June 2001 Newsletter
**U.S.
IMMIGRATION NEWS**
June 1, 2001
Published by:
ImmigrationLinks.com, Inc.
“Your Immigration Link to the World”
Copyright © 2001, ImmigrationLinks.com, Inc.
Email: info@immigrationlinks.com
Internet: www.immigrationlinks.com
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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.
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Welcome
to ImmigrationLinks.com, Inc., “Your
Immigration Link to the World”.
As we have been predicting for the past few months, many changes have occurred,
and are about to occur, in US Immigration Law. This month brings us a
whole slew of new regulations concerning the "Late Amnesty" cases, the
Premium Processing Program for Non-immigrant visa applications, and the much
anticipated K3 and V regulations. As the months pass, we can expect many more changes, and new and exciting
developments in the field of immigration law.
ImmigrationLinks.com has also grown tremendously since its beginning just
one year ago. In this short time
we have become one of the top immigration news and information providers on the
Internet, servicing hundreds of thousands of viewers each month.
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, and many more features are coming soon.
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).
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- 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.
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- Other Services: Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, including urgent updates as necessary. Look for free downloads of immigration materials including official immigration, state department, and labor department application forms; specially prepared forms to use with your applications; news 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.
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***Coming Soon***
ImmigrationLinks.com is known for its high quality news, information, and research services. It is recognized internationally for one of the top Immigration Law Manuals available on the Internet. Soon, we will be releasing a brand new version of our Do-it-Yourself Processing Kit for Marriage Cases. In keeping with the high quality of all of our products, this will be the finest Immigration Kit available anywhere. It will contain features not available in other do-it-yourself products, and it will be authored by an attorney listed in The Best Lawyers in America, and Law and Leading Attorneys in America. It will prove to be an invaluable resource for those wishing to file their own petition and/or application based upon marriage to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident alien.
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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. This month the law staff of ImmigrationLinks.com will be answering 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.
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House
Passes Limited Extension of Section 245(i) with New Restriction--
Senate to Act
The House on May 21 passed a limited extension of Section 245(i) by a vote of 336-43. H.R. 1885 would extend the Section 245(i) deadline for only four months, while also requiring beneficiaries to demonstrate that the required “familial or employment relationship” existed on or before April 30, 2001. Republican Congressional leaders refused to consider a measure that included a longer extension period without the new requirement.
The final measure that Congress passes needs to resemble the Senate bill, S. 778, introduced by Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). S. 778 extends the Section 245(i) deadline for one-year without the restriction in the House proposal and has bipartisan support. Along with Senators Hagel, other Republicans on the bill are: Lincoln Chafee (RI), John Ensign (NV), Pete Domenici (NM), Richard Lugar (IN), Peter Fitzgerald (IL), and Charles Grassley (IA). Democrats on the bill, aside from Senator Kennedy, are Jeff Bingaman (NM), Barbara Boxer (CA), Richard Durbin (IL), Jack Reed (RI), Harry Reid (NV), Hillary Clinton (NY), Charles Schumer (NY), Jon Corzine (NJ), Paul Wellstone (MN), Tom Daschle (SD), Christopher Dodd (CT), and John Kerry (MA).
The extension of Section 245(i) is strongly supported by organizations throughout this country. More than 100 national and local organizations sent a letter to the House and Senate urging passage of an extension. Furthermore, four major Latino organizations sent a letter on May 30 to President Bush expressing concern that the House-passed measure will “undermine thousands of immigrant families by severely limiting the number of people who will benefit.”
We strongly urge all of our readers to contact their senators and representatives to urge support for Senate Bill S.778.
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INS Publishes "Late Amnesty" Regulation
After much delay, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has finally published its much awaiting regulation on the implementation of the "Late Amnesty" provisions contained in the LIFE Act.
To be eligible for LIFE Legalization, applicants must:
- Have filed with the Attorney General a written claim for class membership, with or without a filing fee, in one of the following legalization lawsuits before October 1, 2000: CSS, LULAC or Zambrano;
- Have entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and resided continuously in the United States in an unlawful status since that date through May 4, 1988;
- Have been physically present in the United States during the period beginning on November 6, 1986, and ending on May 4, 1988;
- Be admissible to the United States;
- Have no conviction for a felony or for three or more misdemeanors committed in the United States; and
- Demonstrate basic citizenship skills or be pursuing a recognized course of study to achieve basic citizenship skills.
Eligible persons will have a one-year period to apply for the LIFE Legalization program. The application period begins on June 1, 2001, and ends on May 31, 2002. They may apply from within the United States or from abroad.
To read the regulation in its entirety, as well as INS Press Releases and much more information on this matter, click on the link below.
