August 2000 Newsletter
**U.S. IMMIGRATION NEWS**
August
1, 2000
Published
by:
ImmigrationLinks.com,
Inc.
“Your Immigration Link to the World”
Copyright
© 2000, ImmigrationLinks.com, Inc.
Email:
info@immigrationlinks.com
Internet:
www.immigrationlinks.com
How to Subscribe:
Write maillist@immigrationlinks.com
with "subscribe" in the subject of your e-mail.
How to Unsubscribe:
Write remove@immigrationlinks.com
with "REMOVE" in the subject of your e-mail.
You
have received this Newsletter because you requested to be added to our mailing
list. If at any time you wish your
name removed, simply follow the instructions above and your e-mail address will
be removed.
************************************************************
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided for general information only. It is NOT legal advice, and should not be relied upon as such. For legal services such as representation, please contact an attorney who specializes in the area of Immigration Law, such as one of our attorney “Service Providers” whose businesses are promoted on our site.
************************************************************
Welcome to
ImmigrationLinks.com, Inc., “Your Immigration Link to the World”.
With the phenomenal growth of the Internet, nearly everything you need or
want to know about US Immigration law is available at the touch of a button.
We want to be at the forefront of this new technology and be able to
provide instantaneous news and information on the immigration topics that affect
those persons wishing to visit, live, or work in the United States. One
way is through our monthly newsletters. The
purpose of these newsletters is to provide useful and timely information about
immigration-related topics that affect persons who come in contact with US
Immigration laws. In conjunction
with our News, Immigration Hints & Tips, and Legal Research pages, we want
to provide you with extensive, up-to-date, and FREE information on US
immigration laws and procedures. Soon,
just about anything you need to prepare and process your immigration case will
be available online. This includes
access to immigration forms and information, as well as direct contact with
attorneys and other service providers. For
example, our Bulletin Board provides you with free answers to your immigration
questions from some of the finest immigration attorneys in the country.
Our goal is to be "The Portal Site" for everything having to do with US
immigration law. We want to provide
you with every service possible to increase your knowledge of the law and to
make your online experience more useful and rewarding. We are constantly growing and expanding in order to meet your
immigration needs.
How to Use Our Site?
- Immigration
News Page: To get the latest
immigration news, updated on a daily basis, go to this page.
We have thousands of news articles covering every type of immigration
petition or application. You
can download free immigration and state department forms, get the latest fee
schedules, list of immigration doctors, addresses and telephone numbers of
immigration offices, the latest priority dates, current processing times,
and much, much more. Check out
the “NEWS FLASH” area for late-breaking
immigration developments.
- Immigration
Hints & Tips Page: Get useful immigration hints and tips that will make the
filing of your immigration case easier and faster. Have access to
forms and sample briefs and legal memorandum especially prepared by
immigration attorneys that you can use with your applications.
Attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America have prepared many of
these documents.
- Immigration
Research Page: Go here to get
connected to thousands of public and private agencies and businesses related
to US immigration law. You will
have free access to copies of all of the immigration laws, all court
decisions, agency memos and field instructions, forms, addresses and
telephone numbers, and a lot more. We
are constantly adding new links. No
other immigration site has as many links as we have. (Feel free to look at all of our links and send us
suggestions for any others that you believe are important).
- Immigration
Services: These are the businesses
that provide valuable products and services to assist the immigrant
community. Let us promote your
company’s business on our site for as little as $25.00 per year.
You can also have our free banner placed on your business’s web
site as a service for your customers.
- Languages:
Spanish, French,
German, Italian, and Portuguese translations of our site are now
available. Simply click on the
appropriate language button on our Home Page.
Other languages coming in the future.
- New
Bulletin Board and Chat Room: Post your immigration questions on our Bulletin Board and get
answers from others who have faced the same types of problems, including free
advice from some of the finest immigration attorneys in the country.
Chat live online with others, including immigration law experts.
Tune in for other special features and programs.
- Other
Services: Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, including
urgent updates as necessary. Look
for free downloads of immigration materials including
specially prepared forms, articles, and insider tips written for
ImmigrationLinks.com by some of the finest immigration attorneys in the
country.
- Banner Exchange Program: If you have a web site and would like to exchange banner links with us, please send e-mail to info@immigrationlinks.com. We will contact you to discuss your site’s inclusion in our program.
*******************************************************************
Top
Immigration Attorneys Answer Your Immigration Questions for FREE
ImmigrationLinks.com is pleased to announce that some of the top immigration attorneys in the country will be answering your “general” immigration questions for free on our “Bulletin Board” page. Our guest moderators the next few weeks will be Margaret W. Wong of the law firm of Margaret W. Wong and Associates, located in Cleveland, Ohio, and Michael Sharon the top associate with said law firm. These are two of the finest immigration practitioners in the country. Post your questions on our Bulletin Board and Mrs. Wong or Mr. Sharon will answer them during the following two weeks. You can also visit their web site at www.imwong.com.
