Jun
29
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reminded US residents that a new fee schedule will be effective from July (30JUL07).
Any petitions/applications received by the USCIS that are either filed or postmarked after that date are subject to the new fees, which are an increase of approximately 66 per cent on the old fees.
However, the new schedule also expands the amount of fee waivers and exemptions available, and includes benefits for families with children.
Applicants are advised to visit www.uscis.gov/21stCenturyService for more information.
Jun
28
USCIS Issues Reminder to Hondurans and Nicaraguans
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a press statement reminding Hondurans and Nicaraguans in the US eligible for Temporary Protected Status to file a re-registration application by July (30JUL07).
The press release is as follows:
With only five weeks remaining, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today reminded Hondurans and Nicaraguans eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to file a re-registration application for TPS by the closing date of July 30, 2007. Failure to file a TPS re-registration application by July 30, will result in the withdrawal of TPS benefits, including employment authorization and protection from removal from the United States. There are approximately 78,000 Honduran nationals and 4,000 Nicaraguan nationals (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Honduras or Nicaragua respectively) who may be eligible for re-registration. From May 29 to June 22, 13,715 Hondurans and 797 Nicaraguans have filed TPS re-registration applications. Read more
Jun
27
US President George Bush discussed comprehensive immigration reform at a press meeting yesterday at the White House.
Here is the press release of the President’s speech in full:
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Thanks for working on an immigration bill that’s important for this country. I appreciate your efforts and I appreciate your time.
I do want to thank Secretary Gutierrez and Secretary Chertoff for their hard work. And one of the things I told members of the Senate, that the administration is going to be involved in crafting a comprehensive bill that’s good for the country. And I said we’re going to be more than just giving speeches, or using the microphone to proclaim the need for a comprehensive bill. I would send two members plus our staff up to — two members of my Cabinet plus our staff up to work the — to work with the senators. Read more
Jun
26
US Senators have voted to revive the comprehensive immigration reform bill (aka the ‘Z’ Visa) that collapsed two and a half weeks ago in the Senate.
Although the procedural vote was passed 64 to 35, there is no guarantee that the bill will survive. But many of the bill’s supporters are optimistic about its chances the second time around.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, “Immigrants are the strength of this country, and this legislation honors that fact.”
US President George Bush says the bill is “a careful compromise. The bill we’ve worked hard to craft is an important piece of legislation that addresses the needs of a failed system.”
To read more about this story, click here.
Jun
25
Green Card Backlog Clears for Thousands of Immigrants
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Immigrant workers in the US are celebrating after the US federal government announced it is finally accepting new Green Card applications.
From July (01JUL07), legal immigrants who already have the Department of Labor certification will be eligible for green cards, resulting in a clear and easy path for thousands of high-tech and skilled workers living in the US and overseas.
Immigrants such as Houston legal assistant Reshma Soni are thrilled at the news. Soni says, “I almost ran out of the office, I was so happy. I had been waiting six years already, and I had anticipated waiting another six years. It was the best news I could ask for.”
To read more about this story, click here.
Jun
22
Immigrant Opinions on Z Visa
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A poll released by the LA Times shows a majority of illegal immigrants in the US would heed the current immigration reform bill battling its way through the Senate.
According to the survey of 1,600 undocumented Hispanic immigrants, the immigrants are willing to pay fines and undergo background checks, but they are less willing to return to their home countries to apply for the ‘Z’ Visa.
If however their return to the US were guaranteed, the immigrants would not be afraid to go home.
New America Media spokeswoman Maria Cardona says, “This is a debate that is going to affect 12 million people, and up until now, no one has known what they’re thinking. This poll gives us the voice of the undocumented immigrant who is going to be affected by this, and it gives policymakers an important insight to the practicality of the bill they’re discussing.”
To read more about this story, click here.
Jun
21
Republicans Determined to Stop Immigration Bill
Filed Under Immigration News, Z Visa | Leave a Comment
A group of Republican senators have expressed their determination to ban the current comprehensive immigration reform bill being debated in the US Senate, and prevent it from ever coming into law.
Republican Senators such as South Carolina’s Jim DeMint argue that the bill is nothing but an amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants in the US, and that passage of the bill would only encourage more illegal immigration to the country.
The Senators claim they will torpedo the bill when the Senate resumes debate on it next week.
DeMint says, “The process has been rigged from the beginning, which we think gives us justification to use every measure possible to slow this thing down and stop it.”
To read more about this story, click here.
Jun
20
Nearly 800 people took the oath of citizenship in the town of Chandler, Arizona yesterday (19JUN07).
The new citizens, who took the oath at an auditorium in Chandler, were part of one of the largest swearing-in ceremonies in Arizona history.
795 people from 83 different countries became official US citizens - according to an immigration official, the number of people was large as a result of the many immigrants rushing to become citizens before the prospective hike in application fees ($390 to $610) comes into force.
Jun
19
A spokeswoman for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has accused the official US visa program for immigrant religious workers to be rife with abuse by fraudulent applicants.
Chris Rhatigan claims that while the immigrant religious worker visa program should not be ended, it is in desperate need of reform.
According to a 2006 survey by the Homeland Security Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, as many as a third of all immigrant religious worker visa applications were fraudulent.
As part of the new immigration reform bill currently making its way through the US Senate, USCIS would cut the initial length of stay under the visa program from three years to one year, while applicant evaluations would be more strict.
Jun
18
Sham Marriage Ring Exposed
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US federal authorities have exposed a fake marriage ring that allegedly linked nine US citizens and nine Eastern Europeans in a series of sham marriages for the purpose of obtaining permanent residency for the Eastern Europeans.
According to the authorities, the US citizens were paid $5000 per fake wedding and worked with each other to make the marriages appear genuine.
All nine US citizens have been charged with conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, which can mean up to five years in prison if convicted.
The indictment states, “The US citizens took steps to further each other’s marriage frauds, including driving each other to and attending each other’s weddings and posing for photographs after the weddings, well knowing that the photographs were to be used to support the legitimacy of the fraudulent marriages.”
To read more about this story, click here.