A Note from the Editors:

The Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, has issued General Administrative Letter 2-02 and Attachment B which has 14 questions and answers regarding the regulation which allows regular labor certification cases to be converted to RIRs. Any request to convert a regular case to RIR where the original case was filed after August 3, 2001, or where the request was received after the placement of a job order is untimely. The attachment instructs the State Workforce Agencies to offer an employer the opportunity to withdraw untimely requests. If the request lacks the required documentation the state office should notify the employer to submit the documentation or withdraw the request. Employers can request that a case originally filed as RIR, where the RIR request has been denied by the Certifying Office and returned to the SESA, again be considered as an RIR case as long as it was originally filed before August 3, 2001. The RIR conversion regulation, and this GAL guidance, give the SESAs and regional offices a tool to help reduce the backlog of cases. May they use it effectively!

Articles

"A Moveable Feast": An Analysis of Adjustment of Status Portability Under AC21 (Part III)
Angelo A. Paparelli and Janet J. Lee discuss the background of substitutions of beneficiaries of labor certifications, and the "cell mitosis" theory which allows both the employer and employee to benefit from a labor certification.

Immigration Advisory For American Airlines Crash Victims' Relatives
Cyrus D. Mehta writes about the immigration consequences of sudden disasters.

The ABCs of Immigration - Inadmissibility - Previous Deportation or Unlawful Presence
Greg Siskind and Amy Ballentine write about previous deportations and unlawful presence as grounds for inadmissibility.

Splitting INS Functions - Better Late Than Never
Jose Latour writes about the Attorney General's plan to split the INS into enforcement and service agencies.

ILW.COM Highlights

Print This Page

In response to requests from readers, ILW.COM has added a "Print this Page" feature to Immigration Daily pages. Some readers pointed out that if they used the "print" button on the browser, some words at the right hand side of the page would be lost. Clicking on the new Print this page will automatically remove all advertising banners and menu strips, and give you a plain text version of the page formatted to fit a standard sheet of paper. Print this page allows you to print the Daily, cases, Congressional Record, Federal Register, INS, DOS, DOL items and featured articles to read when you are away from your computer and to save for future reference. You can find this new feature on the top and the bottom of every Immigration Daily page. We hope this feature will make the Daily more useful to you.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:

I have been in the immigration business for over 25 years. The remarks made by Rep. Duncan regarding section 245(i) are preposterous. It is obvious that this man does not have the slightest idea of how this sections works.

He does not know that when people apply under 245(i) in the United States, they are subject to all kind of background checks (FBI, State police and some Immigration Courts even require local police clearances). Aliens applying under section 245(i) are required to have their fingerprint taken two and some times three times before they are interviewed. He also said that an alien simply pays $1,000 for instant legalization. Nothing is farther from the truth. Applicants for adjustment of status under this section must wait between two to four years before an interview is conducted. And, then, only if they are clear of all wrongdoing they are approved.

People like this man, with no knowledge of the law, just show their ignorance and their prejudiced hostility against all kind of immigrants. Section 245(i) is a good law and should be extended. As a matter of fact, the Senate and the House already approved their respective versions of the law.

Respectfully yours,
Luis A. Delgado, LL.M.

Dear Editor:

In his letter to the editor Mr. Delgado suggests that extension of 245(i) does not harm national security because it still requires background checks of the illegal aliens who apply. What he fails to consider is that organizations which do the background checks, such as the FBI, have limited resources. Are we to divert these resources from national security matters -- or the background checks for legal immigrants -- in order to legalize millions of illegal immigrants?

The reason for a legal immigration process is to have an orderly and fair method of admitting immigrants. No matter how you cut it, illegal immigration disrupts this and patchwork attempts to "fix" it, such as 245(i), only result in additional problems.

MA

Dear Editor:

I must comment on immigration law section 245(i) which has been by far the most unfair and overly abused immigration law ever drafted. The beneficiaries of 245(i) are ILLEGAL immigrants and their attorneys who will share in its benefit. Those that suffer are people, like myself, who choose to enter the US LEGALLY after waiting several years for a visa to become available. I have also chosen to remain in legal status while in this great country unlike those that choose to overstay their respective visas and then take advantage of 245(i) by paying the $1,000 penalty and obtaining their residency here in the US. Section 245(i) not only forgives them their ILLEGAL entry or ILLEGAL overstay it allows them to remain in the US and obtain their residency! How fair is that I ask? I know my family and friends overseas would love to enter today and then do the same, but their law-abiding consciences prevent them from doing so. Please call your Senators and Representatives and make sure that 245(i) and laws just like it are buried forever. Despite what happened on 9/11, the US should continue to welcome immigrants into the US who enter LEGALLY and stop rewarding ILLEGAL immigrants.

J. Seyes

Immigrant Life

Social Security Card
What is a social security card and how to get one.

This week's chat schedule

When Attorney Mon., Nov. 26 9:00 pm Eastern Time Bob Beer Wed., Nov. 28 9:00 pm Eastern Time Mira Mdivani

Classifieds

For information on advertising in the classifieds please click here.

POST YOUR RESUME
Y-axis.com, the best jobsite for anyone looking to work or study in the US. Currently recruiting for the USA - Nurses, Teachers & IT professionals. Post your resume on www.y-axis.com.

U.S. IMMIGRATION
U.S. Visa Search gives you the opportunity to exhaustively explore all of your U.S. immigration possibilities for only $10! -- PLUS -- Sign up for a USVISASEARCH referral account and earn 10% of EVERY purchase linked through from your web-site or word-of-mouth referral!