November 2000 Newsletter
**U.S. IMMIGRATION NEWS**
November 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 moderator this month will be Mary E. Kramer of the law firm of Mary E. Kramer, P.A., located in Miami, Florida.
Mrs. Kramer will answer questions from November 1-November 15. She is an outstanding immigration attorney who is considered a leading expert in the handling of exclusion, deportation, and removal cases. Post your questions on our bulletin board and Mrs. Kramer will answer them for you. Mrs. Kramer can be contacted at her e-mail address of: maryekramer@cs.com. From November 16-November 30, the law staff of ImmigrationLinks.com will answer your questions.
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.
*********************************************************
Immigration
Showdown in Congress
The Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act (LIFA):
The fate of LIFA likely will be decided within the next three days. As reported earlier, the President has threatened to veto the Commerce, Justice, and State appropriations bill because, in its current form, it does not include LIFA, but rather a Republican measure that, according to Clinton, does not help "most of the people who need relief and would perpetuate the current patchwork of contradictory and unfair immigration policies."
The Republican leadership has not been willing to negotiate with the White House on this bill, which indicates the strong likelihood of a presidential veto.
With Congress coming to a close shortly, we urge all of our readers to continue to make phone calls, and send fax and e-mail letters supporting LIFA. You should stress that LIFA is the only bill that would correct the flawed implementation of the 1986 legalization program; keep families together through the restoration of Section 245(i); and correct years of uneven treatment of legitimate refugees from areas of civil strife including Central America and Haiti.
In contrast, the Republican proposal, known as the LIFE Act, is silent on the equal treatment of refugees; offers a piecemeal correction of the flawed implementation of the 1986 legalization program because it leaves out many who are deserving of protection, along with immediate family members; and, instead of restoring Section 245(i) which eliminates roadblocks in the way of people becoming legal, proposes a new "V" visa that offers relief only to certain spouses and children of legal permanent residents.
The Republicans have branded LIFA as a blanket amnesty. The facts indicate that this is not true, and we need to make sure that your elected officials know that as well. These final days are very important to everyone, and will affect the lives of millions of persons in this country. Please continue to contact your Members of Congress. If you already have contacted them, do so again! Please also contact your local print and broadcast media to explain why LIFA needs to become law. Click here for a sample letter to the editor.
You can contact your Representatives and Senators through the Congressional Switchboard (202) 224-3121. You also can send e-mail to your Members of Congress by clicking on the following link: http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html.
For an excellent discussion of the issues, and how to raise them with your Congressperson, click here for the AILA Message Notebook.
Don’t delay. The lives of millions of persons depend on it.
*********************************************************
Special Edition Newsletter
ImmigrationLinks.com will be publishing a “Special Edition” newsletter that will be sent to all of our subscribers as soon as final decisions are reached on the very important immigration bills presently pending before Congress. If you have received this newsletter by e-mail then you are on our list and will be sent this special edition copy. If you are reading this newsletter from our web site you can sign up for our mailing list to receive FREE monthly newsletters as well as urgent updates as they occur.
To sign up for our free newsletter, go to www.immigrationlinks.com and enter your e-mail address in the sign-up box near the top of the page.
*********************************************************
DV-2002 Visa Lottery Registration Period Ends
The mail-in period for the Diversity Visa lottery (DV-2002) ended at noon on November 1, 2000. Hopefully, everyone who was eligible submitted his or her application. Results of the lottery should be announced around April or May of next year. Again, we wish good luck to all applicants.
******************************************************
Congress
Passes, and President Signs, New H-1B Bill
Frequently
Asked Questions on the New H-1B Bill
(Courtesy of AILA)
*****************************************************
Important Reminder: NEW I-485 FORM REQUIRED AFTER 12/1/00
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has announced an extension of time for use of the old I-485 Adjustment of Status application form. Any application filed after December 1, 2000 will be rejected if the new version of Form I-485 is not used. The new version of the form can be found on the INS website at:
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-485.pdf.
