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What's
new in the immigration
world? As usual there
was a lot going on,
both in the news and
behind the scenes, ranging
from the naturalization
of over 39,000 people
to new legislation.
With so many people
migrating to the US
on both immigrant and
nonimmigrant visas,
the USCIS is placing
a lot of emphasis on
the fundamental concepts
of American democracy
and the rights and responsibilities
of US Citizenship in
the naturalization process.
It is for this reason
that USCIS revised the
Naturalization
test. The new test was
designed keeping in view the elementary
concepts of American
democracy and the rights
and responsibilities
of US Citizenship. The
test was redesigned
by the USCIS under the
belief that studying
for it will encourage
naturalization applicants
to learn and identify
with the basic values
that all Americans share.
It was for this reason and
in the interest of creating
a more standardized,
fair, and meaningful
naturalization process,
that the USCIS undertook
this multi-year redesign
of the Naturalization
test.
In September the USCIS
hosted two special Naturalization
ceremonies, one each
in Iraq and Kuwait,
in which 235 service
members from 54 countries
became citizens of the
United States. The USCIS
officials volunteer
to travel to combat
theaters to conduct
naturalization interviews
and hold citizenship
ceremonies for members
of the U.S. military.
Their tireless work,
in several cases up
until the last possible
moment, ensured that
192 service members
recited the Oath of
Allegiance during a
ceremony at Camp Victory
in Baghdad, Iraq. Later
in the week, USCIS officials
also naturalized 20
service members at Camp
Arifjan in Kuwait. We
should give a hand to
both the USCIS officers
who put themselves at
risk for this important
work, and especially
for these new citizens
that are serving for
our country.
The USCIS has more pleasant
news on the naturalization
front. More than 39,000
individuals became new
citizens of the United
States during special
ceremonies hosted by
USCIS to recognize Constitution
Week. The naturalization
ceremonies, held September
17 through September
23, commemorate the
signing of the U.S.
Constitution on September
17, 1787. The Naturalization
ceremonies were scheduled
for Citizenship Day,
September 17, for as
few as 20 citizenship
applicants in St. Albans,
Vermont, to as many
as 3,000 applicants
at Fenway Park in Boston.
USCIS posted a reminder
for all its customers
and constituents that
the authorization for
the non-minister special
immigrant religious
worker program (those
in religious professions,
occupations and vocations)
are set to expire on
Oct. 1, 2008. Individuals
applying to serve in
the two non-minister
categories of the program
must either adjust status
to permanent residence
or apply for, and be
admitted with, an immigrant
visa before Oct. 1,
2008. The two expiring
categories are special
immigrant religious
workers in professional
or non-professional
capacities within a
religious vocation or
occupation. The expiration
date will also apply
to the accompanying
or following to join
spouses and children
of these workers. Special
immigrant religious
workers entering the
United States solely
to carry on the vocation
of a minister of a religious
denomination are not
impacted by the expiration
date. There is hope
that these categories
will be extended as
they have been in the
past. The U.S. House
of Representatives passed
legislation on April
14, 2008, extending
the expiration date
and the Senate is currently
considering similar
legislation. If the
bill to extend the expiration
date passes both the
House and Senate, and
the President signs
it, affected special
immigrant religious
workers with an approved
Form
I-360 may be eligible
to file Form
I-485.
We will continue to
watch the legislative
front and bring you
news of progress of
any bills pending before
the House and Senate,
and of any new bills
that are of interest.
Other Developments
in Immigration Law
Update on
Pending FBI Name Checks
and Projected Naturalization
Processing Times
The DHS and the USCIS'
Ombudsman announced
a significant decline
in the number of pending
FBI name checks for
individuals seeking
immigration benefits
in the United States.
FBI name checks, one
of several security
screening tools used
by the USCIS, have delayed
the adjudication of
benefits for many thousands
of applicants. The USCIS
Ombudsman had identified
FBI name check delays
as one of the major
hurdles to improved
customer service at
USCIS in his 2008 and
2007 Annual Reports
to Congress.
CBP Launches
New Phase of National
Public Education Campaign
- Reminded travelers
to prepare for upcoming
changes to cross-border
document requirements
The U.S. Department
of Homeland Security's
Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) announced today
that it will launch
the next phase of a
national television,
print and online advertising
campaign during the
National Football League
© season kickoff
game, to educate the
public about new travel
document requirements
that will go into effect
on June 1, 2009 under
the Western Hemisphere
Travel Initiative (WHTI).
Two
Categories of Special
Immigrant Religious
Workers to Expire on
October 1
It's like a reminder
from the USCIS for all
its customers that authorization
for the non-minister
special immigrant religious
worker program will
expire on Oct. 1, 2008.
The USCIS even said
that the individuals
applying to serve in
the two non-minister
categories of the program
must either adjust their
Status to permanent
residence or apply for,
and be admitted with,
an immigrant visa before
Oct. 1, 2008. The two
expiring categories
are special immigrant
religious workers in
professional or non-professional
capacities within a
religious vocation or
occupation. The expiration
date also applies to
the accompanying spouses
and children of these
workers. Special immigrant
religious workers entering
the United States solely
to carry on the vocation
of a minister of a religious
denomination are not
impacted by the expiration
date.
Immigration
Articles and Other Fun
Stuff
Now for the regulars
-- this month's Immigration
Article provides
an overview of one of
the most predominant
visa categories for
spouses of US citizens:
the K-3
visa. The K-3 is a marriage-based
visa which came into
effect in August 2001.
