SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE
(September 1999)

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Learn how to benefit from United States immigration laws and procedures from a former INS Attorney (1976-82) with over 30 years of experience. SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE is must reading for potential immigrants, employers, human resources managers, immigration attorneys, reporters and policy makers. Join over 60,000 persons in more than 150 countries in subscribing to our FREE monthly e-mail newsletter. E-Mail Address: Your Name:

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Volume Four, Number Nine

Published by the Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, California, 90017. Phone: (213)623-4592, Fax: (213) 623-3720, E-Mail: carl@shusterman.com, WWW Home Page: http://www.shusterman.com

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For back issues of SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE, see

Disclaimer: This newsletter is not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship. All information contained in this newsletter is generalized. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.

NEWS FLASH:

• CHAT REMINDER: Join us on Monday, September 20, at 6pm (PDT), 9pm (EDT) for a free, online immigration chat entitled "Till Death Do Us Part - Marriage and the Green Card". For more information, see Topic #4 below.

• ASYLEE ADJUSTMENT BACKLOG: The INS announced that there are 37,000 pending adjustment applications submitted by asylees at their Nebraska Service Center. Since the law permits only 10,000 asylees and refugees to adjust status each year, the wait between obtaining asylum and getting a green card is almost four years.

• CLEARING YOUR CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL RECORD: Few immigrants and immigration attorneys have a complete understanding of how to clear a criminal record. For those of you in California, there is a new website which uses a step-by-step question and answer approach to simplify the process. See "Clearing Your Criminal Record (in California)" at
  http://www.shusterman.com/deportationdefense.html

• FEWER GREEN CARDS ISSUED IN FY 1998: Over 200,000 fewer persons became immigrants in fiscal year 1998 due to INS backlogs than the law permits. Only 77,000 of a possible 140,000 persons became permanent residents under the employment-based categories.
  http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/Legal.htm

• H-1B PETITIONS: Starting in the last week on August, the INS began processing H-1B petitions with a start date of on or after October 1, 1999.

• LEGAL ASSISTANTS: If you are an immigration legal assistant with experience in obtaining H-1B visas and labor certifications for computer professionals, we are ready to make you an offer that you can't refuse. Mail your resume and two writing samples to Law Offices of Carl Shusterman, 600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, CA 90017.

• LOTTERY: The State Department announced today that all visa lottery numbers have been used for the current fiscal year. Barring the possibility of there being any "recaptured numbers", the DV-99 lottery is effectively over.

• PUBLIC INQUIRY NUMBERS (INS): The phone number for checking the status of pending petitions and applications at INS's Nebraska Service Center has changed to (402) 323-7830. To learn the public inquiry numbers for each of the other INS service centers, see

  http://www.shusterman.com/csc.html (California)--Link is no longer operational.

  http://www.shusterman.com/tsc.html (Texas)--Link is no longer operational.

  http://www.shusterman.com/vsc.html (Vermont)--Link is no longer operational.

CONTENTS:

1. October 1999 State Department Visa Bulletin

2. Latest Immigration Service Processing Times

3. H-1B Cap: Many Proposals, But Will We See Some Action?

4. Chats: Till Death Do Us Part - Marriage and the Green Card

5. Immigration Trivia Quiz: Famous Immigrant From India

6. INS's New Website Emphasizes Content over Form(s)

7. Legislation: INS Reform, 245(I), Nurses, Amnesty

8. Over 600,000 Ten-Year Green Cards About to Expire

9. Physicians: Restoration of National Interest Waivers?

10. Answer to August's Immigration Trivia Quiz

1. October 1999 State Department Visa Bulletin

For the Family categories, the priority dates moved at a snail's pace, considering we have entered the new fiscal year. All family-based preferences inched forward from one to six weeks.

The good news was that the Employment categories all remained Current with the exception of the unskilled worker category which advanced six weeks to June 1, 1993.

Visa Lottery (October, November and December Numbers)

Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides 50,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit immigration opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of current immigration to the United States. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. Not more than 3,500 visas (7% of the 50,000 visa limit) may be provided to immigrants from any one country.

For October, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2000 applicants chargeable to all regions/ eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut- off number: AFRICA (12,001); ASIA (4,201); EUROPE (14,016); NORTH AMERICA (Bahamas)(10); OCEANIA (738); SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN (1,200).

For November, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2000 applicants chargeable to all regions/ eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut- off number: AFRICA (12,704); ASIA (4,940); EUROPE (14,200) except Albania (4,501); NORTH AMERICA (Bahamas)(15); OCEANIA (753); SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN (1,650).

For December, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2000 applicants chargeable to all regions/ eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut- off number: AFRICA (12,800) except Ghana (6,040) and Nigeria (5,801); ASIA (4,940); EUROPE(14,200) except Albania (4,501); NORTH AMERICA (Bahamas)(15); OCEANIA (753); SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN (1,650).

For an explanation of what the categories, dates and symbols listed below mean, see

2. Latest Immigration Service Processing Times

Our web site contains the waiting times of each center and enumerates each state served by the center and any foreign offices within the center's jurisdiction.

The service centers periodically issue lists of their processing times for various types of applications. Our web site contains the latest list issued by each service center.

Warning: Processing times may appear faster on the official lists than they are in reality.

To see how fast (or slow) your service center is processing a particular type of petition or application, see

3. H-1B Cap: Many Proposals, But Will We See Some Action?

A group of Republican Senators including Phil Gramm, Trent Lott, Mitch McConnell, John Ashcroft, and Spencer Abraham sponsored "The New Workers for Economic Growth Act of 1999" (S. 1440) which would raise the H-1B cap to 200,000 annually. A companion bill (H.R. 2698) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman David Drier (R-CA).

Silicon Valley Congresswoman Zoe Loefgren (D-CA), along with a number of other Members of Congress, is sponsoring the "BRAIN Act" (H.R.2687) to provide for "T" visa for foreign-born graduates of U.S. universities in the fields of mathematics, sciences, engineering and computer science.

President aspirant John McCain (R-AZ) has sponsored his own bill to raise the H-1B cap to 175,000 and allow for annual adjustments by the Secretary of Labor.

To see the complete text of these bills, see

Despite all of these proposals, the question remains: "Are any of these bills headed anywhere but oblivion?" Not if the "Hearing on the H-1B Temporary Professional Worker Visa Program and Information Technology Workforce Issues" held on August 5, 1999 before the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims is any indication.

Although, Republican Presidential hopefuls from George W. Bush on down are supporting an increase in the H-1B cap, Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) remains out-of-step with the leaders of his own party. Where others see a growing shortage of U.S. workers in the Information Technology sector (Computer graduates of U.S. universities fell each year from 1990 to 1996.), Rep. Smith has identified "fraud" as the culprit in this year's shortage of H-1B numbers.

The new fiscal year is rapidly approaching, and the White House seems no more enthusiastic about increasing the H-1B cap than is Congressman Smith. However, Silicon Valley is in California and at least one observer does not believe the White House is going to jeopardize Vice President Gore's chances of carrying California in near year's election by failing to support a compromise bill to raise the H-1B cap.

4. Chats: Till Death Do Us Part - Marriage and the Green Card

Our next employment-related chat with CareerPath.com will occur on October 11th at 6pm, PDT. It will be entitled "The Visa Bulletin: Outlook for the New Year".

In addition, we have entered into a joint venture with About.com to conduct a series of immigration chats.

The following is a schedule of our first three chats with About.com:

September 20th, 6pm, PDT

"Till Death Do Us Part: Marriage and the Green Card"

October 4th, 6pm, PDT

"No Foreign Prince or Potentate: Becoming a U.S. Citizen"

October 18th, 6pm, PDT

"Alphabet Soup: Understanding Temporary Visas"

All chats may be accessed through a link in the box entitled "U.S. Immigration News" on our homepage.

Transcripts of previous chats and a schedule of upcoming chats may be accessed at

5. Immigration Trivia Quiz: Famous Immigrant From India

• CLUE #1 - At my invitation, his father spoke at a naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles over 20 years ago.

• CLUE #2 - He is a Parsee, a descendant of the Zoroastrians who immigrated from Persia to India hundreds of years ago.

• CLUE #3 - In his professional capacity, he once collaborated with the former leader of the rock group, the Mothers of Invention.

6. INS's New Website Emphasizes Content over Form(s)

I'm happy to report that the newly revamped INS website does, indeed, contain a photo of Ms. Meissner at

• FORMS: The number of downloadable INS forms included on the new site remains at 54, exactly the same as in the old site. With the kind of money that the INS spent redoing the site, would it be asking too much for the agency to include such commonly-used forms as I-129 and I-140?

