A Note from the Editors:

Lawsuit On USCIS Delays

We feature this week an article which details the class action lawsuit filed by ImmigrationPortal.com founder and immigration attorney Rajiv S. Khanna on behalf of the immigration community. The class action lawsuit challenges the delays in processing of some applications for employment based immigrants. The article provides links to the original complaint, related discussions, and other information about the lawsuit. For the entire item, see below.

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas on this topic with us by writing to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Articles

Presidential Papers HIstorical Series: Veto Of Bill For Relief Of Kurt Glaser
President Eisenhower sent this message to Congress on June 3, 1955.

USCIS Memo On Tax Exempt Status For Religious Organizations
William Yates, Associate Director for Operations of the USCIS issued a memorandum clarifying tax exempt status requirements for religious organizations.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against The USCIS Challenging Delays Contrary To Congressional Mandate
Rajiv S. Khanna writes "On December 22, 2003, ImmigrationPortal.Com, an online community and others have filed a lawsuit against USCIS (earlier known as INS) challenging the delays in processing of some applications for employment based immigrants."

President Bush Says His Immigration Proposal Recognizes Contributions Of Undocumented Workers
During a radio address, President Bush remarking on his immigration reform proposal said, "It is a program that recognizes the contributions that many undocumented workers are now making to our economy."

Visas Through Treaties
Cyrus D. Mehta explores how a country such as India can enter into a treaty with the US so that its nationals could take advantage of visas that could emanate from it.

President Bush Says Best Way To Reduce Illegal Immigration Is To Expand Economic Opportunity In Mexico
During President Bush's meeting with Mexican President Fox, President Bush said, "The best way in the long-term to reduce the pressures that create illegal immigration is to expand economic opportunity in countries at both ends of an immigrant's journey."

First Lady On Telemundo And Univision
The First Lady commented on President Bush's immigration reform initiative where she said, "I hope the Congress will work with the President to come up with an immigration policy that's safe for immigrants, for people who come to the US, as well as economically beneficial for American employers." Mrs. Bush also responded to Univision's comments saying, "I hope the Congress will work with the President to come up with an immigration policy that's safe for immigrants, for people who come to the US, as well as economically beneficial for American employers." For her comments to Telemundo, see here. For Mrs. Bush's comments to Univision, see here.

ITIN Application Revisions
Gregory Siskind discusses the recent changes on the issuance of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) which are important in the immigration context because many people who cannot get Social Security Numbers depend on an ITIN for various financial matters.

Vice President Cheney Speaks On President Bush's Immigration Reform Initiative
During the Los Angeles World Affair Council, Vice President Cheney in his remarks on President Bush's immigration refom initiative said, "We do not believe in granting citizenship to people who broke the law to get here, nor do we believe these people should get at the head of the line when being considered for citizenship. They need to return to their home countries and come through normal procedures."

How Do I Apply to Get a New Nonimmigrant Arrival - Departure Document?
Read a response from the US Customs and Border Protection on how to obtain a new non-immigrant arrival-departure document.

ILW Highlights

Immigration Daily Archives On CD-ROM

ILW.COM is pleased to announce the launch of our new CD-ROM product.

Benefits to you are:

• Have the convenience of 3 entire years of the Immigration Daily archives on your computer - no need to worry about long download times for large documents from the internet!
• Powerful, easy-to-use next generation search engine unlike other Immigration CD-ROMs
• No Installation / Software Headaches - the CD-ROM runs from the CD-ROM drive directly, nothing will get installed on your hard drive
• Web Browser interface - no need to learn any navigation tricks
• Find articles, letters to the Editor, cases, Federal Register announcements, INS memoranda, and more.

To order, please see: http://www.ilw.com/resources/ (for the fax version of the order form, please see: http://www.ilw.com/resources/faxorderformcdrom.pdf).

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:
I have a similiar situation to Mr. Chris McKinnish but worse, because my H1b visa was issued on October 3rd and right now I do not have a Social Security card. I cannot understand how will they do with 8 million temporary workers if they cannot provide services to a few thousand. If you know of anything else I can do, please let me know.

Rafael Guarin

Dear Editor:
Keep the hard work up! I enjoy Immigrant's Weekly. You guys do a great job.

Stefan

Immigrant Life

What Is an Apartment?

An apartment is a room or set of rooms used as a residence. It can be referred to as a studio (one room), a one-bedroom unit, or a two- to three-bedroom suite. Apartment units are usually grouped together in an apartment building, and these buildings can be grouped together in an apartment complex.

Many apartment homes are available fully-furnished. More commonly, however, units are semi-furnished with kitchen and laundry appliances. Depending on the location and architecture, apartments can have heating and air-conditioning, hot and cold water, fireplaces, patios, carpets, blinds, walk-in closets, and cable television connections.

Some of the more exclusive four-star apartment complexes provide various amenities, including clubhouses, pools, whirlpool baths, tennis/volleyball/basketball courts, fitness centers, playgrounds, picnic areas and car wash facilities.

To learn more, see here.

Have a story that you'd like to share with us? Send your story as an immigrant to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

This week's chat schedule

ILW.COM announces that as of Nov 1st, all chats will be held at 6:00 pm Eastern Time.

When	Attorney
Monday, Jan 19 6:00 pm Eastern Time	No Chat (due to Martin Luther King holiday)
Wednesday, Jan 21 6:00 pm Eastern Time	Mira Mdivani, Esq.
Friday, Jan 23 6:00 pm Eastern Time	Fariba Faiz, Esq.

Classifieds

For information on advertising in the classifieds please click here.