Congress passed the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act ("ICHIA") as part of the SCHIP reauthorization. ICHIA authorizes States to waive the current five-year waiting period that limits millions of legal permanent resident children and pregnant women from receiving health insurance benefits.

Eliminating the five year waiting period - a lifetime for children needing medical assistance - has been a priority for pro-immigrant activists for 13 years. When President Obama (who pushed hard to ensure that the final SCHIP measure included ICHIA) signs the legislation, it will be a significant victory for all children. And it will mark a significant change in the direction of the immigration debate. Anti-immigrant organizations have fought tooth and nail to prevent this humane and eminently sensible measure from becoming law.

On January 21, 2009, President Obama issued a Memorandum ("Memo") regarding transparency and open government. The Memo directs Agencies to take steps to increase transparency of government operations and decisions and public participation and collaboration in government decision making.

Also, President Obama issued a Memo that provides guidance to agency heads on Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") procedures. The Memo directs the Attorney General to publish new FOIA guidelines in the Federal Register and encourages agencies take affirmative steps to make information public. We wonder if this Memo signals the speedy return of previously submitted FOIA requests. In the past, FOIA requests have taken months and even years.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("CIS") reminds its customers that authorization for the non-minister special immigrant religious worker program will expire on March 6, 2009. Individuals applying under the non-minister category of the program, including family members, must either adjust status to permanent resident or be admitted with an immigrant visa before March 6, 2009.

Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers: Pursuant to Section 2(a) of the Special Immigrant Non-minister Religious Worker Program Act (Pub. L. No. 110-391), the non-minister special immigrant program expires on March 6, 2009. No SR-1, SR-2, or SR-3 visas may be issued overseas on or after March 6, 2009. Visas issued prior to this date may only be issued with a validity date of March 5, 2009, and all individuals seeking admission as a non-minister special immigrant must be admitted (repeat, admitted) into the U.S. no later than midnight March 5, 2009. Also, Employment Fifth Preference Pilot Categories (I5, R5) pursuant to Section 144 of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 110-329), the immigrant investor pilot program will expire on March 6, 2009. No I5-1, I5-2, I5-3, R5-1, R5-2 or R5-3 visas may be issued after March 6, 2009. The initial cut-off dates for the categories mentioned above have been listed as "current" for March. If these categories have not been extended based on legislative action the cut-off dates will become "unavailable" effective March 7, 2009.

The Federal Register recently reported a Final Rule providing employer-specific employment authorization to certain aliens enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces, and adding the Military Identification Card to the list of documents acceptable for establishing employment eligibility for the I-9 Form under certain circumstances.

Obama's Economic Stimulus Package, which passed through Congress and was into Law, contains provisions that affect the hiring of certain foreign national workers. Organizations that receive certtain funding from the government will have to prove that they have made good faith attempts to recruit U.S. workers for the positions being offered to a foreign national worker through the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. Employers preparing H-1B nonimmigrant visas for the April 1st filing deadline are encouraged to check if their petitions will require compliance with this new Law.

On February 24th, 2009, CIS announced that it is expanding premium processing for I-140s filed on behalf of individuals who have reached, or are reaching, their limitation of stay in H-1B nonimmigrant status. A Fact sheet follows the announcement.

On February 25th, 2009, CIS provided clarifying guidance on the newly expanded eligibility for premium processing of I-140s for H-1B nonimmigrants.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association's ("AILA") Asylum Committee has put together a Fact Sheet from CIS' Asylum Division concerning the implementation of the asylum-related provisions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act ("TVPRA"). This information will assist practitioners and interest parties to more clearly understand and deal with issues emanating from this regulation.