title>SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE (July 2005), The Web's most popular and comprehensive newsletter regarding U.S. immigration laws and procedures written by a former INS Trial Attorney with over 30 years experience practicing immigration law.
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SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE is the most popular e-mail newsletter
regarding U.S. immigration laws and procedures with over 43,000
subscribers located in more than 120 countries.
Published by the Law Offices of Carl Shusterman,
600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, California, 90017.
Phone: (213) 623-4592 X0
Disclaimer: This newsletter is not intended to establish an attorney-
client relationship. All information contained in this newsletter is
generalized. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at
your own risk.
Backlog Reduction Centers - Tens of thousands of cases still need to be
inputted into the system. DOL asks that you NOT submit inquiries on these
cases as it does not have the capacity to check them all. However, if you need
confirmation of a filing to extend an H-1B beyond the sixth year, the Centers
are accepting those inquiries. The e-mail addresses for these types of queries
are h1b7yr@phi.dflc.us (for Philadelphia) or h1b7yr@dal.dflc.us (for Dallas).
DOL will send you a screen shot, which USCIS has agreed to accept as evidence.
If you receive a letter from a Backlog Reduction Center indicating that your
case was closed for failure to respond to a 45-day letter, and that letter is
in error either because (a) you did indeed respond or (b) you never received
the letter, you should send a response asking that the case be reopened,
specifying the reason the closure is erroneous and enclosing documentation if
available.
Biometric Passports - The requirement that persons entering the U.S. from
the 27 countries which participate in Visa Waiver Program (VWP) possess
biometric passports in order to enter the U.S. has been postponed for still
another year. In 2002, the deadline was extended from October 2003 to October
2004. Then, the deadline was extended one "last" time to October 26, 2005.
Now, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has extended the deadline to October 2006.
European nations have complained about cost and privacy concerns, and have
pointed out, as we did in our August 2004 newsletter, that U.S. passports are
not biometric. Instead of requiring biometric passports, the DHS memo merely
requires that passports from VWP countries have digital photos. Most experts
believe that a digital photo is insufficient. Former DHS Inspector General
Clark Kent Ervin explains that "you need biometric information, something to
biometrically confirm the person is who she says she is - fingerprints, iris
scans, something." The DHS memo is available online at
Business Immigration Newsletter - Periodically, the American Immigration
Lawyers Association (AILA) publishes "Connect!" a newsletter devoted to
business-related immigration developments. We link to this newsletter from
CIS - New Acting Director - Now that CIS Commissioner Aguirre has resigned
to become Ambassador to Spain, the Acting Director of the CIS is Michael
Petrucelli. Starting July 25, the New Acting Director will be former AILA
attorney, and currently the General Counsel of the CIS, Robert Divine.
Happy Birthday, America! - Today, on July 4, 2005, we celebrate our
Declaration of Independence. For over 200 years, we have been a Nation of
Immigrants. In today's edition of the Tucson Citizen, I was interviewed for
a story entitled "10M Illegal immigrants in U.S.: Push is on for faster legal
immigration - Some wait 22 years for permission to live in U.S." Many
Americans do not realize that today's immigration laws are harsher than those
which enabled our parents and grandparents to become U.S. citizens. Today, it
is not uncommon for one spouse to be a lawful permanent resident, the children
U.S. citizens, but the other spouse to be undocumented or illegal. Deporting
the undocumented parent imposes a hardship on the entire family, and on our
country. Let's all ponder whether our immigration laws should be changed in
such a way that family members are not separated from each other. We link to
the Tucson Citizen article from
I-9 - On June 21, the CIS issued a revised I-9 form. The new form changes
references to the INS and the DOJ to CIS and DHS. In addition, the new form
allows the job applicants to declare that they are "nationals" of the United
States. Ironically, a false claim to be a U.S. national does not trigger the
lifetime bar to permanent residence that a false claim to citizenship does.
