 NEWS BYTES
This week the INS informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association that as of May 23, 2001, applications for 117,000 H-1B visas had been approved this fiscal year. Another 40,000 applications that are subject to the annual cap of 195,000 were still pending.
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Charles Oppenheim of the State Department has informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association that it is likely that the “other worker” subcategory of the employment-based third preference will become current in July. The category has seen rapid advances in the past few months. However, once the date becomes current, the State Department warns, it will likely be in great demand again, which will cause a significant retrogression in the priority date, most likely early next year. Mr. Oppenheim also said that it is likely that the employment-based third preference for India and China will become current in July.
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During a recent conference call with members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, representatives of the Vermont Service Center said that they have about 200,000 pieces of mail waiting initial processing. This significant frontlog is due in large part to the recent expiration of section 245(i). Many people report that they have not even received receipt notices for cases filed in early April. To address the problem, the Center is using overtime staff, plus 70 regular employees to open and sort the mail. In the meanwhile, the only applications that are being adjudicated are applications for Temporary Protected Status and applications filed on Form I-129.
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The State Department was due to issue a report on the trafficking of human beings this week, but late last week it was announced that the report would be delayed. The report was called for by the Victims of Trafficking Act, enacted late last year. It is expected to be released sometime this month. Some activists say that the new Bush administration has delayed the report because it was to form the basis for sanctions on countries that allow trafficking, some of which may be US allies.
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The city of San Francisco is taking steps to offer universal health care to all children in the city, regardless of their immigration status. The mayor, Willie Brown, has requested million for such a program, and while it must be approved by the city’s Board of Supervisors, they have already indicated their support for it. The program would cover children who are not covered by current federal and state programs, and would be focused on immigrant children.
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Two Vietnamese women who had been working in garment factories in the US territory of American Samoa are now working in a hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The factory where they worked was shut down after the owner declared bankruptcy. The owner was also charged with forced labor and keeping workers in a condition of involuntary servitude. About 140 of the workers were allowed into the US in case they are needed as witnesses in the case against their former employer. Many of the women are expected to apply for special visas that allow victims of trafficking to obtain permanent residency.
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A judge in Florida has issued a court order to prevent the deportation of a local woman. After reading about the case of Rita Couch, Judge Jerry Lockett issued the order. Couch applied for permanent residency through her husband, a US citizen, nearly four years ago. The case has not yet been approved because the INS questions the validity of the termination of her previous marriage. Adding to the difficulty is that the INS has never told her what documents it would require to prove the validity of the divorce. Couch has even filed for divorce again, with Judge Lockett presiding over the case. The judge has described the INS’s position as “fundamentally wrong,” prompting him to issue an order that attempts to prohibit the INS from beginning deportation proceedings without clearing it with him first. Despite the judge’s actions, it is doubtful that the order will have any impact on the INS’s actions.
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A man arrested on charges of holding 74 undocumented immigrants hostage while waiting for them to pay smuggling fees will be deported instead of prosecuted in the US. While the INS asked for the man to be prosecuted, US attorneys determined that there was not sufficient evidence to do so.
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A federal judge has refused to return a three-year-old Thai boy to Thailand, saying that it would be impossible for him to receive adequate medical treatment. The boy, Phanupong Khaisri, has AIDS. The boy’s paternal grandparents had requested that he be returned to Thailand. The INS has denied an asylum application filed on Khaisri’s behalf, but the federal judge said he does not believe that the boy received a fair hearing, because his application was never heard by an immigration judge.
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The American Federation of State, City and Municipal Employees Local 171, in Madison, Wisconsin, is supporting a group of 25 custodial workers in their complaint that they were unfairly targeted by the University of Wisconsin in a review of the immigration status of its workers because they had Hispanic last names. According to the union, the workers, all of whom were either fired or quit because of the review, have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that they were discriminated against because of their ethnicity. The University has admitted that it made an error in conducting the immigration review. The University was attempting to return overpaid union dues to a worker when it was discovered that the address listed did not exist. This prompted a check of the worker’s Social Security number, which was found to not be a valid number. This prompted an employee to check the numbers of other workers, all of whom had Hispanic names. While the University admits it made errors, it has refused to settle the complaint because it says that there was no racial discrimination.
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