Petition / Press, Tv, Radio

Naturalisation

Edison,

Naturalisation backlogs is a fair comment/addition. In a fundamental way we are part of that or trying to be. The truth is that there are a lot of JOBS out there BUT for US citizens, even in the IT field.
A few days ago, another appointee made the list (from Puerto Rico), as Chief of Citizenship..
Citizenship has a ring in their ears. Changing the oath. So you have two Spanish appointees, BCIS director, Citizenship chief, Bush looking for Spanish votes??

Family based I-485 are to be consolidated in the National Service Center gradually starting from the West to the East (MSC).
 
Edison

If you have done the final version and sent it to Rajiv, it's OK. Otherwise, I have spotted a couple of grammar glitches (FYI).

1) "Advanced Parole" should be "Advance Parole"
2) "If….. then….." was used at several places in the "Requests of Immigration Benefits Applicants" section the appendix. For example "…. if the Primary applicant dies then[/B] all their dependents are denied the Permanent Resident status and removal proceedings are most likely initiated against them."

My understanding is that the word "then" should not be there. It sounds like VB programming language. Also the words " Primary", "Permanent Resident" may not need to be initial-capitalized. Some other words, e.g. "Legacy", "Employment Based", " Religious", "Asylum" were also initial-capitalized.
 
Re: Edison

Originally posted by YJay
If you have done the final version and sent it to Rajiv, it's OK. Otherwise, I have spotted a couple of grammar glitches (FYI).

1) "Advanced Parole" should be "Advance Parole"
2) "If….. then….." was used at several places in the "Requests of Immigration Benefits Applicants" section the appendix. For example "…. if the Primary applicant dies then all their dependents are denied the Permanent Resident status and removal proceedings are most likely initiated against them."

My understanding is that the word "then" should not be there. It sounds like VB programming language. Also the words " Primary", "Permanent Resident" may not need to be initial-capitalized. Some other words, e.g. "Legacy", "Employment Based", " Religious", "Asylum" were also initial-capitalized. [/B]
Click to expand...

Yesterday, I forwarded to Rajiv. Anyway I'll correct it.
 
AILA report

AILA Press Release: Economic Outlook
Shows Vital Need for Immigrants in U.S.
Economy
8/29/2003

AILA announces the release of its latest report, which finds, on
the basis of recent economic studies, that immigrants are a
key part of the U.S. economy and will become an increasingly
important element in America's future economic growth and
development.

http://www.aila.org/newsViewer.aspx?bc=273&docID=11049

AILF, Economic paper

http://www.ailf.org/ipc/ipf0903.asp
 
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Over 10,000 mails sent to MEDIA - PRESS RELEASE & US CONGRESS Backlog PETITION.


Over 10,000 mails were sent to Media about Immigration Benefits Backlogs. Press Release about Backlog petition to USCIS and US Congress Petition were sent to over 5,000 Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Television, Political Publications, Online services, Columnists, News Services,.........
 
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AILA article

Interesting article

Source: AILA

http://www.lchr.org/pubs/descriptio...heNewNormal.pdf


Under U.S. law, as in the law of most nations, non-citizens are still not ioentitled to enjoy
all the advantages of citizenship,lò and a long list of statutes excludes them from many of the
protections and benefits available to citizens. 243 But the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear
repeatedly that the U.S. Constitution protects citizens and non-citizens alike from deprivations of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law.
 
Press status

Let us try with some individual efforts with the Press, maybe we can match EDISON's efforts!!!

I subscribe to the Philadelphia Inquirer. I read an article yesterday about people with DUI and not legal status, being refused appropriate restitution courses to avoid jail....in PA.

The article was written by Maria Panaritis and I sent her e-mail, I sent her the petition and established personal communication. Hope it will lead somewhere.

Maria,

Thanks for answering. I can be reached at work at 610-or at home at 610-. I can provide you with any additional
context and information you would like. I live in and work in
You can also get in touch with the internet host that provides hospitality for us and our problem, at "www.immigration.com" and the forums at
"www.ImmigrationPortal.com". Thanks again,

Law Offices Of Rajiv S. Khanna, PC
5225 N. Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22205-1148
Voice: (703) 908-4800
Email: rskhanna@immigration.com


"Panaritis, Maria" wrote:



Mr.

I've taken a look at the attachment and was wondering if you could provide me some additional context and information about this petition. How are you
reachable? Do you live in the Philadelphia area?

--Maria Panaritis
Philadelphia Inquirer

-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 6:30 PM
To: mpanaritis@phillynews.com
Subject: Immigration

Maria, I enjoy your articles in the Inquirer. I would like to make
something available regarding the Employment based Green cards Backlogs.
Please use it as you feel. Our goal is to see something published. On
another note, I thought you have a XXXX name...Thanks a lot,

NOTE: Personal e-mails can help too!
 
