Published by the Immigration Law Offices of Siskind
Susser, Attorneys at Law; telephone: 800-343-4890, facsimile: 901-273-8770:
gsiskind@visalaw.com, WWW home page: http://www.visalaw.com
Editor: Greg Siskind
SSHD serves immigration clients throughout the world
from its offices in the US, Argentina, Canada and the People's Republic of
China. If you have had this newsletter passed on to you by a friend or
colleague and wish to be added to the e-mail list, just go to http://www.visalaw.com/sip-intro.html.
____________________________________________________________
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in this newsletter, please feel free to email us at immigration.professional@visalaw.com
and put the words “Newsletter Posting” in the subject header. We do not charge
for announcements, though we will not post announcements we consider
inappropriate for this publication.
____________________________________________________________
Reader reminder - Siskind’s Immigration Professional
is now available on the Visalaw.com web site at http://www.visalaw.com/sip/SIP.html.
You will need a user name and password to get into the site. Subscribers to the
newsletter can get in using
User name – sip
Password – PRO
____________________________________________________________
The curriculum for "All In The
Family" - Current Issues In Family-Based Immigration is as follows:
FIRST Phone Session on November 20:
Marriage ("Married - With Children")
++Lists of documents for bona fide
marriages Fraud and Stokes interviews
++Removal of conditional status
Separation, divorce, annulment issues
++Fiance(e)s K and V visas
++Unmarried Partners
SECOND Phone Session on December
11: Inadmissibility, Visa and Financial
Issues ("One Day at a Time")
++Entry issues-245(i)
++Arrests, inadmissibility-waivers
++3 and 10 year bar waivers
++Removal Defense
++New procedures for NTAs
++Recent changes in enforcement
practices
++Affidavits of support
THIRD Phone Session on January
8: Children's Issues and Legislative
Changes ("Eight is Enough")
++Child Status Protection Act - Age
out protection for children
of Permanent residents, refugees and
asylees, and DV lottery winners
++Step children
++Children born out of wedlock
++Adoption
++DREAM Act and other pending
legislation
For more info, see:
http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/seminars/november2003.shtm
Fax version:
http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/seminars/november2003.pdf.
http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/immigdaily/focus/2003,1110-seminar.shtm
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2. Entry/Exit Procedures
Teleconference
AILA
will host a Teleconference on Entry/Exit Procedures on Tuesday, December
9, 2003. Topics to be covered include
US VISIT, NSEERS and the entry/exit process, SEVIS and the entry process,
pre-clearance programs, access to counsel at the border, update on visa
exemption programs, waivers and port paroles, and TN and L processing at the
border.
Speakers
include Gregory D. Boos, Partner, Chang & Boos, Bellingham, WA; Edward J.
Carroll, Partner, Carroll & Scribner, Burlington, VT; Scott D.
Pollack, Principal, Scott D. Pollack and Associates, P.C., Chicago, IL; Kathleen
C. Walker, AILA Treasurer, Kemp Smith, P.C., El Paso, TX.
To register online for the
teleconference, go to http://www.aila.org/infonet/contentViewer.aspx?bc=94,175. The registration deadline is Monday, December 8th at 9:00 am
EST.
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3. AILA Crimes CLE Conference:
Crimes and Representing Criminal Alien Defendants
AILA
Crimes CLE Conference: Crimes and Representing Criminal Alien Defendants is
Monday, December 15, 2003 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
The advance registration deadline is December 4th. For complete details
and to register online, please visit InfoNet at http://www.aila.org/infonet/contentViewer.aspx?bc=94,3209,3849
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4.
AILA Litigation CLE Conference: Take Action Through
Litigation: Going into Federal Court
AILA Litigation CLE Conference: Take Action Through Litigation: Going into Federal Court is Tuesday, December 16, 2003 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The advance registration deadline is December 4th. For complete details and to register online, please visit InfoNet at http://www.aila.org/infonet/contentViewer.aspx?bc=94,3209,3849
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5.
“By Air, Land and Sea -When the POE Becomes a Brick Wall”
The
first telephone call-in session is December 18.
Seminar
Outline for December 18:
1) The
ABC's of Entry - The Entry Process
·
Each Step, What They Do (Their Purpose)
o
Primary
o
Secondary
o
Deferral
o
Proceedings
·
General Pitfalls To Be Aware Of
2) Who Is An "Arriving" Alien
·
The Problem of Immigrant Intent
·
Unlawful Presence as a Ground for
Inadmissibility
·
"Returning" Residents and the
Use of Reentry Permits
3) Expedited Removal
·
When Does It Apply
·
Procedure That Is Followed
·
Alternatives
·
No Judicial Review
4) How To Get Relief from Expedited Removal - Challenging Prior
Determinations
5) IBIS
Checks and Other Data Checks
·
TECS - Treasury Enforcement Computer
Systems
·
NAILS - National Automated Immigration
Lockout System
·
NCIC
·
NLETS
·
CLETS
·
DACS
·
NIIS
·
CLASS
6) Other Relief
·
Parole
·
I-193
·
Reentry Permits
Speakers
include Edward Litwin. The Registration
deadline for this first seminar is December 16 at 11:50 EST.
