Here's the table of contents for this week's Siskind's Immigration Bulletin. Click here to get to any of the articles.

1. Openers
2. The ABC's Of Immigration: Family Based Immigration Overview
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. Memo Offers Guidance on Adjudication of L-1Bs for Chefs and Specialty Cooks
11. House of Representatives Removed Provision on Matr?cula Consular Identification Card
12. Texas Attorney General Wins Case Against Notario Operation
13. GAO Suggests Guidance for Biometric Visa Program

We've posted the latest processing times for the Texas and Vermont Service Centers and the National Benefits Center in Missouri. Click here to see them.

I am writing this from Washington, D.C. instead of my office in Tennessee. I’m here again in the nation’s Capitol advocating on immigration issues. This time I’m here in my capacity as a Board Member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and will be joining fellow HIAS board members in meetings with USCIS, DOS, White House, Homeland Security and UNHCR officials. We’ll be discussing refugee admissions, religious worker visas, comprehensive immigration reform, the DREAM Act and other major issues.

On my second day in DC, I’ll be taking off my HIAS hat and going to Capitol Hill to discuss the pending J-1 physician bill. That bill would extend the Conrad 30 program and add make needed changes to the program. Hopefully, a bill will be passed by Congress in the coming weeks.

Over the last few years, I’ve gotten more involved in lobbying on immigration issues. Instead of just reacting to changes in the immigration system, I’m learning that it is possible to influence the debate. I used to be intimidated by the process, but the more involved I’ve gotten, the more I realize that it is not that tough and can actually be fun. Immigration lawyers reading this should really consider getting involved with AILA’s advocacy efforts. And for everyone else, there are plenty of other organizations that organize grassroots advocacy on immigration issues. Go to the American Immigration Lawyers Association web site at www.aila.org for information.

Attorney Greg Siskind wrote a chapter in a new book published by the American Bar Association. Mr. Siskind's chapter is entitled, "Building Credibility with a Do-It-Yourself Publishing Program." Click here to learn more about it.

The September 12 issue of La Prensa Latina included a picture of partners Lynn Susser, David Jones and paralegal Gilda Bollwerk representing Siskind Susser at Latino Memphis 2004. Click here to see it.

Attorney Greg Siskind and Siskind Susser staff member Gilda Bollwerk co-authored an article in the September 12 issue of La Prensa Latina outlining more factors to be aware of when hiring an immigration attorney (en Espanol). Click here to read it.

We've posted the latest processing times for the Nebraska Service Center. Click here to see them.

Here's the table of contents for this week's Siskind's Immigration Bulletin. Click here to get to any of the articles.

1. Openers
2. The ABC's Of Immigration: C Transit Visas and D Crewmember Visas
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. Campaign 2004
11. USCIS Announces FY 2005 H-1B Processing
12. Protected Status for 3,000 Sierra Leoneans Cancelled

Occasionally we make mistakes in this publication and I try and correct them when they’re discovered. I made one last week in this very column when I discussed the Republican Party’s position on immigration in connection with the drafting of its Convention Platform. The Republican National Committee posted an old version of the platform on its web site and did not indicate that this was not the new language (even though the Platform had already been adopted). I should have immediately caught this and I apologize.
For the record, here’s the updated language:

“Supporting Humane and Legal Immigration

The Republican Party supports reforming the immigration system to ensure that it is legal, safe, orderly and humane. It also supports measures to ensure that the immigration system is structured to address the needs of national security. America is a stronger and better nation because of the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants, and the Republican Party honors them. A growing economy requires a growing number of workers, and President Bush has proposed a new temporary worker program that applies when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs. This new program would allow workers who currently hold jobs to come out of the shadows and to participate legally in America’s economy. It would allow men and women who enter the program to apply for citizenship in the same manner as those who apply from outside the United States. There must be strong workplace enforcement with tough penalties against employees and employers who violate immigration laws. We oppose amnesty because it would have the effect of encouraging illegal immigration and would give an unfair advantage to those who have broken our laws.

To better ensure that immigrants enter the United States only through legal means that allow for verification of their identity, reconnaissance cameras, border patrol agents, and unmanned aerial flights have all been increased at the border. In addition, Border Patrol agents now have sweeping new powers to deport illegal aliens without having first to go through the cumbersome process of allowing the illegal alien to have a hearing before an immigration judge. We support these efforts to enforce the law while welcoming immigrants who enter America through legal avenues.”