We plan on having guest attorneys available to
answer your questions at least once a month. This service, as are all other services on our site, is
completely free. We
hope you will take this opportunity to ask the questions that are important to
you.
*****************************************************************
DV-2002
Visa Lottery Coming Soon
The mail-in period for the next Diversity Visa lottery
(DV-2002) will be held between noon on October 2, 2000 and noon on November 1,
2000. There are several important
changes for DV-2002. Those who
choose to enter the DV-2002 lottery, should obtain a copy of the latest
instructions and follow them carefully. Complete
instructions for entry into the DV-2002 lottery will be made available in early
August 2000 and will be posted to our site immediately.
Also, all persons on our mailing list will be sent complete information,
including sample forms, within a few days after the regulations are published.
For the most recently published information on the lottery, see DV-2002 Visa Lottery – Latest Information.
*************************************************************
American
Green
Card
Lottery Registration Service
Register
for the Annual Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery
**Please
Visit Our Sponsors Who Help Pay the Costs of Our Monthly Newsletters
and the Free Services Provided by Our Site. **
*************************************************************
Our Top Ten (10) Report--Update
In our June 2000 Newsletter we published our “Top Ten
Predictions for the Coming Year”. Many
persons thought the list was too ambitious and that there was “no way” these
predictions could come true. Well,
only two months later, some have already happened and most of the others are on
their way to happening. For those
who missed the list, we have reprinted it below together with selected links to
related news articles.
New Feature: Top Ten
Predictions for the Coming Year! (Based
on information from our sources in Washington and around the world).
10. INS will continue to
be in the news regarding its unlawful searches and seizures and border stops.
Congress will be forced to restrict INS power by amending several of the
controversial provisions of the 1996 Act. Restoration
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2000 Introduced in House (07/27/00); The
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act Set for Debate in the Senate (07/26/00);
Court Rules That INS
Must Take Naturalization Fraud Cases To Court (07/20/00);
Section
110 Bill Becomes Law (06/15/00)
9. The Immigration and Naturalization Service will be
reorganized, into at least two, but possibly more different sections.
For sure, there will be a separation between the enforcement section and
the benefits section. This will only cause more confusion and delay than already
exists within the agency. Gore
Challenges Bush on Immigration Issues (07/28/00); Bush
Calls for Better Treatment of Immigrants and Pledges to Cut INS Waiting Times
(07/05/00); Bush
Addresses Two Important Immigration Issues (06/26/00)
8. Congress will amend the H-1B regulations and add
substantially more visa numbers. But,
obstructionist members of Congress will add additional provisions to the law
that will erode much of the value of the added numbers.
As a consequence, Congress will have to amend the law again within a
year. Technology
Firms Urge Congress to Pass H-1 Visa Bill (07/19/00)
7. The US Department of Labor
will drastically revise its procedures in applying for labor certification.
Overall the procedures should be less complicated, but will be more
restrictive as to the types of occupations that can qualify for certification,
at least in the skilled categories. US
Department of Labor Proposes Regulation to Allow Previously Filed Labor
Certification Applications to be Processed as Reductions in Recruitment
(07/26/00); DOL
Conversion Regulations Clear OMB (06/27/00)
6. The federal courts will continue to chip away at several of the unconstitutional provisions of IIRAIRA, and will ultimately restore 212(c) relief to those who committed deportable crimes before the law went into effect. INS Proposes Regulations to Restore 212(c) Relief (07/18/00); Court Rules That INS Must Take Naturalization Fraud Cases To Court (07/20/00)
5. The requirements to obtain
fraud waivers will be relaxed, especially if there is a close US citizen
relative, and no criminal activity is involved.
4. Congress will amend some of
the harsher criminal provisions of the Immigration Act of 1996.
Waivers will become available for certain criminal offenses for which
waivers did not previously exist. Restoration
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2000 Introduced in House (07/27/00); The
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act Set for Debate in the Senate (07/26/00); INS
Proposes Regulations to Restore 212(c) Relief (07/18/00)
3. A new version of Section 245(i) will be enacted
allowing those who are unlawfully in the US to obtain an adjustment of status in
this country without the need to return to their country for consular
processing. Restoration
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2000 Introduced in House (07/27/00); The
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act Set for Debate in the Senate (07/26/00)
2. Haitians, El Salvadorians, Guatemalans, and Hondurans
will be given the same privileges granted to Nicaraguans and Cubans under
NACARA. Restoration
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2000 Introduced in House (07/27/00); The
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act Set for Debate in the Senate (07/26/00)
1. Congress will pass, and the President will sign, a new
Amnesty law granting permanent status to anyone who is statutorily eligible and
who has been physically present in the US since before 1986.
