h1visajobs.com thanks Carl Shusterman, Attorney at Law for this news article. 
(h1visajobs.com Reference#24July2000shusterman)

Subj: SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE (July 2000)
Date: 7/17/00 4:20:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Carl@shusterman.com
Reply-to: Carl@shusterman.com
To: visalaw@shusterman.com

Volume Five, Number Seven

Published by the Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, One Wilshire Building,
624 So. Grand Avenue, Suite 1608, Los Angeles, California, 90017.
Phone: (213) 623-4592

To subscribe to SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE, go to
http://shusterman.com/subscribe.html#subscribe and type your name and
e-mail address and click on "Subscribe". Alternately, you may send an
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To unsubscribe, type in your e-mail address at
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with words "unsubscribe visalaw" in the body of the message.

For back issues of SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE, see
http://shusterman.com/toc-siu.html

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.

*****************************************************************
Subscribers to SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE: 34,074

CONTENTS:

This month, Topic #9 was written by Maurice Belanger, Senior Policy Analyst
for the National Immigration Forum. Based in Washington, D.C., and
established in 1982, the Forum has distinguished itself as one of the
nation's foremost authorities on immigration. The mission of the National
Immigration Forum is to embrace and uphold America's tradition as a nation
of immigrants. The Forum advocates and builds public support for policies
and programs that reunite families, rescue refugees, encourage immigrants
to become citizens, and afford newcomers equitable treatment under the law.
For more information about the National Immigration Forum, see
http://immigrationforum.org


* NEWS FLASHES

1. August 2000 State Department Visa Bulletin - Winners & Losers
2. Latest INS/State Dept/Labor Dept Processing Times
3. Legislation: What Happens Before The August Recess?
4. Backlog Reduction Plan For Permanent Labor Certifications
5. Green Card Renewals: INS Starts Walk-In Service
6. Immigration Trivia Quiz: The Founding Fathers
7. Chat Schedule and Online Transcripts
8. Asylum Web Site: New Features at asylumlaw.org
9. Amnesty and Targeted Legalization Legislation
10. Answers to the Trivia Quiz: Who Are These People?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NEWS FLASHES:

* Attorneys: The Justice Department has finalized regulations governing the
conduct and discipline of private attorneys (but not government attorneys)
who appear before the INS and EOIR. Read the complete text of the rule at

http://shusterman.com/attyrules.html

the EOIR News Release of June 27 at

http://shusterman.com/pdf/attyrulepr.pdf (PDF File)

and/or the EOIR Fact Sheet (8 Pages) at

http://shusterman.com/pdf/attyrulefaq.pdf (PDF File)


* Audit: An audit of INS files at all service centers and district offices
will halt virtually all adjudications of applications and petitions during
the next week.


* EB-2 Motions: The INS, in accordance with the Federal Judge's Order in
Chintakuntla v. INS, No. C99-5211 MMC (N.D.Cal.) announced on July 3 that
it would accept untimely motions to reconsider denied EB-2 petitions where
the minimum educational requirements for employment were a bachelor's
degree and five years progressive professional experience. To read the
complete text of the regulation, see

http://shusterman.com/eb2reg.html


* Green Card Lottery (DV-2001): The State Department has announced the
90,000 "winners" of the visa lottery. Although the law limits the number
of winners to 50,000, the State Department always selects more than 50,000
persons since some will not qualify, others will immigrate in other ways
and some will decide not to immigrate to the U.S. Although the identities
of the winners are private, the number of winners from each country are
not. See

http://shusterman.com/dv01result.html


* J-1 Trainee Program: The American Immigration Law Foundation has
established an exchange visitor trainee program for persons in the
following categories: (1) information media and communications; (2)
management, business, commerce and finance; (3) the sciences, engineering,
architecture, mathematics and industrial occupations; and (4) public
administrative and law.

