On April 25, 2007, USCIS proposed significant revisions to its regulations related to the special immigrant and nonimmigrant (R-1) religious worker visa classifications. The proposed rule suggested steps to eliminate fraud in the religious worker program and discusses potential vulnerabilities addressed in an August 2005 Benefit Fraud Assessment conducted by USCIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security. USCIS is currently considering comments on the proposed rule and promulgating the final rule.
USCIS will continue processing R-1 nonimmigrant visa petitions which include established procedures designed to ensure the legitimacy of the petitioner and statements made in the petition. The procedures may include inspections, evaluations, verifications and compliance reviews for religious organizations procedures that exceed the 15-day guarantee for premium processing.
In the future, if USCIS is able to properly process these cases within 15 calendar days of receipt, the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) requesting R-1 nonimmigrant visa classification may once again be available for premium processing services. Additionally, USCIS may prescribe additional conditions of availability on the Premium Processing Service for religious worker petitions.
]]>Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, (Form I-600). The last date USCIS accepted the application was June 20, 2008. After that date applicants should submit applications to the USCIS Ciudad Juarez field office.
Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, (Form I-600A/I-800A). The last date USCIS accepted the application was June 20, 2008. After that date, the applicants or Prospective Adoptive Parents should submit applications to the USCIS Ciudad Juarez field office.
Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status (Form I-407).The last date USCIS will accept the application is July 1, 2008. After then, the U.S. State Department will process and send the Form I-407 and documents to USCIS in Mexico City for destruction system updates.
Contact USCIS’ Mexico City district office by telephone: 5255-5080-2000, fax: 5255-5080-2326, or e-mail: mexico.uscis@dhs.gov. Mail forms and required supporting documents to:
]]>What is an EAD? - Certain aliens who are temporarily in the United States may file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which authorizes them to work legally in the U.S. during the time the EAD is valid.]]> Who is eligible for an EAD that is valid for two years?
The two-year EAD is available to pending adjustment applicants (i.e., those who have filed a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) who have filed for an EAD under Section 274.a.12(c)(9) of Title 8, Code of Federal Regulations (8 C.F.R.) and who are currently unable to adjust status because an immigrant visa number is not currently available. USCIS will continue to grant EADs that are valid for one-year for adjustment applicants who have an available immigrant visa number and are filing for employment authorization under 8 C.F.R. Section 274a.12(c)(9). In order to be eligible for an EAD with a two year validity period, an applicant’s I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, must be approved.
When will applicants expect to receive the new two-year EAD?
USCIS expects to implement this initiative for cases pending on June 30, 2008. Applicants filing Form I-765 under 8 C.F.R., Section 274.a.12(c)(9) should begin to receive their two-year EAD a couple of weeks after the anticipated June 30, 2008 implementation date.
]]>Please read: Mexico and Canada US Entry Requirements
]]>The fee to apply for any non-immigrant visa to enter the United States, including tourist, business, student and other visas, will increase to $131 USD world wide. This same fee increase will also apply to Border Crossing Cards (commonly known as "Laser Visas") for applicants in Mexico.
The Non-Immigrant Visa Fees To Enter The United States Border Crossing Cards
]]>“ImpreMedia Digital is using the Internet in a unique way to inform and educate our readers, and U.S. Hispanics alike, in the political process of the country in which they live, work and progress,” said Arturo Duran, CEO of ImpreMedia Digital, LLC.
The dialogue with Sen. Obama will take place on the campus of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA. MTV News Correspondents Gideon Yago and Sway Calloway, as well as WashingtonPost.com political reporter Chris Cillizza, will serve as moderators. Industry-leading pollsters John McLaughlin and Geoffrey Garin will return to oversee the real-time polling data and questions submitted via MySpaceIM and Think.MTV.com. The event will feature an audience comprised entirely of the university’s students, who will have the opportunity to question the Senator on issues that concern them most.
The Presidential Dialogue series marks the first time in history where at home viewers will be able to submit questions in real-time to the candidates. As the world’s fastest growing instant messaging client, MySpaceIM will provide the platform for users to submit questions throughout the duration of the event on MySpace, Choose or Lose and in Spanish on LaVibra.com. Each event is an hour in length and held on college campuses nationwide. The Presidential Dialogue series will feature frontrunner candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Online viewers can watch the archived Dialogues in Spanish on Lavibra.com. Impremedia’s properties nation-wide, including its most recognizable brands, La Opinión Newspaper in Los Angeles, the largest Spanish-language daily news and information publication in the U.S.; and El Diario La Prensa in New York, the country’s oldest Spanish-language daily, will publicize the dialogues to readers through in-paper and online advertising.