• PROCESSING TIMES: When I saw the words "current processing times" on the new website, my heart started to race! All the hours I spend each month updating service center and district processing times (only to get dozen of e-mail messages asking why our processing are not more up-to-date: Easy answer - because we have to wait for the INS to issue new processing times before we can post them online ;-) would stop. I could simply link to INS's page, and spend a few extra hours each month with my family (or watching the boob tube munching on potato chips). But I was sorely disappointed when I clicked "current processing times" and got the following terse message: "Processing time varies by case type. The projected processing time is included on each receipt notice (Form I-797) sent to applicants and petitioners."

• IMMIGRATION SERVICES AND BENEFITS: Here is a topic that, at first click, looks promising. However, upon exploring further, it becomes apparent that many of the most useful topics, like permanent residence and temporary benefits, are not even links at the present time.

So, is there anything new on the INS website that makes it a useful destination for would-be immigrants? As a matter of fact, there is. Click on "Field Offices" and you can find a clickable nationwide map, an alphabetical index to all INS district, regional, and asylum offices. Some of the offices provide useful tips on completing and assembling petitions and applications, and fax and phone numbers for determining the status of your petition/application. Of course, the section on INS laws, regulations, operating instructions and interpretations, even though it is not new, is invaluable. The site contains decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals from June 1953 to December 1998.

We link to some of the more useful INS web pages at

7. Legislation: INS Reform, 245(I), Nurses, Amnesty

INS Reform

90+ House members, led by Congressmen Harold Rogers (R-KY), Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), introduced and held hearings on the "Immigration Reform and Improvement Act of 1999" (H.R. 2528). The bill was introduced on July 15 and hearings were held on July 29. The bill would split the INS into two separate agencies, one devoted to enforcement and other to service.

Immigration advocacy groups lined up in opposition to H.R. 2528, fearing that the bill would simply make things worse by weakening accountability and by skirting the issue of funding.

The advocacy groups have established the following four principles which any INS restructuring bill must meet before they will support it:

• Separate enforcement and adjudications

• Provide a single, accountable voice in charge of immigration policy and decisions

• Mandate coordination between enforcement and adjudications

• Provide an adequate funding mechanism

So, after consulting with pro-immigrant groups, a bipartisan trio of Senators (Abraham, Kennedy and Hagel) introduced the "INS Reform and Border Security Act of 1999" (S.1563) on August 5th which would create a new Immigration Affairs Agency within the Department of Justice in place of the INS, and would give the new agency authority over both enforcement and service.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) introduced the Immigration Restructing and Accountability Act of 1999 (IRAA) on August 3rd. This bill (H.R. 2680) would create a National Immigration Bureau (NIB) within the Justice Department and would establish separate NIB divisions for adjudications, enforcement and detention.

IRAA, which is being supported by immigration advocacy groups, would also restore section 245(i). Importantly, IRAA would end the practice of user fees paid by applicants for immigration benefits being diverted for other purposes. In the past two fiscal years, Congress has diverted over $500 million in user fees to pay for detention, DOJ Oversight, IG investigations, asylum and refugee process and other projects unrelated to adjudications. No wonder service backlogs continue to grow despite all of the increases in filing fees!

245(i), Nurses, Amnesty

Other legislation, including a bill to extend the benefits of section 245(i), create an H-1C visa for 500 registered nurses per year and extend the limited amnesty that Congress passed in 1997 for Cubans and Nicaraguans to other Central Americans, Haitians, Peruvians and Columbians has also been introduced in Congress. In the case of the nurse bill, the legislation has already passed the House and has been introduced in the Senate.

Read the complete text of each of these bills, as well as testimony given at the House hearings on H.R. 2528, at

8. 600,000 Ten-Year Green Cards About to Expire

Many immigrants wrongly fear that if they fail to renew their green cards, they will no longer be permanent residents, and may be subject to deportation. The card is simply evidence of permanent resident status, but even if a card expires, the bearer of an expired card remains a lawful permanent resident.

Still, it is a wise idea to renew the card in a timely manner. Attempting to reenter the U.S. after a trip abroad using an expired green card could cause major problems. Similarly, an expired card would be worthless to an immigrant wishing to change employment.

