A Note from the Editors:

Happenings On The Hill

Congress is hard at work - members and their staff are burning the midnight oil in DC currently. Not all of this is about the usual year-end appropriations battles, some of the issues apparently hovering in the background are immigration-related. H-1B cap relief and other immigration matters may be part of the last minute compromises that are being worked on by immigration advocates in DC. Whether we get relief in 2003 or not, there is now good reason to believe that some relief on essential workers may finally come in 2004. The reason for our optimism is that even Rep. Tancredo (R-CO) - no friend of immigration he - has now introduced a guest worker bill (see item below). Interestingly, his proposal would (i) apply to all workers - professional and unskilled; (ii) effectively abolish body shops; and (iii) would tie visas to the unemployment rate. It remains to be seen how popular his views prove with his colleagues on the Hill. Should there be any immigration issues in the massive appropriations bills that Congress may pass in the next few days, Immigrant's Weekly will be sure to keep you advised.

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us and other readers by writing to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Articles

Letter Recommending Emergency Legislation For The Admission Of Refugees (President Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961) - Presidential Paper Historical Series
President Eisenhower sent this message to Congress on April 22, 1953.

USCIS Issues Reminder On Obtaining Advance Parole Before Travel Abroad
The USCIS issued a press release urging all immigrants with pending applications for adjustment of status to consult its National Customer Service Center, an immigration attorney, or an immigration assistance organization accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals before making any travel plans.

Amending Labor Certification Requirements: A New Paradigm And A Review Of Basic Principles
Josie Gonzalez writes "Is it possible to amend the contents of the labor certification in connection with placing a "Re-test" ad at the DOL regional level, or back at the state level if the case gets remanded for supervised recruitment?"

Individual Pleads Guilty In Visa Fraud Scheme
The Department of Justice announced that another individual pleaded guilty to committing visa fraud in a visa scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes between 2000 and 2003 in exchange for the issuance of visas to various foreign nationals, primarily from Vietnam and India.

USCIS Employer Bulletin Information On Employment-Based Permanent Residence
The Office of Business Liaison of the USCIS released an employer information bulletin on employment-based permanent residence.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: It's Time To Walk The Walk
Frank Sharry of the National Immigration Forum writes "It is high time for the key actors, the Bush Administration, the Fox Administration, and the US Congress, to move beyond vague assurances that migration is "still on the table," and take concrete steps to solve our pressing migration and border issues."

Filing An I-751 Petitioner For A Client In Divorce Or Annulment Proceedings
Cyrus Mehta writes "the Yates Memo policy will needlessly put into jeopardy the status of conditional residents who are unable to obtain a final termination of their marriage prior to the second anniversary of the grant of conditional residency."

9th Circuit Immigration Primer
Cheri Ho of the Office of the Staff Attorneys of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit offered a 143-page primer on selected immigration law topics (thanks to Dan Kowalski, Editor-in-Chief, Bender's Immigration Bulletin).

Rep. Tancredo Introduces Guest Worker Program Legislation
Rep. Tancredo (R-CO) issued a press release along with a detailed statement regarding his introduction of legislation which would authorize the hiring of an unprecedented number of border patrol agents and creating a guest worker programs.

USCIS Announces Program To Ease Procurement Of Child Citizenship Certificates
The USCIS announced plans to launch the Child Citizenship Act Program (CCA) which is intended to eliminate the backlog of N-643 forms (Application for Certificate of Citizenship in Behalf of an Adopted Child) relating to children affected by the CCA.

How Do I Post Bond For An Alien In Detention?
Read a detailed response from the USCIS on how to post bond for an alien in detention.

ILW Highlights

Processing Times Updated

Vermont, DOS, DOL processing times were recently updated.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:
In response to the Nov. 17th Editor's Comments, run Pat run.

Name Not Provided

Dear Editor:
I lived in USA for 13 years, I was blessed with two kids, Andrea is the oldest then Byron whom is the youngest one, I worked as a counselor for troubled youth, for many years and while I worked as a counselor I also volunteered to work with people with disabilities. Because my job does not pay a huge salary, my wife decided to work with disabled toddlers and pre-school special children. I honestly believe that we made an impact on all of these children's lives, to the point that in 2001 while we were on vacation at Disneyland there was a guy whispering at his wife and then staring at us, I was quite uncomfortable and the suddenly this man approached me and said: "I would like you guys to meet my wife Cheryl," and it was a kid whom we used to be his foster parents, but now he is a little overweight and with a mustache, (so we did not recognize him) Then he said, in front of his wife, I am the man that I am today because of you guys. He was in probation and thought of himself as a loser back at our Group Home in 1989, but that day he was a winner. I could use so many pages writing stories, of kids and what such a good people they became, and then when I worked with single moms as a self sufficiency counselor, my wife can share many stories of the families with disabled children, that we visited in our time to give some hope, some happiness and most all of all a lot of pride for being blessed with an special child. We gave hundreds of speeches to families just because it was a joy for us to share our own experiences with Andrea. However, now it is kind of difficult to share all of this because all the things that my wife and I did to help American families, American children all of those things were done by two illegal immigrants. I was deported. Now we are back in our country of birth as strangers, I am in my heart 100% American, I can die for the US anyday, but I can not go back. I left my life in the US and what it make it worse is that my children cannot get medical attention, school, I mean the basics because they are foreigners, they are American citizens and do not belong here, then Andrea's life is harder for her because she is not only foreign but a disabled baby, and being disabled in a third world country is just extremely and unusually hard. Seeing how my kids live here everyday is worse than any punishment.

Bayron Sanchez

Dear Editor:
Your comment in your editorial about would-be immigrants being treated as supplicants to American charity struck a very large bell. I am 63, English-born and educated, went to Canada in 1962 (at 22), and lived and worked there all of my adult life. For thirty five years, I was a professor at the University of Guelph, one of the really good universities in that country, and would be there still except that Ontario forces you to retire at 65. So when in 2000, I was headhunted by Florida State University, and given that I have a wife and three kids, I took the job. And the beginning of the nightmare of trying to get a green card. I should say that I have never been in trouble with the law, and that, without showing off, I am pretty distinguished in my field (twenty books, honorary degrees, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Guggenheim winner, visiting scholar at Harvard and Cambridge, review books in the NYT, and so forth). I suppose I should have realized that it would be uphill when I applied at the border for a temporary work permit and was told that my English university PhD needed to be authenticated as coming from a proper institution. Then the long wait to conversion for an H visa. After that, the ludicrous attempt to speed things up by getting info to show that I am a distinguished scholar, and being told a year later that it would have been quicker had I not gone that route. Then the worry about whether I am allowed to come and go from the country and whether I am able to accept honoraria for talks given elsewhere in the US. Not to mention the bad decision not to apply back in one of my home countries, rather than directly from the US. (Other Englishmen, hired after me, already have green cards.) And so it goes on. We are now 178 days after the application for an H extension, without prospect of an end, except that when I came in earlier this month from Canada, with advanced parole, I was threatened with deportation back to Canada. I was invited here, and I was happy to come. I am not a reluctant would-be immigrant, but then again neither am I a desperate refugee without education or prospects from an unknown Third World country, with no language or other skills. What seems to me to be so silly is that I am having to spend all of this time getting one visa or permission after another for me and my family. It not only ties up my time and that of the people on campus, but the immigration authorities as well. If I were just a junior faculty member, never getting invited off campus and never having to leave the country, without a family and without tenure at this point anyway, it would not really matter anything like as much. But I am put through the hassle at the border and so forth precisely because I am distinguished. I love my job and my colleagues, my family and I love living in Tallahassee, but I really do not think I would have come down had I realized the hassle. Why on earth did I not get a lawyer? well, why on earth would I get a lawyer? I got a lawyer when I got divorced, wrote my will, and bought my house but in this case, there simply seemed to be forms to be filled, and after all was I not a prize catch for FSU so why would there be any hassle? When I emmigrated to canada in 1962, it took ten minutes in all to do the job, including dropping my pants for the visiting doctor. Indeed, Iwanted a student visa and the authorities told me it was easier to emmigrate. I am not saying now that Canada is as easy, it is not, but as I say, this was why the whole process down here blindsided me, and i do not know if a lawyer would have made a major difference.

Michael Ruse
Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University

Immigrant Life

What Is A Driver's License?

A driver's license is a card which allows you to operate a motor vehicle legally. A driver's license is issued by the state in which you live but allows you to drive anywhere in the United States and Canada.

To learn more, see here.

Have a story that you'd like to share with us? Send your story as an immigrant to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

This week's chat schedule

ILW.COM announces that as of Nov 1st, all chats will be held at 6:00 pm Eastern Time.

When	Attorney
Monday Nov 24 6:00 pm Eastern Time	Leda Fan, Esq.
Wednesday, Nov 26 6:00 pm Eastern Time	No chat scheduled
Friday, Nov 28 6:00 pm Eastern Time	No chat scheduled

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