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VISA FOR UNFAIR TREATMENT: Overview, Q&A and Fact Sheet for U Visas for Victims of Criminal Offenses.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
("CIS") announced an interim rule that grants
temporary immigration benefits to certain
victims of crimes who assist government
officials to investigate or prosecute the
criminal activity. CIS invites public
comments on the rule that has been submitted
to the Federal Register for publication and
currently is available for public review.
Click
Here to Read the CIS' Interim Final
Rule...
"U" Nonimmigrant Status is set aside for
victims of crimes who have suffered mental or
physical abuse because of the crime and who
not only have information regarding the
activity, but also are willing to assist
government officials in the investigation of
the criminal activity. CIS can grant up to
10,000 U visas each year authorizing the
holder to remain in the United States for up
to four years.
Click
here for the CIS' Q&A on U Visas...
An alien victim of criminal activity may file
for U Nonimmigrant Status - status set aside
for victims of crimes who have suffered
substantial mental or physical abuse because
of the activity and who also are willing to
assist law enforcement agencies or government
officials in the investigation of that activity.
Click
here to read the CIS Fact Sheet for
Certifying U Visas...
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Dear Readers:
We write to you from the shadow of the Nation's
Capitol where we are
being trained by the the able staff of the U.S.
Department of Justice ("DOJ"), Office of Special
Counsel for Unfair
Immigration-related Employment Practices ("OSC"), to
help employers
and employees understand the nuances of the
employment eligibility
verification (I-9) process.
We have just concluded a long and informative day
of well-organized meetings with
representatives of the Citizenship and Immigration
Services ("CIS"),
the Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"),
the OSC and the DOJ.
The cutting-edge business immigration news that
we have heard so far
is that: (1) E-Verify (formerly, the "Basic Pilot Program")
will likely become mandatory (but no one is sure
when); and (2) The M-274, Employer's
Handbook, that describes the Form I-9 process is
presently being
updated; and (3) ICE will be embarking on a publicity
program to
promote ICE's Mutual Agreement between Goverment
and Employers ("IMAGE") which will include a public
outreach program for
employers; and (4) The next Hearing on the
Temporary Restraining Order
("TRO") dealing with the new No-Match Regulations is
scheduled for
October 1st, 2007 (see below); and (5) Each of the
aforementioned agencies is genuinely concerned
about anti-discrimination issues with
regard to the implementation of any new programs
related to immigration.
We will, of course, continue to keep our readership
apprised of new
developments in the business immigration law arena.
Please feel free
to e-mail us with any questions at
info@visaserve.com.
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| DV-2009...YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT: Instructions For The 2009 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2009). |
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U.S. Department of State ("DOS") reports that
entries for the DV-2009 Diversity Visa
lottery must be submitted electronically
between noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
(GMT-4), Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and noon
Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5) Sunday,
December 2, 2007.
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Click here for the DOS Diversity Lottery Instructions... |
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| LIBERIANS DEFERRED: CIS Says Liberians Provided Deferred Enforced Departure. |
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CIS issued a fact sheet that any qualified
Liberian national (or person without
nationality who last habitually resided in
Liberia) who is currently present in the US
and who is under a grant of Temporary
Protected Status ("TPS") as of September 30th,
2007, will be granted a deferment of the
enforced departure for
18 months, until March 31st, 2009.
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Click Here to Read the DHS Fact Sheet... |
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| STATE OF ILLINOIS SUED: DOJ Sued Illinois Over Law that Prevents Employers from Using E-verify. |
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On September 24th, 2007 the DOJ filed a lawsuit
seeking to invalidate
an Illinois State Law that was passed earlier
this year by the Illinois legislature and
that was
signed by the Governor that prohibits
employers from enrolling in the Department's
E-Verify system.
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Click Here to read the DOJ Press Release... |
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| SSA NO-MATCH RULE HALTED BY THE UNIONS: TRO Issued Stopping Implementation of DHS Rule on SSA No-Match. |
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In a suit brought by AFL-CIO, ACLU and NILC,
a U.S. District Court in California
temporarily restrained DHS from implementing
its regulation regarding Social Security
No-Match letters.
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Click Here to read more... |
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| DOING OUR BEST TO RESTRAIN: What the Temporary Restraining Order Means. |
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We have attached a summary of the current status of
the "No-Match"
rule in light of the Temporary Restraining Order
granted by the U.S.
District Court in Northern California on August 31st,
2007 courtesy of
the National Immigration Law Center. We are given to
understand that
the next Hearing on the TRO is scheduled to be held
on October 1st 2007.
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Click Here to Read the Summary... |
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| DISABILITY ON CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS: CIS Issues Adjudication Of Medical Certification For Disability Exceptions Memorandum. |
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CIS Acting Deputy Associate Director issued
guidance clarifying the adjudication of Form
N-648, medical certification for disability
exceptions.
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Click Here to Read the CIS Memo (provided courtesy of ILW.com)... |
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| THIRTY SOMETHING: New York State Department of Health's New "State 30" Program. |
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The New York State Department of Health has
announced that the New York "State 30"
program will sponsor up to thirty (30)
physicians who hold J-1 visas and who seek
waivers of the home residence requirement.
In return, these physicians must agree to
practice in federally-designated Health
Professional Shortage Areas ("HPSA"s) or
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations
("MUA/P"s), or serve populations from these
areas for a period of three years. The
deadline for filing a CONRAD "State 30"
waiver is November 30th, 2007.
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Click Here to Read More Information Provided by the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Health Systems Management... |
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| CITIZENSHIP MADE EASY? WE THINK NOT: CIS Announces New Naturalization Test. |
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On September 27th, 2007 CIS announced the 100
questions and answers that
comprise the civics component of the new
naturalization test to be
administered beginning October 2008. The new 100
questions and answers
and FAQs
follow the Press Release.
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To read the Press Release and the Questions, click here . . . |
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| HOW TO SURVIVE AN ICE STORM: ICE Raid Response Resources. |
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The American Immigration Lawyers Association
("AILA") has compiled resources from
across the country to prepare a list of
helpful tips and practices for anyone whose
clients are raided by ICE.
These tips are designed to help attorneys or
representatives respond to mass workplace
enforcement actions by ICE and other law
enforcement agencies, as well as provide a
listing of resources to assist in responding
to workplace enforcement raids.
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Click Here to Read the ICE Raids Response Action Plan... |
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| INFORMATION FROM THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTOR: Good News About U.S. Mortgages. |
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Americans were disappointed
last week when the FOMC (Federal Open Market
Committee) announced that
the short terms rates were cut by .50 bps instead of
decreasing
mortgage rates.
However, there is exciting news on the Mortgage
side. HUD (Housing &
Urban Development) has launched The FHA (Federal
Housing
Administration) Secure initiative which aims is to
assist those
homeowners with ARM (adjustable) rates that have
been reset and are in
financial hardship. We have also seen the positive
attitude from
Congress towards the FHA Modernization, through
which borrowers will
have more access to reach and qualify in achieving
home ownership.
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Click Here for More Information... |
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