On 14 April 2008, USCIS announced that it would allow F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of selected H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 to request a change of status in lieu of consular notification. Furthermore, USCIS will allow petitioners of F-1 students whose H-1B petitions were randomly selected to request by email, within 30 days of receiving a Notice of Receipt, a change of status on behalf of qualified beneficiaries.

For more information contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.Ortega-Medina.com

On 14 April 2008, USCIS published a fact sheet detailing the qualifications for members and certain veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who are eligible to apply for United States citizenship under special provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Additionally, USCIS has streamlined the application and naturalization process for military personnel and those who recently discharged.

For more information contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.Ortega-Medina.com

On 22 April 2008, USCIS published in the Federal Register that due to the approaching expiration of Form I-129 at the end of May, and following the 5 February 2008 publishing a 60 day comment period for proposed revisions, USCIS has decided to publish the second submission as an extension. When the proposed revision to Form I-129 is ready to be reviewed by the public, USCIS will follow normal protocol and publish another 60 and 30 Day Notice in the Federal Register announcing the revision and requesting comments.

For more information contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 15 April 2008, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) submitted this information collection request for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. USCIS encourages written comments and suggestions regarding items contained in this notice, and especially with regard to the estimated public burden and associated response time. Comments will be accepted for 60 days, until 16 June 2008.

Comments can be submitted to: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS, Chief, Regulatory Management Division, Clearance Office, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529. Comments may also be submitted to DHS via facsimile to 202-272-8352, or via e-mail at rfs.regs@dhs.gov quoting OMB Control Number 1615-0050 in the subject box.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 14 April 2008, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) submitted this information collection request for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. USCIS encourages written comments and suggestions regarding items contained in this notice, and especially with regard to the estimated public burden and associated response time. Comments will be accepted for 60 days, until 13 June 2008.

Comments can be submitted to: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS, Chief, Regulatory Management Division, Clearance Office, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529. Comments may also be submitted to DHS via facsimile to 202-272-8352, or via e-mail at rfs.regs@dhs.gov quoting OMB Control Number 1615-0060 in the subject box.

For more information contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 11 April 2008, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) submitted this information collection request for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. USCIS will be evaluating whether to revise the Form I-765 and encourages comments on this matter for 60 days, until 10 June 2008. If USCIS decides to revise the Form I-765, it will advise the public when it publishes the 30-day notice in the Federal Register. They will then allow 30 days for comment on any revisions to the Form I-765.

Comments can be submitted to: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS, Chief, Regulatory Management Division, Clearance Office, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529. Comments may also be submitted to DHS via facsimile to 202-272-8352, or via e-mail at rfs.regs@dhs.gov quoting OMB Control Number 1615-0040 in the subject box.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

In Barraza v. Mukasey (13 March 2008), the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit held that the Petitioner, who was convicted of possessing one marijuana pipe, was convicted of an offense that "relates to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana" and is therefore, eligible for a 212(h) waiver of inadmissibility.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 5 April 2008, the US House of Representatives passed the Religious Worker Visa Extension Act of 2008 (H.R.5570) which, if passed, would extend the special immigrant non-minister religious worker visa program.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

USCIS has announced that it conducted the FY 2009 H-1B lottery on 14 April 2008.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

In a non-precedent decision, the Administrative Office of Appeals (AAO) has found that a corporation has a separate legal identity from its owner, even if it is owned and operated by a single person. The AAO also found that the proffered position is a specialty occupation, despite the fact that the beneficiary may undertake administrative tasks as the sole proprietor.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

In Matter of Alfonso Gonzalez-Muro, 24 I Dec. 472 (2008), the BIA has held that a denaturalized alien who committed crimes when an LPR and concealed them during the naturalization process is removable on the basis of the crimes, even though the alien was a naturalized citizen at the time of conviction. (Costello v. INS, 376 U.S. 120 (1964), distinguished.)