For details about the AILF J-1 Program, see

http://www.ailf.org/exchange/


* Job Announcements: The Law Offices of Carl Shusterman are seeking the
services of two additional legal assistants due to increasing workload.
One is an entry level position for a strongly-motivated individual. This
position does not require previous immigration experience. We offer
on-the-job training. The other position requires a minimum of two to three
years of business immigration law experience, with excellent writing and
verbal skills. We offer a generous compensation package and a pleasant
working environment. Please send resumes by e-mail to jlu@shusterman.com


* NAFTA Manual: The INS has placed its manual on the North America Free
Trade Agreement online. Since it is in PDF format, you will need to
download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. Wait until you
have a little free time before perusing it - it's 217 pages in length.
Click on

http://shusterman.com/canada.html

and scroll down to "INS's NAFTA Handbook".


* National Visa Center: Ever wonder how to submit a Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request to the National Visa Center (NVC)? The NVC is not
authorized to act on FOIA requests. Instead, mail or fax your FOIA request
to Margaret Grafeld, Director, Office of Information, Programs and
Services, Room 1512, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520-1512. The
fax number is (202) 647-5094.


* Physicians: Attorney Carl Shusterman will conduct a Legal Elite
discussion group regarding physicians from August 5 to 11.
To participate in the free discussion with Mr. Shusterman, please subscribe
to his discussion group (Immigration) at

http://legalelite.com/subscribe.cfm

For information about Legal Elite Online, see

http://shusterman.com/legalelite.html


* Prosecutorial Discretion: In 1999, the INS Acting General Counsel issued
an important 12-page memo regarding prosecutorial discretion in immigration
enforcement proceedings. Read it by clicking on

http://shusterman.com/toc-dpt.html

and again on "INS Memorandum Regarding Prosecutorial Discretion (PDF File)".

Thanks to Dan Kowalski from Matthew Bender for providing us with a copy of
the memorandum.


* Refugee Admissions: President Clinton has announced that 80,000 refugees
will be admitted to the U.S. during fiscal year 2001. See

http://shusterman.com/refugee01.html


* State Department - Phone Numbers of Employees: Many attorneys and their
clients do not realize the State Department, in contrast most other
agencies we frequently deal with, lists the phone numbers of its US-based
employees online. See

http://shusterman.com/toc-link.html#5

and scroll down to "Phone Numbers of State Department Employees".

***********************************************

1. August 2000 State Department Visa Bulletin - Winners & Losers

On Sunday, July 16, 2000, we posted the August 2000 Visa Bulletin, before
the State Department posted the dates on their web site.

For the Family categories, the movement of priority dates was pretty fly
for post-July ;-) Worldwide numbers advanced from two weeks (1st and 2A
categories) to eight weeks (a recent record for the 4th preference
category). India 4th moved ahead six weeks, and all Mexico categories
advanced, in particular the 3rd preference category which rocketed forward
six months! The numbers for persons born in the Philippine 4th seem to be
on life-support. The 1st, 3rd and 4th preference categories did not
advance. Philippines 2A and 2B advanced two and four weeks, respectively.

There were also many surprises in the employment-based categories. The
EB-2 category for persons born in India and mainland China moved forward 1
½ and 3 ½ months to September 15, 1999 and April 15, 1998, respectively.
For the EB-3 category, it was a far different story. While the China 3rd
jumped ahead 3 ½ months to June 1, 1997, the India 3rd marked time at
February 1, 1997, not a good sign.

The priority date for unskilled workers advanced three months to April 1,
1995.

The August Visa Numbers can be found at

http://shusterman.com/vb.html

For an explanation of what the categories, dates and symbols listed below
mean, see

http://shusterman.com/family.html

and

http://shusterman.com/employmt.html

Check the State Department's official version on Monday or Tuesday, to see
complete information about the movement of family, employment and lottery
numbers, at

http://travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html


2. Latest INS/State Dept/Labor Dept Processing Times

Most immigration applications and petitions must be submitted to one of the
following INS Regional Service Centers: (1) Laguna Niguel, California; (2)
Lincoln, Nebraska; (3) Mesquite, Texas; and (4) St. Albans, Vermont.

