On July 30, 2008, USCIS announced that individuals with pending Freedom of Information Act requests can now check the status of their request online.

 To read the accouncement, click here.

 To check the status of your FOIA request, click here.

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Immigration Litigation and Removal, Blogroll, General |

On June 9, 2008, Chertoff annouced that USCIS will begin issuing two year work permits, instead of one year work permits, for certain individuals who have pending adjustment of status cases (pending green cards).  To read the release, click here.

By Michelle Richart

Categories: Employment Immigration, Family Immigration, Medical Professionals, Blogroll, General |

In order to help expedite applications and due to recent delays in naturalization applications, USCIS just announced that it will begin a centralized processing procedure.  To read the release, click here.

By Michelle Richart

Categories: Employment Immigration, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

If so, Customs and Border Patrol issued a press release on June 6, 2008, with some helpful tips to make your experience easier. 

Click here to read the release.

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Blogroll, General |

On June 6, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security released the following press release:

 For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today the launch of three initiatives – the Global Entry pilot program, the Passenger Service Program, and an expanded Model Ports Initiative – intended to strengthen customer service at U.S. ports of entry.

“Perhaps the single criticism we hear most from international travelers is frustration with the entry process,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “We’re committed to a more welcoming environment for the roughly one million foreign travelers arriving at our ports each day. These initiatives will reduce much of the frustration and anxiety we encounter, and make it easier on our frontline personnel to focus even more on actual security and criminal risks.”

Global Entry is a customer service and security program designed to expedite the screening and processing of pre-approved, low-risk travelers entering the U.S.* Currently only U.S.Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) are eligible to join.** The pilot starts today at George Bush Intercontinental, John F. Kennedy International and Washington Dulles International airports. Global Entry applicants will voluntarily provide their biographic and biometric information, undergo a background check and complete an interview with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. Once accepted, Global Entry travelers can use a kiosk at any of the three pilot airports to verify their identity electronically and make any needed customs declarations. CBP has been accepting applications at www.cbp.gov/travel since May 12.

Under the new Passenger Service Program, CBP Program Service Managers will serve as a dedicated point of contact for identifying and resolving passenger issues. The initiative promotes customer service techniques in officer interactions with the traveling public, and includes joint efforts with the private sector and industry stakeholders to reduce wait times through the use of improved signage and technology. The program will be established at CBP’s top 20 Model Ports.

The department also is expanding the Model Ports Initiative to 18 additional airports. Originally established in 2006 as part of the Rice-Chertoff Initiative, Model Ports has enhanced border security with the use of the new technology while streamlining security processes and facilitating travel for legitimate visitors. In addition to brochures and increased signage, a new video, currently available in Spanish, French, German and English, will assist travelers through the customs and immigration process by providing practical information about the entry process and required entry documents and forms.

In a related effort, CBP is providing wait times online at www.cbp.gov for 16 of the busiest international airports and pedestrian wait times for 12 land border crossings in Arizona, California, and Texas.

###

* Removed the word “foreign”; ** added sentence, June 6, 2008.

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Employment Immigration, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

This month the Office of the Inspector General released the results of their FBI Security Procedures Audit.  The redacted, 123 page report released to the public summarizes the current FBI name check program, it’s deficiencies, and makes recommendations.

Notably, last year, the FBI received 4 million name check requests and approximately 14% of those checks took more than 60 days, many taking several months.  The report also notes that approximately 50,000 naturalization applications are still pending background checks initiated more than one year ago and the same is true for approximately 45,000 application to adjust status to permanent resident.

 To read the report, click here. 

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Immigration Litigation and Removal, Legislation and Policy, Family Immigration, Medical Professionals, Blogroll, General |

On May 16, 2008, USCIS issued the newest Fact Sheet regarding the process for Iraqi refugees which outlines the proceedures for Iraqis located both in and outside of Iraq.  To read the Fact Sheet, click here.

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Immigration Litigation and Removal, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

In March, 2008, the 8th Circuit held that an individual who checked the box on the I-9 Form given to him by a private employer stating that he was U.S. Citizen was found inadmissible.  Despite marrying a U.S. Citizen five years later and claiming that someone instructed him to check the box so that he would be able to work, the petitioner is ineligible for permanent residency.   The court reasoned that in checking that he was a U.S. Citizen on his I-9 form to a private employer, the petitioner was fraudulently seeking a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

To read the case, Rodriguez v. Mukasey, click here.

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Employer Compliance, Employment Immigration, Immigration Litigation and Removal, Family Immigration, Medical Professionals, Blogroll |

USCIS announced on April 2, 2008, that they have set milestones for the namecheck backlog and by next summer hope to have all cleared and completed with a policy that the vast majority of all namechecks be completed within a 30 day period. Below is the text of the announcement:

USCIS AND FBI RELEASE JOINT PLAN TO ELIMINATE BACKLOG OF FBI NAME CHECKS

Partnership Establishes Series of Milestones To Complete Checks

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) today announced a joint plan to eliminate the backlog of name checks pending with the FBI.

USCIS and the FBI established a series of milestones prioritizing work based on the age of the pending name check. The FBI has already eliminated all name check cases pending more than four years. “This plan of action is the product of a strong partnership between USCIS and the FBI to eliminate the backlogs and to strengthen national security,” said USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez.

By increasing staff, expanding resources, and applying new business processes, the goal is to complete 98 percent of all name checks within 30 days. USCIS and the FBI intend to resolve the remaining two percent, which represent the most difficult name checks and require additional time to complete, within 90 days or less. The goal is to achieve and sustain these processing times by June 2009.

