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NEWS BYTES
The INS is reporting that as of mid-August, all four Service Centers were processing H-1B cases for the new fiscal year that begins October 1st. Each of the Service Centers is also being granted discretion to move through cases at their own pace rather than in lockstep. The breakdown of processing is as follows: 
California Service Center: 5/1/00 
Vermont Service Center 4/7/00 
Nebraska Service Center 6/26/00 
Texas Service Center 4/20/00 
We have also received word that the TSC has been working 10/1/00 start date cases since August 7th and that approval notices are being sent. 
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The Vermont Service Center reports that it is encountering several problems with I-824 applications. On I-824 applications requesting the VSC notify an American consulate that an individual has adjusted status to permanent residency so that a spouse or child overseas can follow-to-join the principal applicant, many applicants are failing to indicate on the form the names and dates of birth of their derivative beneficiaries. Requests for evidence must then be sent and processing times increase considerably. The VSC also requests I-824 applicants list the priority date of the approved I-485. This information is not specifically requested on the form, but it is very helpful to adjudicators. Including an approval notice documenting the priority date is helpful. While the priority date is supposed to be in the computer, often the information is missing and an applicant’s files need to be ordered. 
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Recently we reported that the Executive Office for Immigration Review had released new controversial professional conduct rules for lawyers practicing in its immigration courts. Many have objected to the rules saying that they are not necessary because of the existence of state codes of conduct that govern lawyer behavior. Also, the rules are not applicable to government lawyers practicing in front of immigration judges. The EOIR has just announced that it has suspended five lawyers from practicing under the new rules. 
The lawyers suspended are 
Milton Dan Kramer Kramer (NOT the Milton P. Kramer who is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association), disbarred by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and suspended for 3 years by the Second Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court;

Carolyn Elaine Miyashita, disbarred by the Ninth Circuit and suspended for 5 years by the North Carolina State Bar;

Kenneth R. Rastello, suspended for 180 days by the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board;

Alan E. Koczela, law license revoked by the Virginia State Bar; and

Antonio Reyes-Vidal, suspended 84 months (with 6O months probated) by the District Court f Bexar, Texas. 
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Ski resorts across Colorado have sharply increased the number of applications submitted for seasonal workers this year. Most resorts have at least doubled their requests for H-2B visas for workers to combat persistent labor shortages in the region. Most of the workers are being recruited from New Zealand and Australia. The Copper Mountain Resort, for example, is looking to hire as many as 150 H-2B workers and recently interviewed more than 300 potential employees in Australia and New Zealand. This year, more than 5,000 H-2B worker visas were used for ski resort workers. The H-2B visa is an often under-utilized visa category that allows employers to recruit unskilled workers for temporary and seasonal positions. 
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An Iraqi dissident jailed by the INS for almost four years by the INS based on secret evidence has been freed by an immigration judge in Los Angeles. Dr. Ali Yasin Mohammed Karim was found by an immigration court to be a security risk based on secret government evidence that allegedly showed Karim to be a spy for a Middle Eastern country. 
Karim was evacuated from Iraq in March 1997 by the US government along with six other dissidents. Once brought to the US, the group was jailed by the INS and put into deportation proceedings. The evidence used by the INS was held to be classified and defense attorneys for the Iraqis were never able to see the evidence used against their clients. The use of secret evidence is permitted based on changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act passed in 1996. 
Five of the defendants accepted an offer to be deported to another democratic country, but Karim decided to fight for the right to stay in the US. Judge D.D. Sitgraves initially found Karim deportable based on the secret evidence, but in a stunning turnabout, the judge completely reversed her earlier position. The judge found that the government’s claims were ill-founded ad that the investigating FBI agents were not sufficiently knowledgeable about Iraq. 
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The INS is expediting all I-360 and I-485 cases for religious worker cases to head off the September 30, 2000 expiration date for certain religious worker green card categories.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association is advising its members to follow INS Service Center expedite rules for these cases. 
 
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.