[A reader sent an interesting letter to us regarding unemployment insurance options for non-citizen workers. The following are his comments. Readers are always welcome to submit letters and we will publish them from time to time. Just email us at gsiskind@visalaw.com]

This is my experience going to the unemployment service today 05/03/2004 in Elizabeth, NJ:

The unemployment service sent me a mail requesting a copy of my social security and my Alien card in order to continuo my unemployment claims.

I went to the unemployment office today and I gave them my SS Card and my Travel Document. They said my travel document is not valid to claim unemployment. They said that I needed the employment card form INS. I told them that since I am Asylee I don't need to apply for EAD. All Asylee are automatically authorized to work in the USA. I told them this was the law and it was posted on the INS website. They said I was wrong and they didn't care. If I don't have my EAD they would stop my unemployment benefits. After arguing with them for while I gave them my EAD which luckily I had with me and it was not expired. If this had happened a month ago my EAD was expired because the new one I requested was taking to long to come to me.

At the end, the woman from the unemployment office said that I should apply for Citizenship to avoid all this problems. I said to her that I would be happy to apply for citizenship if there was not this big gap for adjust status for asylees. I could not apply for citizenship because I still don't have my greencard.

If you ever talk to anyone from INS or/and from the US Congress, tell them this is one more reason this limit of 10,000 greencard per year should be banished. All asylee people should get their greencard at least one year later after they were granted the asylum. I already had problems to renew my drive license, get my unemployment benefits, renew my EAD, renew my travel document and employers don't accept travel document as proof to work in the USA. I am not even counting the money I spend to renew all these documents every year.

Thanks

R. H.