BARTEN LAW OFFICE, P.C. 2006 NEWSLETTER

HOLIDAY TRAVEL

•Passports Required - Passports are required for all air travel beginning mid-January 2007.

•Travel Must Be Authorized - Permanent Residents may travel outside the US on their Residency Cards. However, non-US citizens must have authorization so they can return, before leaving the United States.

•Review of Criminal Convictions -Non-US citizen's criminal records will be reviewed at the airport or border crossing upon return to the US after foreign travel. Permanent residents may be “removed” deported for criminal convictions so have these reviewed by our office before leaving the US.

•Unlawful Presence Bar - Anyone who has been illegally in the US more than 365 days and then leaves the US for any reason must wait 10 years before applying for a visa to return. In certain circumstances, a waiver providing forgiveness is available. And upon illegal re-entry to the US, are permanently prevented from immigrating. There is NO waiver for those persons permanently barred.

2007 PLANNING

•Priority Dates of Petitions -Each year 226,000 visas are available to non-immediate relatives of US citizens and Permanent Resident. Any I-130 Petition filed should have the priority date reviewed to see whether the family member will be eligible to immigrant soon.

•Children Turning Age 21 - Any children who are not yet US citizens or permanent residents, who will be turning age 21 this coming year should have his or her case reviewed to see if it can be expedited or other immigration options made available.

•Expiration of Conditional Residency - Spouses of US citizens who receive conditional residency (because their marriage was less than 2 years at the time of the interview) must file the final application during the 90 days before expiration of his or her card. Separated or divorces spouses must file a waiver. You should review your card and if it expires this year contact our firm to help you prepare the application.

•Applying for Citizenship - Any non-US citizen serving in the military is eligible to apply for US citizenship very quickly. Anyone who received conditional residency or permanent residency through a US citizen spouse is eligible to apply 2 years and 9 months after receipt of residency. Anyone who received permanent residency through another family member, or are separated/divorced from the Petitioning US citizen, through asylum, or through employment are eligible to apply for US citizenship 4 years and 9 months after receipt of residency. Contact our office to review whether you should apply.

•Temporary Worker Bill Preparation - The Temporary Worker bill has not yet passed into law. The Democrat leaders plan to address minimum wage and health care before addressing the temporary worker program. We expect to know more Spring 2007 and will keep you informed. If it passes into law, applicants should be prepared to provide copies of birth, marriage, divorce certificates as well as proof of presence in the US more than 5 years. Documents must be in English or have an English translation. Contact our firm if you wish to complete your translations.

2006 YEAR IN REVIEW

•Visa Availability for Family Members - December 2006 I-130 Petition Priority Dates

•Reorganization of USCIS - USCIS has reorganized processing of applications. Many persons received notifications that their applications will be transferred to a different service center or to the National Benefits Center for processing. The transfers are slowing some cases.

•Changing Role of Local Offices -Local offices are now used by USCIS mainly for interviews and fingerprinting. Applicants for temporary work permits are no longer able to go the local office to apply for temporary work permits or to turn in completed applications.

•Family Interview at the Local Offices For non-citizens who will have their interview within the US, interviews are moving more quickly, especially for relatives of US citizens who can expect interviews with 4-6 months of applying.

•Family Interviews at the Consulate - For non-citizens who will interview at their home country consulate, the US consulate designated largely determines how long it is taking to receive a permanent residency interview. The US consulate in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico is currently taking a minimum of 12 months to schedule an interview and another 12 months to process waivers. The US consulates in Central and South America are moving faster than Cuidad Juarez.

•Recall of Fiancé and K-3 Petitions - Department of Homeland Security missed the March 5, 2006 deadline for collecting US citizen petitioner's criminal background information for K-1 Fiancé and K-3 US citizen spouse cases. 1100 cases went to 95 US Consulate offices and had to be returned to CIS and 10,000 unapproved petitions still at the CIS stage had requests for evidence send to the Petitioners.   It appears the recalled cases are now moving forward again, however, it has slowed these cases down.

•Enforcement Information - Department of Homeland Secretary Chertoff announced that expedited removal is being expanded to include those who have spent 14 days or less in the U.S. and are apprehended within 100 miles of the border with Canada or Mexico or arrive by sea and are apprehended within 100 miles of a coastal border area. These non-citizens will not be allowed to see an immigration judge and will have an order of removal (deportation) from the agency.

•Temporary Protected Status Re-Registration