A Note from the Editors:

USCIS To Jack Up Fees

USCIS has proposed to increase its application fees by approximately $55 per application across-the-board. USCIS suggests that the additional fees will help in reducing the current massive immigration benefits processing backlogs. However, the non-fee i.e. taxpayer-funded component of immigrants benefit processing is being cut by over 40% from the previous year. Based on the current administration proposal, over 91% of the costs of the glacially slow benefits processing will be borne by the long suffering immigrant and employer community.

We believe that immigration contributes to America's economic strength and that it is to the American taxpayer's financial advantage to pay for benefits processing. Indeed, President Bush's legalization proposal is premised on the principle of immigrants' contribution to America. It is therefore ironic that his Administration is proposing drastically reducing the taxpayer support for this critical component of our future economic security. That this is happening with the background of enormous and unjustified processing delays simply rubs salt into the wound. We call upon Congress to do the right thing and abolish all immigration benefit processing fees and substitute them with general taxpayer funds.

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: Special Message To The Congress On Immigration Matters (Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961)
President Eisenhower sent this message to Congress on January 31, 1957.

USCIS Employer Bulletin Information On Non-immigrant Employment Classification
The Office of Business Liaison of the USCIS released an employer information bulletin on nonimmigrant employment classifications.

DHHS Does Not Address Physician Shortage
Gregory Siskind writes "...the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is not only failing to meaningfully address this shortage, but is actually taking steps to make it more difficult for communities to recruit from the one pool of physicians that is open to working in medically underserved areas - immigrant doctors who now constitute 25% of the physicians currently training in the US."

USCIS Employer Bulletin Information On US Employment of Canadian and Mexican Professionals under NAFTA
The Office of Business Liaison of the USCIS released an employer information bulletin on the U.S. employment of Canadian and Mexican professionals under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

An Unlikely Fit: Will Long-Term Residents Apply for A Temporary Status?
Benjamin Johnson of AILF writes "President Bush's proposal for a new guest worker program is an unlikely fit for the 9.3 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the US, most of whom have deep roots in US families, communities and businesses."

USCIS Proposes To Increase By $55 All Application Fees
The USCIS sought to increase the fees for immigration benefit applications, petitions, and fees for capturing biometric information of applicants/petitioners who apply for certain immigration benefit applications and petitions. For the Federal Register notice, see here. For the proposed USCIS fee schedule, see here. For the USCIS press release, see here.

2003 BALCA Decision Review
Joel Stewart, Esq. presents an overview of 2003 BALCA decisions.

USCIS Employer Bulletin Information On Temporary Religious Workers
The Office of Business Liaison of the USCIS released an employer information bulletin on temporary religious workers.

Boosting Your Firm's Web Traffic
Michael Shambaugh provides suggestions on how to get people to your web site.

USCIS Employer Bulletin Information On Hiring Foreign Nurses
The Office of Business Liaison of the USCIS released an employer information bulletin on how to hire foreign nurses.

Do I Have To Pay For A Filing Fee Every Time I Renew My Work Permit?
Read a response from the USCIS on whether you have to pay for a filing fee every time you renew your work permit.

ILW Highlights

Are We All Certifiable? -- An Insider's Tour through the Maddening World of Labor Certifications

We are pleased to announce a new 3-seminar series "Are We All Certifiable?" -- An Insider's Tour through the Maddening World of Labor Certifications". The loopy challenges of modern-day labor-certification practice have caused U.S. employers and their immigration attorneys to identify with Randle Patrick McMurphy, the all-too-sane character portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1975 classic film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. In today's deranged world of alien labor certifications, rules are announced, then rules are reversed, procedures are proclaimed, and then they morph into alternate incarnations. The inmates in this virtual asylum are chanting in a frenzy, "PERM is coming, PERM is coming"; "Backlog Reduction, Backlog Reduction", but PERM never seems to arrive, and backlogs grow ever larger. Despite the seeming insanity of the real world practice of labor-certification, foreign workers still clamor for certified ETA-750s, and legal strictures must in all events be honored. Rather than joining the lunatic fringe, shake off your anomie and sign up with ILW.COM for a cutting-edge teleconference series exploring best-practices and tried-and-true labor certification solutions. The deadline to register is Monday, February 23rd. For more info, including detailed curriculum, speaker bios, and registration information, see: http://www.ilw.com/seminars/february2004.shtm. (Fax version: http://www.ilw.com/seminars/february2004.pdf.)

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:
Mr. Joe suggested to break the text in short paragraphs in Immigrant's Weekly. I second that opinion.

Arun

Dear Editor:
So many good letters of people expressing their concern over the new changes and proposed changes with illegal alien status. I think the populace needs to realize that our government is going to be dissolved soon and there will be one Kingdom which will geographically include most of Mexico, all of the continental US, and most of Canada and Alaska. We will no longer have a US Constitution either. We will have no common language, such as English. In actuality there will be no such thing as a US citizen either. The existence of a US will be only a blink of the eye in the history of the world.

Robert Todd
San Jacinto, CA

Dear Editor:
How do you enter one of the immigration chatrooms referenced below?

Catherine Cuggino

Editor's Note: ILW.COM chats are welcome to all and are free. We recommend that you register and logon for chat 15 minutes prior to the 5pm (EST) chat sessions. To view the chat calendar for upcoming chats and to logon to a chat, see here.

Dear Editor:
This is the story of a disabled, American Marine, war veteran about to be kicked out of the country he loves. He was 10% disabled due to an injury to his hand that happened during a training exercise that required pins to repair. He began to self medicate. He became dependent on illegal drugs and was caught and arrested. George entered into a plea bargain and was given probation, but the dependency didn't stop. George served four years in the Arizona State Prison, where he earned certificates in computer science, wastewater management, business and completed courses in overcoming drugs, but George wasn't released after paying for his crimes. George was handed over to the INS where a hearing was held and since George was not an American Citizen, he was deported from the US to Mexico. George returned to Phoenix, AZ. to the only home he's ever known and to the family he hadn't seen in four years. While George had been home he had a good career as a car salesman, he had purchased a home and vehicles. George had been living a drug free, productive life. On July 3,2003, George was at home getting ready for work, when armed immigration agents entered his home and arrested him at gunpoint. His checking and savings accounts are inaccessible to him making it very difficult for him to afford legal representation. This has also made it impossible to make his monthly mortgage and car payments. George's home is now in foreclosure and his vehicles will be repossessed. George is charged with reentry into the US, the charge carries a twenty-year prison sentence and then he will be deported to Mexico again where he doesn't know a soul. George has learned of a law that would allow him to acquire derivative citizenship through his grandfather, who is an American citizen born in Bisbee, AZ. George must prove his grandfather was physically present in the US during the years 1933-1943. George's grandfather worked as a migrant worker in Arizona during these years, so finding documents has proved impossible. If you believe our government does make mistakes and you would like to help fix this one. Please do what you can, send this to others, talk to people about it, write your congressman.

Anonymous

Immigrant Life

What is the college application process?

Each school sets its own admission requirements. The college admission process consists of application forms, admission tests and essays. Colleges make admission decisions, based on academic achievement, admission test scores and applications. The academic section is generally the most important but not the only deciding factor.

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 Feb 3rd, all chats will be held at 5:00 pm Eastern Time.

When	Attorney
Tuesday, Feb 10 5:00 pm Eastern Time	No Chat scheduled
Thursday, Feb 12 5:00 pm Eastern Time	Fariba Faiz, Esq.

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