Dear Readers:

This is a sad week for the country's immigration lawyers. We lost one of our own in the savage bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad a few days ago. Arthur Helton was a renown immigration lawyer and humanitarian who truly devoted his life to his fellow man. He was in Baghdad meeting with UN officials regarding various issues of humanitarian concern surrounding the changes in that country of late.

I had the honor of knowing Arthur, though I wish I had gotten the chance to spend more time with him. He and I served at the same time as members of the American Bar Association's Coordinating Committee on Immigration Law. I represented the Young Lawyers Division on the ABA on that committee and Arthur represented the International Section. Arthur was asked to serve on that committee because of his tremendous experience in the field and the respect he deservedly received from all who knew him. I remember serving on that committee and sitting in awe of Arthur and some of the other legends of the immigration bar who also served the ABA in this capacity.

Over the last few days, accolades for Arthur's contributions have been coming from many immigration lawyers who knew him better. But for those of you who never met Arthur, we hope you will read our article this week on Arthur's career and take a moment to remember him.

In firm news, I remind readers that I will be moderating a series of immigration telephone seminars conducted by ILW.com. The series is entitled “Immigration for the Spirit, Body and Soul: Entertainers/Artists/Athletes, Chefs/Cooks/Hospitality Workers, and Religious Workers.” The first program will take place on August 27th and will cover sports and entertainment immigration. You can sign up for the program by going to www.ilw.com/lawyers/seminars/august2003.shtm.

I was also quoted this week in an article in the Washington Times on Social Security Administration mismatch letters. You can find the article linked at www.visalaw.com/news/washtimesaug242003.htm.

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.

Regards,

Greg Siskind