TARGETED MEDIA CAMPAIGN

What does targeted media campaign mean?

1: Find an immigration article in the Press.
2: Find the author.
3: reply by commenting and MENTIONING OUR PETITION & PROBLEM.

Recent pieces in the Press:

http://www.visalaw.com/news/....SOURCE

9/11 Immigration Crackdown Hits Law-Abiding Residents Hard

Tennessean reporter Kelli Hewett quotes Greg Siskind in this article explaining how, since the terrorist attacks on 9-11, "[a] hastily revamped federal immigration service, new FBI security checks and understaffing create backlogs and drama for foreigners trying to legally work, study and resettle" in the United States.

Honest People Pay For Anti-Terrorism Initiatives

The Atlanta Journal Constitution carried this editorial by Karen Weinstock on the Government's immigration policies and new security measures since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks. Weinstock is managing partner in Siskind Susser's Atlanta office.
 
Re: TARGETED MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Thanks, Cinta.

Yes, let's not forget some of our most important tasks - petition and media.

Even we see some actions on 485s at CIS, we should continue with our efforts to have our voice heard.


Originally posted by cinta
What does targeted media campaign mean?

1: Find an immigration article in the Press.
2: Find the author.
3: reply by commenting and MENTIONING OUR PETITION & PROBLEM.

Recent pieces in the Press:

http://www.visalaw.com/news/....SOURCE

9/11 Immigration Crackdown Hits Law-Abiding Residents Hard

Tennessean reporter Kelli Hewett quotes Greg Siskind in this article explaining how, since the terrorist attacks on 9-11, "[a] hastily revamped federal immigration service, new FBI security checks and understaffing create backlogs and drama for foreigners trying to legally work, study and resettle" in the United States.

Honest People Pay For Anti-Terrorism Initiatives

The Atlanta Journal Constitution carried this editorial by Karen Weinstock on the Government's immigration policies and new security measures since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks. Weinstock is managing partner in Siskind Susser's Atlanta office.
Click to expand...
 
LETS DO SOMETHING

So where is your petition right now. Are we going to do something and when we will see impact to this. My suggestion is that we should also email or mail to BCS DIRECTOR . Please lets do something rather then waiting and loosing mind.
 
Re: LETS DO SOMETHING

The petition to ombudsman has been sent. A new list of updated signature will be sent soon as a follow-up;
The (new) petition to congress members is at the same place (see the following link);
Edison and sai have formatted the document for press release.

Action everyone should and can take:
Sign the petition if you have not done so;
Send the current petition document to your local congress memebers and the media (Some people have done it.).
Cinta, Edison and others have posted a lot information on how to contact the media.

Originally posted by checkthisout
So where is your petition right now. Are we going to do something and when we will see impact to this. My suggestion is that we should also email or mail to BCS DIRECTOR . Please lets do something rather then waiting and loosing mind.
Click to expand...
 
FARMERS / CONGRESS - The Philadelphia Inquirer

guys, let us continue the fight with Congress

Farm industry, immigrant advocates support bill

The agriculture industry and farm-worker advocates agreed to a
bipartisan congressional proposal to allow 500,000 undocumented
immigrant farm workers to become legal residents. The groups,
which for years have fought over wages and working conditions,
hailed the proposal. The bill could help ensure a stable workforce
for the nation's farms, while bringing undocumented farm workers
"out of the shadows," said Rep. Chris Cannon (R., Utah), a
sponsor. The proposal would ease the H2A visa program under
which agriculture employers can hire immigrants as temporary
hands. It also would freeze wages for certain farm workers for
three years at Jan. 1, 2003, levels while Congress studied what
the pay should be.