Our web site contains the waiting times of each center and enumerates each
state served by the center and any foreign offices within the center's
jurisdiction.

The service centers periodically issue lists of their processing times for
various types of applications. Our web site contains 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

http://shusterman.com/toc-sc.html


Processing times at INS District Offices may be accessed at

http://shusterman.com/aos.html

See

http://shusterman.com/labortimes.html

to check the latest processing times of your Department of Labor Regional
Office and your State Employment Service Agency.

We list selected Consular Post Processing Times at

http://shusterman.com/dostimes.html


3. Legislation: What Happens Before The August Recess?

Presidential candidate Bush tells the National Council of La Raza that
"every INS immigration application should be fully processed within six
months of submission. No immigrant should have to wait more than six months
for the INS to make a decision on his or her application."

Then what is the congressional leadership doing to pass Senator Feinstein's
(D-CA) bill in the Senate or Representative Lofgren's (D-CA) bill in the
House to eliminate INS backlogs?

The National Urban League expresses strong reservations about the bills to
raise the H-1B cap. In response, the Information Technology Association of
America (ITAA) invites the Urban League to support an increase in the H-1B
cap as a "short term expedient" while the two groups work together to
increase educational and job opportunities for U.S. citizens and residents
who are members of minority groups.

The Republicans gain strong support in the IT industry for spearheading the
drive to increase the H-1B cap. President Clinton then attempts to add
benefits for Hispanic immigrants to the H-1B bill. Republicans balk at the
proposed amendments but do not want to appear anti-immigrant.

Meanwhile, there is no visible movement in Congress on the H-1B
legislation. What is going on?

Simple. We are in an election year. Both parties are positioning
themselves to win business support and ethnic votes in key states. Some of
our friends on Capitol Hill tell us to expect passage of the H-1B cap bill
before the end of July. On the other hand, we would not be surprised if
significant immigration reform legislation is not passed until the waning
days of the session. It happened in 1986 and again in 1990.

For a comprehensive look at what is going on in Congress, visit the
excellent Advocacy Update prepared by the staff of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association at

http://shusterman.com/advocacy630.html

Both Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) have written
commentaries in this week's online issue of "RollCall" in support of their
two opposing H-1B cap bills. See

"The Real Debate Is Not About H-1B"

http://www.rollcall.com/pages/pb/00/07/pb10e.html (Smith)

"Visas Will Help The Best And The Brightest Come To The U.S."

http://www.rollcall.com/pages/pb/00/07/pb10f.html (Lofgren)

If there ever was a time to let your members of Congress know how you feel
about increasing the H-1B cap, restoring nurses to the status of "specialty
occupation" for H-1B purposes, recapturing lost immigrant visa numbers, INS
reorganization and backlog reduction, the restoration of due process and
section 245(I), it is now! Visit

http://shusterman.com/toc-leg.html

and scroll down to "Congress" to see how you can contact your Senators and
Representatives by e-mail.


4. Backlog Reduction Plan For Permanent Labor Certifications

The permanent alien labor certification (LC) process has changed radically
during the past three years. The regular LC process has become virtually
obsolete as backlogs at both the State Employment Service Agencies (SESA's)
and DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) increased from
months to years.

The regular LC process requires an employer to submit paperwork to the
local SESA and wait for permission to advertise a particular job. The SESA
oversees the processing of the LC, and then forwards the paperwork to the
DOL's Regional Office. See

http://shusterman.com/rit.html

These days, most LC's are submitted using DOL's expedited
Reduction-In-Recruitment (RIR) procedure which allows employers to recruit
for a particular job before submitting any paperwork to the SESA. See

http://shusterman.com/gal197.html

In recent years, Congress has appropriated additional funds designed to
enable the DOL to reduce and eliminate their backlogs, and directed the DOL
to formulate a plan for doing so.

