News Update - January 24, 2007New Passport Requirements for Air Travel Washington — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of State issued a reminder that beginning Jan. 23, 2007, citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda are required to present a passport to enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere. As early as Jan.1, 2008, citizens traveling between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security to enter the United States. USCIS Introduces On-Line Change of Address Function The U.S.C.I.S. issued a press release announcing its on-line address updating ability. The required Form AR-11 can be submitted on-line for all applications except naturalization applications. THE USCIS expects to be able to change addresses for naturalization applicants by May 2007. Persons with naturalization applications pending should continue to call the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) to update addresses. Form AR-11 is required by law. To change address on-line go to http://www.uscis.gov/AR-11. The NCSC telephone number is 1-800-375-5283.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced
it will launch the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP),
an easy to use, single point of inquiry for travel-related issues.
AgJOBS Legislation Reintroduced in Congress A new focus is coming into play for comprehensive immigration reform as once languishing legislation may have new life. On January 10, 2007, Senators Kennedy (D-MA), Feinstein (D-CA), and Craig (R-ID) and Representatives Berman (D-CA) and Cannon (R-UT) introduced the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security (AgJOBS) Act of 2007 (S.237/H.R. 371). The bill would provide earned adjustment for current undocumented agricultural workers and reform the H-2A visa program. For more see http://.thomas.loc.gov. J-1 Waiver Program for Physicians in Underserved Areas Reauthorized President Bush signed into law H.R. 4997, the “Physicians
for Underserved Areas Act.’ The law reauthorizes waiver of
the 2-year foreign residency requirement for foreign doctors who
work in medically underserved areas in the United States. For more
see http://thomas.loc.gov
† The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. ‡ This article © 2007 Alan Lee, Esq.
|
Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee,
Esq. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |