An American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) press release has announced a warning regarding a fraudulent email.  The email, claiming to be sent by the U.S. Department of State, says that "you have been selected as one of the lucky winners" of the DV visa lottery.  The email requests payment of $749 for individuals and $949 for families.  AILA is warning the public that the sender is trying to steal money and that no one will obtain a visa from it.  

AILA further confirms that a genuine notification of the DV lottery selection process will only come to visa hopefuls by normal postal mail.  It will include a packet of forms to be completed, and it will not ask you for money.  A copy of the fake email can be seen at http://www.aila.org/content/fileviewer.aspx?docid=20311&linkid=150072 

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Eighty-two immigrant guest workers from Bolivia , Peru and the Dominican Republic have filed a federal lawsuit against a major hotel group in New Orleans .  The workers claim that they were recruited with false promises of good wages, and instead were left with massive debt for their visas, recruitment fees and their travels.  The suit specifically seeks payment of double the worker’s visa, travel and recruitment expenses as reimbursement and penalty.  

The immigrants came to United States shortly after Hurricane Katrina, according to the Washington Post.  Decatur Hotels LLC, owner of 15 hotels in the historic New Orleans area, hired the immigrants to work in maintenance, housekeeping and other services.  

All 82 guest workers came to the U.S. on H-2B visas that require employers to confirm that they cannot find U.S. workers to fill the jobs.  A copy of an H-2B application form filed by a Decatur Hotels states that the company was unable to find U.S. workers, and that local students could not work the 40 hour/week schedule that the company demanded.  

"I think I am coming here for an opportunity, but instead I am having the most worst living nightmare," said Luis Lopez, In Dominican Republic, Lopez worked at an architecture firm.  He signed with Decatur after hearing about the opportunity from a friend.  He borrowed money from a bank and family members to pay for the recruitment fees, and travel.  

Lopez arrived in April and began working 40-hour weeks.  His hours began to dwindle and he has not worked for several weeks.  According to Lopez, his last two-week paycheck was for $18.  He now lives with three other immigrant workers in a Decatur hotel in which he pays $50 a week.  "I would not have come if I had known the truth," he said.  

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A USCIS press release has announced an establishment of a new Records Digitization Facility (RDF).  The first phase of the RDF project will be the digitization of over one million USCIS alien files; USCIS plans to use the digitized files to begin the transformation of its business processes.  The digitization project has been funded by Congress, with an allotment of one million dollars annually.  

USCIS outsourced the project to Datatrac Information Services Inc., which is contracted to digitize USCIS’ A-Files.  The company will provide document scanning, electronic records management, and data transmission into the USCIS document management environment.  

USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez called the program "a major step toward USCIS’ ongoing electronic record-keeping reengineering effort and is a key component of continued USCIS business systems transformation."  Gonzales believes the digitization "will increase efficiency, provide our customers with timely service they deserve, and simultaneously enhance our national security capabilities and protections against fraud and illegal activity."  

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The Washington Times reports this week on the Bush Administration’s announcement of a change in immigration policy toward Cuba to encourage Cubans to stay and work for democracy rather than migrate to the United States . The policy is also designed to punish the current oppressive regime in Cuba . This change will open up more slots for Cubans looking to reunite with family members already in the United States , but reduce those given by discretionary lottery. The new policy will also punish those who attempt illegal immigration by establishing a list of Cubans interdicted at sea and making them ineligible for the new benefits.  

The Bush administration is also looking to pinch Cuba ’s medical system, a source of international prestige for the communist regime. Under the new rules, medical personnel assigned by Cuba to study or work in a third country will be allowed to enter the United States instead.