The DOL has submitted a Backlog Reduction Plan to Congress. It details a
significant reduction in LC backlogs, primarily due to the RIR process and
to the LCA (Labor Condition Application) Fax-Back system. The DOL's goal
to further reduce the LC backlog by September 30, 2000 and to completely
eliminate the backlog by September 30, 2001. The plan explains that new
regulations will direct employers to submit LCA's directly to the INS, and
to convert regular LC's to RIR LC's without losing the priority date.
Additionally, the plan states that "ETA will implement a new process in FY
2001 in which employers transmit permanent cases directly to the regional
offices for processing". It is anticipated that the new process will be an
"attestation" where the employer checks boxes on a form stating that its
efforts to recruit qualified U.S. workers for a particular job have been
unsuccessful.

To read the complete text of the DOL Backlog Reduction Plan, see

http://shusterman.com/dol22400.html


5. Green Card Renewals: INS Starts Walk-In Service

On June 20, the INS announced that persons whose green cards are reaching
the 10-year expiration date could simply appear at one of the hundreds of
the agency's Application Support Centers (ASC's) to renew their cards.

To apply, one should first download form I-90 at

http://shusterman.com/immforms.html

and complete and sign the form.

In addition to the form, applicants should bring the following items to the
ASC:

* Check/money order for $110 filing fee
* Two color photographs (See I-90 instructions.)
* Expired/expiring green card (and photocopy of front and
back of card)
* Identification (driver's license, passport, etc.)
* Documentation of any changes of name (marriage certificate,
divorce/death decree, etc.)
* Additional $25 fingerprinting fee (for those who obtained
their green cards before they were 14 years of age, and
who are now over 14 years of age)

Exceptions: Not all ASCs accept walk-in applications. For example, in New
York City, applicants must first call INS at (800) 375-5283 to schedule an
appointment. In Los Angeles, nine of the 12 ASCs will accept walk-in
applicants (The ASCs in Buena Park, Fairfax and Wilshire will not). There
are also exceptions for applicants wishing to utilize the services of ASCs
in Columbus, Ohio; Jackson, Mississippi; Laredo, Texas; Nashville,
Tennessee; and Salisbury, Maryland. While you can call INS's National
Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 for area-specific information, we
find the series of voice menu a bit confusing. You may wish to click

http://shusterman.com/toc-gc.html

and scroll down to "Green Card Renewals". We link to the following
portions of INS's web site:

* Green Card Renewal FAQ
* INS's Green Card Renewal Fact Sheet
* INS Application Support Centers
* INS Offices By State

A better idea might be to simply apply for naturalization ;-)

See http://shusterman.com/toc-usc.html


6. Immigration Trivia Quiz: The Founding Fathers

We hope you had a wonderful July 4th and got to enjoy some great fireworks!
Our July quiz has a patriotic theme.

Be the first to correctly identify the three questions listed under the
painting at

http://shusterman.com/quiz700.html

(Be very specific!) and you will be the winner of a free legal consultation
during July 2000.

Send your entry by e-mail to carl.shusterman@gte.net


7. Chat Schedule and Online Transcripts

We now have almost 20 chat transcripts online. Among the topics covered
are how to obtain a temporary working visa, permanent residence and U.S.
citizenship, new laws pertaining to nurses and physicians, how to complete
immigration forms, special problems encountered by computer professionals
and by persons born in India and China, the outlook for the Visa Bulletin,
and an I-9 primer for HR managers and employees.

Our next two chats will be:

* 7/17 - "Deportation Proceedings: Telling It To The Judge"

* 7/31 - "Changing From Visitor/Student To Working Status"


If you have an idea for a chat topic, please send me an e-mail message at
carl@shusterman.com and we (My chat sponsors at About.com, CareerPath.com
and I) will take it under consideration.

