The INS recently announced that it would expand the number of Cambodian adoption cases that it would review. Late last year, all such cases were halted because of concerns that children were being trafficked and sold. Responding to a public outcry, the INS agreed to process cases that were filed before December 21, 2001. Now, it will process cases that were filed before December 31, 2001. Thus far, 152 children have been cleared for adoption through the special review program.
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On Citizenship Day, September 17, 2002, more than 15,000 new US citizens were sworn in. In 23 ceremonies around the country, the new citizens, along with natural born citizens, marked the 215th anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution. Since October 2001, there has been a 58 percent increase in the number of naturalization applications filed.
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The Banco de Mexico estimates that Mexican nationals working in the US are on a pace to send more than $10 billion to Mexico this year, the highest total ever. In addition to increased numbers of Mexicans working in the US, officials believe that increased acceptance of Mexican consular identification cards, which many banks accept, has led to the increase. With a bank account, the remitter is able to avoid steep money transfer fees.
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The Department of State recently announced that it would no longer shred unused applications in the diversity visa lottery. For years, the State Department had shredded millions of applications from those who were not selected for green card processing, until the practice became widely known a few weeks ago. Many say that intelligence agencies could use the information in terrorist investigations.
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The Justice Department Inspector General announced this week that the new INS student tracking system will not be operational by the January 30, 2003 deadline set by Congress. Testifying before a House committee, Glenn Fine said that while the computer system at the heart of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System will be up and running, the INS will not have completed training of either its employees or those at schools, nor will it have finished the process of inspecting and certifying schools for participation in the program.
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This week in Chicago a man believed to be one of the largest providers of fraudulent immigration documents in the country was sentenced to 44 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $150,000. Jacek Polsakiewicz was earlier convicted of paying about $375,000 in bribes to an undercover INS employee in order to obtain green cards for at least 85 people who were not entitled to them.
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This week the INS released nine Cuban nationals who had entered the US in August following a trip to Canada for a conference featuring Pope John Paul II. They had been detained in Buffalo, New York since their attempt to enter the US and apply for asylum. Their release came after INS Commissioner James Ziglar heard about their cases and ordered a review. Many observers had been angry about the detentions, because most Cubans who enter the US are not detained unless there is evidence that they pose a threat to the community.
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