A Note from the Editors:

National Security And Linguistics

The frustration that many immigration attorneys and their clients experience when their names appear as a "hit", may be in part due to the antiquated technology powering many terrorist/criminal watch lists called Soundex. Soundex, created in the early 1900s, is the underlying technology used by the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS) and DHS's National Automated Immigration Lookout System II (NAILS II) list. According to experts in name-matching technology, Soundex relies on converting a name to a key code. In many instances, Soundex takes the first letter of the last name, drops all vowels and assigns a number to the next three consonants, often making mistakes, particularly with foreign names. Contrast this to the robust name-matching technology powering DOS's Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS). CLASS has specifically targeted algorithms for Russian, Chinese, and Arabic and can accomodate over 80 characters, compared with 28 characters with NCIC. According to a recent news report, funds have been requested to upgrade the name-matching technology used in government terrorist/crime watchlists.

While upgrading domestic security is clearly a part of our country's response to Al Qaeda, it is only a part. The more important part is to destroy Al Qaeda's roots overseas - a job which needs both military action overseas and peaceful persuasion overseas. These overseas measures are a lot harder than domestic security measures, and in disproportionately focusing on relatively easier domestic issues, we risk many more Al Qaeda attacks. Furthermore, in the immigration context, national security becomes a convenient excuse for all kinds of anti-immigration agendas. The immigration field is an unfortunate victim of a domestic security policy run amok and suffers with every American the likelihood of a devastating Al Qaeda attack.

ILW Highlights

Family Immigration: The Long Route From Love To Citizenship

The curriculum for "Family Immigration: The Long Route From Love To Citizenship" is as follows:

FIRST Phone Session on June 30th: 1.15pm to 2.45pm ET (10.15am to 11.45am PT)

• Marrying abroad Vs. a fiancé petition - advantages and disadvantages
• Getting consulates to adjudicate I-130's-general rules
• Is there still humanitarian consideration where an I-130 is adjudicated and petitioner dies?
• how to present a case
• who to speak to at CIS
• does Press help?
• Documenting qualifying relationships
• legitimate/illegitimate children
• sponsoring stepchildren where the marriage has dissolved
• DNA testing
• dealing with situations where the beneficiary cannot obtain a birth certificate
• Processing for derivatives abroad where the principal adjusts in the U.S.
• Does the petitioner need to attend the interview in non-marriage cases?
• Expediting in the case of the imminent death of the petitioner
• Handling adjustment applications in proceedings (how to get the I-130 adjudicated)
• Documentation for extreme hardship waivers

SECOND Phone Session on July 26th: 2.00pm to 3.30pm ET (11.00am to 12.30pm PT)

• Adjusting through a marriage where the parties are separated
• Arguments for adjustment for homosexual marriages
• Strategies for dealing with transsexual marriages
• Dealing with bad marriage interviews
• the interviewer asks questions no one would know the answer to
• the applicant can remember nothing, not even his/her address
• the answers are different but not contradictory
• screening marriage cases before you even get them ready
• ethical issues in preparing marriage cases
• what CIS will know before you walk in the door
• when the spouses don't share a common language
• How to reduce the chance that your client will be subject to a marriage interview
• Can your client adjust through marriage if the U.S. citizen petitioner refuses to attend the interview or cannot attend the interview
• Strategies for dealing with the Child Status Protection Act
• Affidavit of support issues

THIRD Phone Session on August 12th: 2.00pm to 3.30pm ET (11.00am to 12.30pm PT)

• How to process an I-751 where the parties are separated but do not intend to divorce
• What to do when a joint petition is filed but the parties divorce before an adjudication
• Strategies for dealing with a difficult U.S. citizen spouse where the parties are in the midst of divorce, but it looks like the divorce will never be final
• Processing of I-751 petitions for children where they obtained residence at a different time than the parent
• Filing for citizenship while an I-751 is pending
• Filing an I-751 for a resident when the resident is temporarily assigned abroad
• Extending proof of residence where the I-751 is pending more than a year
• Documentation to support an I-751 where the parties do not have joint accounts or joint taxes
• Adjudicating an I-751 in proceedings
• burden of proof
• getting the judge to terminate proceedings so that an I-751 waiver can be processed by CIS
• judicial review of I-751 denials
• Strategies for dealing with late filed I-751 petitions
• Ethical considerations in a I-751 adjudication

Articles

The Labor Certification Process
George N. Lester, Esq. provides a detailed overview of the currrent labor certification process.

DOS Responds To Mexican President Fox's Comments On Stopping Mexican Immigration In US
The Department of State commented on President Fox's recent statement calling for the US Government to stop the rates on Mexican immigrants in the US.

Asylum Resource Series: Syria
USCIS Asylum Resource Information Center offers asylum information on Syria.

ICE Announces Alternative Detention Pilot Program
ICE announced a pilot program, effective June 21, 2004, in 8 cities providing a less restrictive alternative to detention by using tools such as electronic monitoring (bracelets), home visits, work visits and reporting by telephone.

Joel Stewart's BALCA Review (June 22, 2004)
Joel Stewart presents a summary of recent notable BALCA decisions.

USCIS Says Plan Sets Target Of 6-Month Processing Turnaround Time By 2006
USCIS Director Aguirre announced an updated backlog elimination plan to achieve six-month cycle times by the end of fiscal year 2006. For the fact sheet, see here. For the detailed backlog elimination plan, see here.

Increasing The Supply Of Labor Through Immigration: Measuring The Impact On Native-born Workers
Dr. George J. Borjas for the Center for Immigration Studies writes "Any sizable increase in the number of immigrants will inevitably lower wages for some American workers."

USCIS Says More Than A Dozen District Offices Will Achieve 6-Month Processing Targets By September
The USCIS issued a fact sheet detailing its accomplishments in its first year of existence, excerpts follow: Implemented new backlog reduction goals that will enable more than a dozen of our 33 district offices to achieve our six-month processing targets by the end of FY 2004. Five offices, including San Antonio, Kansas City, Anchorage, Denver, and Portland, Oregon have already met those goals, processed and adjudicated over 6 million applications; and implemented background/security checks on all persons seeking immigration benefits; more than 35 million IBIS (Interagency Border Inspection System) checks were completed this past year.

Chat Schedule

ILW.COM announces that as of Feb 3rd, all chats will be held at 5:00 pm Eastern Time.

When	Attorney
Logon for chat Next Chat: Tue, Jun 29, 5:00 PM ET (New York Time) Questions will be accepted starting 15 minutes before the event.	Dustin W. Dyer, Esq.
Tue, July 6, 5:00 pm Eastern	Susan Han, Esq.
Tue, July 13, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, July 20, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, July 27, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:
I am writing to express concerns about Employer Information Bulletin 108 recently published by the Department of Home Land Security, particularly the section of "Permanent, Unrestricted Employment". I am asking immigration lawyers to take action and discuss this matter with the state agency. In this section, naturalize US citizens and citizens born in the US are defined as "foreign nationals." This categorization indicates dangerous thinking behind the policy. It is dangerous because it alienates American people and divides the diverse American population. It may lead to what happened to Japanese-Americans during WWII when they were confined to concentration camps. Japanese-Americans were denied personal justice simply because they were considered by the government as "Japanese nationals." But they were not Japanese nationals. They were born Americans, who were no different from other Americans whose great-grandpas were German, or British, or Irish. I urge Americans who want to uphold democracy and civil rights in this country to take action and show the state agency what is wrong with its definition and policy. We must point out that the agency's thinking about Americans who look different is politically wrong and dangerous. The Bulletin actually asks employers to do racial profiling (for example, when should an employer ask a person to show the passport or US birth certificate?). The agency must change the definition and the policy.

Concerned person

Dear Editor:
Your readers should note that the USCIS Employer Bulletin Information On Alien Employment Authorization contains some incomplete and potentially misleading information regarding documenting employment authorization for H-1B job applicants who are moving to new H-1B employment. Under the heading "temporary, restricted employment (employer-specific), "in reference to form I-94, the memo states: "A stamp indicating a nonimmigrant admission means that the alien may work for the approved employer(s) and for no other employer(s) until expiration of the indicated period of approved stay. Therefore, only US employers whose petitions to employ these aliens have been approved by the [DHS, USCIS] may accept this documentation to satisfy employment eligibility verification requirements of Form I-9." The memo fails to mention that Section 105 of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act, which became effective October 17, 2000, provides for "portability" and permits certain H-1B non-immigrants to begin new employment upon the filing of an H-1B petition with the USCIS. As evidence of employment authorization, an employer may record the file number from the BCIS filing receipt under the "other" category from List C (7), and when the actual approval is received, the I-9 can then be updated. Attached to the I-9 should be the current H-1B approval notice or I-94 for the former employer, as well as the new H-1B filing receipt. Previously, an H-1B worker could not take up employment with a different employer until a new H-1B application was both filed and approved by BCIS. Only current H-1B holders seeking a change in employers and who meet the requirements of INA 214(m)(2) - i.e., been lawfully admitted to the US, being identified as the beneficiary of a non-frivolous petition for new employment filed before the expiration of his/her authorized period of stay, and having no unauthorized employment in the US since his/her lawful admission but before the filing of such petition - will benefit from the grant of immediate work authorization; this provision does not apply to other temporary worker categories or to individuals seeking an initial grant of H-1B status.

Josie Gonzalez, Gonzalez & Harris
Pasadena, CA