We link to the CIS press release from
L-1 Visas - On June 23, the CIS announced that it had implemented the L-1
Visa Reform Act of 2004. We link to the press release from our "L-1" visa
page at
Ombudsman's Report - On June 30, the CIS Ombudsman presented his 2nd Annual
Report to Congress. The report advocates a program whereby the CIS would
decide applications for adjustment of status in 90 days or less, making the
issuance of EADs and Advance Paroles unnecessary, thereby dramatically
increasing the efficiency of the agency. We link to the 53-page report from
our "CIS" web page at
PERM - Problems continue to plague the Department of Labor's PERM program.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) posted the following DOL
request on their web site on July 1st:
"Unfortunately, we have not had all issues fixed on the technology side, but
we are in the process of doing so now. We will notify you when the changes are
implemented. Please advise your members to be patient and not re-submit their
applications."
Physicians - When a physician obtains a J waiver through an Interested
Governmental Agency (IGA) to work in a medically-underserved area, the law
provides that he is exempted from the H-1B cap. Is he still exempt from the
cap if he changes employment to a non-underserved area once he has satisfied
the three-year requirement? This question was answered in the affirmative by
CIS' Efren Hernandez at the AILA Conference in Salt Lake City in June.
USCIS Today - The CIS has launched an informative e-mail newsletter. The
first issue was posted online earlier this month. We link to "USCIS Today"
from our "CIS" page at
Washington Update - Periodically, the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA) publishes its "Washington Update" which brings readers the
most up-to-date news about legislation, regulations, congressional hearings
and other immigration-related developments from inside the Beltway. We link
to "Washington Update" from
Absent Congressional action, employment-based (EB) immigration to the U.S.
is flirting with disaster.
Almost 30 years ago, when I became an immigration attorney, there were only
two EB categories, the 3rd (professional) and the 6th (nonprofessional)
preference categories. For some countries, the 3rd preference category was
backlogged over a dozen years. The trick then was to switch professionals
from the 3rd category into the less-backlogged 6th category. This enabled
hundreds of our clients to obtain green cards in 90 days or less.
The big change came with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990. The
number of EB categories expanded from two to five (EB-1 Priority Workers, EB-2
Advanced Degreed Professionals, EB-3 Professionals and Other Workers, EB-4
Special Immigrants and EB-5 Investors). The number of persons who could
immigrate under the EB categories more than doubled from 54,000 to 140,000
annually.
The new system contained one major flaw. If less than 140,000 EB workers
and their spouses and children obtained permanent residence in a fiscal year
(October 1 - September 30), the numbers were lost forever, and backlogs
developed in future years.
This was not a problem in the early 1990s as the INS processed most
applications for adjustment of status in 90 days or less. Since most EB
applicants are already working in the U.S. in temporary working status, most
of the processing is done stateside by the INS.
However, with the passage of section 245(i) in 1994, the birth of the World
Wide Web in 1995 and the subsequent dotcom explosion, the H-1B cap was raised
from 65,000 to 115,000 and again to 195,000. Hundreds of thousands of
computer professionals as well as business professionals, healthcare
professionals, teachers, scientists, engineers and accountants all applied for
permanent residence.
INS could not keep up with the ever-increasing demand for green cards, and
multi-year backlogs developed in the EB-3, EB-2 and even the EB-1 category.
In 2000, former President Clinton signed the American Competitiveness in the
21st Century Act (AC-21) which, among other things, allowed over a quarter
of a million "lost" EB adjustment applications to be "recaptured". See
AC-21 saved EB immigration, especially after September 11, 2001 when INS
processing of EB adjustment applications ground to a virtual halt. The
combination of AC-21 and the INS slowdown in application processing had a
strange, but predictable, effect on the State Department's monthly Visa
Bulletin. Since so few EB green cards were issued by the INS in 2001-2003
despite hundreds of thousands of additional numbers provided by AC-21, all of
the EB categories became "current". As more and more labor certifications and
I-140 visa petitions were approved, INS was deluged with hundreds of thousands
of EB adjustment applications, most of which remained unadjudicated at Service
Centers.
In 2004, the number of approvals increased dramatically. This resulted in a
three-year "retrogression" in the EB-3 category for persons born in India,
China and the Philippines on January 1, 2005.
In early 2005, the CIS approved over 20,000 EB adjustments monthly. This
number increased to 30,000 per month in the spring. As a result the EB-3
category ran out of numbers and became "unavailable" starting on July 1, 2005,
not just for some persons, but for everyone. This means that if you are in
the EB-3 category, you can not apply for permanent residence until October 1st
at the earliest. If your EB-3 adjustment application is currently pending,
you will not be receiving your green card this summer.