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 14 April 2008, USCIS released an updated Fact Sheet on naturalization through military service. It provides guidance on necessary qualifications, as well as, updated statistics on service member naturalizations.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

In Matter of BAIRES-Larios, 24 I Dec. 467 (2008), the BIA held that a child who has satisfied the statutory conditions of former section 321(a) of the INA, before the age of 18 years has acquired United States citizenship, regardless of whether the naturalized parent acquired legal custody of the child before or after the naturalization.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

In Matter of Lamin Aruna, 24 I Dec. 452 (2008), the BIA has held that, absent controlling precedent to the contrary, a State law misdemeanor offense of conspiracy to distribute marijuana qualifies as an "aggravated felony" where its elements correspond to the elements of the Federal felony offense of conspiracy to distribute an indeterminate quantity of marijuana.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the Global Entry pilot program is scheduled to launch in summer 2008. The program is designed to expedite the screening of low-risk, frequent international "trusted" travelers entering the United States.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 11 April 2008, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it has enhanced the Student and Exchange Visitor Program and is proposing to raise fees.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

USCIS posted a new version of Form I-693, Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status, to its website. Previous versions of the form will be accepted until 1 May 2008.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

An article published 11 April 2008 in the New York Times stated that 163,000 H1B petitions were received by USCIS for Fiscal Year 2009, nearly twice the 65,000 visas available for skilled workers, plus 20,000 for those with Masters or Doctorate degrees from a US University or College. The article suggests that the lottery will take place next week to determine the petitions that are processed by USCIS.

While the number of petitions increased 23% from FY2008, USCIS officials stated that they expected an even larger increase, but credited a new rule prohibiting employers from filing more than one petition per beneficiary with keeping the number down.

The article addressed the renewed calls from American technology companies to raise the annual limits after the announcement. Additionally, senators led by John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, introduced a bill that would raise the H-1B cap to 145,000 visas each year through 2011. The bill would also allow businesses to use, over a three-year period, some 150,000 visas that were available in past years but were never issued. The bill also attempts to address outcries from Americans that believe foreign workers are taking their jobs by including measures to address the rapidly expanding use of H-1B visas by major Indian companies to bring workers for short-term jobs as part of technology outsourcing contracts. The bill would seek to bar this practice by requiring companies to employ H-1B workers only at their own offices in the United States.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://ortega-medina.com

On 9 April 2008, MSNBC online reported that a Beverly Hills man was arrested on charges that he used his English language schools as a front to get student visas for Russian prostitutes and other ineligible foreigners. A grand jury indicted Behzan "Ben" Zaman, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran, on 14 counts of fraud and misuse of visas, conspiracy and money laundering, according to a statement from federal officials. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 210 years in prison. Zaman operated the Concord English Language Center on Wilshire Boulevard, and another school. The arrest was based on a report from a woman that said she paid $2,000 a year to obtain status from the school, but did not attend classes. Authorities did not shut down the school because it did have legitimate students. However, the facility was not large enough to accommodate the more than 1,000 enrolled students, including students from Uzbekistan and Latvia that are ineligible for student visas.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

USCIS announced that on Friday, April 11, 2008, from 9:30 to 10:30 AM EDT, the following USCIS web-based systems will be taken out of service for maintenance upgrades:

? Case Status Online (and processing times)
? Electronic Filing
? Field Office Locator and Information
? Civil Surgeon Locator; and
? Change of Address Online

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 8 April 2008, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2009. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the "advanced degree" exemption. USCIS will complete initial data entry for all filings received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008 before running the random selection process. USCIS has not announced the date on which it will conduct the random selection process due to the high number of petitions.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 2 April 2008, USCIS announced that it will finish more than one million naturalization cases during fiscal year 2008 - a 36% rise from the number of cases completed last year. USCIS now states that the expected time it will take to complete naturalization cases is, on average, 13-15 months; a three month improvement from the 16-18 month projection that USCIS made six months ago. USCIS credits this improvement to expanding the USCIS workforce by adding nearly 3,000 new employees, detailing employees to work in the most heavily affected offices, quadrupling the funding for overtime and using Asylum Office facilities and staff to conduct naturalization interviews.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://ortega-medina.com

On 4 April 2008, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on is website that it will not reject an H-1B petition that is subject to the fiscal year 2009 cap solely on the grounds that it was received at the wrong service center (e.g., the California Service Center or the Vermont Service Center). This accommodation does not apply if the petitions were sent to the Texas or Nebraska Service Centers.