For a list of transcripts of past chats, see

http://shusterman.com/toc-chat.html


8. Asylum Web Site: New Features at asylumlaw.org

We first featured the excellent web site called "asylumlaw.org" in the
October 1999 issue of SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE at

http://shusterman.com/oct99.html#8


The web site has developed new tools which promise to benefit asylum
seekers - what follows is their July 10 announcement:

Asylumlaw.org is proud to announce two major enhancements to the site. We
encourage all registered users to use them.

First, we have developed a tool to help streamline researching country
conditions. Called "Super-Search", the tool allows users to search eight
major sources of human rights documentation in a single, unified search.
Click on this link to see how it works:

http://asylumlaw.org/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/webinator/metanew4

As you will see, with a single search you can find pertinent country
conditions or other corroborating evidence from the following databases:
asylumlaw.org, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Refugee
Review Tribunal in Australia, the Refugee Status Appeal Authority in New
Zealand, UNHCR, the UK Home Office Reports, and U.S. State Department
Reports. We hope that you find the tool helpful in locating up-to-date
documentation.

Second, we are introducing a bulletin board system that allows registered
users to interact with one another. Located at the following link

http://www.asylumlaw.org/cgi-bin/bb/Ultimate.cgi

the bulletin board is separated into about 20 different topics, mostly
organized by country of origin. We are confident that you will find answers
to any asylum-related questions you may have from our growing lists of
registered users (over 550) and knowledgeable attorneys (now over 200).
These attorneys and advocates have collectively represented well over three
thousand asylum seekers from virtually every country in the world. The
collective experience of you and your counterparts around the world should
make it easier for each of us to find the evidence and law we need to win
asylum cases.

You'll need your username and password to access this feature. If you've
forgotten it, go to this link and it will be e-mailed to you:

http://www.asylumlaw.org/registration/password.htm

As always, thanks for your support. Please post any comments or questions
on the bulletin board or e-mail us at

mailbox@asylumlaw.org.

David Berten
President
asylumlaw.org, inc.
www.asylumlaw.org


9. Amnesty and Targeted Legalization Legislation

by Maurice Belanger
Senior Policy Associate
National Immigration Forum

In February, the AFL-CIO executive council unanimously approved a resolution
calling for, among other things, the legalization of undocumented workers
in the U.S. The call for a new amnesty reflects the labor movement's
understanding that, by virtue of their status,undocumented workers are
vulnerable to unscrupulous employers and more difficult to organize. The
AFL-CIO came to understand that legalization of undocumented workers will
help all workers.

The Federation's dramatic announcement has created excitement in immigrant
communities throughout the U.S. Last month, 20,000 people turned out for
an AFL-CIO-sponsored town meeting in Los Angeles, calling for an unconditional
amnesty. This and other demonstrations around the country have been widely
reported in the press, particularly the Spanish-language press, raising the
expectations of immigrants for whom the prospect of a green card will put
an end to years of underground existence. Many undocumented immigrants and
their advocates believe that an amnesty is just around the corner.

Despite the sea change in organized labor's official stance on immigration,
there has been no sea change in Congress. To many in Congress, calls for a
general amnesty sound too much like calls for rewarding some for violating
immigration laws that Congress only recently spent considerable energy
toughening. Until a general amnesty has broader support among their
constituents outside of immigrant communities, few, if any, members of
Congress will support a proposal for an unconditional amnesty. None has
been introduced thus far.

Working with these realities, advocates in Washington have attempted to
assess the chances of various proposals to make our immigration laws more
generous. That necessitates a narrower focus. The proposals with the best
chance of success this year are what is commonly known as the Central
American parity legislation and legislation to update the Registry cutoff
date. The restoration of Section 245(I) of the Immigration Act, which
would allow those qualifying for immigrant visas to obtain their visas in
the U.S. without being forced to leave and being barred from reentry, also
has decent prospects this year. Advocates are also calling for the
reduction in family-based immigration backlogs.