What happens to the EB-3 category on October 1st, the beginning of the new
fiscal year? This is anybody's guess, but we do know that all of the green
cards "recaptured" by AC-21 have already been used up. Just as the H-1B cap
fell from 195,000 to 65,000 last October, the total number of EB green cards
will fall from 249,000 this fiscal year to 140,000 in the coming fiscal year.
And just like the 20,000 extra H-1B visas which were added by Congress this
year (which are only available to persons with advanced degrees from U.S.
universities), Congress added 50,000 extra green cards (which are only
available to persons in the Schedule A category - registered nurses, physical
therapists and persons of exceptional ability). We believe that these extra
visas will be used over a period of three years. In all probability, persons
in the EB-3 category will face multi-year retrogressions. This means that
only people with extremely old EB-3 priority dates will be able to adjust
their status.
Since the CIS can no longer approve EB-3 adjustment applications, Service
Centers have turned their attention to processing adjustment applications in
the EB-2 category (persons of exceptional ability or those whose jobs require
advanced degrees). The predictable result will be that the EB-2 category, at
least for persons born in India and China, will soon retrogress, possibly as
early as August 1st. We will know for sure when the August Visa Bulletin is
released in mid-July.
If you are in the EB-2 category, what is the best strategy for you to pursue?
If your labor certification or PERM application has been approved, be sure to
submit your I-140/I-485 before August 1st. Of course, only a few PERM
applications have been approved. And chances are that your labor certification
("LC") is one of the hundreds of thousands pending in one of the DOL Backlog
Reduction Centers. However, what seems like a curse may turn out to be a
blessing.
If your LC has been pending for over one year, and you are in H-1B status, you
are eligible to obtain H-1B extensions even after your 6th year. If you are
a professional in a nonimmigrant status for which there is a maximum duration,
consider changing your status to H-1B while there are still H-1B numbers
available. If you are a physician, you have may have another alternative.
If you are a primary care physician who is employed in a medically-underserved
area, you may choose to submit a National Interest Waiver and an I-485
simultaneously.
Also, if you are a person of extraordinary ability, are an outstanding
professor or researcher or are a multinational executive or manager, submit
your I-140/I-485 under EB-1. We don't expect the EB-1 category to retrogress
any time soon.
Other alternatives include the visa lottery, the investor and religious worker
categories and, of course, family-based immigration, particularly if your
relative is a spouse who is a citizen of the United States.
We link to all the employment-based categories from our "Green Card" page at
We can promise you one thing: Qualifying for permanent residence under the EB
categories will be much more complex in the future than it has been in the
past. This may be a good time to strategize with your immigration attorney.
The Immigration Service (CIS) lists its processing times for immigration
petitions and applications on their web site.
Most immigration applications and petitions must be submitted to one of the
following USCIS Service Centers: (1) Laguna Niguel, California; (2) Lincoln,
Nebraska; (3) Mesquite, Texas; and (4) St. Albans, Vermont and (5) the
National Benefits Center in Missouri.
These service centers periodically issue lists of their processing times for
various types of petitions and applications. We link to the latest list
issued by each service center.
Warning: Processing times may appear faster on the official lists than they
are in reality.
To see how fast (or slow) your service center is processing a particular type
of petition or application, see our Government Processing Times Page at
Administrative appeals of most types of petitions denied by the USCIS are
adjudicated by the agency's Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) in Washington,
DC.
The AAO's most recent published processing times (June 14, 2005) may be found
at
and scroll down to "Labor Certification and LCA Processing Times".
* Department of State
The State Department web site contains a "Visa Wait List" page which permits
readers to choose a particular U.S. consular post and learn how long it takes
the post to process temporary, nonimmigrant visas. See
Over the past two months, over 2,500 additional persons have subscribed to our
newsletter, and at least 500 of our new subscribers have commented that they
would like us to update them regarding the procedure for immigration of RNs to
the U.S. This is probably because President Bush signed legislation on May 11
providing for the "recapture" of 50,000 green cards for persons in Schedule A
occupations (RNs, PTs and persons of exceptional ability).
THE RETROGRESSION IS OVER!
