| Dear Readers, In light of this year’s beautiful spring
weather, I’m pleased to have some updates
from USCIS that will come as welcome news to many
of my readers. USCIS has indicated to AILA that they have not
seen the spike in H-1B filings since April 1st that
many of us expected. USCIS reports that while they
cannot specify the exact numbers of H-1B petitions
filed, the volume has been “surprisingly low.”
Though this is good news for employers who still
wish to file under next year’s cap, we still
recommend that employers file applications as soon
as possible. In addition, we can look forward to the expansion
of the E-Filing program. The first phase of this
program involved the online filing of I-90 Application
to Replace Permanent Resident Cards and I-765 Applications
for Employment Authorization (along with G-28s to
authorize the attorney if necessary). The Seattle
USCIS director conveyed to AILA that in the future
we can expect electronic filing of the following
petitions:
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker (for H-1B
petitions)
I-131 Application for Travel Document
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant
Status
I-907 Request for Premium Processing
USCIS customers will be able to submit their petitions
and pay their fees electronically and will receive
confirmation of their submission. USCIS is in the final stages of developing a 1-800
phone system that will allow customers to directly
access officers at service centers to have questions
answered and to resolve problems. Callers will follow
phone menus to be directed to appropriate representatives.
This is the latest step in USCIS’s overall
customer service plan that includes online case
status, e-mail notification and the “customer
service portal” on the USCIS website. Finally, as to the recent fee increases that USCIS
has implemented as of April 30th, USCIS Director
Aguirre commented on the fee hike saying, “This
is an important moment for USCIS; we are fundamentally
transforming a tired immigration services system,
uniformly recognized in need of reform, into a more
efficient and effective operation.” We at
Durrani Law Firm certainly hope that we will see
positive results from this most recent fee increase. Sincerely, 
Sardar Durrani | | | | In This Week's Issue: USCIS
Filing Fees Increased - April 30, 2004
Organizations Added
to Terrorist Exclusion List
Congressional Report
on Immigration-Related Detention Issues Available
I-94
Errors Issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Business Immigration
Newsletter Available - March/April 2004
Read AILA's Monthly
Washington Update - April 27, 2004
USCIS
Filing Fees Increased - April 30, 2004 As of April 30, 2004, filing fees for
USCIS applications will increase. You can read a full
list of new fees in .pdf form here.
Organizations
Added to Terrorist Exclusion List Several international groups were officially
designated as "terrorist organizations;" the
list was published in the Federal Register and is found
below. ___________________________________________ [Federal Register: April 29, 2004 (Volume
69, Number 83)]
[Notices]
[Page 23555]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ap04-89] ======================================== DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 4697]
Determination Pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(II)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended, Placing
Entities on the Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL)
Acting under the authority of section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(II)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (INA),
8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(v1)(II), and in consultation with
the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security,
I hereby determine that each of the following entities
is a ``terrorist organization'' within the meaning of
that section of the INA:
Babbar Khalsa International;
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
(a.k.a. CPN(M), a.k.a. the United Revolutionary People's
Council, a.k.a. the People's Liberation Army of Nepal);
Dhamat Houmet Daawa Salafia
(a.k.a. Group Protectors of Salafist Preaching; a.k.a.
Houmat Ed Daawa Es Salifiya; a.k.a. Katibat El Ahoual;
a.k.a. Protectors of the Salafist Predication; a.k.a.
El-Ahoual Battalion; a.k.a. Katibat El Ahouel; a.k.a.
