Dear Readers:

We’re in the middle of a rare quiet period in the immigration debate. The week began with massive immigration protests around the country, but the Senate is still negotiating behind the scenes to hammer out an immigration deal. Senator Frist is promising a bill by the of the month, but there is still no word on how the Democrats and Republicans plan to resolve the questions of how and how many amendments will be introduced and voted on nor is there word on whether Senator Frist will compromise on the Democrats’ demand to know who will represent the Senate on the conference committee with the House that will determine the final deal. We have heard that debate will resume possibly next week, but this is also still in doubt.

For the latest information and to stay up to date on a daily basis, we recommend regularly checking our blog at www.visalaw.com/blog.html.

Most immigration lawyers are in great demand these days. My recent schedule is typical. Last week was a very busy week for me. I was in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday lobbying on physician immigration. Specifically, the Conrad 30 waiver program which allows J-1 physicians to work in medically underserved communities around the country is set to begin to expire in June and I was in DC to urge members of Congress to pass a permanent extension. I lead the FMG Taskforce, a coalition of firms that work on physician immigration cases and several of our members went to Capitol Hill along with clients from various parts of the country.

On Friday, I chaired a conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Atlanta . The program covered advocacy, marketing and technology. The morning was spent working with a media coach who helped AILA members learn how to better work with the press especially now that immigration reform is such a hot topic. One of the panelists in the morning was NPR and CNN correspondent Joshua Levs.

In the afternoon, I was on a panel with Robert Divine, the Acting Deputy Director of USCIS, who gave a preview of major technology initiatives at his agency. I also was joined on the panel by Ross Kodner of Microlaw (www.microlaw.com), one of the nation’s top law office technology consultants. Ross focused most of his program on reviewing case management systems.

I also was on the last panel on marketing with my friend Chuck Kuck, an Atlanta immigration lawyer as well as marketing consultant Bill Getch . We covered a range of topics on law firm marketing including web sites, publishing, directory advertising, advocacy marketing, associations, etc. At one point in the presentation I showed live just how easy it is to blog by updating the Visalaw blog live for the audience.

And this past Tuesday, I addressed Memphis ’ Rotary Club, one of the largest in the nation. About 300 people, including the current frontrunner for the Senate race here in Tennessee , heard my remarks outlining the immigration bills pending in Congress and common myths in the immigration debate.

Later this month, I’ll be back in Washington lobbying with the board of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society for comprehensive immigration reform. I also am scheduled to give three more speeches to various groups on immigration topics.

Firm lawyers have been interviewed numerous times in recent weeks. You can see the stories at www.visalaw.com/news including a profile of me where I am compared to Matt Drudge (!), the Internet news hound.

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