We've posted the latest processing times for the Vermont and California Service Centers and National Benefits Center in Missouri. 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: Assignment of Social Security Numbers
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border and Enforcement News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. State Department Visa Bulletin
11. Green Cards Get a New Look
12. Government Releases FY 2005 H-2B Usage Numbers
13. Hispanic Votes in Presidential Election Analyzed
14. USCIS Chief Counsel Memo Regarding NSEERS Gives Hope
15. Cuban Performance Troupe Wants Asylum
16. USCIS Address Change for Certain Immigration Filings

Attorney Greg Siskind and Siskind Susser staff member Gilda Bollwerk co-authored an article in the November 28 issue of La Prensa Latina that gives a brief overview of different aspects of the United States Immigration System (en Espanol). Click here to read it.

The latest weekly issue of Siskind's Immigration Professional is now online. Click here to read it.

Attorney Greg Siskind was quoted in a November 29 article of AHA News, the bi-weekly publication of the American Hospital Association, about the effect visa caps have on nurse staffing: "The recruitment of foreign nurses to the U.S. will be dramatically curtailed as health care employers no longer view this as a viable approach to addressing the shortage of RNs in this country." Click here to get to the article.

Here's the table of contents for the special legislative issue of Siskind's Immigration Bulletin. Click here to get to any of the articles.

1. Openers
2. Congress Passes Major J-1 Physician Bill
3. US Congress Fails 9/11 Intelligence Reform Legislation
4. Congress Passes H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Law; More H-1B Visas on the Way

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

This afternoon, the US House of Representatives unanimously approved S. 2302, a bill which extends the Conrad 30 J-1 physician waiver program. The Senate has already passed the bill and the legislation now goes to President Bush for an expected signature. The program allows each state in the US to sponsor up to 30 foreign physicians per year who train in the US to remain in this country. J-1 physicians are normally required to return to their home countries for two years following their training. Under the Conrad program, states can sponsor physicians for a waiver of this requirement in exchange for the physician agreeing to work three years in a medically underserved area. The program began its sunset on June 1, 2004. S.2302 will extend this date by two more years.

The bill also makes several significant changes to other aspects of the state and federal J-1 waiver programs:

- State and Federal agency waiver applicants will be exempt from the H-1B numerical cap.

- Each state will be able to have the flexibility to use five waivers per year for applicants taking jobs outside of federally designated medical shortage areas IF they can demonstrate that they will actually be serving people who live in shortage areas.

- Both State and Federal agencies can sponsor specialists (only state agencies and the Veterans Administration can do so now).

The bill will pave the way for many more specialists to work around the country. The Delta Regional Authority is expected to be the first Federal agency to take advantage of the new law and the agency intends to begin sponsoring specialist cases as soon as President Bush signs the legislation. The expansion of the H-1B cap exemption to federal waivers is also important since the H-1B cap has been reached and Federal waiver programs have been hampered by not being able to offer physicians the ability to actually work in their sponsoring communities.

Last week we reported on the effects of the election on the immigration debate. One of the developments we reported was the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft. We now know that Ashcroft will be replaced by Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez is not an immigrant, nor the child of immigrants. His grandparents were from Mexico. But his parents were migrant workers in Texas and certainly Gonzalez’s heritage is likely to give him more perspective on the Latino immigrant experience in America. On the other hand, Gonzalez is already being criticized by many for his role in the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. Gonzalez signed off on a memo that indicated that the Geneva Convention was inapplicable. Gonzalez really has not been in a position to develop a record on immigration issues so we’ll likely need to hear more about his opinions during confirmation hearings to be able to form a meaningful opinion.

*****

Last week we also discussed the prospects for Bush’s immigration plan which was briefly mentioned by the President earlier this year then promptly dropped when it became clear it would not help him politically. The plan looks like it may have some life, however. Last week we reported that officials in the Mexican government as well as Senator Kay Hutchinson, a close Bush ally, were discussing getting the plan moving. This week, Secretary of State Colin Powell again indicated that the President would like to get the plan moving again.

We still don’t know what the plan will specifically include and what the President’s strategy is for getting it through Congress. But the fact that Administration officials are talking about it again is good news.

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

1. Openers
2. The ABC’s of Immigration: First Preference Employment Based Immigration - Outstanding Professors and Researchers
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border and Enforcement News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. Powell Says Bush Administration is Ready to Change Current Immigration Laws
11. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Immigrant in DUI
12. Quarterly USCIS Report Shows Significant Backlog Improvements in Third Quarter
13.9/11 Bill: Anti-Immigrant Provisions Blocking Intelligence Reform
14. GAO Examines the Progress of Incorporating Immigration Enforcement Within DHS

We've posted the State Department Visa Bulletin for December 2004. Click here to see 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 November's Visalaw.com Healthcare Newsletter. Click here to get to any of the articles.

