A Note from the Editors:

Time Change For Our Chats

Effective May 1st, ILW.COM's Chats will move to a new time. The chats will start at 7pm ET instead of 8pm ET. We are making this change to make it more convenient for attorneys to attend chats from their offices. To learn about this feature of our website, please read below.

ILW.COM is a platform for the exchange of information on immigration law. One of the ways in which we facilitate this information exchange is through our "Chat With Lawyers" section. With three chats most weeks, ILW.COM holds more immigration law chats than anyone on the internet. Our chats feature an immigration attorney as the sole attraction for one hour before an audience of 100-200 people with current immigration problems. Several ILW.COM member attorneys find chatting an effective and efficient way to develop clients. Many attorneys - both veteran and new practitioners - have reported that chatting helped them learn about a broader spectrum of immigrants than typically seen by a law office, and have called it a fun and educational experience. Our chat platform is so easy to use, we no longer need any training sessions for the lawyers who are first-time chatters - if you can browse the web, you can chat. If you are unfamiliar with this exciting new communication and client-development tool, you may want to take a few minutes to attend one of our free chats, and see for yourself. Our chat calendar is at: http://www.ilw.com/chat/. To explore whether chat is for you, please send an email to webmaster@ilw.com. (Only attorneys listed in ILW.COM's directory of immigration practitioners may chat. An ILW.COM immigration attorney serving as the moderator is always present during our chats.)

Articles

From The Beginning: Agile Immigration Advocacy For New Businesses: Part 3 of 3
Susan K. Wehrer and Angelo A. Paparelli write "By advising companies from the outset, and for the duration, on the immigration consequences of various business decisions, practitioners can at least rest assured that immigration concerns are not an afterthought, but are instead an integral part of new companies' overall development strategy."

Race, Nationality, and Reality: INS Administration of Racial Provisions in US Immigration and Nationality Law Since 1898, Part 2 of 8
Marian L. Smith writes "It was the lack of uniformity among naturalization courts and procedure, and the fraud it bred, that underlay Congress's establishment of the US Naturalization Service by the Basic Naturalization Act of 1906 (34 Stat. 596)."

BCIS Allows Immigrants To Apply Online For Immigration Benefits
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) in a press release announced today beginning May 29th, it plans to offer electronic filing (e-filing) as an option for two of the most commonly submitted immigration forms - the application used to renew or replace a "green card" (Form I-90) and the application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765).

Immigrant Is Released On Judge's Orders After Being Held In Custody For 99 Days By BICE
The Wyoming Star Tribune reports "A federal judge ordered the release of a man held by federal immigration authorities for 99 days without charges."

Due Process - BIA Purged of Several Members
Maurice Belanger of the National Immigration Forum writes "With changes clearly meant to reward speed at the expense of due process, advocates feared that, when it came to reducing the size of the Board after the backlog was reduced, the decision on who would stay and who would be let go would be based on how tough the judges would be. That now seems to have happened."

White House Speaks On 245i
During a White House press briefing, White House spokesman said, "We'll continue to work with Congress on the initiatives that are pending there. 245I still is an important matter to this President, and we will continue to work to try to make as much progress as possible on the immigration issues."

Special Registration Beckons Many To Room 200
The San Francisco Chronicle reports "As the formal [Special Registration] process reached its end, immigration lawyers -- who logged long days in Room 200 waiting for officers to call their clients' names, and hoping there wouldn't be additional scrutiny on the slightly more uptight eighth floor -- saw it differently."

New Interpretations On The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
Cyrus D. Mehta writes "Both the DOS and the INS, now known as the BCIS, have each issued guidance further clarifying some of the issues that have arisen as a result of the complex provisions in the CSPA."

INS Letter Provides Guidance On Nurse Licensure
A letter from Efren Hernandez of the INS says, "If the only barrier to licensure is the lack of a social security number and the petition is otherwise approvable, the INS may approve the H-1B petition for a period of one year." (courtesy of Sylvia Boecker)

The Pitfalls of Bad Web Design
Peter Boyd, Esq. identifies web design pitfalls to help your firm create and maintain a professional quality web site.

18-Month Temporary Protected Status Granted To Eligible Hondurans And Nicaraguans
The Bureau of Citzenship and Immigration Service (BCIS) released a press statement and FAQ's announcing the extension of the temporary protected status (TPS) for Honduras and Nicaragua for a period of 18 months until January 5, 2005.

How Do I Get Legally Admitted to the US?
Read a comprehensive answer from BCIS on what to expect when you are inspected when you arrive at a US port-of-entry.

ILW Highlights

Processing Times Updated

Texas Processing Times have been updated.

Letters to Editors

To write to Editors, send emails to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

None this week.

Immigrant Life

Deported Immigrant becomes an Immigration Professional

I am currently engaged as an Immigration Legal Assistant in a large Law Firm in Pittsburgh. How I arrived in this position is probably fairly typical of those from abroad who enter the United States innocently and later become enmeshed in the snare of the Immigration policy.

I left Northern Ireland in 1981, after the death of my spouse to visit United States on vacation. After a couple of months in the U.S, I was assured by well-intentioned friends and relatives that I could simply 'stay' in America. I was also told that equally simply could I file for and obtain a Green Card, and everything would be 'just wonderful'.

As you can imagine it was not quite that simple!

Continued.

If appropriate, ILW.COM would be happy to carry your story on the website. Send your story as an immigrant to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

This week's chat schedule

ILW.COM announces that as of May 2nd, all chats will be held at 7:00 pm Eastern Time.

When	Attorney
Monday, May 5 7:00 pm Eastern Time	Brian Getson, Esq.
Wednesday, May 7 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Alice Yardum-Hunter, Esq.
Friday, May 12 7:00 pm Eastern Time	Arthur Zabenko, Esq.

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