Restoration
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2000 Introduced in House (07/27/00); The
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act Set for Debate in the Senate (07/26/00)
************************************************************
INS To Continue Parole Policy in Lieu
of VWPP
As we reported last month, the visa waiver pilot program
has expired and has not yet been renewed by Congress. Therefore, INS has extended until September 30 its policy of
paroling into the US individuals who would otherwise be eligible for the VWPP.
It is expected that Congress will act on extending the program sometime
before that date.
************************************************************
Major
Bills Introduced in Congress
to Restore Alien’s Rights
During this past
week significant, new, legislation was introduced in both the House of
Representatives and the Senate that would restore some of the rights taken from
non-citizens by the Immigration Act of 1996.
You can read a
summary of the major provisions of the bills below, together with the favorable
comments from the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association.
It is important that you contact your senators or representatives and
tell them of your support for this legislation.
This is extremely important as Election Day nears.
Restoration
of Fairness in Immigration Act of 2000 Introduced in House (07/27/00); The
Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act Set for Debate in the Senate (07/26/00)
************************************************************
INS
Caves In—Agrees to Restore Section 212(c) Relief
Faced with numerous
court defeats, as well as pressure from Congress and the public, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service has issued proposed regulations that would restore
section 212(c) relief for persons in proceedings prior to April 24, 1996, the
date that AEDPA was enacted. While
the proposed regulation does not go as far as most would like, it is at least
the first step towards allowing fairness and due process for aliens in
deportation proceedings. The next
step is for INS to extend this relief to those placed in Removal proceedings
based upon a conviction occurring prior to April 24, 1996.
Look for the courts to force INS to make this change also.
Full details
************************************************************
H-1B CAP IS REACHED
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has advised that it has reached the 115,000 H-1B limit for fiscal year 2000. Only cases filed March 17, 2000 or earlier would have been included in the adjudications for the current fiscal year. INS indicates that 29,500 cap-subject H-1Bs remain to be applied against fiscal year 2001, and that INS will announce procedures to begin adjudication of those cases with an October 1, 2000 start date. See INS Statement.
************************************************************
Court Rules That INS Must Take Naturalization Fraud Cases
To Court
July 20, 2000
San Francisco, CA – The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that immigration officials can't act on their own to revoke citizenship and must take such cases to court.
The unanimous decision by the federal appeals court reverses a split opinion by one of its own three-judge panels. It upholds the decision of a Seattle judge who said the power to denaturalize citizens is not inherent in the power to naturalize them.
The opinion indefinitely extends a 1998 nationwide injunction that suspended the Immigration and Naturalization Service's attempts to revoke the citizenships of more than 6,000 immigrants who, according to the agency, had failed to disclose past crimes or arrests when they applied for naturalization.
In 1990 Congress shifted the power to naturalize citizens from the courts to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. However, the court ruling held that these laws did not grant the INS authority to denaturalize citizens, but rather, only the power to cancel certificates of citizenship. Loss of certification does not deprive immigrants of legal residency status but makes them vulnerable to deportation for certain crimes.
``There is no general principle that what one can do, one can undo. It sounds good, just as the Beatles' lyrics - `Nothing you can know that isn't known/Nothing you can see that isn't shown - sound good,'' Judge Kleinfeld wrote for the court, citing the words from ``All You Need is Love.'' He then quoted Gershwin's ``Porgy and Bess'': ``But as Sportin' Life said, `It ain't necessarily so.'''
The Immigration Service issued a statement indicating that
it is reviewing the court’s order to determine what further action it will
take.
***********************************************************
For up-to-date information and current
immigration news, check our News Page at http://www.immigrationlinks.com/newslink.htm
**********************************************************************
Thank you for taking the time to read through this month's mailing. We hope you have picked up at least a few important pointers. Please feel free to send us your immigration-related article that you want us to include in our next monthly mailing. Click here for instructions. Your article will be sent out at the beginning of next month to all of our subscribers, and it can be viewed online by millions of prospective immigration applicants around the world.
We would also like to hear from anyone who has had either
a positive or negative experience with the US Immigration Service, Immigration
Court, or a US Consulate, as we would like to share these thoughts with our
readers. Appropriate articles will
be published in our monthly newsletters. We
do need your name and e-mail address in order to obtain additional information
if necessary, however this information will not be disclosed without your
specific consent.
As mentioned above, there are many proposals currently
before Congress that will restore rights and benefits that were taken away under
the 1996 law. It is important that
everyone contact their Senators and Representatives to let them know that we
want fairness and justice when dealing with those seeking to join their family
members, or prospective employers, in the United States.
With your help, the rights of immigrants and their family members will be
greatly enhanced.
The entire staff of ImmigrationLinks.com
would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you the best in dealing with
your immigration case.
***********************************************************************
How to Subscribe:
Write maillist@immigrationlinks.com
with "subscribe" in the subject of your e-mail.
How to Unsubscribe:
Write remove@immigrationlinks.com
with "remove" in the subject of your e-mail. **
**If
you do not unsubscribe in this way you may not be removed from the newsletter
list**
