A Note from the Editors:

There are still many questions surrounding the investigation into the September 11 attacks. There are conflicting reports about the immigration status of the 19 hijackers. There is scanty and conflicting evidence about those being detained as part of the investigation. In a letter to the editor, Michael Boyle brings to our attention a case which illustrates the continuing human costs of the terrorists attacks.

Ali Maqtari, 26, was born in Yemen, studied in France and came to the US on a tourist visa last year with hopes of becoming a French teacher. He met Tiffinay Hughes, a native of North Carolina, and they were married in June 2001. They filed a marriage application with the INS Hartford, Connecticut office in August. He had planned to study at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, but his wife, a member of the National Guard, wanted to enlist as a full-time soldier, so he drove her to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. When they arrived at the base they were stopped, separated, and their car was emptied and searched by bomb-sniffing dogs. The INS issued a Notice to Appear charging Mr. Maqtari with overstaying his visa. Bond was originally set at $50,000, then INS changed his status to no bond. At a secret hearing the Immigration Judge again set bail at $50,000 and the Service immediately appealed to the BIA for a stay of the of the IJ's decision. After briefing by both sides, the BIA upheld the IJ's decision, but allowed each side to submit additional evidence. At a final hearing on November 6 the Service capitulated and stipulated to a $10,000 bond. On November 8 bond was posted and the couple has now returned to Connecticut to look for work and wait for the Immigration Court in Hartford to grant Mr. Al-Maqtari's permanent residence application and close his case.

The ripples of the September 11 attacks are still upsetting the lives of innocent victims. For details of the tortuous route the case has taken so far, visit Michael Boyle's page at http://immform.com/almaqtari.htm. Congratulations to Mr. Boyle and the others who helped represent Mr. Maqtari for their diligent and zealous represenation of their client and a case well argued.

Articles

"A Moveable Feast": An Analysis of Adjustment of Status Portability Under AC21 (Part IV)
Angelo A. Paparelli and Janet J. Lee discuss withdrawal of the I-140 petition and the intent to work for the petitioning employer.

International Students and US National Security
Gary Endelman writes about the adverse affects of of restricting the rights of foreign students on America's national security.

US Seeks Mutual "Security Perimeter"
US officials are proposing that Canada and Mexico toughen their immigration and border-control policies and help the US create a three-nation North American "security perimeter."

State Department Temporarily Prohibits Third Country Processing
Greg Siskind and Amy Ballentine write that US consulates will stop the practice of issuing visas to third country nationals who are not residents of the consular district.

New RICO Target: Hiring Illegal Aliens
Law.com writes that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a case by Commercial Cleaning Services against competitor Colin Service Systems. Inc., in which Commercial alleges that Colin engaged in a pattern of the illegal hiring of undocumented workers to reduce its costs, enabling the company to underbid competing firms.

Refugee Admissions Another Casualty of September 11
Carl R. Baldwin writes that a misguided and counterproductive result of the September 11 attacks has been a suspension of the admission of refugees.

Beware of Indefinite Detention under the USA PATRIOT Act
Cyrus D. Mehta writes about that the USA PATRIOT Act grants unprecedented new powers to the Attorney General to detain any noncitizen he certifies as engaging in terrorist activity or is a threat to national security.

US to Offer Immigration Incentives for Terrorism Information
According to CNN Attorney General Ashcroft announced a new plan to possibly offer immigration assistance to encourage international citizens living in the US or abroad to come forward with information about suspected terrorists.

ILW Highlights

Processing Times

The INS processes many petitions at its Eastern Service Center in Vermont, the Northern Service Center in Nebraska, the Southern Service Center in Texas and the Western Service Center in California. There are backlogs and delays throughout the INS including the Service Centers. We thank the American Immigration Lawyer's Association which makes this information available to the public. The processing times pages are a resource attorneys can use to give their clients an idea of how long a particular application will take. Attorneys can also encourage clients to check the processing times themselves to reduce the number of phone calls asking how long a case is taking. The real measure of processing times is how long cases are actually taking. If you find a case taking more or less time than indicated on these pages, send the information to times@ilw.com. As the hub for immigration information ILW.COM is a place to share the latest and most up-to-date immigration information.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:

If the purpose of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act is to unified the children and spouse of the immigrants, how about the U.S. citizens and US veterans with military service? Why not amend regulations like extending temporary visas for children who are over 21, single or married? These groups are working age and they are following the legal procedures of the immigration. Many waited for more than 10 years now, but still no visa has been issued. Many of the petitioners are parents who are old and waiting for their children. Lucky for those who come to the US illegally for many of them were granted amnesty, students who overstayed and found jobs, got married so they could stay, sought refuge and were granted refugee status, or were granted asylum because of political prosecution. Why can those who violated immigration law in most cases stay, while those who follow the legal way are just being ignored. How long do US citizens and veterans still have to wait to be united with their children? Another 10 years of waiting? I just pray by that when the time comes they are still alive. Just look at the priority date for 1st and 3rd preference, 1988, and only 23,400 allocated? I hope the US government will notice this unfairness to its own citizens compared to the non-citizens. I hope the legislatures can do something. The citizens need your help.

Maria B.
Daughter of US Citizens & Veterans

Dear Editor:

Being the largest US-Immigration Supporter in Switzerland, we have considerable experience in the field of the Diversity Visa Lottery. I would like to share some of that experience with the other readers of your daily newsletter.

Persons being positively selected in the DV-Program often ask about the timing of their Embassy appointment. A few years back large numbers of the prospective Continental allocation had been made available already in the early months of the visa year. Embassy appointments were within those allocations scheduled upon receipt of the formal immigrant applications, i.e. first come - first served. This pattern seems to have changed last year, and more drastically this year. From the current visa bulletins it becomes obvious that fairly low amounts of visa numbers are available in the first few months, with a steady raise over the remaining months. Embassies also seem to be more reluctant to change appointments into later months. A stricter monthly reporting procedure seems to be in place now.

This of course allows us to forecast the approximate timing of the visa appointment better, as it is more linked to the case number now than in earlier years.

Hoping that some of this "expertise" will help attorneys with much smaller numbers of winners to advise their clients accordingly.

Yours truly,
Matthias Pfeiffer MBA
Green Card Support Service Switzerland

Immigrant Life

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