This month, we will describe the ever-changing process of applying for
permanent residence for RNs residing in the U.S. Next month, we will discuss
the process of immigrating RNs residing abroad.
It is essential, unless the nurse qualifies under section 245(i),
that she enters the U.S. in a lawful nonimmigrant status.
It is also required that she either be in lawful nonimmigrant status
when she applies for adjustment of status, or under section 245(k), has
not accumulated 180 days or more of unlawful employment or failed to
maintain status for this period of time.
Registered nurses are Schedule A (a shortage occupation) and are
exempt from having to process their applications through the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL). CNAs and LVNs (aka LPNs) are not Schedule A.
Only RNs (A) who are in possession of a full and unrestricted license
in the state of intended employment; (B) who have passed the predictor
exam given by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools
(CGFNS); or (C) who have passed the NCLEX-RN licensure exam (but do not
have a license because they lack a Social Security number) may be
petitioned by a U.S. employer for permanent residence.
The U.S. employer must post a notice at the location where the RN
will work stating that they are petitioning RN(s) for permanent residence.
The notice must include both the job description and the rate of pay.
A range of pay is acceptable as long as the RN will be paid at least the
bottom of the pay range. The notice must be posted in a conspicuous
place for a minimum of 10 business days if the employer's RNs are not
unionized. Otherwise, the notice need not be posted, but must be
submitted to the nurse's bargaining representative. Do not forget to
sign and date the notice. The date of signing should be at least 10
days AFTER the notice was originally posted.
The notice must state that any person may provide evidence bearing on
the filing of any application for permanent residence to the appropriate
Certifying Officer (CO) of the DOL and must provide the CO's address.
According to a CIS memorandum dated June 15, 2005, and posted on our
web site at
this same information must be provided to the Director of the CIS Service
Center where the I-140/I-485 is filed. We do not see this requirement
in the regulations, but unless the CIS amends this memo, you may want to
provide this information as well.
The memo provides that if you post a faulty notice, the CIS will send
you a Request for Evidence (RFE) with an opportunity to correct your
mistake rather than the more-ominous Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).
It is unclear whether the CIS intends to apply this policy to petitions
received on or after March 28. We certainly hope that they do.
Do not forget that under the new PERM requirements, the employer must
not only pay 100% of the prevailing wage to the RN, but must fax a
Prevailing Wage Request Form to the State Workforce Agency (SWA) in the
state of intended employment. We have posted all of the Prevailing Wage
Request Forms on our web site at
We have learned by experience that the turnaround time for obtaining a
Prevailing Wage Determination varies widely, from 24 hours for
Connecticut to 7-8 weeks for California. Also, some states have an
easier time classifying a beginning RN at Wage Level I (entry level)
than do others.
When may an employer submit an I-140 petition to the appropriate CIS
Service Center? Immediately after the posting or only after 30 days?
The regulations seem to support the former interpretation, but since
there is some ambiguity, we are following the "better safe than sorry"
approach until we receive some definitive guidance from the CIS.
The petition must include all the information required by the
regulations including evidence of the employer's ability to pay the nurse.
The employer's brochure or a letter from the HR Director will not suffice.
However, if the employer has at least 100 employees, a detailed letter
from the CFO will.
The RN should submit an application for adjustment of status (I-485),
a work permit (I-765), and a travel permit (I-131) simultaneously with the
employer's immigrant visa petition (I-140). Don't forget to include the
proper government filing fees, photos, etc.
If the RN is married and has children (under 21 years of age and
unmarried) born abroad, these family members, if they are residing in
the U.S. and are eligible for adjustment of status, should submit their
I-485s/765s/131s at the same time as the RN.
When must the Healthcare ("VisaScreen") Certificate be submitted? If
the RN already has a VisaScreen Certificate when you petition for her,
include it as an attachment to the I-485, but if she does not, submit
the I-485 anyway. The CIS will send an RFE requesting the VisaScreen
before adjudicating the application. Which RNs are exempt from the
VisaScreen requirement? None. From the English requirement? RNs who
received their nursing education in the U.S., the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada (except Quebec). The Test
of Spoken English (TSE) has been the downfall of many a poor nurse.
Our advice: Take the IELTS instead.
