Month: October 2007

According to an article on latimes.com:  “The Republican Party’s highest-ranking Latino official abruptly resigned Friday, marking the latest casualty in the GOP’s bitter internal fight over immigration and dealing another setback to President Bush’s years-long effort to court Latino voters.”

The USCIS has released its weekly Application and Receipting Update (right on time too!). It looks like both the Nebraska and Texas Service Centers are now processing EB I-485 cases received on 8/16/2007.

According to an article on dallasnews.com:  “Latino residents of Arlington apartment complexes say they received letters threatening a visit from federal immigration agents if they didn’t send $95 cash to a post office box.”

According to AILA (AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 07101960 (posted Oct. 19, 2007), a number of members have received correspondence from a company regarding compliance with a new I-9 Form.  Sources at the DHS have confirmed to AILA that they are working on revising the I-9 form but a new form should not be expected in the near future.  Also, a release in the Federal Register will precede the publication of a new I-9 form.

According to an article on WSJ.com addressing the delay in implementing the Social Security No Match letters:  “A federal judge in San Francisco has put a crimp in the Bush Administration’s plans to solve the country’s illegal immigration problem on the backs of small business. The White House should rejoice at this defeat, and move on to Plan B.”

The USCIS discusses its Community Relations Program:  “Through its Community Relations Officers (CROs), the USCIS Community Relations program develops and maintains collaborative relationships with immigrant-serving organizations, such as community-based organizations, English as a Second Language instructors, Civics instructors, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders who interact with immigrants.  Our goal is to educate our constituency about USCIS policies, products, and programs and to dialogue with them to identify areas where community feedback might better inform USCIS decision makers.  As an integral part of the USCIS Office of Communications, the Community Relations Program has 25 Community Relations Officers who develop partnerships with their communities nationwide.”

Our firm, Maged & Rost, PC, will be hosting a FREE International Recruitment Seminar in conjunction with Quality Human Service Professionals (QHSP) on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. The seminar will be geared towards meeting the recruitment demands of non-profit human service organizations and will take place in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Information will be provided on the following:

The H-1B Visa

Qualifying for Cap Exempt Status

Comparison of H1 and J1 programs

Designing an International Recruitment Program for your agency

Attracting degree-qualified direct support professionals

Review current applicant profiles from the UK and Ireland

Space is limited so if a representative from your organization is interested in attending the seminar or would like more information, please e-mail me at maged@magedrost.com. A light breakfast will be provided.

A video on CNN.com tells the sad story of a man who was brought to the US by his parents when he was 9 years old and has since started a family who went to Mexico for fear of being deported.

There are a couple of ways to look at this story.  First, those who oppose anything compassionate towards the undocumented will say “good – illegal is illegal, that way he won’t be wasting our taxpayer dollars, abusing our hospital services etc.”  On the other hand, because this man was the sole breadwinner for his family, perhaps now these three family members, all US Citizens, will need to avail themselves of this country’s social services.

Fair and properly drafted Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) would be both compassionate and in the best interest of the US.  Having said that, most everyone agrees that CIR will not be happening until 2009, after the presidential elections.

According to a story on WBIR.com:  “A 12-year-old Mexican boy left behind when his parents were deported is hoping for a quick reunion.”

An OpEd piece on baltimoresun.com illustrates how our country’s immigration laws frequently do not allow judges much room for discretion and the problems that stem from that.