A Note from the Editors:

Firebell in the Night: The Coming L-1 Crisis and What We Can Do About It

In one of today's Featured Articles, Gary Endelman brings attention to the recent L-1 intracompany transferee visa backlash. He says: "The continuing debate over H-1Bs has so sucked all the oxygen out of employment based immigration that, below the radar, few have noticed that the L-1 has begun to replace it as the work visa of choice." In his article, he details the mounting opposition to the L-1 program, including actions being considered by Congress and the INS to curtail the L-1 as a loophole to the H-1B program. Gary Endelman concludes the article on a hopeful note for the L-1 program's future, and writes, "Faced with such reports, the friends of the L-1 visa need not panic but must plan for the future. A rationale for keeping, even expanding, this visa must be fashioned while there is still time."

Articles

A Legal Guide For INS Detainees: Part 1
The Commission on Immigration Practice, Policy, and Pro Bono of the American Bar Association offers a detailed guide at how to petition for release from indefinite detention.

The INS Transition
VisaNow.com writes "many questions have surfaced since the announcement that the INS' functions will be transferred into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003."

Houston Police Say They Are In The Business Of Investigating Crimes, Not Immigration Enforcement
The Houston Chronicle reports that Houston Police Department officers are forbidden from inquiring about anyone's citizenship status and may not detain or arrest people solely on the belief they are in the country illegally, says a policy in place since June 1992.

Firebell in the Night: The Coming L-1 Crisis and What We Can Do About It
Gary Endelman writes that there is another brewing crisis that has yet to emerge fully but, when it does, may prove even more dangerous to American employers: the L-1 intracompany transferee visa is under attack.

Immigration Agreement May Depend On Mexico’s Vote on Iraq in Security Council
Carl R. Baldwin writes "I hate to think that a nation which disagrees with the U.S. about a highly controversial foreign policy issue would be punished by having its nationals deprived of a vitally important immigration benefit that would be good for both countries."

B-2 Pleasure Visa Holders Allowed Full 6-Months In US
The Miami Herald reports that The Bush administration has withdrawn a plan that would have ended the minimum six-month stay granted to holders of most tourist visas.

Our Faustian Bargain: The Unintended Consequences of Premium Processing
Gary Endelman writes "President Bush calls for a tax cut on dividends to stimulate the economy but allows the INS to operate our immigration system in a way that ensures economic revival will never happen. THAT is why all Americans, even, perhaps especially those, who have never heard of the H1B visa, need to be concerned."

Bukharan Jewish Community Grapples With Domestic Abuse
The New York Times reports "This problem [domestic abuse] is in any community, especially [an] immigrant community," said Boris Kandov, president of the four-year-old Congress of Bukharan Jews of the US and Canada."

10+ Years Of Waiting For Immigration Permits Ends In Disappointment
The Oregionian reports that after 10 long years [the Plancarte-Molina family] finally got the good news they'd all been waiting for and headed north last fall, only to have Ana Maribel, [now 22 years old] refused permission to enter the country.

How Do I Get Legally Admitted to the US?
Read a comprehensive answer from INS on how to legally get admitted to the US and how you will be inspected when you come to a US port-of-entry.

ILW Highlights

Find a Lawyer

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Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:
It is most disturbing indeed that the current poll on ILW.COM asks about the "war with" Iraq. This is not a war; nor is it "with" Iraq. The Bush administration, defying world opinion, is preparing a horrifying blow at the people of Iraq in preparation for the occupation, domination, and exploitation of that country, and the further extension of its hegemony over the Middle East. I'm shocked at the wording of your poll. No war has been declared by Congress; nor has Iraq called for any war. An "invasion of" or "attack on" Iraq would represent the situation with the accuracy called for in a law-related forum.

Lee Hall, J.D.

Immigrant Life

Poll This Week

Are you in favor of America's war with Iraq?

• Yes
• No
• No comment

This week's chat schedule

When	Attorney
Monday, March 10 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Mitch Berenson, Esq.
Wednesday, March 12 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Kyle Kinzy, Esq.
Friday, March 14 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Fariba Faiz, Esq.

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