Finally, if the RN's I-485 is denied, think section 245(k)!
All of the above information and more is available on our "Nurse" page at
Mr. D, a citizen of the Philippines, received some very poor advice from a
so-called "immigration expert". Having entered the United States as a crewman,
Mr. D married his long-time girlfriend who had recently become an American
citizen. The "expert" informed him that it was perfectly legal for him to
apply for adjustment of status on the basis of his marriage. In doing so,
however, Mr. D. was in fact violating the terms of the law, which does not
permit crewmen to adjust their status to permanent residents. He and his new
bride went off on their honeymoon completely unaware of this.
On a train and returning to Minneapolis from their honeymoon in the Pacific
Northwest, Mr. D was randomly inspected by a Border Patrol agent, who
subsequently detained him based on his illegal presence in the United States.
Mr. D was removed to the Philippines, and barred from obtaining an immigrant
visa to the U.S. for ten years unless he obtained advanced permission from
the Immigration Service to return earlier.
After his wife received an approval of the I-130 Alien Relative Petition, the
couple retained an attorney to prepare Form I-212, Permission to Reenter the
United States after Removal. To Mr. D's dismay, however, this request was
denied by the Nebraska Service Center. Despite his marriage to an American
citizen, Mr. D now found himself stuck in the Philippines unable to rejoin
his wife in the U.S. for ten years!
Mr. D. retained our law firm to prepare an appeal on his behalf. Upon
reviewing the case, we noticed that Mr. D's prior counsel had failed to make
a very strong case for his I-212 waiver. In fact, he had almost completely
neglected to address the eight crucial factors commonly considered by the
Immigration Service in determining an alien's application for permission to
reapply to the U.S. after removal. Among these factors are the applicant's
moral character, his family responsibilities, the reason that he was
originally deported and the hardships to him and to his U.S. citizen or
permanent resident relative(s). It was in addressing these factors that we
hoped to achieve a successful result.
We first presented substantial evidence demonstrating that Mr. D's marriage
to his U.S. citizen wife was genuine and not based on false pretenses, which
included a heart-wrenching affidavit from his wife and close family friends,
heaps of romantic correspondence between the couple and evidence of heavy
international phone traffic between them. Next, we argued that Mr. D possessed
good moral character, had no prior arrests and was not a repeat violator of
the immigration laws; rather, he had relied in good faith on the erroneous
advice of his "expert" acquaintance in violating his nonimmigrant status in
the first place. We presented substantial evidence of the dangers inherent
to the region of the Philippines where Mr. D resided, as it continues to be
wracked by terrorism and guerilla war. Finally, and most importantly, we
pointed out the hardship the denial of Mr. D's application was causing to his
wife, who had to support a chronically ill mother and two sisters without the
possibility of receiving any significant financial and emotional support from
her husband for the next ten years.
CIS' Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) agreed with our argument and approved
Mr. D's waiver. He is now permitted to obtain an immigrant visa and to legally
rejoin his wife in the United States.
In the 1976 movie "Network", a TV newsman encourages his viewers to shout,
"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not taking it anymore!"
When we read decisions of the Immigration Service or the Board of Immigration
Appeals which violate the law, we get "mad as hell" and we do not hesitate to
challenge them in Federal Court. We have written about various cases which
we have won in Federal Court in this newsletter.
Our attorneys Elif Keles and Amy Prokop each represent a number of persons in
Federal Court. For information regarding Ms. Keles and Ms. Prokop, see our
firm biography at
This week, Curtis Pierce, Esq. joins our law firm as "Of Counsel". Mr. Pierce
is an experienced litigator and a Certified Specialist in Immigration and
Nationality Law, State Bar of California. He has been a member of the
California Bar since 1986. Mr. Pierce represented the respondent in Lopez v.
INS, 183 F.3d 1097 (9th Cir. 1999), the landmark case which first applied the
doctrine of Equitable Tolling in the removal context. We link to Lopez v. INS
from
Below are a few of our pending Federal Court cases:
Schneider vs. Gonzalez - On behalf of physicians in Massachusetts,
Utah, Washington and California, we are challenging INS regulations which
restrict the right of specialists to obtain National Interest Waivers.
