NEWS BYTES On occasion we publish notices from reporters looking for sources for their work. This week we have received such a notice, as follows:
A newspaper reporter is seeking interview subjects who have experienced abuse or been cheated by employers or bodyshops while working with an H-1B visa. You can be anonymous if necessary. Please e-mail reporter-inquiry@visalaw.com as soon as possible if you're interested.
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Lenny Krayzelburg will be swimming for the US in the Sydney Olympics over the next week. He is the world record-holder in the 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke. He is also a US citizen who came to this country in 1989 as a refugee from Ukraine. He and his family were beneficiaries of the Lautenberg Amendment, a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that makes it easier for Jews and other religious minorities in the former Soviet Union to obtain refugee status in the US. He became a citizen in 1995.
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Effective September 8, 2000, the State Department will be requiring advance payment of the visa issuance fee at ten consulates. Te consulates are: Bogota, Ciudad Juarez, Freetown, Georgetown, Guangzhou, Manila, Montreal, Port au Prince, Santo Domingo, and Tirana. For cases in which visas are to be issued at these consulates, a notice requiring payment of the fee will be issued with the Packet 3, and the payment must be received before an interview will be scheduled.
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Problems continue to plague the Krome Detention Center in Miami. Just after a guard was charged with rape of a detainee, a supervisor at the center has been charged with taking a $1000 bribe.
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An immigration attorney in Miami has pled guilty to charges of fraud in preparing immigration applications. According to the US Attorney’s Office, Avi Carmel misrepresented clients’ work experience and falsified information about potential employers. According to prosecutors, the clients were not aware of the fraud, and were themselves conned into believing they had valid applications. Carmel faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He has also surrendered his license to practice law.
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David Jewell Jones, a Little Rock, Arkansas businessman, and four others will again face charges for allegedly importing two women from China for sexual purposes. A trial earlier this summer resulted in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Charges have been resubmitted to a grand jury and a new indictment issued. The new charges do not include any allegation of rape, which many believe was what prevented the government from being successful in its first prosecution. The new charges also leave out counts of falsifying visa applications and obstruction of justice.
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The number of foreign nationals in federal custody has reached a 60-year high, according to statistics recently released by the INS. On an average day, the INS has more than 20,000 people in detention. This is the highest number of foreign-born people in federal government custody since World War II, when the government detained nationals of the Axis nations, including over 100,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans.
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A study by the Fund for Immigrants and Refugees, a Chicago-based assistance organization, indicates that immigrants are increasingly settling in the city’s suburbs rather than the inner-city. Along with showing a shift in where immigrants settle, the study also reveals substantial differences within the immigrant community. Both wealthy and impoverished immigrants have headed to the Chicago suburbs, creating an unusual suburban mix. The social service infrastructure that welcomes immigrants in cities has not yet been developed in the suburbs, and groups have had difficulty raising money to provide services to immigrants in the suburbs. The Fund for Immigrants and Refugees hopes that this study will make that easier by increasing awareness of the presence and needs of immigrants in the suburbs.
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Hispanic advocacy organizations are planning a march on Washington to urge Congress create an amnesty for two million undocumented immigrants living and working in the US. The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty, an umbrella organization representing hundreds of other groups, hopes that the demonstration, scheduled for October 16, makes an impact not only with Congress but also with the public at large. Undocumented immigrants are extremely vulnerable to discrimination and abuse because fear of deportation keeps many from reporting crimes committed against them. Because this is an election year, it is unlikely that any amnesty legislation will be passed. However, there is growing pressure for Congress to address the issue, so we many see serious debate on the amnesty issue following the elections.
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On Sunday, September 17, a made for TV movie about the Elian Gonzalez custody battle will air. According to representatives of the Miami family, the movie is wildly inaccurate, in particular in its depiction of the raid in which INS agents took Elian from his Miami relatives to reunite him with his father. The movie apparently depicts agents as politely asking to be let into the house. Attorney Greg Craig, who represented Elian’s father, said the scene showing the reunion between Elian and his father was also inaccurate. Neither side was consulted about the movie. In related news, even though Elian has been in Cuba since June, the Miami relatives are still fighting the custody battle. They recently filed an appeal of the state court decision denying them temporary custody of Elian.
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As the federal investigation into allegations of corruption and sexual abuse at the Krome Detention Center in Miami continues, one of a dozen officers implicated has resigned. While Michael Uzzell has not been charged, a former guard at Krome who recently resigned made filed many complaints alleging that Uzzell was engaged in illegal activities, including theft, destruction of files, and trying to organize a Ponzi scheme.
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The District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, has charged two men with defrauding hundreds of immigrants. Stephen Andrews and Andre Mason are alleged to have organized a phony church, the Faith Dynamics Center, and promised immigrants that for donations, they would be able to obtain special religious worker green cards. The victims were charged $1000 to enroll in a training program, and were also required to buy “fund raising” tickets, and pay tithes to the church. The church filed 473 applications for religious worker immigrant visas between 1997 and 1999.
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The husband of Gloria Steinem, the famous feminist activist, is facing deportation for overstaying his visa. David Bale’s deportation hearing is not until next February, at which point he and Steinem will have been married for almost six months. Many were surprised at the recent marriage, as Steinem has long maintained that she would never marry. Because of the marriage, Bale, a citizen of South Africa, will probably be able to avoid deportation. < Back | Next > 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. |
