Dear Readers: 

We are still in the dark about when USCIS will release the 20,000 extra H-1B visas Congress authorized last year. We're nearly a month past the deadline Congress set and are still being told the announcement is due any day.  

In the mean time, on April 1st, the quota for fiscal year 2006 (which starts October 1, 2005), opened up for 65,000 applicants. We have heard from the American Immigration Lawyers Association that there will be a provision in the announced rules that will allow cases filed for the FY2006 quota to be converted to an FY2005 filing if the applicant would be eligible for the 20,000 quota. Still no word on who for sure will qualify, but it now seems to be the case that filing for October start dates might make sense and then request a conversion when we learn how that will work. What we also don't know is how to ask for a change of status when there is a gap between an October 1st start date and the expiration of someone's current status before October 1st. Stay tuned....

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The other news item just out (and we'll report more next week) is an announcement by the State Department that starting in 2008, Canadians will require passports to enter the US and Americans will need passports to go to Canada (as well as Mexico). This will have major repercussions when it comes to tourism and business and the State Department will be inundated with a tidal wave of applications for passports. They've got two years to figure this out and I would suggest our governments start planning now.   

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The infamous REAL ID Act was not included in the Senate Appropriations Bill during markup yesterday. The House version of the bill includes REAL ID and the measure will have to be added or dropped in the conference committee charged with reconciling the two bills. The exclusion of this deeply troubling immigration bill from the Senate version can only be considered good news. 

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In firm news, I'll be speaking at the annual meeting of the National Association of Physician Recruiters in New Orleans, Louisiana. I'll be updating the nation's physician recruiters on major changes in the J-1 waiver process.  

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Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients and employers seeking to comply with immigration laws. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455. 

Regards, 

Greg Siskind