The American Immigration Law Foundation submitted a friend of court brief
supporting our position. For more information on this case, which could
be decided by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals as early as this Fall, see
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel - This case involves the actions of
an "immigration consultant" whose actions subjected his client to possible
removal. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled this case for
oral argument in Chicago in October. We view this as a good sign. Elif
Keles, from our law firm, will be flying to Chicago to argue the case.
Cabrera vs. Gonzalez - This is a case for cancellation of removal for
nonpermanent residents where, despite the government's contention that
the court had no jurisdiction, the 9th Circuit remanded the case to the
Board of Immigration Appeals because we showed that the BIA failed to
follow the statute when they ordered Mr. and Mrs. Cabrera removed from
the U.S. in 2003. This case has been covered extensively by the press,
and private bills for the Cabreras were introduced by Senator Dianne
Feinstein and Representative Lucile Roybal-Allard. For more information,
see
Naturalization - A person who was interviewed for naturalization many
months ago and has made a number of unsuccessful inquiries to the CIS
came to us recently to ask what we could do for him. The law provides
that if the CIS does not make a decision of an application for
naturalization within 120 days after a person is interviewed, the person
or his attorney can ask a Federal Judge to decide the application.
This is exactly what we are doing.
Declaratory Judgment - A businessman with ten employees faces the
denial of his application for permanent residence on the ground that his
company is too small for him to be an "executive". However, neither the
law nor the regulations require that a company employ a minimum number
of workers in order for its President to be considered an executive. We
have obtained permanent residence for executives heading companies with
under ten employees. We are preparing a complaint for this businessman
in Federal District Court challenging the agency's decision in his case.
Habeas Corpus - The Desai family has resided in the U.S. for over 25
years. They entered the country legally, obtained valid EADs, own their
home, pay taxes, and are the parents of two university students, one of
whom suffers from severe ulcerative colitis. We are asking the Federal
District Court to grant Mr. and Mrs. Desai Writs of Habeas Corpus. After
we filed their cases in Federal Court, the REAL ID Act purported to
eliminate their right to ask for Habeas Corpus. Since the right to
Habeas Corpus is part of the Constitution of the United States, we are
challenging the REAL ID Act on constitutional grounds.
Petitions for Review - We are challenging a number of Removal Orders
in the Federal Appellate Courts.
In June, the CIS posted an online guide for immigrants on its website in
English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. In the near future, the agency
hopes to publish the guide in the following languages: Korean, Russian,
Arabic, Tagalog, Portuguese, French and Haitian Creole.
According to the CIS Web Site:
"This comprehensive guide contains practical information to help immigrants
settle into everyday life in the United States, as well as basic civics
information that introduces new immigrants to the U.S. system of government.
Welcome to the United States also gives new immigrants tips on how to get
involved in their new communities, and how to meet their responsibilities
and exercise their rights as permanent residents."
The Guide covers each of the following topics:
About the Guide
Where to Get Help
Getting Involved in Your Community
Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Permanent Resident
Your Rights and Responsibilities
Maintaining Your Permanent Resident Status
If You are a Conditional Resident
Finding Legal Assistance
Consequences of Criminal Behavior for Permanent Residents
Getting Settled in the United States
Finding a Place to Live
Getting a Social Security Number
Taking Care of Your Money
Looking for a Job
Paying Taxes
Traveling in the United States
Taking Care of Your Health
Other Federal Benefits Programs
Education and Childcare
Education
Higher Education: Colleges and Universities
Adult Education
Learning English
Childcare
Emergencies and Safety
Emergency Help: Call 911
Keeping Your Home and Family Safe
Homeland Security Advisory System for Terrorist Attacks
Learning About the United States
We the People: The Role of the Citizen in the United States
How the United States Began
Creating "A More Perfect Union"
How the Federal Government Works
The Legislative Branch: Congress
The Executive Branch: The President
The Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court
State and Local Government
Becoming a U.S. Citizen
Why Become a U.S. Citizen?
Naturalization: Becoming a U.S. Citizen
Additional Information
The Guide is available for free online and in hard copy for sale. Individual
copies of the English and Spanish guides cost $9.50. The guide in English is
offered at a bulk purchase discount of $171 for 100 copies while the guide in
Spanish may be purchased at $112 for a box of 50. Call the Government
Printing Office at 1-866-512-1800 to order hard copies of the guide.
