USA Green Card Immigration Blog

(CNN) — In the latest volley between the federal government and states pushing anti-illegal-immigration laws, the Obama administration announced Thursday it was establishing a new hotline for immigration detainees who feel they “may be U.S. citizens or victims of a crime.”

The 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week hotline is part of a “broader effort to improve our immigration enforcement process and prioritize resources to focus on threats to public safety, (on) repeat immigration law violators, recent border entrants, and immigration fugitives while continuing to strengthen oversight of the nation’s immigration detention system and facilitate legal immigration,” a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said.

The new measure was launched by the Department of Homeland Security to ensure detained individuals “are made aware of their rights” or “properly notified about their potential removal from the country,” according to the release. The hotline number is 855-448-6903.

A new “detainer” form — which includes Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese and Vietnamese translations — also is part of the new policy. The detainer — or notice to detain — form is official paperwork giving law enforcement the authority to hold a person in custody for a time.

Administration to lower number of troops on Southwest border

“The new form allows ICE to make the detainer operative only upon the individual’s conviction of the offense for which he or she was arrested,” the release said.

Immigration rights advocates told CNN there “has long been a need for more accountability and oversight of the issuance of immigration detainers.”

“The ACLU and other advocates identified four native-born U.S. citizens who were held unlawfully in custody through immigration detainers in Los Angeles County. One of these citizens was held for two days because of an immigration detainer despite repeatedly telling officers that he was a U.S. citizen,” Laura Vazquez, immigration legislative analyst for the National Council of La Raza, told CNN in a statement. The council is a national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization.

CNN attempted to get reaction on the new policy from the attorneys general in Alabama and Arizona — two states viewed as having among the most strict immigration reform laws — but were unsuccessful. An official in the Alabama attorney general’s office said Thursday officials had no comment.

The move by DHS comes just before the beginning of the new year, when new immigration laws in Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia will require businesses to enroll in the federal E-Verify program to ensure employees are eligible to work in the United States, according National Conference of State Legislatures.

E-Verify is a controversial program designed to check a prospective employee’s citizenship or immigration status.

Supporters say it helps businesses avoid unintentionally hiring illegal immigrants. Critics complain that it is expensive to operate, pushes undocumented workers further underground, and is not always accurate.

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BBC News – World’s best universities ranked by ‘reputation’.

Harvard University in the United States has been ranked as the university with the best “reputation” in the world.

The Times Higher Education magazine has listed 200 top universities based on how they are regarded by a panel of international academics.

In third place, Cambridge is the top rated among UK universities.

In the wake of the LSE’s embarrassment over links with Libya, reputation has been seen as a valuable but fragile commodity for universities.

Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics, stepped down because he feared the institution’s reputation had suffered from the associations with the Gaddafi regime.

Overseas students

Global league tables have spread across higher education – and have become important to marketing courses to the three million international students.

But this latest table is different in that it measures how universities are regarded, rather than how they actually performed.

A subjective, word-of-mouth quality such as “reputation” has genuine economic value for universities, said Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

“Reputation is not an illusion, though it might be more vulnerable and fragile than performance by objective indicators,” said Prof Marginson.

Based on the views of 13,000 academics around the world, it confirms the status of the big US universities, which dominate this league table.

Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Furthermore, 14 of the top 20 are from the US.

Cambridge is the highest ranking UK university in the list, in third place, with Oxford ranked as sixth.

The LSE, in a table drawn up before its problems with Libya, is in 37th place.

For students applying to university, reputation might be hard to quantify, but was an important part of the appeal, said the president of Cambridge University’s students’ union, Rahul Mansigani.

“Reputation makes a huge difference. If there is a perception that somewhere is brilliant, it will get lots of good people applying whether it’s true or not,” he said.

Factors such as a sense of history and the presence of leading academics were part of the reputation of Cambridge, he said.

But with worries about university links with dubious regimes, he warned about the need to protect the “moral reputation” of a university.

“They need to be very wary of who they deal with – with no compromise over academic freedom,” he said.

Global reach

Reputation is also a highly valued prize for universities such as MIT, ranked in second place – with particular importance for an institution’s international reach.

So much so that that they might have a bigger global reputation than in some places nearer home.

“For a place like MIT, which is primarily about science and technology, reputation is critical,” said Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, director and associate dean of MIT’s International Students Office.

“We have a very good reputation in countries that value science and technological education. MIT really resonates in most Asian countries.

“Whereas you could find a small rural town in the US, where they might not have ever heard of MIT – your average person in China who has had any education will know what it means.”

Sally Hunt, head of the UCU lecturers’ union in the UK, warned that reputation should not be relied upon as an alternative to financial investment.

“We will soon get found out if we think we can trade on reputation alone,” she said.

Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said: “In an ever more competitive global market… a university’s reputation for academic excellence is crucial.”

