The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  (USCIS) reported today that as part of their overall transition to the use of lockbox facilities instead of service centers, that beginning February 25, 2010, Form I-485 (Application to Adjust Status) are to be submitted to the Dallas or Phoenix Lockbox Facilities depending on where the applicant resides. The I-485 is a form [...]

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that effective today, applicants for work authorization under the various categories are required to submit their application to the designated lockboxes in Phoenix or Dallas depending on where the applicant resides. The USCIS’ designation of these lockboxes is part of their effort to reallocate resources and relieve some of the workload from the USCIS Service Centers to [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that a study by the Pew Research Center that will be released today discusses the fading support by young people aged 18 to 29 whose strong turnout back in November 2008 for the Presidential election was claimed by demographers as the start of a new Democratic movement. The study’s findings are very significant because the results show that the diverse [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) officials and immigrant activists are surprised at the low number of applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), an immigration benefit that President Obama authorized for Haitian nationals in light of the earthquake that ravaged that country on January 12, 2010. So far, the USCIS has processed a little over [...]

The Washington Times reported today that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services  (HHS) has asked the various states to make arrangements to receive more orphaned refugee children whose parents have disappeared or have been killed by war or natural disaster. The heightened need is caused by in increase in armed conflicts in Africa and the earthquake in Haiti. [...]

The New York Times reported today that a meeting is scheduled today for for the two governments to discuss ways to to reduce the immigration of Cuban nationals fleeing the island and endangering their lives at sea to reach the U.S. The last time U.S. diplomats traveled to Cuba about 5 months ago for these talks, they felt that the [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that religious leaders in the Central Florida area renewed their call yesterday to Congress to pass immigration reform that if signed into law, would legalize millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.  The leaders have said that it is time for both the Obama administration and Congress to address this issue. The leaders, led by Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, [...]

The Houson Chronicle reported that siblings Emilio and Analia Maya, are facing deportation after working as confidential informants (CI’s) for the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE). The siblings came from Argentina in the late 1990′s and settled in Saugerties, NY.  A small town in upstate New York by the Catskill Mountains.  Over the years, the pair worked blue collar jobs [...]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that beginning March 15, 2010, employers seeking H-2A farm worker visas for foreign national workers will now be required to provide documented evidence of their recruitment efforts to show that they have tried to find qualified U.S. workers as opposed to merely filing an attestation concerning recruitment. In light of the new rules, the U.S. Department of [...]

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) reported this past weekend that Koch Foods of Cincinnati LLC, a poultry processing plant was assessed and paid over $536,000 in fines for violations of the U.S. immigration laws concerning the hiring of undocumented immigrants. The USICE investigated the company based on an anonymous tip received alleging that company was employing over 100 undocumented workers at their poultry [...]