On September 8, the INS issued a press release containing questions and answers about how and when to renew a green card which is about to expire. See

If your green card is about to expire, you may download an application for a new green card at

9. Physicians: Restoration of National Interest Waivers?

Even though the provision is contained in the House bill (H.R. 2670), there are some anti-immigrant Congressman in the House of Representatives who would like to see the provision deleted from the final bill. The bill is schedule to go a House-Senate conference committee.

Read the complete text of amendment, contain in Section 119 of H.R. 2670, see

At a minimum, please contact Congressman Harold Rogers (R-KY), the Chairman of the Subcomittee for Appropriate for Commerce, State, Justice and the Judiciary, 2470 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D,C. 20515 - Phone: (202) 225-4601, Fax: (202) 225-0940; and Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY), 2342 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-3216 - Phone: (202) 225-4361, E-Mail: jserrano@mail.house.gov

If IMG's were not willing to work in medically underserved areas, many Americans would be deprived of medical care. There are not a sufficient number of new graduates from U.S. Medical Schools ready, willing and able to work in underserviced areas. The September 1st issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the number of students applying for admission to U.S. medical schools fell for the second year in a row.

10. Answer to August's Immigration Trivia Quiz

According to the National Japanese American Memorial Web Site at

However, this account does not specifically mention Ronald Reagan's speech. Accordingly, the winner of this month's Immigration Trivia Quiz is the person who faxed me the following letter from the U.S. National Archives:

November 19, 1987

President Ronald Reagan
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Reagan:

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Perhaps you recall a very special day for our family, December 9, 1945, in Santa Ana, California, when General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell awarded a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross medal to my brother, Kazuo Masuda. He was killed in action on the banks of the Arno River in Italy on August 27, 1944, while serving with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

You were then Captain Ronald Reagan, and joined General Stilwell after his 3000-mile flight from Washington. All of you came, I feel, not only to honor Kaz, but to help calm great hostility in Orange County to Japanese Americans. People at the time did not accept us as Americans, even after my brother's death. The local cemetery, for example, refused to accept my brother's body for burial. The presence of you and General Stilwell greatly affected the community, and led to a better life for our family.

After General Stilwell pinned the medal on my sister in front of our farmhouse (I have enclosed a photograph), there was a ceremony at the Santa Ana Bowl. General Stilwell said: "The amount of money, the color of one's skin do not make a measure of Americanism. A square deal all around; free speech; equality before the law; a fair field with no favor; obedience to the majority. An American not only believes in such things, but is willing to fight for them. Who, after all, is the real American? The real American is the man who calls it a fair exchange to lay down his life in order that American ideals may go on living. And judging by such a test, Sgt. Masuda was a better American than any of us here today."

You then rose, and said the following words: "The blood that has soaked into the sand is all one color. America stands unique in the world, the only country not founded on race, but on a way -- an ideal. Not in spite of, but because of our polyglot background, we have had all the strength in the world. That is the American way. Mr. and Mrs. Masuda, just as one member of the family of Americans, speaking to another member, I want to say for what your son Kasuo did -- Thanks."

Many times I have been asked to speak at the Kasuo Masuda middle school. I speak to all the history classes, and quote your words to the students.

I bring this up to you because our family feels that what you and General Stilwell said in 1945 are as true and important as ever: the ideals for which all good Americans should be willing to fight and die. My brother did both, even though his parents and family were stripped of all their American rights, and placed in an Arizona internment camp.

The words also express why so many of us in the Japanese American community so deeply support redress legislation now pending in Congress. If the legislation comes to you, I hope you will look upon it favorably. All of us in our family -- I believe Kaz as well -- would be greatly honored if you would. I also believe that America, through you, would honor itself.

Yours truly,

June Masuda Goto

The winner's name is Ming. Born in the PRC in Computer Science, Ming is a Ph.D. candidate in computer science. How did he determine the date of the Ronald Reagan quote? Here is Ming's message to me:

Hi Carl,

Your web site provides a good starting point for researching immigration related issues. I've done most part of my immigration case myself, and currently in the final queue. I know how important a good source of information means to people like me.

I sent in my answer for the last quiz too late. This time, I sort had the feeling that the answer probably won't be available on the Web. That's why I called a librarian friend at a local library. Somehow, he chose to email the question to the Ronald Reagan library, and got answer back in two hours.

Guess libraries are still good sources for quality information, even in the information age.

Ming

Carl Shusterman
September 16, 1999
Coming to you from Yellowstone National Park :-)