"Late Amnesty" Regulation Published by INS
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AILA Advocacy Update
In this Issue:
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Senate Changes Hands
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House Passes Limited Section 245(i) Extension, Senate to Act
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Senate Due Process Bill Introduced
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Student Adjustment Bill Introduced In House
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Senate Hearing Highlights Nursing Shortage
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Recently Introduced Legislation
-
Regulations Galore
Click here to read the entire update.
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The New V and K3 Visas
Despite the fact that the Immigration Service has been promising regulations on the new V and K3 visas before the end of May, nothing has yet been issued. While the State Department has finally come out with a new V visa form, many consulates are still not accepting applications, or are imposing their own restrictions, because they are unsure of the procedures for processing these applications.
The National Visa Center has begun sending V visa packages to those who appear to qualify based upon the cases pending with them. Anyone who has a V visa case pending with a US consul should immediately contact the consul to ascertain how they are processing the applications so that the necessary documents and forms can be quickly obtained and forwarded to the consul.
We will of course post all the latest information to our web site as soon as it is published.
For more information on the V and K3 visas, click on any of the links below:
INS
on the New "V" Visa Application (04/18/01)
State Department Issues Interim Final Regulations on V and K Visas (04/16/01)
Filing for "V" Non-Immigrant Status in the United States (04/02/01)
INS Tells "V" Visa Applicants to Wait to Apply (03/30/01)
INS Proposes Using Revised I-129F Form for K3 Petitions (03/26/01)
New DS-3052 "V" Visa
Form (03/12/01)
New and Improved Form OF-156 for Non-immigrant Visa Applications
(03/12/01)
National Visa Center to Begin Sending "V"
Visa Packages (03/12/01)
V and K3
Visa Information from the State Department Web Site
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Premium Processing Program to Start June 1
The US Immigration and Naturalization Service has confirmed that it will begin its premium processing program on June 1, 2001. According to INS sources, the program will initially include all nonimmigrant visa types EXCEPT H-1B, TN and R visa categories.
For a $1,000.00 fee, INS will guarantee completion of the case within 15 calendar days, unless a Request for Evidence is sent. The INS also intends to provide better means of communication with respect to cases in the premium processing system.
Also according to INS sources, there will be a mechanism to convert cases filed before June 1 to premium processing. It is expected that, at most of the Service Centers, premium processing cases will be sent to a separate address.
INS also indicated that it intends to add H-1Bs to the premium processing program in July or August, but is not including them in the initial program because it expects that the volume of expedited requests for H-1Bs would be high, and it wants the opportunity to operate the program for a while before absorbing that volume.
For more information, click any of the links below:
INS Fact Sheet on Premium Processing Program
Premium Processing Application Form Now Available
Premium Processing Fee Regulation
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Vermont Service Center Congressional Newsletter
May 2001
The May issue of the Vermont Service Center Congressional Newsletter discusses the upcoming premium processing program, jurisdiction for LIFE Act filings, Honduran TPS, corporate restructuring, mailing of EADs to students, and filing volume.
To view the
newsletter, click here. ********************************************************* Federal
Court Rules in Favor of Immigrant Investors
A federal court has ruled that the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) may not automatically apply new rules retroactively to certain immigrant investors. Rather, the INS must allow investors a chance to prove that retroactive application of the new rules would hurt them.
The May 3, 2001 decision by Federal District Judge George H. King in Chang v. United States, No. CV-99-10518-GHK (AJWx) (C.D. Cal. May 3, 2001), “is a victory for immigrant investors and proves that the INS must follow due process when it changes the rules of the game,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, chair of the Investors Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
For more on this case, click
here.
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INS Limits Removal Against 245(i) Applicants
The Immigration and Naturalization Service Headquarters has advised its field offices not to initiate proceedings against section 245(i) applicants based solely on an application or petition filed on or after April 27, 2001.
This prohibition ends if and when the petition or application is denied.
To
read the entire memo, click here.
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Department of State Advises Consular Posts on Use of New Forms
The US State Department has sent a cable to all consular posts advising that they should start using new Forms DS-156E (replacing OF-156E), DS-156K (replacing OF-156K), and DS-117 (replacing DSP-117).
The forms will be available on the DOS website in the near future.
To view the entire cable, click here.
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Connect!--A
Newsletter on Business Immigration
(Spotlight on Congressional and Agency
News)
To view the latest issue, click here.
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Have a Great Month,
and Keep Checking Back for All the Latest Immigration News and Information
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.
Even though Congress has remedied some of the harsh consequences of the 1996 Act, it has not gone far enough, and there is still much more that has to be accomplished. We will provide our readers with updates on what is still needed to bring fairness and equity to US immigration 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, and have a wonderful summer (unless, of course, you are in the Southern Hemisphere in which case we wish you a wonderful winter).
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