Dear Readers:

I promise you that John Ashcroft is not getting kickbacks from suddenly very busy immigration lawyers. But from the amount of new work immigration lawyers are suddenly getting as a result of the rapid expansion of the NSEERS Special Registration program, you might just wonder. This week the INS added five new countries to the list - Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Jordan. Citizens and nationals of those countries will have to present themselves soon at local INS offices or face a host of bad consequences.

You might also think that the INS has a secret source of funding since their drive to place an untold number (probably in the thousands) - of people into deportation proceedings as a result of Special Register will dramatically increase the workload of the Immigration Courts. If you are an immigrant and a criminal, you're probably a lot less likely to get deported in a hurry now that the INS is focused on this new group.

Special Registration is also having the same affect that 245i had on marriages. Many people who previously had not hurried into marrying their significant others are now hurrying up so that they can file their papers and get their adjustment applications filed before going in for Special Registration. The same is true for asylum applications and other types of petitions. Immigration lawyers often have to prompt their clients over and over again to get the documentation needed to file a case (clients sometimes say the same about their lawyers). Suddenly, it is dawning on everyone, lawyers and clients alike, that time is of the essence once Special Registration comes around.

Within the next several months, the rest of the world's countries will be included and this will become our normal operating mode. Immigration lawyers will be a lot busier and INS waits for immigration benefits will probably be a lot slower. Oh, and did I mention that the INS is going to go out of existence this year and be replaced by two new government agencies in the new Department of Homeland Security? Wait until you see what that massive reorganization is going to do.

If you love chaos, you're going to love 2003.

In firm news, I received an interesting honor this week. Nashville Post Magazine, that city's major business magazine, named me as one of the city's top 100 lawyers and the only immigration lawyer on the list. What surprised me even more when I heard about this is that I only commute into Nashville from Memphis, where I make my residence. The list is based on the magazine's extensive survey of local lawyers, so I consider making the list a nice feather in my cap. We'll get that article in our newsroom on the web site shortly. Firm lawyers have also been mentioned in several other news stories recently. You can find them on our site at www.visalaw.com/news/.

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