Eligibility
For the E-1 Treaty Trader Visa

Nationals belonging to a foreign country that has signed a trade and investment treaty with the U.S. are eligible for the E-1 visa only if they fulfill the following requirements:

•Even prior to the filing of the E-1 visa application, the applying nationals must have engaged in substantial trade between the treaty country and the U.S.

•At least 50% of the total amount of trade conducted by the individual or the organization must be between the U.S. and the treaty nation.

For the E-2 Treaty Trader Visa

The eligibility conditions for E-2 visa are same as for the E-1 visa except that applicants must solely

•Develop and manage the enterprise in which he/she has invested in or is planning to invest a substantial amount of capital.

•Be an employee who has to perform services that require special qualifications and that are indispensable to the operations of the treaty investor’s enterprise.

Document Requirements
For the E-1 Visa

Foreign nationals are required to submit the following documents for processing

•A copy of the passport and a statement explaining the structure and function of the business.

•Documents, such as trade invoices, sales reports, company financial statements and so on that show that there has been continued trade between the U.S. and the treaty country.

•To support all secondary applications, applicants must provide a copy of the birth certificate and marriage certificate.

•For applicants already residing in the U.S, a copy of U.S. Visa and Form I-94 is considered mandatory.

For the E-2 Visa

A few more additional documents are required for processing the E-2 visa in addition to those required for the E-1 visa

•A business plan explaining the nature and function of the business from start to finish, the initial investment, and employment projections.

•A comprehensive letter must be sent to the US Immigration Services revealing the level of the applicant’s role in the investment.

•An employee should submit his proof of position, such as organizational chart, job description, and recruitment efforts.

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Twenty-two sailors took the Oath of Allegiance and became America’s newest U.S. Citizens during a special naturalization ceremony aboard the Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington on October 9, 2010. The Deputy Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Bangkok District Office, Stacy Strong, take a trip out to sea to preside over the naturalization ceremony and to conduct immigration training to the ship’s legal staff and crew.

Deputy Director Strong was also accompanied by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Overseas Adjudication Officer, Gary Remmel. Two days prior to the naturalization ceremony, the officials of the U.S. Immigration Services boarded the ship for interviewing the citizenship candidates.

These steps taken by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to accelerate the naturalization process for the members of the military has generated interest among other sailors on board in initiating the citizenship process. In addition to interviewing the citizenship candidates, the officials also conducted the naturalization test and coordinated with the other sailors to help them start the citizenship process.

Deputy Director Strong affirmed that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services through its extensive outreach ensures that the members of America’s armed forces are well-informed about the immigration services and benefits. She also stated that the USCIS was dedicated to extending support to all sailors on land and at sea.

The 22 new citizens are originally from the following countries: China, Colombia, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, and Thailand. During the past calendar year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials from the Bangkok District Office have conducted naturalization ceremony for members and their families hailing from several foreign countries. Many such naturalization ceremonies were witnessed on board navy ships.

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Recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made an announcement that it will host open houses all over the country. Community stakeholders and the public from around the country will be invited to participate in the open house program. These open houses have been hosted to provide the attendees with information on the agency’s programs. The agency believes that its partnership with stakeholders will be strengthened through these open houses.

During the announcement made on the open houses, Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director mentioned that USCIS offices have been opened to reveal the transparency in their immigration services to the general public.

Through this program the attendees will not only be able to meet the USCIS staff, but will also be able to watch mock naturalization interviews live. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services invited entries for the National Children’s Art Project based upon the theme “We Are America.” As part of the open house, children’s artworks that were received by the agency have also been displayed in the field offices.

The open house series was commenced by USCIS Director, Alejandro Mayorkas on October 4, 2010 at the USCIS Baltimore Field Office. On November 3, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services hosted open house at the Chicago District Office as part of the open house series. The open house was attended by the fifth graders of Louis Pasteur Elementary School. A competitive game on U.S. history and civics was conducted for the children by the agency. The game was followed by the citizenship ceremony of nearly 50 citizens.

USCIS will continue to host open houses until November 19, 2010 at 32 field offices, including Fresno, Las Vegas, New York city, Honolulu, Denver, Buffalo, EI Paso, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Cleveland, Portland, and Charlotte. The agency will end the open house series at its field office in San Juan Field on November 19, 2010.

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Recently, two precedent decisions made by the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) have been issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.) These two decisions will serve as binding precedents for the future cases that are dealt by USCIS. Apart from guiding the USCIS adjudicators, these two precedent decisions will also aid in providing predictability to the general public. Usually, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) collaborates with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to arrive at the AAO precedent decisions.

During the proclamation, Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director, stated that USCIS’ commitment to adherence to the immigration laws is evident from the issuance of the two precedent decisions. He also expressed his gratitude for the cooperation of the Justice Department in promoting the immigration cases’ predictability. He added that USCIS will works towards issuing more precedent decisions.