***********************************************
Ciudad Juarez Advises on Non-Immigrant
Visa Processing
for “B” Visa Holders
The consulate at Ciudad Juarez, Mexico has provided the following information:
"Third Country National 'B' visa
holders are generally expected to seek other visa classifications in their home
country, since visa officers in Cd. Juarez are often not sufficiently conversant
with conditions in other areas to be able to adjudicate the case properly. We
will, however, in the interests of furthering global commerce, consider
accepting applications from "B" visa holders for "E,"
"H," or "L" visas. In each case, the company in question
must be a large, well-established, U.S. or multinational concern. Any doubts as
to these criteria should be resolved by communicating with post in advance
concerning the specific case."
****************************************************
Three-Year
Extension of Religious Worker Program
Sent to the President for Signature
Congress on October 24 sent a three-year extension of the religious worker immigrant visa program (H.R. 4068) to President Clinton for his signature. The president is expected to sign the bill. This measure would extend the program for an additional three years without making any changes.
Supporters had hoped to pass a permanent extension this year - with the Senate supporting such an effort (S. 2048). More information will be provided when the bill is signed into law.
*****************************************************
President
Signs Visa Waiver Bill,
Including H-1B Amended Petition Provision,
and EB-5 Pilot Program Extension
October 31, 2000
The President signed H.R. 3767, The Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act on Monday, October 30, thereby enacting it into law. This bill makes the Visa Waiver Program permanent, and also includes provisions that extend the EB-5 pilot program for another three years, and eliminates the requirement of filing an amended H-1B petition in many corporate restructuring situations.
The President also signed on Monday H.R. 2883, the Child Citizenship Act, which automatically grants citizenship to certain foreign-born children (including adoptees) of U.S. citizens. On October 27, he signed H.R. 4681, which provides for the adjustment of status of certain Syrian Jews in the United States.
*****************************************************
CJS Spending Bill Includes INS "Premium Processing Fee"
Congress last week included a provision authorizing the INS to collect a "premium processing fee" of $1,000 on business immigration petitions (I-129s and I-140s) in the final version of the funding bill for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State (CJS). This provision authorizes the INS to collect this voluntary fee in exchange for expedited service, in which a decision or a request for additional evidence is sent within a certain period of time. The INS has discussed this fee in the context of a 15-day turn-around time. However, statutory language includes no set time frame.
Some of the concerns that have been raised about this fee include: the potential negative impact of this service on the processing of other applications and petitions; how this expedited service could be implemented fairly for H-1B cases which, by law, must be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis; and the use of frivolous “Requests for More Information” by INS in order to meet the deadline. The final CJS bill does nothing to address these concerns.
Most business groups, as well as the Administration, have supported this fee although, as mentioned above, the White House has threatened to veto the entire bill because of disagreements on other immigration-related provisions.
If you wish to voice your opinion, either for or against this provision in the bill, you can contact your Representatives and Senators through the Congressional Switchboard (202) 224-3121. You also can send e-mail to your Members of Congress by clicking on the following link: http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html.
*****************************************************
Remember
to Vote on November 7
To read the candidates positions on Immigration, you can go directly to their official web sites by clicking on the links below:
http://www.algore.com/immigration/imm_agenda2.html
http://www.georgewbush.com/issues/index.html
****************************************************
Final Rule on Duplication of Immigration Forms
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has issued a final rule eliminating the requirement that duplicated and electronically produced forms be in the same color & configuration as those used on the Government Printing Office produced forms.
The rule also provides that all forms provided by public & private entities be submitted to INS for approval.
To
view the final rule, click on the link below:
Final Rule on Duplication of Immigration Forms
*****************************************************
New,
All-in-One, US Government Web Site
The
U.S. government has established FirstGov, the
first-ever government website to provide the public with easy, one-stop access
to all online U.S. Federal Government resources.
To access this very useful site, click on the link below:
*****************************************************
Violence
Against Women Act and Trafficking Victims Protection Act Sent to President for
Signature
*****************************************************
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**
