Month: August 2007

According to a News Release from US ICE:  “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announces the new ICE ACCESS (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security) program. ICE ACCESS will provide local law enforcement agencies an opportunity to team with ICE to combat specific challenges in their communities.”

In a Press Release, the USCIS announced a proposal to require nearly 750,000 lawful permanent residents carrying “green cards” without an expiration date to replace their current cards.  Questions and Answers on this proposal were also released by the USCIS today.

According to an interesting article in The National Post, a Canadian newspaper:  “Quebec’s ‘reasonable accommodation’ consultations could degenerate into volatile forums for xenophobes fed up with minorities, and airing their grievances could have ‘major consequences’ for society, the two men heading the process say.”

As countries (and in this case provinces) try to resolve immigration issues, xenophobes tend to be at the forefront of the debates.  Those heading the process of the public forums to be held in Quebec appear sensitive to the possible negative consequences of the voices of hatred to society as a whole.  This sensitivity from our leaders is left out of the equation in this country’s immigration debate.

In an insightful piece for the Weekly Standard, Conservative political commentator Fred Barnes writes:

“By dwelling, often emotionally, on the problem of illegal immigration as a paramount issue and as if nothing is being done to deal with it, Republicans are alienating Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing voting bloc in the country. What’s worse is many Republicans are oblivious to this or insist that losing Hispanic voters doesn’t really matter because they’ll never be reliable Republican voters anyway. These Republicans buy the notion that a sizable majority of Hispanics are and always will be Democrats.”

DHS has issued a Worksite Enforcement Fact Sheet and  Worksite Enforcement Case Examples.

Employers who have undocumented people working for them should seek legal advice on how to handle the situation in light of the enforcement-heavy approach the government is taking.  Balancing the safe-harbor provisions required by immigration law with anti-discrimination and wrongful termination statutes could prove tricky.  Moreover, no-match letters issued in error could become a nightmare for many employers and US Citizens.  I am sure we will hear many reports of how this all plays out in the coming months.

The USCIS Ombudsman Community Call-In Teleconference Series provides a forum to hear issues of concern to individuals and employers as they interact with USCIS.  On Thursday, August 23rd, from 2 to 3 PM there will be a teleconference on “USCIS Service Center & Lockbox Filing Issues.”  Registration information is available online.

According to an article in the Washington Post:  “Immigration officials sharpened their message a day after being coy about whether they would agree to halt enforcement raids during the 2010 census. ‘We won’t entertain any request to scale back our efforts,’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Kelly Nantel said Friday.”

The New York Times reports that: “Immigration authorities have received about 300,000 applications for high-skilled-employment visas since July 1, federal officials said yesterday, a deluge unleashed after the federal government first said it would not accept any applications for those visas during July and then reversed course.”

From the USCIS:

” USCIS Update August 17, 2007

USCIS ISSUES SERVICE CENTER AND LOCKBOX RECEIPTING UPDATE

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has xperienced a tremendous increase in the number of applications filed, which has resulted in a front log of ases awaiting data-entry. USCIS is making every effort to address the delay.
USCIS will prioritize data entry for specific form-types. Delay in data entry and fee receipting will not affect hange of Status or Extension of Stay eligibility, assuming all other eligibility requirements are satisfied.

USCIS would also like to assure its customers that requests for Premium Processing Service will continue to e processed within 15 days, consistent with existing policies and procedures.
The actual received date will be honored and recorded on the receipt notice. This date will appear in the Received Date” box on Form I-797, Notice of Action. The received date on Form I-797 is different from he “Notice Date,” which also appears on the Notice and identifies the date the receipt notice was actually generated.

USCIS will provide weekly updates to give our customers accurate information about current receipt times nd service level commitments. As of the date of this notice, USCIS has completed data entry and has issued receipt notices for applications and petitions received on or before the following dates:

California Service Center
Form Number:      Date Received
N-400                  7/22/2007
All Other               8/07/2007

Nebraska Service Center
Form Number:       Date Received:
I-131                     7/18/2007
I-140                     7/18/2007
I-485
Employment
Based                     7/02/2007
I-765                       7/18/2007
N-400                    7/24/2007
All Other                 8/02/2007

Texas Service Center
Form Number:         Date Received:
I-131                       6/30/2007
I-140                       8/13/2007
I-485
Employment
Based                      6/30/2007
I-765                       6/30/2007
N-400                     7/12/2007
All Other                  7/30/2007

Vermont Service Center

Form Number:           Date Received:
I-130                         7/24/2007
I-129                         8/01/2007
I-539                         8/05/2007
N-400                       7/11/2007
All Other                    8/02/2007

USCIS Lockbox

Form Number: Date Received:

I-485 Family               7/29/2007
Based

USCIS would also like to remind the public to wait at least 14 days from the dates indicated above for their receipt notice to arrive in the mail before inquiring.”

– USCIS –

The following is not legal advice. Please consult a qualified immigration lawyer for advice on your unique situation.

The USCIS issued its Final Rule that terminates the requirement that EB Cases filed per the July Visa Bulletin include the fees that were in effect prior to July 30, 2007. Today is the last day that the USCIS is accepting EB cases per the July Visa Bulletin.

The new standard filing fee now in effect for I-485 cases is $1010 (this fee includes fingerprints, Employment Authorization Application and Advance Parole Application – available if the applicant is eligible and chooses to apply).

Filing a petition or an application with the incorrect fee could lead to rejection of the case.