As of August 19, the public can obtain passport information by calling a toll-free telephone number operated by the National Passport Information Center. According to a Department of State media note, the NPIC moved from a 1-900 fee-based-service to the free line as the result of a contract between the agency and communications company AT&T. The new general number is 1-877-4USA-PPT, and live operators are available weekdays 8am to 8pm, Eastern Time. Anyone who calls the old 900 number will be forwarded to the toll-free number at no charge. The NPIC has also added e-mail access and can be contacted at npic@state.gov

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The Department Of Justice has announced the award of $675,000 in grants to eleven nonprofit organizations in order to conduct immigration-related job discrimination public educational programs for workers and employers. The grants, ranging from individual awards of $40,000 to $85,000, will fund seminars, allow for the distribution of educational materials in various languages and assist victims of immigration-related discrimination. Those groups receiving the grants include: New York City Commission on Human Rights, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, International Rescue Committee, Catholic Charities of Dallas, Catholic Charities of Houston, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Department of Human Rights, Catholic Charities of St. Petersburg, Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Hogar Hispano / Catholic Charities of Arlington, and the National Immigration Law Center.

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The Naturalizations chapter of the forthcoming 2002 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics (formerly the Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service) was released this week. The Yearbook defines naturalization as the term that “refers to the conferring of U.S. citizenship, by any means, upon a person after birth.”

According to the data, the INS naturalized 573,708 persons in fiscal year 2002, a six percent drop from the previous year. The number of applications received increased between the two years, but the chapter cautions that the application backlog and related workflow issues might obscure the trend in application approval percentage.

Mexico was the leading country of birth of persons naturalizing in 2002, followed by Vietnam, India, China, the Philippines, Korea, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Poland and Ukraine. Together, the top ten countries represented 49 percent of new citizens in 2002.

The top destinations were California, at 26% of persons naturalizing in 2002, followed by New York with 16%. Other top states of residence included Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey.

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The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Business Liaison released several employer information bulletins this week, including:

• A bulletin on Aliens with Extraordinary Ability (O-1) and the Accompanying/Assisting Aliens (O-2) including standards for O-1 and O-2 classification, which can be found online at: http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/services/employerinfo/EIB15.pdf
• A bulletin on employment under NAFTA including general information, TN admissions procedure, and schedule 2 professions, online at: http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/services/employerinfo/EIB11.pdf
• A bulletin on temporary religious workers, including eligibility, standards, and procedural requirements, online at: http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/services/employerinfo/EIB18.pdf