Houmate Ed-Daawa Es-Salafia; a.k.a. the Horror Squadron;
a.k.a. Djamaat Houmat Eddawa Essalafia; a.k.a. Djamaatt
Houmat Ed Daawa Es Salafiya; a.k.a. Salafist Call Protectors;
a.k.a. Djamaat Houmat Ed Daawa Es Salafiya; a.k.a. Houmate
el Da'awaa es-Salafiyya; a.k.a. Protectors of the Salafist
Call; a.k.a. Houmat ed-Daaoua es-Salafia; a.k.a. Group
of Supporters of the Salafiste Trend; a.k.a. Group of
Supporters of the Salafist Trend);
Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement
(a.k.a. Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, a.k.a. ETIM,
a.k.a. ETIP);
International Sikh Youth Federation;
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
(a.k.a. GICM; a.k.a. Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain);
The Islamic International Brigade
(a.k.a. International Battalion, a.k.a. Islamic Peacekeeping
International Brigade, a.k.a. Peacekeeping Battalion,
a.k.a. The International Brigade, a.k.a. The Islamic Peacekeeping
Army, a.k.a. The Islamic Peacekeeping Brigade);
The Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion
of Chechen Martyrs
(a.k.a. Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion,
a.k.a. Riyadh-as-Saliheen, a.k.a. the Sabotage and Military
Surveillance Group of the Riyadh al-Salihin Martyrs, a.k.a.
Riyadus- Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion
of Shahids (Martyrs));
The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment
(a.k.a. the Islamic Special Purpose Regiment, a.k.a. the
al-Jihad- Fisi-Sabililah Special Islamic Regiment, a.k.a.
Islamic Regiment of Special Meaning);
Tunisian Combat Group
(a.k.a. GCT, a.k.a. Groupe Combattant Tunisien, a.k.a.
Jama'a Combattante Tunisien, a.k.a. JCT; a.k.a. Tunisian
Combatant Group).
Acting under the authority of section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(II)
of the INA, and in consultation with the Attorney General
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, I hereby determine
that the following names have been used by two organizations
that are already on the Terrorist Exclusion List, and
amend the designations of those organizations under that
section to add the following names as aliases:
--Wafa Humanitarian Organization, Al Wafa, Al Wafa Organization
(as aliases for Al-Wafa al-Igatha al-Islamia).
--Waldenberg, AG (as an alias for Al Taqwa Trade, Property,
and Industry Company, Ltd.).
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register,
and is effective upon publication.
Dated: April 22, 2004.
Colin L. Powell,
Secretary of State, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 04-9725 Filed 4-28-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710-10-P Congressional
Report on Immigration-Related Detention Issues Available You may read the full report in .pdf
form here. I-94
Errors Issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services The USCIS released a memo on March 30,
2004 regarding errors in issued I-94's. You may read the
entire memo below: --- This memorandum provides guidance
for cases in which CIS or Asylum offices issue an I-94
with erroneous information. Should an alien enter a USCIS
district office and demonstrate to a CIS officer that
some information on an I-94 issued either by USCIS or
an Asylum office is incorrect, the officer shall provide
the alien with a new I-94 with the correct information.
Some examples of errors can be a misspelled name or other
data entry error at a Service Center, or, occasionally,
an incorrect date of admission. The officer must be clearly
convinced from the alien’s statements and the evidence
presented that the I-94 was in fact issued in error and
that neither the original error nor the proposed correction
involve deliberate deception or fraud on the part of the
alien. If the officer is
not, the alien should be advised to file Form I-102. This memo does not cover any
I-94s issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Should an alien enter a CIS office and ask for a new I-94
based on an I-94 issued at a port-of-entry or otherwise
by CBP, the CIS officer should direct the alien to CBP
in accordance with that agency's procedures. This change will be incorporated
into the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) in the near
future. Until such time as that change is affected, all
officers should adhere to the guidance
contained in this memorandum. This memorandum is intended solely
for guiding USCIS personnel in performance of their
professional duties. It is not intended to be, and may
not be relied upon, to create any right or benefit, substantive
or procedural, enforceable at law by any individual or
other party in removal proceedings, in litigation with
the United States, or in any other form or manner.
Business
Immigration Newsletter Available - March/April 2004 The March/April issue of Connect!, AILA's
business immigration newsletter, is available in .pdf
form here. Read
AILA's Monthly Washington Update - April 27, 2004 You may read the Update in .pdf form
here.
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