A Note from the Editors:

Space Exploration And Immigration

No, this is not just about Kalpana Chawla, the immigrant from India who perished as a member of Space Shuttle Columbia's crew when that craft was lost during re-entry on Saturday morning. And this is not just about NASA and immigrants (A search on Google today showed over 200 documents on the NASA website connected to immigration, NASA's 212(e) waiver policy is at http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/library/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PG_1371_0001_&page_name=main).

The fact is that immigrants from India, China, and many other countries are found in large numbers throughout the scientific and technical community in the US. These immigrants help ensure that American science and industry continue to lead the world. Immigration is not a zero-sum game - while enriching their lives, immigrant scientists and technicians enrich our country economically. And if someone praises the immigrant contribution to American science and technology, immigration attorneys deserve to take a bow for facilitating that contribution at its very start.

Ilan Ramon, an Israeli, also perished when the Columbia was lost. In Israel today, there are many business professionals who happen to be born in Syria, Iran, Iraq or other countries on our "immigration hit list" who cannot get visas quickly and are subject to the harrassment of registration while here. Today's featured article "A Firsthand Account Of A Special Registration Experience" describes what that procedure is like.

Immigration is an important part of the American experience today. Anti-immigrationists may bemoan this, and pro-immigrationists may hail this, but all must acknowledge this fact.

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

Articles

The H-1B Series: Part 3 of 6 (Encore)
George N. Lester IV offers Part 3 of his comprehensive look of the H-1B program.

90,000 Documents Shredded To Reduce Backlog!
The New York Times reports on the reduction of the backlog at the INS Processing Center in Laguna Niguel, CA by the unauthorized destruction of documents including "American and foreign passports, applications for asylum, birth certificates and other documents supporting applications for citizenship, visas and work permits."

US Citizens May Soon Require Passports To Re-Enter Country After Trips To Canada, Mexico
The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, NY reports "American citizens returning from trips to Canada, Mexico and other parts of the Western Hemisphere would be required to present a valid U.S. passport before re-entering the country under a new policy being considered by federal officials."

A Firsthand Account Of A Special Registration Experience
Gregory Siskind recounts the recent experience of a US citizen spouse and her husband at Special Registration.

Obtaining An H-1(B) Visa For A Professional Nurse
Michael F. Hammond, Esq. writes about H-1B visas for Nurses

Controversy Over Immigration Is Nothing New
United Press International reports "allowing foreigners to settle within U.S. borders has been a prickly issue since the mid-19th century when immigration shifted from mostly English stock to the Irish, Germans, Scandinavians, Eastern Europeans and Italians."

More Troubling Ashcroft-isms
Jose Latour writes about Ashcroft's new policy regarding the Freedom of Information Act.

Losing Ground
Fred Tsao and Rhoda Rae Gutierrez document a chronological listing of post-9/11 government actions affecting immigrants and refugees.

Editor's Note: This report was produced by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in September 2002. However, in light of continued government actions including Special Registration and enhanced border security, the report contains information which is still useful.

Registration Regulations Cannot Be Understood By Cabdrivers/Restaurant Workers
Writing in the Washington Post, a Pakistani national who is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution says "In a matter of moments I was transformed from research scholar at a venerable Washington think tank to suspect, from a person with a name and a face to a "body," a non-person ... I did not know I was in violation of the INS policy. Brookings did not know I was in violation. My friends in the State Department did not know I was in violation. And if -- even after following the policy closely and calling the INS for information -- we could not understand the law, what hope can there be for the cabdriver or the restaurant worker who doesn't have the leisure to discover the letter and intent of INS policies?"

If Separation Of Nuclear Family Is Not Extreme Hardship, What Is?
An opinion piece in the Arizona Republic about the ridiculous concepts enshrined in IIRIRA says "In the eyes of the INS, [the husband] would not experience extreme hardship if his wife were torn from her family, leaving him alone to feed, clothe and nurture their four children. The INS does not view the burden of meeting monthly mortgage payments without his wife's income as extreme hardship. Nor does the INS think that it would cause [the husband] extreme hardship to be separated for three years from his wife of eight years. If all of this would not cause a U.S. citizen extreme hardship, it is hard to imagine what would."

How Do I Bring My Spouse (Husband or Wife) to Live in the United States?
Read comprehensive answer from INS on how US citizens can bring their spouse to live in the US.

ILW Highlights

Updated Processing Times

Department of State Priority Dates for Family-Sponsored, Employment-Based and Diversity Immigrant (DV) Category have been updated.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor,

When some one is asked to take a poll, they are NOT told about the fine print. I know that in order for immigration attorneys to survive, you need lots of immigrants using your service. What you wrote in the article is nothing short of disingenous and words twisting.

CW

Immigrant Life

If Islam Ruled America

A Site Visitor says, ".........Do Muslim activists want us to have the same rights granted to the citizens of an Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive an automobile and no one can worship openly according to any religion other than Islam? Do they want us to be ruled by a ruler such as Khomeini, who issued an order to murder a writer, Salman Rushdie, just because he dared to criticize Islam ? Even in a moderate Islamic state such as Egypt, Christians have to obtain a presidential decree to be able to build a church. They face discrimination in all aspects of their lives, including education, employment and promotions........."

Speak your mind on this issue.

This week's chat schedule

When	Attorney
Monday, February 10 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Marc Ellis, Esq.
Wednesday, February 12 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Arthur Zabenko, Esq.
Friday, February 14 8:00 pm Eastern Time	No Chat

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