It was designed with
a view to side-step
the long delays in USCIS
processing for bringing
a foreign spouse into
the U.S. Also check
out our In Focus
section for this month
which gives a perfect
blend of knowledge and
understanding about
'Facing A Marriage-Based
Immigrant Visa Interview'.
The ten tips revealed
in the article will
help to ease the tension
most of you face while
preparing for and attending
a marriage-based immigrant
visa interview.
Every month we introduce
a new and interesting
question for our opinion
poll. Last month's poll
results indicate that
approximately 52 % of
the respondents believe
that a Conditional Green
Card holder does not
have to receive an Employment
Authorization Document
(EAD) before he or she
may accept employment
in the US. We appreciate
that people take an
interest in the opinion
question and cast their
vote to give us their
feedback. Keep it up!
And continue to cast
your vote to express
Your Opinion.
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We
congratulate Patricia
Martin
for winning last
month's Immigration
Quiz.
Again, we received
a significant
number of responses
from our readers
who talked about
various solutions
to support their
position, but
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Patricia Martin Martin
gave the correct answer
and won a free online
consultation to discuss
her Immigration issues.
So it’s time to
get ready for this month's
quiz. If you know the
correct answer your
name might be featured
in next month's newsletter.
All the Best!!!
To ensure you receive
your Immigration Newsletter,
please add Immigration-Monitor@VisaPro.com
to your address book
or safe list.
See you next
month with a lot more
noise from the Immigration
World!
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VisaPro
offers you the most comprehensive
collection of Free, Fillable
US Immigration Forms on the
Internet. VisaPro's Free,
Fillable Immigration Forms
let you enter your information
on-screen and print the completed
form. For your convenience,
all the immigration forms
are grouped by category. Click
here to view the complete
list of forms available under each
specific category.
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Wanted to take part in our
immigration events, but missed
your chance? Check out the
informative library of immigration
law videos from past conferences.
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DOL
announces more than
$22 million in aid to
Louisiana for recovery
from Hurricane Gustav
The U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL) announced
a $22,200,000 grant
to the state of Louisiana
to fund approximately
4,000 temporary jobs
for cleanup and recovery
efforts following Hurricane
Gustav. This $22 million
emergency grant is designed
to fund 4,000 jobs for
workers to help Louisiana
communities recover
from Hurricane Gustav
damage. The grant, awarded
to the Louisiana Workforce
Commission, will provide
funding for temporary
employment on projects
for the cleanup, demolition,
repair, renovation and
reconstruction of destroyed
structures and public
lands within the affected
communities.
Joint
Statement by DOS Senior
Coordinator for Iraqi
Refugee Issues Ambassador
James Foley and DHS
Senior Advisor for Iraqi
Refugees Lori Scialabba
The
U.S. Departments of
State (DOS) and Homeland
Security (DHS) are pleased
to announce that they
have successfully achieved
the goal of admitting
more than 12,000 Iraqi
refugees to the United
States through the U.S.
Refugee Admissions Program
during fiscal year (FY)
2008.
CGFNS
New India Pilot Project
CGFNS
International and AHED
Global Healthcare, Inc.,
a global continuing
education provider,
recently announced the
rollout of a pilot project
in India for the CGFNS
Assessment of General
Knowledge (CGFNS-AGNK)
Examination. The pilot
rollout in India focuses
on enhancing the employability
of nurses within India
and in other non-US
countries. The test
does NOT substitute
for the State Nursing
Council Examination
required for licensure
in India. The test will
be used by schools of
nursing and healthcare
systems in India as
a screening mechanism
for measuring fundamental
nursing knowledge and
predicting work success
for pre or post-licensed
nurses.
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10
Tips to Succeed in the USCIS
Marriage Interview
Many people become extremely
overwrought when it comes
to facing an interview with
the US Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) for their
marriage-based green card,
so was the case with Jennie
and Robbie. The “marriage
interview,” which both
of the partners are required
to attend as part of the green
card application, should not
be presumed as a simple process;
it has the possibility of
being a very grueling and
painful event. You can take
the stress and anxiety out
of the situation through thorough
preparation. It is for this
reason that this article has
been designed to make your
voyage of obtaining a marriage
based green card either for
yourself or for your spouse,
an easy and pleasant experience.
The 10 simple yet amazing
tips revealed in this article
helps you to be successful
at your marriage based immigrant
visa interview.
The
K-3 Visa: What is it and who
qualifies for it?
The USCIS and DOS estimates
that each year 450,000 US
citizens marry foreign nationals
out of which a major percentage
of marriages have the sole
intention of migrating to
the US. It is for this reason
that the US government agencies
scrutinize each international
visa application. The K-3
Visa, sometimes called the
Marriage Visa or Spousal Visa,
was adopted by the US Congress
and went into effect in August
2001. It was basically designed
to sidestep the long delays
in USCIS processing for Immediate
Relative petitions for bringing
a foreign national spouse
into the US. At the time it
was adopted it was taking
two years or more to process
an I-130 petition for the
spouse of a US citizen. The
new K-3 visa regulations were
designed with a view to shorten
the processing time for bringing
a K-3 spouse to the US from
years to months, a goal that
for the most part has been
achieved.
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QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
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On my
previous entry
into the U.S.,
I was given six
months on my I-94
card. I remained
in the country
for approximately
five months. Two
months later,
I am back in the
U.S. and I am
authorized to
stay here for
another six months.
If I decide to
use the entire
six months, can
I encounter problems
later?
A person who is
granted a six-month
stay on a visitor
visa, and decides
to take advantage
of most or all
of this time,
could be exposing
him/herself to
higher levels
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