• A Note from the Editors: INS Urgent Advisory
• Time to Bury the Ratchet: Replace it with Real Reform by Paul Donnelly
• What Really Matters: Immigration and National Interest by Gary Endelman
• DOL's Rule on Attorney Fees in the H-1B Program by Cyrus D. Mehta
• 245(i) Redux: What It Will Do To The Labor Certification System in 2001 by Sam Udani
• Letter to the Editor from INS Web Manager
• ILW Highlight: Find a Lawyer

A Note from the Editors:

Due to the enormous demand for INS forms by individuals seeking to qualify for Section 245(i) under the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act (LIFE) by the filing deadline date of midnight April 30, 2001, the INS has issued an Urgent Advisory recommending that those applying for this benefit obtain the necessary INS application forms by downloading and printing them directly from the Internet. The INS release has links to the forms on their site, but the forms are widely available on other sites including ILW.COM. The INS suggests the following forms may be relevant. Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur Form I-765, Application for Employment. Also important are the Department of Labor's ETA 750 A and 750 B forms. INS's advisory is evidence of the extent to which the internet is changing the practice of immigration law. Maybe their recognition of the importance of the internet will spur them on in their efforts to implement electronic filing of forms. (For a response from the INS Web Manager, click here).

What Really Matters: Immigration and National Interest
Gary Endelman argues for a change in the way employment based immigration functions including eliminating the Diversity Lottery and allowing states to become the employment based visa "patron of last resort."

Dear Editor:

I read with interest your Editor's Comments of the Day for April 17 and your intention to offer fillable forms via your Website. From our own recent experience, I would like to suggest that you and any prospective users of these fillable forms approach this subject with healthy skepticism. Even more skepticism is needed when thinking about electronically filable forms anytime in the near future.....(Read the whole letter)

Gregg Beyer
INS Web Manager
INS Headquarters
425 I Street, NW, Suite 4034
Washington, DC 20536