Why not sell the Guide at a discounted price at all CIS offices? We think
that this would be a great service to the immigrant public.
How helpful is the guide? In many ways, it is a valuable resource. In other
ways, it is more of a hindrance than a help.
Consider this example:
Take a look at the topic "Finding Legal Assistance" at
The Guide simply states: "If you need help with an immigration issue, you can
use the services of a licensed and competent immigration lawyer. You can check
with your local bar association for help finding a qualified lawyer." The
Guide then immediately turns its attention to helping indigent immigrants
locate free legal services. However, all the links are to the Executive Office
of Immigration Review, the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration
Appeals. While these links may assist some poor individuals in finding
someone, not necessarily an attorney, to represent them in a removal hearing,
the Guide provides no links whatsoever to help immigrants in securing quality
legal assistance in family or in employment-based immigration cases. Somewhat
ironically, since the Guide is published by CIS' Office of Citizenship, the
Guide provides no links to attorneys who are experts in the area of U.S.
citizenship!
Essentially, this topic is a rehash of the page on CIS' web site entitled
"Finding Legal Assistance" at
This is one of the more unfortunate pages on a truly great web site. The CIS
refers all sorts of immigrants, including professionals, to lists of attorneys
and non-attorneys who appear before Immigration Judges, but who may never have
prepared an employment-based application in entire careers. No wonder we hear
Immigration Examiners complaining about the poor quality of some of the
applications and petitions that they receive. Their agency's own web site is
sending these professionals to persons who may not be qualified to prepare
their cases.
At a minimum, the Guide (and the CIS web site) should link to lists of
Certified Immigration Specialists in those states which have established
systems whereby immigration attorneys take complex examinations and prove
their competence in various areas of immigration law. This assists the public
in choosing immigration attorneys who are competent, experienced and ethical.
No matter where they live, would-be immigrants would be well-advised to
consult the following governmental web sites before selecting an immigration
attorney to represent them -
Some immigration advocates applauded the publication of the guide: "It's an
excellent step forward,' said Mark Silverman, staff attorney at the Immigrant
Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. "We want people to be fully part of
our society, but they come from a bunch of different cultures, and we don't
give them any guidelines for how."
Excellent? This may be too strong a word, but we believe that the Guide is a
good starting point which can, and should, be improved upon.
Since 1999, we have served as the official immigration experts for
About.com. We have participated in dozens of free chats since then.
Our chats always focus on a particular subject.
Links to the transcripts of all of our chats are posted online on our
"Chat" page at
Are your eyes getting tired from reading all of our information about
immigration laws and procedures? Then sit back, close your eyes, and
listen to any (or all!) of the following immigration audios:
Our June 2005 Immigration Trivia Quiz entitled "Dying for Whose Country?"
featured photos of a mother and her son. We asked our subscribers to identify
each, tell where they were from and describe the controversy in which they
were involved. See
Her 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman,
was killed last year in Afghanistan when his unit came
under fire during a mission to drive out remnants of
Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.
Mrs. Ligaya is residing in Yonkers, New York now, but is
originally from the Philippines, on a green card in the U.S.
So the members of American Gold Star Mothers rejected her application
because she was not a U.S. citizen and this caused lots of controversy.
I think the local New York chapter has somehow honored them.
Regards,
Dr. Edmond Vatany
P.S. - I am a pulmonary/critical care/sleep fellow at
Yale School of Medicine in Norwalk/New Haven CT.
Originally from Armenian background, I immigrated to U.S.
in 1999. I was on J visa, but now in H-1B status. Since I
will be graduating in 6/2006, I have started looking for
jobs.
I have subscribed to this newsletter probably since
97-98 and it has helped me a lot through the complicated
immigration/visa processes, though to be honest I check
your website frequently enough not to leave much "new".
Congratulations, Dr. Vatany! I look forward to speaking with you.
Certified Specialist in Immigration Law, State Bar of California
Former U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service Trial Attorney (1976-82)
Board of Governors, American Immigration Lawyers Association (1988-97)
Phone: (213) 623-4592 Fax: (213) 623-3720
Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1550
Los Angeles, California 90017
"The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable
stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions, whom
we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges."