]]>Hispanic PR - Latino Issues Forum (LIF) names Nora E. Vargas as the organization’s new Executive Director. Ms. Vargas brings a wealth of experience spanning more than 14 years in the areas of public affairs, politics and advocacy.
As a legislative and political operative dedicated to advancing the needs of the Latino community, Ms Vargas will lead the organization’s public policy agenda and programs to advance Latino-focused policy solutions in the areas of health access, telecommunications consumer protection, education, sustainable communities and the environment. Since its inception, LIF has been a strong advocate of increased consumer protections both from regulatory agencies and through its active legislative efforts.
]]> Ms. Vargas’ extensive leadership and management experience makes her poised to assume this new role. An accomplished public affairs leader and policy advocate in California and Washington, D.C. Ms. Vargas has a record of organizational and leadership development; as founding Director of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs for Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn, she effectively advanced and advocated for inclusion of immigrants and refugees. Ms. Vargas’ experience proved invaluable to Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties where she served as the Vice President for Government and Political Affairs and to San Diego State University where she served as the first manager of the Office of Legislative Relations.“Nora’s legislative and advocacy experience will allow LIF not only to achieve its legislative goals but ensure that the policy agenda for California reflects the needs of its growing Latino consumers,” stated Chairman of the Board, Gaspar Laca. “We are now poised to make significant legislative advances on par with our increasing influence reflected in our demographics and representation of elected officials.”
As an accomplished non-profit manager and political consultant for numerous elected officials, Ms. Vargas has a proven legislative and political track record.
“Latinos now hold 3,251 elected positions in California,” stated, Ms. Vargas. “Clearly, our community and LIF, are positively positioned to influence public policy. My immediate goal is to inject LIF’s priority of expanding and improving Latino consumer protections into key consumer legislative initiatives precisely at the time our community becomes the general market.”
Highlights of Ms. Vargas professional accomplishments and accolades include:
-- Presidential Appointee under the Clinton Administration to the United States Selective Service
-- Recipient of the John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for Public Service
-- California Senate recognition as ‘Women Who Make a Difference’
-- California Senate Pro Temp Appointee to statewide commissions including the California Dental Board and the Physician Assistant Commission
Invited by the National Democratic Institute to train candidates, elected officials, advocates and NGO’s in Latin America on civic engagement, elections and the political process, political party development and women’s participation
]]>Most institutional mortgage lenders do not want to foreclose and acquire the property. It costs lenders thousands of dollars to hold foreclosure property instead of keeping their mortgage money earning interest.
However, if you understand the simple foreclosure rules, you can profit from someone else's distress. That's why it pays to understand the basic foreclosure profit opportunities.
]]>Rather than face foreclosure, the obvious solution is to increase your monthly income by at least $300. Maybe you can get a part-time evening job. Or perhaps your spouse or teenage child can get a part-time job to help out. One way or another, virtually every foreclosure and distress property situation can be avoided.
]]>Good times or bad, these situations always occur. Even during the peak years of 2004 and 2005 for home sales, there were still mortgage lender foreclosures and distress property sales. Today, the numbers of these sales are rapidly rising. If you're interested, the current buyer's market in most cities is a great time to acquire these below-market-value properties.
]]> WHAT CAUSES FORECLOSURES AND DISTRESS PROPERTIES? There are many reasons, but the cause usually is the property owner isn't thinking straight. Reasons for foreclosures include divorce, unemployment, drugs, alcohol, death or serious illness in the family, disputes between owners, local economic conditions, mental problems, and good old-fashioned greed.]]>The goal: Cut down on abusive lending practices that often lead the borrowers to delinquency on their loan payments.
Participating in the program are the Federal Reserve, the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Trade Commission, and state agencies, which are represented by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.
]]> The groups plan to share information, discuss lessons learned, and "take action as appropriate." Based on the results, the groups would decide whether to continue the project.The announcement of the program, which will begin in the fourth quarter, came a day before Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to give the central bank’s midyear economic forecast to Congress. Lawmakers have criticized the Fed for failing to regulate the mortgage market.
Regulators in 26 states have pledged to adopt lending standards similar to those adopted last month by federal banking regulators, which call on lenders to strictly evaluate borrowers' ability to repay home loans and include consumer protections.
]]>Some immigrant groups object to the bill's limits on family migration but want to see it move on to the House where they hope to get a bill more to their liking.
Josefina Sanchez, a Mexican hotel worker who has lived in the United States for 19 years and is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, said she was simply glad that the bill was still alive in the Senate.
"We are living in suspense, but remain hopeful," she told Reuters by telephone from a migrant welfare center in Phoenix. "It offers immigrants the hope of finally being able to live and work without fear of deportation."
]]>