A MESSSAGE FROM SISKIND, SUSSER, HAAS & CHANG

As I put this issue to rest, it is a few minutes after the final episode of Seinfeld, one of the all time most watched television shows in American history and the favorite of your editor. I only mention it here because I was pleasantly reminded of one very funny episode of the show that actually had an immigration theme. In the show, Jerry is asked by his neighbor Babu (also the proprietor of his favorite Pakistani restaurant), to keep an eye on his mail as he is waiting for a very important visa renewal notice from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Jerry has to leave town and asks Elaine to keep an eye on Babu's mail. Well, of course Elaine falls down on the job and Babu ends up in detention at the INS. Jerry happens to be dating an immigration lawyer who promises to get things fixed. But of course Jerry ends up in a fight with his girlfriend and Babu is out of luck. The final scene shows Babu after he's deported speaking to a friend at a cafe in Pakistan and then cursing Jerry at the top of his lungs screaming "Jerry Seinfeld is a very bad man." While far from technically accurate (Not that there's anything wrong with that :-) !), the show gave me a good laugh. By the way, in the final episode, Babu returns to testify against Jerry at the Good Samaritan trial (after all, coming to testify at trial is an acceptable B-2 visa activity).

Now that the annual allotment of H-1B visas has run, Congress has kicked in to high gear to address the problem. The question many people are asking, however, is whether Congress is about to create a bigger problem by creating a host of new recruiting and retraining requirements for H-1B petitions instead of just raising the caps. We report on the developments this month and are also pleased to announce that we have brought back the "emergency update" link on our site's front page. Readers may recall the "New Law Emergency Update" feature we had last winter to update on developments on implementing the 3 and 10 year bars and the sunset of INA Section 245i. The new "H-1B Emergency Update will maintain the same diary style format as before.

At 40+ articles, this issue of Siskind's Immigration Bulletin is one of our most ambitious. We appreciate our reader comments on our coverage and some of them are reflected in this month's issue.

We are actively working to bring online the new VisaJobs web site. This sister site to the Visalaw site will focus on helping foreign nationals find jobs in the US. The site will have several useful features including a job bank listing thousands of employment opportunities specifically available to foreign nationals, a resume posting service and a newsletter featuring articles on hunting for work in the US and resettling here. Recruiters and employers take note - there is no charge to list your positions on the VisaJobs site. If you are interested in listing job openings, please send email to asiskind@aol.com. We will then send you information on how to list your positions. Job seekers can also send email to gsiskind@telalink.net if interested in getting notification when the VisaJobs site is up and running.

Next month, the look of our web page will be starting to change. The site will still have the same basic format, but it will be getting a graphic face lift. Also, the name of the firm is being shortened from Siskind, Susser, Haas & Chang to Siskind, Susser, & Haas. Henry Chang, our partner in our Toronto - Bay Street office will remain affiliated with the firm, but his office will now operate under his own name.

If any of our readers happen to visit the site statistics page on our web site, they will see that traffic on our site has soared to all time records. As of press time, we are receiving between 150,000 and 200,000 hits per week on our web site. We are also adding between 30 and 40 new e-mail subscribers to our publication everyday. We thank our thousands of loyal readers for making this publication one of the most successful law firm newsletters in history. We are also excited about the addition of two new staff professionals this summer who will be able to work full time on our Internet efforts.

Finally, as always we remind readers that our twelve lawyers are able to serve immigration clients in any state or province in the US, Canada and now China. You are always welcome to call us toll free at 800-748-3819. We also provide full-scale consultations via telephone. Just complete the appointment request questionnaire at http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html. Most of our clients are located outside of the local areas of our offices so we are quite comfortable with using e-mail, telephone, fax, mail and our new intranet to communicate with clients.

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.