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NEWS  BYTES
The two-week pause in processing H-1B cap cases ended this week, according to the Director of INS Service Center Operations.  The Service Centers are being told to process cases with filing dates up to February 18, 2000.  This limit on processing is being imposed so that the California and Vermont Service Centers can catch up with the Texas and Nebraska Service Centers, which were processing cases filed on that date when the pause was instituted. 
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The INS has told the American Immigration Lawyers Association that the revised Form I-9, used to verify a person’s authorization to work in the US, will not be finalized for many more months.  A revised version of the form was released of comments on February 2, 1998.  The INS hopes to have the new version in use by August 30, 2000, but sources within the INS say the release of the new form will probably not occur that soon. 
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Last weekend the marchers protesting the seizure of Elian Gonzalez were not the only people marching for an immigration-related cause.  About 2000 people marched in Dallas to call for the passage of legislation that would change the registry date, effectively granting amnesty to many long-term undocumented residents.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
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The INS has stated that it will not seek to reinstate deportation orders against people who have registered for benefits under the ABC class action settlement, even though it believes that such action would be authorized by law.  While the INS states that it could reinstate deportation orders, it says it is not doing so now in order to more closely examine the legal issues involved.  
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This week AILA reported that the Philadelphia LCA faxback system has been working sporadically.  The Department of Labor has said that faxes to this office should be sent to 1800-397-0478.  The Department says that shortly all faxes will be sent to this number and divided equally between Philadelphia and San Francisco.  As of now, however, those on the west coast should continue to use the current number. 
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At a recent speech in San Diego, Pat Buchanan, the former political commentator who is seeking the presidential nomination of the Reform Party, said that illegal immigration is turning the southwest into a battle zone, and claimed that it would eventually lead to Mexican efforts to reclaim the region from the US.  Buchanan said that if elected he would halt all undocumented migration by building fences along the Mexican border, and using the military to assist the Border Patrol. 
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An immigration inspector at the San Francisco International Airport has been indicted for bribery, attempted fraud and misuse of visas, and theft of public property.  According to prosecutors, the inspector offered to sell immigration stamps to wealthy Filipino nationals for 0,000.  If convicted he faces up to 45 years in prison and a fine of 0,000. 
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May 1st was the deadline for refugees from Kosovo who came to the US during the United Nations bombing of the region to decide whether they want to return to Kosovo and have the government pay for their trip home.  The flights to Kosovo will continue until June 15 to allow children to finish the school year.  Those who have not decided by May 1 can still return, but they must repay the government for the expense of flying them to the US, about 00 a person.  So far, of the 11,200 Kosovars who sought refuge in the US, about one-third have already returned, and 650 signed up for the free return flight.  About 3000 people are not eligible for the return flight because they arrived in the US after the official evacuation period was over. 
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Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced this week that an immigrant visa application processing center will be constructed in Williamsburg, Kentucky.  The center will be dedicated to processing applications in the diversity visa lottery.  
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This week the Office of Refugee Resettlement published its proposed allocation of funds to the states for refugee social services.  Among other things, the proposed funding includes a .5 million set-aside to provide outreach and referral services to ensure that eligible refugees access the State Children's Health Insurance Program and other programs for low income working populations and to provide specialized interpreter training and the hiring of interpreters to enable refugees to have equal access to medical and legal services. 
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After years of effort and waiting, Moroccan-born marathoner Khalid Khannouchi has become a US citizen.  Now that he is a citizen, he is able to fulfill his dream of running the marathon in the Olympics for the US team.  Citizenship came just in time for Khannouchi – a race that counts toward getting on the team takes place this weekend.  Khannouchi is the marathon world-record holder, setting a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 42 seconds in the Chicago Marathon last October.  
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The Visa Waiver Pilot Program, which allows foreign nationals of certain countries to enter the US as tourists or business visitors without a visa, expired on April 30, 2000.  Legislation which would make the program permanent is pending in Congress, and is expected to pass.  In the meanwhile, the INS has developed a method of dealing with entries by those who would be eligible for the VWPP during the interim.  During the month of May these people will be paroled into the US for a period of 90 days.  Entrants will still complete Form I-94W, on which the parole stamp will be placed. 
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Last year, the INS deported a man to Guyana who then claimed to be a US citizen.  When the Guyanese government confirmed his assertion that he was not from Guyana, the INS took him back to the US.  The man who called himself Edgar Gibbons, who authorities believe is really James Dean Collins, has now been indicted for falsifying his identity. 
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The INS is preparing to announce its plan to eliminate an INS Border Patrol office in northern California.  According to an INS spokesperson, the closure would be part of the agency’s enforcement strategy of concentrating resources at the border.  The responsibilities of the Border Patrol agents would be taken over by INS officers from area district offices.  The union representing Border Patrol agents is opposed to the move, and is seeking to prevent it.  The staffing at the office has significantly decreased over the past decade, from a high of 78 agents in 1988 to a current level of only 18 agents. 
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Twenty-six immigrants in detention at the Passaic County Jail in Paterson, New Jersey, have filed suit against the INS, claiming that they are being kept in “inhumane and subhuman conditions.”  The detainees claim the jail is overcrowded, that they are not given proper medical care, access to international calls, or medical treatment.  According to representatives of the jail, the New Jersey State Department of Corrections gave the facility a perfect score on their last annual inspection, earlier this month.  Last year the country received .1 million for housing INS detainees.