Dear Readers: 

Wednesday we sent you an emergency newsletter regarding a welcome and long-awaited new regulation from the INS. Despite the typical grumbling that you typically see in this column as well as in other places that I write, I do sometimes have some nice things to say about the Immigration and Naturalization Service. And this week I have some very nice things to say. The regulation I am referring to is a new rule that allows employment-based green card applicants to now concurrently file I-140 petitions and I-485 adjustment of status applications. By combining the two steps into one, applicants can now look forward to faster processing and, importantly, their spouses and kids can get work authorization and travel documentation much faster. Green card applicants will also have less stress to deal with when it comes to non-immigrant visas expiring before they are eligible to apply for adjustment of status. The INS is to be commended for implementing this common sense rule that will keep families united and save taxpayers serious money by making this application process much more efficient.  

The new rule, when combined with the new age out rules we discussed last week should help to drop down a notch or two the overall stress that comes with immigration processing in the United States. As immigration lawyers, it seems that half of our work involves careful timing and, regrettably, dealing with the fact that much of this timing is out of our control. Of course, there are still many mysteries with respect to both the age out and the concurrent filing changes and we'll be bringing you news as we learn more. 

In this week's ABCs of Immigration article, we present again our summary of the new concurrent filing rule. We have expanded it a bit, however, in response to reader questions. One basic question we did not answer is when the rule became effective. We're happy to report that it became effective on July 31st. 

We wish we could have reported that the State 30 Bill for J-1 doctors had passed the Senate. That bill was very close to being called for a vote on the Senate floor this week. Unfortunately, it did not make it and now will have to wait until Congress returns from its regular summer recess in September.  

We also are pleased to present a guest article this week from Mariana Esparza, a lawyer with our affiliate firm in Mexico. Mariano is an expert on Mexican immigration law and gives a brief overview of business visa rules for Mexico. Also this week we present an expanded version of our Ask Visalaw.com column. Keep the questions coming! 

In firm news, a phone company glitch is causing problems with one of our 800 telephone numbers. The number 800-748-3819 is temporarily not working. We're told it will take another few days for that number to return to normal. In the mean time, please call us on 800-343-4890. Our apologies go out to anyone having trouble reaching us. 

As we note each week, there are various ways you can communicate with us if you have questions:  

- email at gsiskind@visalaw.com 

- if you need a telephone or in person consultation go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html or call 800-748-3819 or 901-737-3194  and request an appointment 

- online individual chats (go to http://www.visalaw.com/chatlive.htm) 

- weekly group chats at Monster.com 

Many people also do not realize that our law firm is typically capable of handling immigration matters anywhere in North America so please don't assume that just because we don't have an office in your home town we can't handle your work.

Hope you have a great weekend,

Greg Siskind