The joint plan will focus on resolving the oldest pending FBI name checks first. USCIS has also requested that the FBI prioritize resolution of approximately 29,800 pending name checks from naturalization applicants submitted to the FBI before May 2006 where the naturalization applicant was already interviewed.

The target milestones for processing name checks are:

Completion Goal and Category

May 2008-Process all name checks pending more than three years
July 2008-Process all name checks pending more than two years
Nov. 2008-Process all name checks pending more than one year
Feb. 2009-Process all name checks pending more than 180 days
June 2009-Process 98 percent of all name checks within 30 days and process the
remaining two percent within 90 days.

By Michelle Richart

Categories: Employment Immigration, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

On March 8, 2008, Stephen L. Klineberg, Professor of Sociology at Rice University, spoke at the ACLU of Texas 70^th Anniversary Conference where he highlighted his research over two and a half decades and the changing demographics in Texas, most specifically, in the Houston area.  To see information about the Houston Area Survey that Professor Klineberg has been conducted since 1982, click here. 

Professor Klineberg suggests that Texas has a burgeoning diversity which is a tremendous asset to the State.  However, unless educational differentials can be reduced between ethnic and immigrant groups and if Texans continue to live and work in segregated enclaves full of mutual misperceptions, Texas will not be able to fully capitalize on this diversity.  Professor Klineberg surmised that in order for Texas to continue to be successful with its multi-ethnic society, the state will need to grow more unified and inclusive with a commitment to civil rights and full participation for all residents. In nearly three decades of researching demographics in the Houston area, which began at approximately the same time as the oil bust in the 1980s, Klineberg believes that the traditional ‘blue collar’ approach to financial security has predominately disappeared.  Almost all good-paying jobs now require higher levels of education and technical skills.  With this in mind, consider the following below history and statistics as presented by Professor Klineberg. 

It was not until the past decade that the United States surpassed the 1900’s high level of immigrants to the United States, which, at the time, was almost exclusively comprised of individuals of European decent.  According to the U.S. Census, immigration levels were at a historical low during the Great Depression and it has taken nearly 70 years to rebound to levels prior to the Great Depression.  It is noteworthy that in the past few years, immigration has once again slowed, mostly due to Congressionally-imposed caps on various types of immigrant categories. 

Additionally, until 1965, it was virtually impossible for any non-Anglo individual to immigrate to the United States.  In fact, it was not until 1965, when President Kennedy announced that the United States was no longer a ‘racist nation,’ were immigrant visas to the United States available to other parts of the world such as Asia and Africa.  As immigration is primarily based and sponsored on the basis of family reunification or employment, and because those from Africa and Asian nations had no family with whom to reunify, beginning in the late 1960s, those individuals primarily immigrated to the United States based on employment and had high levels of education.  They mostly came from predominant and educated families.  In the meantime, individuals from areas such as Europe and Central America often had relatives whom could apply on their behalf. Professor Klineberg uses Houston as a model for the rest of Texas and believes that while Houston is a few years ahead of Texas in general, Texas demographics frequently follow that of Houston within a few years.  In 1960, the U.S. Census showed that Houston was 73.9% Anglo, 19.3% Black, 6% Hispanic, and 0.3% Asian and other groups.  Since that time, however, the demographics have greatly changed both before and after the oil bust in the 1980s.  Unlike other cities such as Detroit, Cincinnati, and others without such an immigrant surge, but who also suffered from an economic depression, such as the oil bust, Houston continues to thrive economically through a greater balance of groups of individuals working together.  In 2006, Houston was estimated to be 36.9% Anglo, 18.4% Black, 38.2% Hispanic, and 6.5% Asian and other groups.  Klineberg also points out that today’s seniors are primarily Anglos, with that number expected to double in the next 30 years.  Therefore, the younger generation, which is predominately non-Anglo and less privileged will replace the baby boom generation.  It is projected that by 2040, 80% of all Texans will be non-Anglos, primarily Blacks and Latinos.   

Because of this shift in demographics, and considering a high school diploma no longer ensures financial security, it is important to look at educational and technical statistics for those populations.  Currently, approximately 44.7% of individuals aged 14-29 in the Houston area are Hispanic.  According to Klineberg’s Houston Area Survey, between 1997 and 2004, of all ethnic groups 36% of Asian Immigrants have a college degree, with another 25% having a post-graduate degree.  This number was higher than all U.S.-born groups including U.S.-born Anglos, U.S.-born Blacks, U.S.-born Latinos and Latino immigrants.  In fact, 50% of first-generation Latino Immigrants have less than a high school diploma and only 7% have a college degree.  However, all groups of U.S.-born populations, whether Anglo, Black, or Latino, have approximately one-third percent of respondents with at least have some college education.  Some attribute this to a process of assimilation for those individuals who were born in the United States, whether or not their previous generations had immigrated.  In any case, within the past decade, the State of Texas rated last among all 50 states for individuals over the age of 25 who have a high school diploma.  During that same time, Texas rated 35^th for those over the age of 25 who had a college degree.  This lack of education could greatly hinder Texas’ increased growth and prosperity in the future. 

Professor Klineberg has also done extensive research on assimilation indicators among different immigrant groups.  It is important to note that according to his research, beginning in 2004 when immigration reform and debates came to the forefront of politics, attitudes toward both diversity and immigration drastically took a downturn with increased negativity. 

To read more about the Houston Area Survey, its findings, and methodology since 1982, click here.  The website also has contact information for Professor Klineberg and information about his many publications and articles.

By Michelle Richart 

Categories: Immigration Litigation and Removal, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |