• Limited Restoration of 245(i) Article by Arthur L. Zabenko
• Department of Labor Publishes Long-Awaited H-1B Regulation Article by Greg Siskind
• INS Mistreatment of Legal Residents Prompts Lawsuit Article by Carl Baldwin

A Note from the Editors:

New Year's in America

The beginning of the New Year has been welcomed on different dates throughout history. Great Britain and its American colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, in which January first was considered to be New Year's Day. In the US, the federal holiday is January first, but Americans begin celebrating on December 31. On New Year's Eve, it is traditional to greet the New Year at midnight and celebrate the first minutes of the year in the company of friends and family. Sometimes people have masquerade balls, where guests dress up in costumes and cover their faces with masks until midnight. As part of the New Year's Eve festivities many people also watch television. Most of the television channels show Times Square in the heart of New York City where one minute before midnight, a lighted ball drops slowly from the top to the bottom of a pole on one of the buildings.

Another growing tradition in the US is the celebration of "First Night" in cities throughout America. It is a family oriented, community celebration of the visual and performing arts on New Year's Eve, which promotes alcohol-free festivals that typically include ice sculptures, dancing, storytelling, theater, poetry, films and an elaborate fireworks display at midnight.

At the stroke of midnight on December 31st people honk car horns or don party hats and blow paper horns and whistles. People hug and kiss to begin the New Year with love and happiness, drink a toast to the New Year with champagne and sing "Auld Lang Syne," the traditional New Year's song. And of course, people make their New Year's resolutions, which are usually broken or forgotten by February.

The tradition of making New Year's resolutions began with the ancient Babylonians so that they could begin the New Year afresh. While most people resolve to diet or stop smoking, the most popular Babylonian resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment so that they had all their borrowings cleared for the New Year.

Typical American activities for New Year's Day include visiting friends and relatives, attending religious services, going to parades with decorated floats and bands, and watching football games on television. Many people watch the Tournament of Roses Parade preceding the Rose Bowl football game in California; or the Orange Bowl in Florida; or the Cotton Bowl in Texas; or the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana.

Whatever the custom people follow for their New Year's celebration, the sentiments of the New Year are similar. With a new year, people can leave behind the past and look forward to good luck with the fresh beginning for better things in the upcoming year. Following that sentiment, we wish all our readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Limited Restoration of 245(i)
Arthur L. Zabenko, Esq., writes about the restoration of 245(i) inlcuding suggestions on documenting physical presence and warnings about unscrupulous practices.

INS Mistreatment of Legal Residents Prompts Lawsuit
Carl R. Baldwin writes about abuses of expedited removal inlcuding a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Adopted Children and the Child Citizenship Act of 2000
Everett P. Anderson and Dan H. Berger write about the recent changes in immigration law affecting adopted children and child citizenship.

Department of Labor Publishes Long-Awaited H-1B Regulations
Attorney Greg Siskind summarizes the regulations from the Department of Labor implementing the ACWIA changes to the H-1B program.

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