A Note from the Editors:

While Telecom giants like AT&T, Sprint and MCI are struggling to make profits in a competitive long distance market, small prepaid calling card vendors have been making money in it. And all thanks to immigrants. Affordable rates such as 30 cents per minute for a call to India, and even less for Mexico, Salvador and other countries, have made it possible for immigrants to keep in touch with their relatives back home. The telecom companies expanded their network way beyond their needs in the 80s and 90s, but were not able to utilize their full capacity. Enteprising immigrants have leased this talk time from the telecom giants and are able to sell it to immigrants at a very good bargain.

Articles

The ABCs of Immigration - Naturalization - Residency Requirements Part I
Greg Siskind and Amy Ballentine write about the residence requirements for naturalization.

H-1B Series: The Petitioner And Its Job Offer
George N. Lester IV continues the H-1B series with a discussion on the Petitioner and the H-1B job offer.

Heading north as economy goes south U.S. immigration policy has some foreign tech workers applying for residency in Canada
San Francisco Chronicle reports on jobless US foreign workers searching for jobs and a secure immigration status in Canada.

Renaissance: The Ziglar Resignation and the Chance for Immigration Renewal
Gary Endelman writes "Ziglar is not to blame for an Agency that does not know what America wants it to do. Indeed, the Service is the perfect institutional embodiment of our national schizophrenia on immigration. All of the clashing assumptions, competing programs and contradictory goals under which Ziglar and his predecessors have labored make any effective action by the Service on almost any issue of moment an occasion for great relief and genuine surprise. If it is true that the best way to get rid of a bad law is to enforce it, then the best way to decide what immigration means to the American economy is to arrive at a point when a leaderless INS does not know which way to turn. That is where we are now."

Relief For Undocumented Aliens: Parole
Allen C. Ladd explores a thorny problem and proposes a creative solution saying "From an in-depth investigation into the nature of parole, and discussions with other practitioners, I have concluded that parole may be the key to adjustment for the undocumented-alien spouse."

Hispanics Increase Support For Republican Party
The Washington Times reports "Republicans stand to boost their share of the vote among Hispanics in the fall elections and beyond." This has considerable implications on immigration policy at the White House and in Congress.

State Department Issues Rules For 2004 Diversity Visa Lottery
Greg Siskind and Amy Ballentine write about the DV-2004 program.

DOS Publishes DV 2004 Rule
The Department of State published a public notice of registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program providing information on how to apply for the DV 2004 Program.

DOS Instructions On DV-2004
The Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Department of State issued a detailed and lengthy set of instructions for the 2004 DV lottery. The instructions include 22 Questions and Answers, and helpful graphics of a sample application and a sample envelope.

Militant Islam And Immigration
United Press International quotes Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum "Militant Islam is a threat, is a challenge to the United States ... Its ambitions are very great ... They're not limited to foreign policy but seek also to change the very nature of the United States. To put it simply, where there are differences between Islam and American ways, the militants want to change America and make it Islamic. This is going to be, I believe, a significant issue in the years ahead."

Battering Ram
Daniel M. Kowalski writes that DOJ legal interns are being trained in the use of battering rams.

America Resurgent Due To Immigration
The Economist reports on demographic trends in America and Europe and examines immigration's impact on both sides of the Atlantic.

How Do I Apply for Temporary Protected Status?
Read comprehensive answer from INS on who is eligle to resettle for Temporary Protected Status and how to go about applying for it.

ILW Highlights

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Letters to Editors

To write to Editor, send email to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Dear Editor:

I read Mr. David Murray's response to my letter. I don't think, I wrote a "bunch of bunk". That is our story and what ever mistakes were made by us, being very naive back than - or - by the INS. What is the solution? We are too old to start all over again, we don't have the money to start all over again and our family will be ripped apart. And yes, we had hired a professional.

Name Not Supplied [Editor's Note: Presumably Gisela Boecker]

Dear Editor:

I would like to take a middle of the road position between Attorney Murray and Gisela Boecker with regard to the alleged impersonal and careless treatment they experienced at the hands of the Tampa INS office and Texas Service Center.