This measure applies only to H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year 2009 cap that are received by USCIS before the close of business on the "final receipt date". USCIS will announce the final receipt date once it determines it has received the number of petitions needed to fill the limitations of 65,000 new H-1B visas and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemptions per fiscal year.

For more information please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates, http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 2 April 2008, the New York Times published an article regarding the Department of Homeland Security's announcement that it would issue waivers to bypass environmental reviews in order to speed construction of a fence on the Mexican border. The Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, "issued two waivers covering 470 miles of the border from California to Texas [as] well as a separate 22-mile stretch in Hidalgo County, Tex., where the department plans to build fencing up to 18 feet high into a flood-control levee in a wildlife refuge." In his efforts to complete 700 miles of fencing this year, Michael Chertoff has greatly expanded his use of waivers, a power granted by Congress, in what the New York Times describes as a "sweeping use of authority." Environmental groups and landowners along the proposed fence have been angered by the decision due to environmental concerns and concerns regarding their land and water access. Michael Chertoff defended his waiver, stating that, "[c]riminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation. Congress and the American public have been adamant that they want and expect border security.We're serious about delivering it, and these waivers will enable important security projects to keep moving forward."

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 1 April 2008, USCIS announced that it is not able to approve any Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative, filed on behalf of a child to be adopted from Guatemala, because the Department of State has determined that Guatemala is not currently meeting its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention. Therefore, the Department of State cannot issue the required Hague Adoption Certificate or Hague Custody Declaration. Cases filed prior 1 April 2008 under the previous US Orphan regulations will continue to be processed as such.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

The New York Times reported on 1 April 2008, that USICS has begun deportation proceedings against thousands of Vietnamese living illegally in the United States under a pact between the two countries that took effect 60 days after it was agreed upon in late January 2008. The agreement effects Vietnamese nationals that entered the United States after the political situation in Vietnam stabilized in 1995. The article stated that "the deal took 10 years to complete because Vietnam had previously been reluctant to accept citizens back and community leaders in the U.S. said many immigrants have been living with deportation orders for years, even decades." Julie Myers, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stated that those who have lived in the U.S. for more than 13 years would not be deported.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

USCIS announced on 28 March 2008 that it is extending the public comment period until April 14, 2008 for a proposed rule "that would encourage and facilitate the lawful employment of H-2A foreign temporary agricultural workers." USCIS listed the following proposed changes to the H-2A program:

* Extend from 10 to 30 days the time a temporary agricultural worker may remain in the United States following the expiration of the H-2A petition;
* Reduce from six months to three months the time an H-2A worker must wait outside the United States before they are eligible to re-obtain H-2A status;
* Allow H-2A workers who are changing from one H-2A employer to another to begin work with the new petitioning employer upon the filing of a new H-2A petition, provided the new employer participates in USCIS' E-Verify program;
* Require an employer attestation regarding the scope of the H-2A employment and the use of recruiters to locate H-2A workers;
* Crack down on employers and recruiters who impose fees on prospective H-2A workers;
* Require an approved temporary labor certification in connection with all H-2A petitions;
* Prohibit the approval of H-2A petitions for nationals of countries determined to be consistently refusing or unreasonably delaying repatriation of their nationals; and
* Establish a land-border exit system pilot program, which ensures that foreign workers admitted through a port of entry participating in the H-2A program must depart through a similar port that also participates in the program.

Comments may be submitted online at www.regulations.gov, DHS Docket No. USCIS-2007-0055, or by mail to Chief, Regulatory Management Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529, referencing DHS Docket No. USCIS-2007-0055

USCIS emphasizes that this is only a proposed rule, and the existing H-2A regulations and policies will remain in effect until further notice.

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com

On 31 March 2008, USCIS published contact details for persons who believe they "have knowledge of suspected criminal violations, misconduct, wasteful activities, and allegations of civil rights or civil liberties abuse by USCIS. These activities may be reported to the DHS Office of Inspector General by calling 1-800-323-8603 or emailing DHSOIGHOTLINE@DHS.GOV. USCIS states that "[c]alls can be made anonymously and confidentially."

For more information, please contact Ortega-Medina & Associates. http://www.ortega-medina.com