For
more information on this seminar and how to register, go to http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/seminars/december2003.shtm.
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6.
Student Immigration Issues
With
the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), AILA will host a teleconference on Student
Immigration Issues on Wednesday, December 17. Topics covered by the Teleconference will include F, J and M
visas, application and
admission procedures for U.S. schools and vocational programs, the role of the
foreign student advisor, changes impacting student visa holders and visa
options for students post graduation.
Speakers for this teleconference
include Stephen Yale-Loehr, Of Counsel, True, Walsh and Miller, Adjunct
Professor, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, NY; and Ellen Badger, Director,
International Student and Scholar Services, Binghamton University, Binghamton,
NY.
To register online for the
teleconference, go to http://www.aila.org/infonet/contentViewer.aspx?bc=94,175. The registration deadline is Tuesday, December 17th at 9:00 am EST.
If you are not able to take part in the Teleconferences,
but have an interest in the subject, Teleconference Tapes will be available
in late December. Please visit Convention Seminar Cassettes online at https://www.csctapes.com/tapes/aila.htm to purchase
tapes of these Teleconferences and to preview a complete catalog of the tapes
available from all of the 2003 AILA Teleconferences.
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7.
2004 AILA Midyear CLE Conference
2004 AILA Midyear CLE Conference is
January 16, 2004 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The early-bird
registration deadline is December 29th. For complete details and to register
online, please visit InfoNet at http://www.aila.org/infonet/contentViewer.aspx?bc=94,3052
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8. AILA CLE Conference: Travel for Work and Business: Visa
Application, Admission, Reentry with Post 9-11 Security Clearances
AILA CLE Conference: Travel for Work and Business: Visa
Application, Admission, Reentry with Post 9-11 Security Clearances is
February 8 - 10, 2004 at Deer Valley in Park City, UT. The early-bird
registration deadline is January 8th. For more information and to register
online, please visit InfoNet at http://www.aila.org/infonet/contentViewer.aspx?bc=94,3209,3904
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9. 2004 AILA Spring CLE Conference
2004 AILA Spring CLE Conference is Friday, March 5th at the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. Registration information will be available in January 2004. Also in March 2004, AILA Congressional Lobby Day and Essentials of Immigration Law for Paralegals, Legal Assistants and Law Office Staff Conference (Thursday, March 4th), AILF Washington DC Immigrant Achievement Awards (Friday, March 5th), and AILA Spring Governance Meetings (Saturday, March 6th).
JOB OPENINGS
Attorney
The Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center (MIHRC), a program of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, is seeking an Attorney who will devote 100% of her time to MIHRC's Unaccompanied Immigrant Children's Project by developing the project as a replicable model legal services program and providing direct representation and legal counsel to unaccompanied immigrant children. The attorney will develop pro bono training materials, initiate training sessions, and coordinate with pro bono attorneys and other legal service providers. The attorney will also gather documentation, assess legal options and services available, prepare and submit the appropriate applications, administer Know Your Rights presentations, and provide representation as counsel or co-counsel. In addition, the attorney will maintain communication with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and will cultivate a collaborative relationship with local and national immigration authorities to the extent possible. The attorney will shape the project into a model service program for immigrant children and will communicate and coordinate with to non-profit organizations and governmental agencies nationwide to provide support in replicating the project across the country. She will report to the MIHRC managing attorney and director.
Duties and Responsibilities
The
Coordinator's duties will include the following:
Pro
Bono Outreach
* Develop training materials for pro
bono attorneys;
* Plan and implement quarterly training
sessions for pro bono attorneys and
recruit attendees;
* Assign
cases and provide support and mentoring to pro bono attorneys representing
MIHRC clients
* Services for Children
* Conduct telephonic and in-person
intake with immigrant children;
* Present cases for discussion at team
meetings;
* Prepare,
as necessary, country conditions research to corroborate details of client
stories to assist the team in assessing credibility;
* Assemble,
prepare, and submit documentation and applications for accepted cases;
* Correspond
with clients and potential clients about their eligibility for legal remedies;
* Develop multi-lingual and culturally
appropriate Know Your
Rights materials for children;
* Represent clients as counsel or
co-counsel.
Program Replication
* Identify
non-profit organizations providing legal and social services to unaccompanied
immigrant children throughout the United States.
* Communicate
and coordinate with national non-profits and governmental agencies to share
project information and provide support in establishing parallel programs
throughout the country;
* Travel as necessary to coordinate with
collaborating agencies.
Other
* Assist in the preparation of donor and
policy reports and media stories;
* Coordinate
with non-governmental organizations providing legal services to Unaccompanied
Immigrant Children;
* Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Excellent
writing, editing, organizational, and computer skills are needed as is the
ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently and simultaneously.
Ability
to communicate articulately with individuals inside and outside the
organization in both writing and speech are essential. Ability to adapt to change well and perform
well under tight deadlines strongly needed.
Law
degree required. Experience with
immigration law and/or family law strongly preferred. Master's in social work
and/or equivalent employment experience with a non-profit or social service
agency required. Fluency in English and Spanish is essential. Master's degree or relevant experience
preferred.
To
apply, submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample and the names and
telephone numbers of two references, and a confidential salary history and
requirements to: Kristina Francisco, Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights
Center*
208 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1818, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
Kfrancisco@heartlandalliance.org
Fax
(312) 660-1505
AA/EO
-- Minorities, women and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
*
A Heartland Alliance Partner.
1.
Agency Interpretations of Immigration Policy: Cables, Memos, and Liaison
Minutes from 2002
This 500+ page
compendium contains an entire year’s worth of official agency interpretive
correspondence and AILA liaison committee meeting minutes in one place.
Soft cover: ISBN 1-53750-116-5; $59 for AILA members,
$95 for nonmembers
Hardcover: ISBN
1-53750-117-3; $75 for AILA members, $120 for nonmembers
To order, call 1-800-982-2839
or fax 301-843-0159 or online at www.ailapubs.org
or by mail at AILA Publications, P.O. Box 753, Waldorf, MD 20604-0753.
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2. Unguarded Gates: A
History of America's Immigration Crisis by Otis
L. Graham, Jr.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Hardback, 240 pp., ISBN: 0742522288, $26.95
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0742522288/centerforimmigra
Throughout America's history immigration policy has always
been a controversial and complex topic, going to the heart of what it means to
be American. Now, with terrorism as a new concern, Americans have begun to look
closer at the effects of rising immigration and porous borders.
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3. Immigrant
Life in the US: Multidisciplinary Perspectives Edited
by Donna R. Gabaccia and Colin Wayne Leach
Routledge Publishing
Hardback, 224 pp., ISBN: 0415306000, $90
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415306000/centerforimmigra
This book collects the best new research on globalization
and human subjectivity in a classic "nation of immigrants".
Contributors from the fields of sociology, anthropology, history and women's
studies focus on the everyday social interactions that have made schools,
workplaces and neighborhoods key sites of cultural creativity, transformation
and resistance.
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4. Identity,
Culture, and Politics in the Basque Diaspora
by Gloria Totoricagüena
University of Nevada Press
Hardback, 312 pp., ISBN: 087417547X, $39.95
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087417547X/centerforimmigra
For
centuries, Basques have been leaving their beloved homeland, first to exploit
the fisheries of the North Atlantic, then to participate in the creation and
administration of Spain's vast overseas empire. More recently, Basques
emigrated to escape crushing poverty, civil war, or the political oppression of
the Franco Regime.
Unlike many exiles, however, a surprising number of émigré
Basques have maintained their ethnic identity, even after five or six
generations of residence abroad.
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5. Immigration and
Ethnic Formation in a Deeply Divided Society: The case of the 1990s Immigrants
from the Former Soviet Union in Israel by Majid Al-Haj
Brill Academic Publishers
Paperback, ISBN: 9004136258, $59
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9004136258/centerforimmigra
This
book deals with the ethnic formation among the 1990s immigrants from the former
Soviet Union in Israel, in light of both domestic changes, and developments in
the Israel- Arab conflict. Based on a broad variety of quantitative and
qualitative methods, the book presents a detailed analysis of identity patterns
among these immigrants, their orientation in matters of religion, society,
culture and politics, and their relationships with all the constituent groups
in Israeli society including the Palestinian minority. The book provides a
new critical perspective on questions of immigration, ethnicity and society in
Israel. The analysis is placed in a global theoretical context that challenges
the dominant approach in the sociology of immigration in Israel, which is based
on the Zionist paradigm.
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6. 8 CFR,
(Includes 2003 BCIS Changes)
The
latest edition of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) is now available.
This reference tool is invaluable while writing to the INS about a RFE or
preparing a petition. Attorneys have been using the exhaustive topic indices in
the 8 CFR Plus and The Whole ACT – INA (Annotated) to do just that for
years. Whether you are a seasoned
practitioner or a less experienced attorney entering the immigration law field,
these books are a must-have.