The DHS in concurrence with the Attorney General makes the AAO precedent decisions to serve as a basis to decide future cases of similar issues. All DHS personnel will then incorporate the Administrative Appeals Office decisions in implementing the immigration laws after they are issued by the Department of Justice. The AAO decisions are published in the “Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.” The DOJ’s Board of Immigration Appeals’ precedent decisions will also be published in this bound volume.

The first Administrative Appeals Office decision confirms that USCIS may deny an application to adjust status to permanent residence. In case, the employment-based petition has to remain valid for a new job, the petition must be valid initially. The second decision can reverse USCIS’ denial for an employment-based petition to safeguard permanent residence for naturalization purposes.

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Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director, made an announcement about the issuance of new, redesigned Form N-550 (Certificate of Naturalization.) The new Form N-550 incorporates enhanced security features to minimize the instances of immigration fraud. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started issuing the improved Form N-550 and expects to issue them to around 600,000 new citizens of the United States by next year.

During the launch of the redesigned naturalization certificate, Director Mayorkas assured that the production process of the new certificates will be fully automated by the end of this calendar year. By doing so, the consistency of the naturalization certificates will be increased apart reduction in the time taken to prepare the certificates. He also mentioned that the automated production process will be employed first at the USCIS offices in Denver, Atlanta, and Baltimore. The other USCIS offices will implement the automated production process within a period of 60 days.

The first redesigned naturalization certificates were distributed to the new citizens by Director Mayorkas at the USCIS Baltimore District Office. During this special naturalization ceremony, he stated that USCIS’ efforts in reducing immigration fraudulent practices will be further enhanced by this new Form N-550.

Enhancements in the Redesigned Naturalization Certificate

•The redesigned Form N-550 has a digitized photo of the candidate along with his/her signature embedded in it.

•The certificate also has color-shifting ink pattern background making it nearly impossible to replicate.

•Further, tamper-resistant technology is being used in the printing process ensuring that the naturalization certificates are tamper-proof.

•The latest physical security features have been incorporated into the new enhanced certificate and thus the chances of immigration fraud are reduced.

•Since the production process of certificates is automated, the certificated are more secured and there is a very minimal risk of human error.

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On October 14, 2010, a new field office was opened by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Holtsville, Long Island. The grand opening was commemorated by a ribbon cutting ceremony, which was presided over by the Director of USCIS, Alejandro Mayorkas along with Andrea Quarantillo, USCIS New York District Director, and Charles Akalski, the new Holtsville Field Office Director.

Director Mayorkas expressed his pride in opening the new USCIS field office in Holtsville. He also stated that USCIS is working hard towards offering an excellent customer service by providing accessible locations all over the country.

Following Director Mayorkas, Andrea Quarantillo, USCIS District Director mentioned that the USCIS customers in Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens Counties need not travel to other USCIS field offices anymore for fingerprinting and other immigration services, thanks to the new Holtsville office.

The location of the new USCIS office was chosen on the basis of its accessibility to all major traffic routes. The new USCIS field office is fully equipped and can serve up to 400 USCIS customers from Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens Counties per day. This new 47,000 square foot field office has been opened by USCIS to provide its customers with customer-friendly, easily accessible, and more efficient offices. In the past three years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has opened its field offices in many other states across the country, including Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Colorado, and New Hampshire.

USCIS customers can now fix up appointments with Immigration Services Officers through the InfoPass customer service tool that the new field office offers. Further, the new office also has a large waiting area, a special room for hosting naturalization ceremonies, as well as rooms to carry out immigration interviews. Around 100 federal and contract employees who previously worked for the USCIS’ field office in Garden City have been assigned as staff for this new field office.

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A special United States naturalization ceremony was held at the Kandahar Airfield on Oct1, 2010. Such a special event has been witnessed for the first time, since the U.S. military forces have been deployed to Afghanistan to support combat operations. The members who took the Oath of Allegiance and became citizens of the United States comprise of about 88 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines from 37 countries.

A three-member team from the Bangkok District office of U.S. Citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) took a trip all the way to Kandahar to complete the naturalization process. By bringing the immigration services to Kandahar, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has demonstrated its commitment to the troops who are currently serving in the military. The United States naturalization ceremony was held close to the battlefields where the U.S. military forces were serving.

The Deputy Director of USCIS Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate, Steve Bucher, accompanied the three officers to Kandahar to preside over the ceremony. During the interaction with citizenship candidates, he stated that it demanded greater coordination with USCIS offices in the United States to complete the United States naturalization process.

The coordination efforts for the completion of United States naturalization also included gathering the service members to Kandahar to complete the naturalization test as well as recite the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.

Since the commencement of the overseas naturalization program in 2004, 583 members of the U.S. military deployed in Afghanistan have been naturalized by U.S. Citizenship and immigration services. USCIS will keep up with the trend and continue to provide immigration services to America’s armed forces and their families posted at military installations across the United States and abroad.

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