, please visit http://www.emvisa.com/bcisreports.htm
The Visa Bulletin was
updated on October 14 for November 2003.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
E&M Visa Update.
Elliot & Mayock LLP Immigration Attorneys
"visas made easier"
1-866-321-VISA (8472) toll free
1629 K Street NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20006-1643 (202) 429-1725 Fax: (202) 452-0161
220 Sansome Street, 12th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104-2327 (415) 765-5111 Fax: (415) 765-5122
|
© 2003 Elliot & Mayock LLP