A Supplement is provided
Free of cost updating the 8 CFR Plus as of June 1, 2003. All BCIS related
changes have been included in this Supplement as well as a complete index to
ALL 8 CFR Sections updated as of June 1, 2003.
Internet-only special
price of $259 for our 4 book set (MSRP $299). For more information, go to http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/store/.
Bottom of Form
1. BIA Pro Bono Project
Represent Immigrants
Before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) BIA Pro Bono Project Needs Your
Support!
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Pro Bono Project
works to increase the level of pro bono representation to immigrants who are
without representation before the BIA.
The Project's priority is to assist detained, pro se individuals with
cases before the BIA. In FY 2002, more
than 3,900 detained immigrants had cases on appeal before the BIA. Fifty-three percent of these immigrants did
not have representation. The Project also assists non-detained, indigent, pro
se individuals with cases before the BIA.
Statistics
show that represented persons are more likely to succeed in their claims to
relief from removal than pro se individuals.
Detention hinders an individual's ability to obtain representation. While some immigrants in DHS detention try to
represent themselves, few detention centers stock their libraries with
immigration materials. Even if such
materials are available, few individuals without legal training (or the ability
to read and write in English) can master the complex legal procedures and
standards that apply to their cases, especially at the appellate level. Pro bono immigration attorneys have the
necessary legal background, skills and resources to research, organize and
write briefs for detained immigrants with cases before the BIA. Frequently, the outcome of such cases can
involve serious consequences for the immigrant, such as removal to a country
where his or her life may be in danger. In order to increase representation to
this population, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) is
coordinating the BIA Project. The
Project is also supported by the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF),
the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), and
the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition.
The
project concentrates on finding representation for four types of individuals:
(1) asylum-seekers, (2) minors, (3) individuals who received a favorable
decision by an Immigration Judge which was subsequently appealed by the
government, and (4) persons with a case where the Immigration Judge requested
certification of his/her decision from the BIA. All cases involve individuals who were not represented before the
Immigration Judge, and who remain pro se before the BIA.
Since
this is an appellate project, pro bono attorneys, supervised law students, and
BIA accredited representatives from everywhere in the United States can
participate.
Individuals
who indicate an interest in participating in this project receive, on a weekly
basis, summaries of cases in need of representation. Those who want to accept a specific case for representation
contact CLINIC. CLINIC facilitates
initial contact with the unrepresented individuals and explains the Project to
them. Upon receipt of the pro bono attorneys'
entry of appearance, the BIA sends the attorney a copy of the record of
proceeding, and resets the briefing schedule to allow the attorney ample time
to complete the brief.
The
Project has a mentoring component that pairs experienced immigration practitioners
with attorneys who have limited immigration law backgrounds. The Project also conducts trainings on how
to write effective BIA briefs.
To
learn more about the BIA Project, contact Molly McKenna at
(202)
635-2567 or mmckenna@cliniclegal.org
The
BIA Project Needs Your Help!
BIA
Project cases are carefully screened by attorneys representing CLINIC, AILF,
NIPNLG, and CAIR. The cases are then
screened again by AILF and NIPNLG before they are forwarded via e-mail to
Project participants. This selection
process ensures that the cases involve compelling issues of law and fact. The Project facilitates initial contact
between the pro bono attorney and the detainee by mailing the EOIR-27 and other
material directly to the detainee.
Under the Project, new briefing schedules and extensions are granted so
that there is ample time to prepare the appeal.
Please share
information about the BIA Project with colleagues who might be interested in
participating. Contact Molly McKenna at
CLINIC (202) 635-2567 or mmckenna@cliniclegal.org to learn more.
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2. Telephonic
Workshops for Lawyers Listed in ILW.COM’s Directory
Attorneys
listed in ILW.COM's directory of immigration lawyers http://www.ilw.com/directory/findlawyer.asp
can now participate in telephonic workshops focusing on efficient marketing of
their practices online, and effective integration of their ILW.COM presence
with their online and offline marketing efforts. Other aspects of Law Practice
Management are also covered in these telephonic workshops which are offered
free of charge to members in good standing of ILW.COM's directory of
immigration attorneys. The next telephonic workshop will be from 1.15pm ET to
2pm ET on Tuesday, December 30th. Those interested in participating should send
a request for registration to mailto:webmaster@ilw.com.
Those law firms not yet listed in our directory may want to note that approximately 200,000 searches are made each year for immigration attorneys on ILW.COM. That's more than 400 searches per year per attorney listed in our lawyer directory. Which means that if you are listed with ILW.COM, then your listing will be searched once each day throughout the year. You need only one client a year to make a profit on your listing! We can even link your ILW.COM listing directly to your own website. For a personal discussion on listing your practice in our directory, please write to mailto:webmaster@ilw.com.