The good news is that calls for a general amnesty and for more targeted
legalization programs are not incompatible activities. The press coverage
of labor's new call for amnesty has drawn attention to the plight of the
undocumented. Over time, this could build support in the general public
for proposals that may, in the future, be introduced in Congress. The
attention to immigrants--undocumented and legal residents--and their
contribution to our economy helps lay the groundwork for more generous
policies.

The advance work being done now may well bear fruit in a new Congress.
Regardless of which party controls the House after the upcoming elections,
this is Lamar Smith's last year as Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee;
he is at the end of term limits for Committee Chairs set by majority
Republican party agreement. Quite possibly, the composition of a new
Congress will be more pro-immigrant.

Some fear that legislation to move up the registry cutoff date will kill
prospects for a broader legalization program. (Legislation introduced in
Congress and supported by the White House would, if passed, allow
undocumented immigrants to apply for permanent residence if they have
resided in the U.S. since January 1, 1986.) In reality, working with
Congress always involves compromises, as Congress responds to a range of
constituencies with an eye to the prospects for re-election. Advocates
will ask for what is achievable in a given year, and then go back the next
year and ask for what can be achieved in the new year. An all-or-nothing
approach is likely to be frustrating in the short-term, and may require
several years of sustained campaigning before anything is accomplished.

Both goals can and should be pursued simultaneously as appropriate.
Getting a broad new legalization program through Congress is a project that
may take several years to bear fruit. In the meantime, advocates should
also pursue opportunities that will ultimately result in green cards for
hundreds of thousands of immigrants, and security for their families.


10. Answers to the Trivia Quiz: Who Are These People?

Who were those six faces pictured in last month's trivia quiz?

We received the following message from one of our subscribers:

Hello Carl,

Congratulations for a very stimulating web-site and for such a well-timed
and informative monthly update. Here are the answers to this month's quiz.
Hope I have got them right !

Q : Who Are These Persons?

Answer : Senators and Representatives. (Named below - numbered as per left
to right, top row first)

Q : What Do They Have In Common?

Answer : These people are at the forefront of the H1 & Immigration issues
some with positive agenda and the others with a negative refrain. Below the
names are the prominent bills of which they are sponsors/ co-sponsors.

HR 3983, S 2045 and S 2668 are the bills that are largely supported by the
industry and specifically supported by the potential immigrant community as
these bills seek to alleviate some of the most crucial factors that impact
this community.

HR 3814 and HR 4227 are cosmetic remedies with a short-term agenda. They do
not address any concerns of the potential immigrant community.

1. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Democrat CA)

HR 3983: Helping to Improve Technology Education and Achievement Act of 2000

2. Sen. Bob Graham (Democrat FL)

S 2045: American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000

S 2668 : Family, Work and Immigrant Integration Amendments of 2000

3. Sen. Spencer Abraham (Republican MI)

S 2045 : American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000

4. Rep. David Drier (Republican CA)

HR 3983 : Helping to Improve Technology Education and Achievement Act of 2000

5. Rep. Lamar Smith (Republican TX)

HR 3814 : Technology Worker Relief Act of 2000

HR 4227 : Technology Worker Temporary Relief Act

6. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (Democrat TX)

HR 4227 : Technology Worker Temporary Relief Act


Regards,
Kunal Mohanlal


(Kunal Mohanlal is a native of New Delhi who works for a software
development company headquartered in California. He is a Chemical Engineer
with an MBA who has worked in the IT industry since 1989. He came to the
U.S. on an L-1 visa and is now in H-1B status. He is currently undergoing
the green card process. He recognized Senator Abraham from a photograph at
http://shusterman.com/photo8.html and says the rest of the quiz was easy ;-)


Carl Shusterman
July 16, 2000

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