Month: November 2008

According to a USCIS Press Release:  “Service members and certain veterans of the United States armed forces may apply for citizenship through special provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  Qualifying military service is generally in one of the following branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and certain components of the National Guard and the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve.  In addition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employs an expedited application and naturalization process for qualifying members of the military and their surviving dependents.” 

Please visit our law firm’s new website, www.immigrantconnect.com.

Always one to toot its own horn, the USCIS has issued a Fact Sheet on its accomplishments in 2008.  According to the Fact Sheet:  “At U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), fiscal year 2008 brought unprecedented progress towards reducing naturalization processing times, improving refugee and asylum processing, increasing adjudications officer hiring and training, and reducing the backlog of FBI name checks.” 

These are all commendable accomplishments and my understanding is that the agency is improving its use of technology to further increase efficiency.

Please visit our law firm’s new website, www.immigrantconnect.com.

According to a USCIS Press Release:  “U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) has revised Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions, to further clarify the requirements for the exception and the basis for preparing a medical certification for applicants and medical professionals.  The new edition of Form N-648 was made available on the USCIS Web site on Nov. 3, 2008.  After Dec. 15, 2008, USCIS will no longer accept older editions of Form N-648.”

Please visit our law firm’s new website, www.immigrantconnect.com.

On January 20, 2009, President Obama will take office and Democrats will hold a majority of seats in both the House and Senate.

What does this mean for the prospects of Comprehensive Immigration Reform?  It seems more likely than in the recent past that CIR will be passed by Congress and signed into law by Obama as there will be less opportunity for anti-immigrationist Senators and Represesntatives to block the badly needed legislation. 

It is now a matter of those with an interest in having CIR enacted, to call their new representatives and encourage them to address the immigration issue ASAP. 

Please visit our law firm’s new website, www.immigrantconnect.com.

Tomorrow’s election day.  Immigration was hardly mentioned as an issue in the Presidential elections this cycle.  Having said that, both McCain and Obama support an overhaul of our current immigration system.  Minimizing the rhetoric was a good political strategy for both campaigns as immigration would have been a losing issue for either campaign to focus on.

However, the President does not make the law – Congress does.  If Democrats sweep Congress and Obama wins the election,  I predict the immigration issue will be addressed within the first year and will pass.  If McCain were to win, it would be a steeper slope but still possible.  Pro-immigrants would face similar hurdles if very conservative Republicans retain too many seats in the House and Senate.

Regardless of how things turn tomorrow, this is a historic election, and as we have seen with the immigration issue, it’s not over until the polls have closed and the votes have been counted.

Please visit our law firm’s new website, www.immigrantconnect.com.

According to a USCIS Press Release:  “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today reminded Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Salvadorans, who are eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), to file a re-registration application for TPS before the end of the re-registration period, (Dec. 1, 2008 for Hondurans and Nicaraguans, and Dec. 30, 2008 for Salvadorans).”

Please visit our law firm’s new website, www.immigrantconnect.com.