For visitors traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), contact the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office if you are at an airport.   If you are not at an airport, visit the local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office.   You can find a list of local offices at the USCIS website.

For visitors traveling under a nonimmigrant visa, visit the local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office.    A list of local offices is available at the USCIS website.  When visiting the office, bring your passport, evidence that you are stranded (such as an itinerary for the cancelled flight), and your I-94 departure record.  For additional immigration relief options, please visit the Special Situation page.

Shannon Underwood, a partner at Global Justice Law Group, is quoted at length in the article as “a highly respected immigration specialist and an immigration reform champion.”  Shannon states,  “If you’ve been in the country for over a year without (legal documentation) and leave, it immediately starts a 10-year ban on your return. Now, you can qualify for a waiver, but you have to prove extreme hardship on your sponsor family—for instance, you’re the primary caregiver and your sponsor has cancer, or something like that. If she had stayed here and worked through the process locally, she would have had some other legal protections, like the appellate court system.” 

The article demonstrates the difference that experienced immigration advice can make for a family such as the one featured in the article.  

To read the entire text of this article, go to http://yellowscene.com/2010/09/20/american-limbo/.

The Federal Reserve’s ”Economic Letter” summarizes recent research by Peri (2009) and Peri and Sparber (2009), which examined the impact of immigrants on the broader U.S. economy. These studies systematically analyze how immigrants affect total output, income per worker, and employment in the short and long run. Consistent with previous research, the analysis finds no significant effect of immigration on net job growth for U.S.-born workers.  This report suggests that the economy absorbs immigrants by expanding job opportunities rather than by displacing workers born in the United States.

At the state level, the presence of immigrants is associated with increased output per worker. This increase in productivity occurs when businesses adjust their  equipment and structures to take advantage of the labor supplied by new immigrants. 

The complete report is available on the FRBSF website.

As the Latino electorate grows in size and power, candidates from all political parties must take their views into account to remain viable in an increasing number of races. The Latino electorate does trend Democratic overall, perhaps because of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has increasingly come from Republican members of Congress.  However, foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens of Latino descent — representing 40% of the Latino voter population— has proven to be a true swing constituency.

This updated report lays out trends in Latino voting patterns over the last several years.  The authors examine some of the factors that influence this segment of the electorate. The report features a list of “Races to Watch”—forty-one battleground House, Senate and gubernatorial contests where Latino voters will play a key role—and details the congressional districts where Latino voting power is most concentrated.

The complete report can be downloaded from the America’s Voice website.

The cost for attendance is $69 for an adult.  Friends of Congo attendees will receive 15% discount off the full adult ticket price, which is $69.00 per seat. With the 15% off discount, each adult seat is $56.25.  Click here to complete the form to receive the discount price.  Patrons 25 and under are $11.00.  

Ruined is a critically acclaimed play, winning major theater awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  It takes place in a small town in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.  In the play, Mama Nadi both protects and profits from the young women who seek refuge in her rain forest bar and brothel.   Ruined is a powerful portrayal of the triumph of the human spirit.  

Ruined is the first play in Intiman’s five-year International Cycle.  The play will include  the leading original cast members and the design team from director Kate Whoriskey’s acclaimed world-premiere production. Ruined will be co-produced with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, where it will run after the Seattle production. Later this season, Intiman will bring the play to South Africa’s Market Theatre, where the story will be shared with Congolese refugees in Johannesburg.

For more information, go to the Intiman Theater website at http://www.intiman.org/2010season/ruined/.

The Policy Manual explains how any effective, long-term solution to the immigration problem must: 1) require the unauthorized population to come out of the shadows, register their presence with the government, and give them the opportunity to earn legal status; 2) provide fair and lawful ways for American businesses to hire much-needed immigrant workers who help grow our economy while protecting U.S. workers from unfair competition and all workers from exploitation; 3) reduce the unreasonable and counterproductive backlogs in family-based and employment-based immigration; 4) ensure the permanent immigration system provides adequate visas to meet the needs of American families, businesses, and communities; and 5) preserve and restore the fundamental principles of due process and equal protection while protecting our national security.

AILA’s newest advocacy resource, Solutions That Work: A Policy Manual for Immigration Reform is available to review and download at www.aila.org/solutions.

The Department’s brief said that S.B. 1070 will place significant burdens on federal agencies, diverting their resources away from high-priority targets, such as aliens implicated in terrorism, drug smuggling, and gang activity, and those with criminal records. The law’s mandates on Arizona law enforcement will also result in the harassment and detention of foreign visitors and legal immigrants, as well as U.S. citizens, who cannot readily prove their lawful status.

In declarations filed with the brief, Arizona law enforcement officials, including the Chiefs of Police of Phoenix and Tucson, said that S.B. 1070 will hamper their ability to effectively police their communities. The chiefs said that victims of or witnesses to crimes would be less likely to contact or cooperate with law enforcement officials.  They stated that implementation of the law would require them to reassign officers from critical areas such as violent crimes, property crimes, and home invasions.

The Department filed the suit after extensive consultation with Arizona officials, law enforcement officers and groups, and civil rights advocates. The suit was filed on behalf of the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State, which share responsibilities in administering federal immigration law.

“With the strong support of state and local law enforcement, I vetoed several similar pieces of legislation as Governor of Arizona because they would have diverted critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety and undermined the vital trust between local jurisdictions and the communities they serve,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. “We are actively working with members of Congress from both parties to comprehensively reform our immigration system at the federal level because this challenge cannot be solved by a patchwork of inconsistent state laws, of which this is one. While this bipartisan effort to reform our immigration system progresses, the Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce the laws on the books by enhancing border security and removing criminal aliens from this country.”

The Department has requested a preliminary injunction to enjoin enforcement of the law, arguing that the law’s operation will cause irreparable harm. “Arizona impermissibly seeks to regulate immigration by creating an Arizona-specific immigration policy that is expressly designed to rival or supplant that of the federal government. As such, Arizona’s immigration policy exceeds a state’s role with respect to aliens, interferes with the federal government’s balanced administration of the immigration laws, and critically undermines U.S. foreign policy objectives. S.B. 1070 does not simply seek to provide legitimate support to the federal government’s immigration policy, but instead creates an unprecedented independent immigration scheme that exceeds constitutional boundaries,” the Department said in its brief.

To maintain TPS status, Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries must re-register during the re-registration period from July 9 until September 7, 2010. It is important to re-register as soon as the re-registration period opens to allow sufficient time for USCIS to complete all the routine background checks and further application processing. Applications from Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries will not be accepted before July 9.

USCIS will issue a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to eligible TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs. However, USCIS will automatically extend the validity of existing EADs held by Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries for six months, through March 9, 2011. This automatic extension will allow sufficient time for eligible TPS beneficiaries to re-register and receive an EAD without any lapse in employment authorization. The Federal Register Notice explains how TPS beneficiaries and their employers may determine which EADs are automatically extended.

For assistance with registering or extending your Temporary Protected Status, please contact Global Justice Law Group at 206-787-1406 or email info@globaljusticelawgroup.com.