1. Openers
2. Ask Visalaw.com for Healthcare Workers
3. Health Care News Bytes
4. Minority Groups Oppose Proposed Bush Rules on Health Care for Immigrants
5. Canadian and Mexican Foreign Health Care Workers Given One-Year Extension From Certification Deadline
6. Analysis: A Guide to Federal Health Professional Shortage Area Designations
7. Congress on Verge of Passing Major Physician Immigration Bill
8. H-1B Cap Affects Health Care Sector
9. EB-3 Green Card Rollback Expected to Harm Foreign Nurse Market
10. Chart Of Pharmacist Licensing Requirements By State
11. State 30 Physician Waiver Chart
12. Physician Job Center

Attorney Greg Siskind and Siskind Susser staff member Gilda Bollwerk co-authored an article in the November 14 issue of La Prensa Latina that gives a brief overview of different aspects of the United States Immigration System (en Espanol). Click here to read it.

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

Now that the US presidential election has ended, questions are naturally arising over what the results mean for US immigration policy. As we have for every major election over the last ten years, we provide readers with our wrap up of the election. What will happen to Bush’s immigration plan? Who will the leaders be in Congress on immigration policies? What new referenda will affect immigrants? We’ll answer these questions and more this week.

*****

In firm news, I was informed this afternoon that I have been selected again this year as one of the 101 best lawyers in my home state of Tennessee by Business Tennessee Magazine.

*****

Siskind Susser partner Lynn Susser, Chair of the Midsouth Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, will preside over the chapter’s annual meeting this weekend in New Orleans. Registration information can be found at www.aila.org.

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: First Preference Employment Based Immigration - Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border and Enforcement News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. Guest Column - The Lawyer’s Guide to 212(a)(5)(A): Labor Certification From 1952 to PERM, by Gary Endelman
11. Election Wrap-up
12. Proposition 200 to be Reviewed by the US Justice Department
13. Unmanned Ariel Vehicle Program Evaluated
14. Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and Nicaragua Extended for 18-Months

Attorney Greg Siskind and Siskind Susser staff member Gilda Bollwerk co-authored an article in the November 7 issue of La Prensa Latina that gives a brief overview of different aspects of the United States Immigration System (en Espanol). Click here to read it.

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

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

Tuesday most of us here at Siskind Susser’s Memphis office will be out of the office all day. Election Day is not a holiday in the US and voters need to take time off of work.

At our firm, we’re trying something new this year that is fairly unusual for an employer. The partners at the firm have decided that any employee who wants may take the day off from work and be paid if they are doing work related to the election. Whether it is helping to give people rides to the polls, making phone calls to get out the vote, working as a volunteer poll watcher or any other similar activity, our lawyers and support staff are being encouraged to get involved. We’re also allowing anyone who wants to vote during work hours to take off time during the day without penalty.

By the way, we have both Democrats and Republicans in our firm and all are welcome to work for whichever side with which they agree.

*****

Next week the election will (hopefully) be behind us and we can begin to analyze the meaning. What will the makeup of Congress look like? If President Bush wins, what will a second term look like? If Senator Kerry wins, what changes can we expect in immigration policy?

*****
Nearly 3,000,000 new Americans were sworn in as citizens since the last Presidential election. Many readers of this newsletter are part of this group and we urge you to exercise your right to vote. I have seen data suggesting that new Americans don’t vote in the same ratio as seasoned Americans. I hope that I can report next week that this is no longer the case.

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: Children
3. Ask Visalaw.com
4. Border and Enforcement News
5. News From The Courts
6. Government Processing Times
7. News Bytes
8. International Roundup
9. Legislative Update
10. Campaign 2004
11. US Fingerprinting System and Border Control Evaluated
12. CRS Released Report on Visa Waiver Program

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

Attorney Greg Siskind and Siskind Susser staff member Gilda Bollwerk co-authored an article in the October 31 issue of La Prensa Latina offering tips on what to do if your case was handled incorrectly by an immigration lawyer (en Espa?ol). Click here to read it.

09/2003
10/2003
11/2003
01/2004
02/2004
03/2004
04/2004
05/2004
06/2004
07/2004
08/2004
09/2004
10/2004
11/2004
12/2004
01/2005
02/2005
04/2005
05/2005
06/2005
08/2005
09/2005
10/2005
11/2005
12/2005
01/2006
02/2006
03/2006
04/2006
05/2006
06/2006
07/2006
08/2006
09/2006
10/2006
11/2006
12/2006
01/2007
02/2007
03/2007
04/2007
05/2007
06/2007
07/2007
09/2007
10/2007
11/2007
01/2008
02/2008
03/2008
06/2008
01/2009