This version of the platform contrasts sharply with the previous one. There are few details. The endorsement of the Bush plan is certainly encouraging, but the lack of specifics certainly supports the notion that the Republican Party is deeply divided on the immigration issue. The President is far closer to the middle on immigration issues than many vocal members of the Republican Party and the language finally adopted reflects that.

*****

A few weeks back reported that the H-1B quota for the new fiscal year, which starts October 1st, was already 2/3 of the way to being filled. In the last two weeks, another 5,000 cases have been filed and it is appearing that the quota will likely be filled by the end of October, just one month into the year. That is the earliest the H-1B quota will ever have been filled. Look for the H-1B cap to become a big issue AFTER the election when the pressure of politics will have eased and our Legislature and President will have a freer hand to make decisions that they deem necessary.

Attorney Greg Siskind and Siskind Susser staff member Gilda Bollwerk co-authored an article in the September 5 issue of La Prensa Latina outlining more factors to be aware of when hiring an immigration attorney (en Espanol). Click here to read it.

Here's the table of contents for this week's Siskind's Immigration Bulletin. Click here to get to any of the articles.

1. Openers
2. The ABC's Of Immigration: J-1 Visas - Establishing a J-1 Exchange Visitor Program
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. Republican Platform States Party’s Stance on Immigration
11. Report Outlines Effects of U.S. Immigration Policy on Foreign-Born Scientists and Engineering
12. Interim Rule Expands US-VISIT to Most Highly Trafficked Land Borders
13. Former Nazi’s US Citizenship Revoked

The Republican National Convention has just kicked off. Nearly all the attention has been placed on foreign policy issues, but immigration is an issue that is at least being discussed in the GOP platform, which was adopted today. Not surprisingly, delegates are deeply divided on immigration issues. There is a strong anti-immigrant wing of the Republican Party that was pushing for a strong rebuke to President Bush for supporting a sweeping immigration reform bill.

In the end, the platform still had a number of interesting items. Here is the immigration draft language ultimately adopted:

“We have reaped enormous human capital in the genius and talent and industry of those who have escaped nations captive to totalitarianism. Our country still attracts the best and brightest to invent here, create wealth here, improve the quality of life here. As a nation of immigrants, we welcome all new Americans who have entered lawfully and are prepared to follow our laws and provide for themselves and their families. In their search for a better life, they strengthen our economy, enrich our culture, and defend the nation in war and in peace. To ensure fairness for those wishing to reside in this country, and to meet the manpower needs of our expanding economy; a total overhaul of the immigration system is sorely needed.
The administration’s lax enforcement of our borders has led to tragic exploitation of smuggled immigrants, and untold suffering, at the hands of law-breakers. We call for harsh penalties against smugglers and those who provide fake documents. We oppose the creation of any national ID card.
Because free trade is the most powerful force for the kind of development that creates a middle class and offers opportunity at home, the long-term solution for illegal immigration is economic growth in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. In the short run, however, decisive action is needed. We therefore endorse the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform:

· Restore credibility to enforcement by devoting more resources both to border control and to internal operations.
· Reorganize family unification preferences to give priority to spouses and children, rather than extended family members.
· Emphasize needed skills in determining eligibility for admission.
· Overhaul the failed Labor Certification Program to end the huge delays in matching qualified workers with urgent work.
· Reform the Immigration and Naturalization Service by splitting its functions into two agencies, one focusing on enforcement and one exclusively devoted to service.

The education reforms we propose elsewhere in this platform will, over time, greatly increase the number of highly qualified workers in all sectors of the American economy. To meet immediate needs, however, we support increasing the number of H-1B visas to ensure high-tech workers in specialized positions, provided such workers do not pose a national security risk; and we will expand the H-2A program for the temporary agricultural workers so important to the nation’s farms.”
Some interesting items – an increase in H-1B and H-2A numbers, shifting family immigrant visa numbers toward spouses and kids and away from parents and siblings, and hits at developing a Canadian-like point system to target skilled immigrants. Curiously, the platform endorsed splitting the INS up, something that happened more than a year ago. And it pushed for overhauling the labor certification program, something that has been happening and will be finalized with the release of the PERM program in the next few months.
The strangest language seems to be criticism of the “administration’s lax enforcement of our borders.” That sounds like pretty blunt criticism of the leader of the President, something that is surprising for the central document of the party that the President leads.

Overall, my impression is that this platform can be considered a loss for the restrictionists in the Republican Party. While not as pro-immigration as the Democrats, this platform strikes a relatively positive tone and contains specific proposals that would improve the immigration system.

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