Dear Readers,

As you know if you read last week’s newsletter, Greg and his family have departed on a cruise in Alaska for his annual summer vacation.  In the meantime, I have the honors of writing the Openers for the bulletin.  Have a good time, Greg! 

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As of last Friday, July 1, 2005, EB3 immigrant visa numbers have been made unavailable.  No immigrant visas in the category will be available until October 1, 2005.  Until that date, no new applications for Adjustment of Status in this category may be filed, and no pending applications can be adjudicated. 

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On July 1, 2005 USCIS announced that it has decided to extend the validity of EADs issued to Honduran or Nicaraguan nationals.  Due to the large number of TPS beneficiaries, USCIS does not believe the can adjudicate the applications in a timely manner.  The extensions will be for an additional 90 days, from July 5, 2005 until October 5, 2005.  The Federal Register notice regarding this extension was published July 7, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 129). 

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This time every year students become concerned regarding the gap between the expiration of their OPT status and the commencement for their H-1B status on October 1, when the new fiscal year begins.  This issue is often referred to as the “Gap-gap.”  In the past, CIS has issued memos allowing these F-1 students to remain in the US in valid status until the October 1 date.  CIS officials at the annual AILA conference held in Salt Lake City this year, however, stated that the "Cap-gap" memo may not come out this year because of security concerns raised by the Bush administration regarding students changing to employment visas, particularly when sensitive or technology information might be involved.    

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Timed nicely for this newsletter’s discussion of U.S. citizenship, The Center for Immigration Studies released a report on July 7, 2005 entitled Births to Immigrants in America, 1970-2002 by Steven A. Camarota (www.cis.org/articles/2005/back805.html).  The report found that in “2002 almost one in four births in the United States was to an immigrant mother (legal or illegal)”, and that “nearly ten percent of all births in the country were to illegal-alien mothers.”

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Siskind Susser congratulates Robert Divine on being named the interim Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Robert is the current chief lawyer for USCIS and practiced for many years as an immigration lawyer in Tennessee before leaving to join USCIS in Washington. He is the first immigration lawyer ever to hold the post. 

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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,