September 11th has come and gone. Most of us have been reflecting on the anniversary and I doubt I can say anything profound that has not been repeated over and over again. But the anniversary does provide an opportunity for us to review the changes in our immigration system that have resulted from the terrorist attacks.  This week we include a guest article from my friend Bruce Hake on immigration law changes since September 11, 2001. Bruce, a top immigration lawyer in Maryland, aptly summarizes a range of changes that seem to affect just about every immigrant in one way or another.

There are still changes happening that are tied to September 11th. One major piece of news this week is the announcement of new “special registration” rules for nationals of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan as well as other people that consular officers or immigration inspectors designate. This new system requires that people entering from those countries on non-immigrant visas be fingerprinted and periodically show up at INS offices around the country to check in. We explain how the system will work in this week’s ABCs of Immigration feature.

Next week, we will be covering a new rule that came out this week that changes the way schools will issue documentation to students for them to apply for visas at US consulates. We’ll also cover a new GAO report recommending that the INS change the way it handles issuing H-1B visas for people working in the high tech arena when such work involves “sensitive” technologies regulated by the US Department of Commerce.

Congress is back in session. One key issue we are watching is S. 2674, a bill that would extend the Conrad 20 J-1 waiver program for physicians working in medically underserved areas. This week we include an article from an organization lobbying for the bill. Our law firm is strongly in favor of this legislation and we urge readers to consider following the lead of the National Health Care Access Coalition and contact their US Senators to urge passage of the bill.

In firm news, this week I was quoted in an article in the Oregonian newspaper in Portland discussing the ongoing troubles at the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The article is authored by Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Read. Many of you may recall the superb story on the INS that earned Mr. Read the Pulitzer Prize last year. You can find the article linked on our site at www.visalaw.com/news.

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Kind regards,

Greg Siskind