A Note from the Editors:

September 11 has forced INS's inefficiency out in the open. INS had a backlog of 4.9 million applications/petitions at the end of 2001. Not to mention the goof up of delayed approval of the September 11 terrorists student visas.

The Bush administration is keen to solve this problem. The Bill to scrap INS has passed the House; it will now go to the Senate where it will be debated before being passed or not. The Bill proposes to replace INS with 'Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services' and 'Bureau of Immigration Enforcement'. These two Bureaus will have an independent chain of command.

Will this Bill address the serious problem of inability of the government to handle the flood of immigrants brought by economic prosperity? Or is this restructuring merely going to address a very insignificant issue? The solution lies not in moving INS around, albeit under a different name, but by questioning the immigration policy as well as procedures.

We welcome our readers to share their opinions with us by writing to weeklyeditor@ilw.com. Please refer to the 'Letters to Editor' section below to read subscriber responses to last week's Editorial.

Articles

180 Days In Immigration Law
Sherry L. Neal points out that Congress appears to prefer the 180 day point in crafting immigration law.

Another Call For Immigration Reform, This Time From Many Voices
Jose Latour says that his hackles rise every time the AFL-CIO pipes up as a "pro-immigrant voice."

Police Officer Says Undocumented Immigrants Stand On Same Corner As His Grandfather
The Bergen Record as reported on bergen.com quotes Fairview, NJ Police Officer Ronald Bononno who doesn't see how arresting the Central American men he sees on the corners, waiting for contractors to pick them up for a day of work, will ensure national security: "They're trying to make a living, that's what they're doing here. Should they have come legally? Sure, they should have. But they're just working here, standing right on the same corner where my grandfather Carmine did when he came from Italy, to wait for people to pick him up for work."

Nurses And Allied Healthcare Workers - IIRIRA Section 343 - VisaScreen And Updates, Part 1 of 2
Frieda Wong and Bernard P. Wolfsdorf in the first part of their two-part article write about recent issues concerning credentialing of health care workers.

Congressman King Says Arab Immigration Should Be Halted
According to a report on Newsmax.com, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said: "Perhaps it's time to consider actually stopping immigration from countries which harbor terrorists and countries which do not fully comply with us on terrorism. That would include most of the Arab states, quite frankly."

Nurses And Allied Healthcare Workers - IIRIRA Section 343 - VisaScreen And Updates, Part 2 of 2
Frieda Wong and Bernard P. Wolfsdorf in the second part of their two-part article present tables comparing English language scores required in various tests as well contact information for different health care professions. (For the first part of the article, click here.)

New Regulations for B Visa Holders and Their Impact on International Students
Ellen Badger of Binghamton University writes that the INS's proposed rule does not make provision for foreign parents visiting their adult children for a period of several months, especially in the case of foreign parents providing long-term child care for their adult children and that the proposed rule will likely burden the INS with a high number of B-1 and B-2 extension applications, which are unnecessary currently.

Illegal immigrants told to take flight
According to HoustonChronicle.com, Houston's Mexican consul general plans to warn local illegal immigrant airport workers to surrender or go home before federal agents conduct a sweep that could lead to their arrest.

ILW Highlights

Answers to your Immigration questions

We very frequently received immigration questions from our Readers at weeklyeditor@ilw.com. We regret to inform you that ILW.COM staff cannot answer these questions. However, we can point you in the right direction.

A very satisfactory way to receive answers is to visit our twice-weekly FREE Immigration Chat with an attorney. Another is to Find a Lawyer, and then contact them via email or phone (many offer free initial consultation). You can also look for an answer in the Visainfo section of ILW.COM. We also have a very close community of immigrants and immigration professionals who regularly post questions as well as answer questions others questions on our Discussion Board.

We welcome you to Share this page (at the top right of this page) with a friend or a relative who is also looking for answers to his questions.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:

I work for a software solutions company and I process immigrants every day for working authorizations for our business, from working visa petitions to permanent residency status. It can be a real pain trying to keep track of all the various authorizations available to immigrants, along with the associated timetables and costs of each category. But, in light of what happened on September 11th and at other times prior to that, bring it on! I welcome the extra security hassles at the airports, the growing mountains of paperwork for processing immigrants in order for them to work for your company, the protests from the idiotic few that cannot understand why precautions are long overdue, the crackdowns......... (Cont'd).

Thank you.

Regards,
Darryl, HR

Dear Editor:

Unfortunately we are experiencing the development of a xenophobic society where problems are not solved, but rather blamed on immigrants. This policy has worked for decaded, if not centuries for those who fail to propose constructive policies that deal with real issues.

We all as immigrants are confronted with the current dilemma and the only real solution might be a unified vote and voice opposing the disgraceful and inhuman treatments.

All of us have relatives or friends who are citizens and eligible to vote. It is up to us to persuade them to vote for the right policy and agenda.

Sincerely,
Mehran Fardis
Business Development Manager

Dear Editor:

This rings so true to me. My husband was just detained on Friday while we went for an interview together for his resident card. I petitioned for my husband since I am an American Citizen. My husband has NO criminal record here in the United States or in his home country of Guatemala. He will be deported.........(Cont'd).

Respectfully,
Joyce Hernandez

Dear Editor:

I wish to congratulate the INS for taking solid steps in making sure that we prevent criminals & terrorists from entering and remaining in this country, by introducing the revised requirements for B1 and F1 visas.

What we need now is a call for all illegal aliens who have over stayed their allotted time to register with the INS so that their case can be investigated, i-n-d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l-l-y. Some will need interviews, some will not. The INS should request a resume of their previous 10 - 20 years history of all persons i8 years and older.

Several of these persons are operating businesses.......(Cont'd).

Byron

Dear Editor:

America is out to frustrate immigrants. The current government is opposed to immigrants otherwise Septmber 11th is a good cover up. INS AND the govenment should look for terrorists and not undocumented people. The undocumented and foreigners are not necessarily the Septmber 11th terrorists. They should hunt down Bin Laden but not the immigrants. Bin Laden is not immigrants.

Yours concerned

Immigrant Life

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