500000 = about 10 years of H1B people
 
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PRESS

[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 8/4/03 ]
Honest people pay for anti-terrorism initiatives
By KAREN WEINSTOCK
After the Sept. 11 attacks, people started to look for a source to blame. Apart from the obvious terrorist organizations and Osama bin Laden, many pointed the blame toward foreigners and the immigration authorities.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was previously responsible for border control and immigration, was always criticized by both the legislative branch and the public for its poor performance. However, it was only after the INS approved student visa applications for the Sept. 11 terrorists months after the attacks that a bill to abolish the INS and create the Department of Homeland Security was passed.
Now, immigration services, as well as the control of foreign citizens in the United States, are under the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of DHS.
Many changes designed to identify potential terrorists, keep them out of the United States and stop them from remaining here after they had already entered harm immigrants and U.S. businesses while having little or no effect on security.
For example, the U.S. State Department, which is responsible for approving visas for foreigners, added background checks and other screening methods to the visa applications, as well as a new form that contains such meaningless questions as: "Do you have any specialized skills or training, including firearms, explosives, nuclear, biological or chemical experience? If yes, please explain."
Which terrorist is going to answer "yes" to this question and then explain in detail that he had his firearms and explosives training at the "Bin Laden camp for terrorists who hate America"?
Long delays for visas
As one of the first national profiling measures, the State Department added special background checks targeting citizens or nationals of 26 predominantly Muslim countries.
These visa applicants are subjected to an additional 20-day hold to allow authorities to verify the data. Many of my clients have been stuck abroad for months while waiting for approval. That process substantially slows down U.S. businesses that employ these foreign nationals. It also affects other areas such as academic research, where renowned international researchers have had to miss a full semester.
Trying to tighten visa issuance even more, the State Department now requires a mandatory interview of most visa applicants with a consular officer. This caused long lines in almost all U.S. consulates worldwide, sometimes for months, and is expected to get worse.
The sharp drop in visa applicants has caused a slowdown in the U.S. tourism and hospitality industries as people choose Europe as their preferred destination for summer vacation. New regulations will even further restrict international students, Canadian residents and other temporary visitors to the United States, and tourists in route to Mexico or Canada. As a result, much of the international commerce and business activity, especially in states that border Canada, have been adversely affected.
Adding to the already-huge backlog in processing legal immigrant applications, a new "Interagency Border Inspection System" check is now performed for each and every name appearing on an application, including infants. The check itself is brief. However, multiple checks on each applicant and dependent caused the backlogged agency to become even more backlogged.
For example, an H-1B petition that previously took 30-60 days to process now takes four to six months, and people in their final processing stages now have to wait 2 1/2 years to receive a green card.
Special registration
Continuing its national profiling agenda, the government created one of the most controversial programs so far, the "special registration" system, known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. Under NSEERS, those visiting or working in the United States who are citizens or nationals of certain countries, predominantly Arab or Muslim countries, are required to be examined, photographed and fingerprinted upon entry to the United States. If they are already in the United States, they must report to an immigration office and be interviewed, photographed and fingerprinted.
These new regulations are likely to fail, while pushing the criminals and terrorists even further underground, as honest people suffer the consequences. These honest, hardworking immigrants come here because they want a better life for themselves and their families and want to make the United States their home, making America, the largest and most successful nation of immigrants, even more successful.
Blaming foreigners for the attacks and having anti-immigrant sentiments is wrong and bad for America, not to mention that targeting foreigners while expressing primal fears should not occur in the Land of the Free.
 
PRESS

Significant increase in number of visa denials by US

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, APRIL 03, 2003 11:56:42 PM ]

AHMEDABAD: The US immigration authorities have been rejecting greater number of visa applications. The number of refusals has dramatically increased in 2002-03, and an increasing number of Indians are losing out.
Piyush Shelat, a medical professional staying in the US for the last 10 years, had made a visa application in 1996 for status adjustment in the US after his wife Sangita Shelat received US citizenship. "My application for adjusting the visa status was rejected within minutes," says Shelat. He, now faces deportation, had overstayed on his visitor visa in 1994.
Many like Shelat have been turned down by the US authorities this year. With stricter checks, many, who may have otherwise been eligible for becoming US permanent residents, are presently facing deportation from the US, inform immigration lawyers in the US. Gregory Siskind, immigration attorney from Siskind, Susser, Haas & Devine in the US says that for security reasons, the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on all cases.
"INS may reject the application for minor reasons, including status violations or incorrect answers on forms. Minute mistakes may also lead to application rejections," says Siskind. In the past, the agency was flexible and would judge the overall circumstances when making decisions. From March 1, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) has taken over charge from the INS. And backlogs are again up at the INS since the switch. "It also has an impact on my clients," says Siskind. "Obviously denials and backlogs are not good. With this, a person's immigration hopes could be dashed." With increasing number of denials, the board of the immigration appeals system, a watchdog set by the US Justice Department in 1940 over immigration courts, is also swamped with cases. The changes pushed by attorney general Ashcroft directed the Board of Immigration Appeals to clear 56,000 backlog cases by March 25, notes Los Angeles Times.
A review conducted by The Times found that to meet this deadline the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected 86 per cent of its appeals in October, compared to 59 per cent the previous October. With proliferation of summary decisions without explanations by the board, "Immigrants are appealing to the federal court system in unprecedented numbers, creating another backlog," notes the L A Times. Immigrants and their lawyers in the US are anxious over the recent increase in denials and the subsequent backlog of cases.
Robert Gottfried, an immigration lawyer in the US says, "At the New York District Office and the Vermont Service Center, there are thousands of cases that remain unadjudicated. The Vermont Service Center is currently adjudicating employment cases received in the fall of 2001. The New York District Office are scheduling interviews for family-based cases filed in May 2001 for July 2003. They are supposed to shut down for interviews in the month of April, in order work on all their old cases that were interviewed but not fully adjudicated." The checks also take more time because all applications now have to pass an IBIS security check make sure that the individual has no criminal or immigration violations, informs Gottfried.
And increase in application backlog has also occurred because the US Immigration and Naturalization Service at one point stopped adjudicating adjustment applications before implementing new rules of fingerprints and thorough background checks, informs Hamel Vyas, an immigration lawyer in the US.
 