I have been "practicing" immigration law for 15 years - first as a senior paralegal in a lawfirm and more recently as a corporate, in-house immigration specialist. If Mr. Murray has never seen anything like what Mrs. Boecker describes in 24 years of practicing, I would say he has been extremely fortunate. Far from a "bunch of bunk" misinformation and capriciousness reign supreme in INS district offices and service centers, and for a very understandable, if not justifiable reason. I would say that, with the exception of high-level supervisors, individual INS info officers do not have a grasp of all the laws and regulations and are not trained to provide legal advice and strategy. As Mr. Murray correctly points out, it behooves any would-be immigrant to seek competent, legal counsel - but finding it can present its own set of problems. As those who repudiate "unauthorized practice" well know, there is a big difference between simply helping someone to fill out forms and giving sound legal advice, which takes into account the totality of an alien's circumstances (such as children abroad) and all possible consequences. As a compromise, however, wouldn't it be nice if Service personnel would be humble enough to admit that they are not competent to provide legal advice, and refer people to the Immigration Bar, rather than arrogantly misleading those who are simply trying to do the right thing.

I know of what I speak. Recently I phoned the VSC to ask advice about concurrent I-140/I-485 filings - specificially which box to check on the I-485 form. The advice I received was that since the VSC has received no guidance from Washington and has no procedures in place, they are in fact rejecting concurrent filings. I was told only I-140's could be filed. Given the breadth of my experience I know better that to take one supervisor's remarks as gospel, and immediately set about to confirm these rumors with my colleagues in AILA. Two weeks ago, I spoke to an INS airport inspector about an erroneously executed L visa at a Consulate and subsequent I-94 problem. The officer proceeded to explain to me the admission period for L's issued under a Blanket petition. He was completely off base and I might add, erring on the side of giving much more time than that to which the alien was entitled. I had to explain the law to him - him, who is charged with determining an alien's period of lawful admission in the United States!! I later spoke to the Port Director, who of course knew exactly what I was talking about. However, the average Joe has no access to these high level INS officers, and they can't possibly service the general public. Last week a "client" of mine almost went beserk in a local INS office when he went to do his I-89 processing and get his passport stamped following the approval of his EB adjustment of status and was told they couldn't do it because he hadn't had an interview and they didn't have his file!! One shouldn't need to take a lawyer in to get a passport stamped! So, Mr. Murray, my hat's off to you, if you have no such vignettes to share.

Unfortunately immigration laws and procedures have become so complex as to require the assistance of legal counsel or an advanced degree to file even the most simple applications. There are those who would say that this is unfair, and we could debate that, but it won't change anything. They are only going to get more complex. I know this because I spend a significant portion of my work day reading to stay abreast of new developments.

I don't think it unreasonable for a visitor or would-be immigrant from a country like Germany to assume that an INS inspector or information officer (as the term implies) will be able to provide accurate information about filing procedures and updated forms, but not legal advice. Furthermore, I think it's logical from the Boeker's perspective, to have then consulted their congressperson. However, again, I would expect the congressperson to refer them to a competent attorney, rather than try to tackle the problem. It is regrettable that many well-meaning Americans, including nonimmigration lawyers and congresspeople, are too often cavalier in their assessment of immigration laws, and as a result downplay the importance of expert advice.

When Mrs. Boecker says they engaged a "professional" we don't know if this was a notary, a lawyer or a charlatan. The Boecker's, too, have to bear some responsibilty for their choices. If they had enough resources to apply for an investor visa, they had enough resources to hire a good lawyer. Mrs. Boecker's editorial does not provide us with enough facts to determine if in fact they were ever entitled to permanent residence in the first place, and does not even say how they determined that they qualified for the intial Alien Labor Certification. The one bad assumption that the Boeckers and many others make is that being good, law-abiding, tax-paying, family-oriented people somehow qualifies you for a green card in this day and age. Do the Turkish Gastarbeiters in Germany enjoy such rights? In response to such naivete, I would have to say, "Get over it!". And, please, leave the anti-terrorist rhetoric to the politicians.

Name Withheld On Request
Corporate in-house immigration specialist

Immigrant Life

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