A Note from the Editors:

Many immigration lawyers are finding out that the Special Registration is a cruel joke on their clients, and on the lawyers, too. The theory behind Special Registration is that the more the government knows about immigrants, the greater the likelihood of finding the few terrorists hiding among innocent immigrants, thereby increasing our nation's security. However, the people getting caught in the Special Registration dragnet are for the most part people with technical problems with their status, for which they are being detained and treated harshly. For example, 245(i) beneficiaries find themselves imprisoned when they go to register, often times upon advice of counsel. Lawyers look like chumps when they are forced to tell their clients - yes, the law requires that you register, but if you do, you could be imprisoned, I cannot say what will happen if you do go to register. Late registration raises the same scenario for lawyers. The list of countries will likely steadily be expanded, and we believe that eventually all immigrants will likely be required to register. The climate of fear created by Special Registration will gradually drive immigrants underground, away from their lawyers and into the arms of the charlatans who dupe the oppressed. If it were not so cruel, it would be hilarious that some at the DOJ seriously believe that a terrorist will step forward and be registered.

We welcome readers to send their comments to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Articles

Special Problems and Advanced Strategies Part 2
George N. Lester IV writes about how to handle particularly challenging situations faced by H-1B petitioners, focusing on what options are available when the H-1B employee is reaching the six-year maximum.

HHS Launches Nationwide Physician J Waiver Program
Gregory Siskind and Karen Weinstock write about the recently launched US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Program largely designed to replace the national waiver program operated for several years by the US Department of Agriculture.

Native Country Condition Pushes Immigrants Here
The Denver Post reports on why undocumented immigrants make their way north.

Registration And Deportation Do Not Mix
The San Jose Mercury News reports "With a deadline less than a week away, immigrant community leaders say they're worried that visitors from Afghanistan, Lebanon and 11 other countries may not register as part of a new national security program because they fear they'll be detained or deported."

Let's Roll: Going On The Offensive In 2003
Gary Endelman writes that the Ashcroft vendetta notwithstanding, 2003 presents immigration advocates a golden opportunity for meaningful immigration reform, and that we should not repeat the mistakes made during ACWIA by going only for itsy-bitsy legislation when the H-1B numbers crisis hits later this year, but should instead go for the whole enchilada made possible by the current political situation which portends a large new guest worker program.

NYC Mayor Favors Blanket Amnesty
The New York Post quotes New York City Mayor Bloomberg "Let's tighten the borders. Make everybody that's here already a citizen - whether it's fair or not. Just solve the problem."

The Veerapol Decision: Law Informed By Compassion
Christine Flowers writes about how the Veerapol decision underscores the difficult situation in which many immigrants find themselves in this post 9/11 climate.

Seventh Circuit Admonishes Immigration Judge for Violating Due Process Rights of Asylum Applicant
Carl R. Baldwin writes about the recent Kerciku v. INS decision.

How Do I Bring My Parents to Live in the United States?
Read comprehensive answer from INS on how US citizens can bring their parents to live in the US.

ILW Highlights

Curriculum for "Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Problems, Solutions and Best Practices"

The following is the curriculum for "Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Problems, Solutions and Best Practices"

FIRST Phone Session on January 23: What is a "conviction" and how to avoid its immigration consequences?

• How does the INA define "conviction"?
• How do the BIA and courts interpret "conviction"?
• Exceptions: Are there any exceptions?
  1. Diversion and deferred adjudications
  2. Expunged convictions and Federal First Offenders Act (FFOA)
  3. Juvenile/youthful offender offenses
  4. Vacations
  5. Pardons

SECOND Phone Session on February 13: How to analyze the immigration consequences of a given conviction?

• Determine the elements to be proved under a state or federal criminal statute
• Determine the range of immigration violations triggered by a conviction having such elements

• Determine the parts of the record of conviction that will be examined later
• Construct a "safe plea" to a harmless statute or to a harmless provision of a divisible statute

• Crimes of domestic violence
  1. as a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT)
  2. as a crime of violence
  3. as a crime of domestic violence
• Possession of a controlled substance
  1. as a controlled substance
  2. as an aggravated felony
• Fraud
  1. as a CIMT
  2. as an aggravated felony involving a loss over $10,000

• Relief from removal in immigration court. Eligibility for asylum, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), cancellation and other relief
• Post conviction relief in criminal court
  1. Vacating guilty pleas
  2. Modifying sentences

For more info, including detailed curriculum, speaker bios, and registration information online, click here.
For more info, including detailed curriculum, speaker bios, and registration information by fax, click here.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor,

I would like to know how to sign in to get on chat with lawyer page. Asks for nick name. How do I get one?

Florence Weiland

Editor's note: Click on the 'Logon for chat' link at http://www.ilw.com/chat/. When the screen prompts you for a nickname, you can enter anything you wish such as 'Florence' or 'FW' or simply 'guest'.

Dear Editor,

For the past several weeks I have been unable to access any of the articles listed on the weekly newsletter. I get the message that this program has performed an illegal operation. If you know how to correct this please tell me. I have received so much helpful information from your site. Thank you.

Anne Clifton

Editor's note: ILW.COM is fully compatible with MS Internet Explorer 5.x and above. However, users of Netscape Navigator 6.x and above should also be able to view most of our content. Web surfers using Netscape Navigator 4.x, however, will experience problems with our newly redesigned website. We urge those of you who have older versions of Netscape to upgrade to MS Internet Explorer (or to later versions of Netscape Navigator). If this still dosen't help, the problem maybe something else; please contact your Network Administrator or someone knowledgable about computers to find the problem.

Dear Editor,

I know you mentioned this subject (Processing times information) recently with the promise that these would be updated on a more regular basis but it seems that there is still an overly long delay on this information. The last time the information for the Missouri Service Center was filed was 12/15/2002. Can we expect an update soon? Thanks for all the great work you're doing at ILW.

Yours sincerely Anthony Ramsey

Editor's note: We do check for Processing times update on a regular basis. However, the Service Centers do not follow a fixed schedule. The update information is put up on ILW.COM as soon as it is available.

Immigrant Life

Anti-immigration sentiment is rising in America?

Wazobia says, "I think the need to obtain immigration benefits has blinded most of us, actual or intending immigrants to the problems of uncontrolled immigration. The US as a sovereign country has the right to control immigration through its borders. How many people who read stuff on this forum know the details of immigration laws in their own home countries. I just read a story of how an American wanted to emigrate to China (don't know if thsi guy was real or a prank). The Chinese officials laughed at him and told him there is no such thing as becoming a Chinese citizen as a foreigner. Yes you can bring your investment or factories but no foreign long-term workers are allowed the told him......."

This week's chat schedule

When	Attorney
Monday, January 13 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Mitch Berenson, Esq.
Wednesday, January 15 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Alice Yardum-Hunter, Esq.
Friday, January 17 8:00 pm Eastern Time	No chat

Classifieds

For information on advertising in the classifieds please click here.

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