PRESS

9/11 immigration crackdown hits law-abiding residents hard

Subscribe to The Tennessean


By KELLI SAMANTHA HEWETT
Staff Writer

Red tape causes jailings, deportations

The worst of John Colin Smith's U.S. immigration nightmare came in July 2002, when the Belle Meade resident was jailed overnight with an accused Thai drug smuggler.

Originally from London, Smith has worked legally in the United States since the 1980s, designing and building recording studios. He says he's never had a legal problem, not even a speeding ticket.

But changes in immigration policies after the Sept. 11 attacks left Smith with a web of government red tape, two deportations and that night in jail.

Middle Tennessee immigration experts say the hastily revamped federal immigration service, new FBI security checks and understaffing create backlogs and drama for foreigners trying to legally work, study and resettle here.

''It was just an unreal feeling,'' said Smith. ''I can laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn't funny.''

When his visa unexpectedly expired - he had filed his renewal more than six months earlier - Smith was denied re-entry into the country at Dulles Airport after a two-week trip to Europe with his then-fiancée, U.S. citizen Cheryl Melton of Belle Meade.

The two were separated in the airport immigration line and she was left holding his suitcase, wondering what had happened. Smith was taken into a room, questioned, fingerprinted, handcuffed and put on the next plane for London.

A month later, Smith thought his case was in order and he could come back. But he was deported a second time - jailed for a day and a half while he waited for the next plane to London.

His nightmare continued. His work visa was denied. He was estranged from his home and job for nearly a year.

''I was stunned and scared,'' Melton said.

The couple didn't give up, and applied for a fiance visa instead. The last leg of paperwork came this July, after help from U.S. Sen. Bill Frist's office. Smith and his bride were finally married Sunday.

''I think we are going to continue to see a very turbulent time in our immigration system, at least for the next few years,'' said their attorney, Greg Siskind, who has offices in Nashville and Memphis.

Many of the changes are continuing during the former Immigration and Naturalization Service's transition into three separate divisions of the new federal Department of Homeland Security: the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process paperwork; the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for enforcement and deportation; and the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection for border patrols.

It's tough to communicate with the agencies involved, say immigration lawyers, applicants and aides in congressional offices.

Catholic Charities in Nashville has seen a substantial drop in the resettlement of refugees, which follows a national trend.

''We've resettled about a third of what we did pre-Sept. 11,'' said Holly Johnson, who handles resettlement for Catholic Charities in Middle Tennessee.

All are family-related cases, Johnson said, which means close relatives - parents, children and siblings - are often separated.

University students face similar challenges: New requirements to document more details about foreign students are delaying visas.

''The security part I understand 100%, but they are so inefficient and unorganized,'' said makeup artist Maureen Anstey, a Canadian now living legally in Nashville.

Anstey liked the United States enough to apply for permanent residence, but she desperately wants government-issued travel documents so she can legally visit her sick, 88-year-old father in Canada.
if she leaves without the authorization, she forfeits her permanent residence application. The process, which used to take about a month, can now take six months for additional security checks - regardless of her father's health.

''It's really tough to tell clients there's nothing much more I can do,'' said Anstey's attorney, Cheryl Williams, of Rose Immigration Law Firm in Nashville. ''It affects people's lives very greatly.''

Home countries

Top home countries of Tennessee's 167,999 foreign-born residents:

o Mexico, 51,174

o Germany, 7,999

o India, 7,129

o Canada, 6,918

o United Kingdom, 6,403

o China/Hong Kong/Taiwan, 6,124

Source: U.S. Census, 2000/Center for Immigration Studies
 
FARM WORKERS

Are we the next? Look at this farming business. Hey I planted tomatoes in my back yard and they are still alive.. Do I qualify?

It took me about 100 days to grow them and I will be doing so in the next 5-6 years on EAD!!!!!

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/7491497p-8406837c.html

The new residency program covers illegal immigrants who can prove they've worked in agriculture for 100 days in the 18 months prior to Aug. 31. They must agree to keep working in agriculture at least 360 more days over the next six years.
 
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