| Dear Readers, United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) recently changed the way it handles processing
I-130 petitions for alien relatives. The first step taken by a U.S. citizen or
permanent resident who wishes to help a relative immigrate to the United States
is to file an I-130. In the current system, an I-130 petition can be filed and
approved, yet eligible family members must wait until there is a visa number
available before they can apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status
to permanent resident. Under its new system, USCIS will process I-130
petitions based on visa availability, meaning that I-130s will only be
processed when there are visa numbers available, not before. This process
should not delay your relative’s ability to apply for adjustment of status, but
it means that a decision on the outcome of your I-130 petition will take a
longer period of time. This means that the estimated processing time listed
on the receipt notice will not be accurate.
If you currently have an
I-130 petition pending with USCIS, the new system of adjudication means that
USCIS will not process your I-130 petition until visa numbers become available.
This will lengthen the estimated processing time listed on your receipt
notice.
If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and you are
planning to file a petition for a relative, you should file as soon as you are
eligible in order to establish your relative’s place in line, even though the
petition will not be decided for an extended period of time. When you file a
petition, USCIS will send you a receipt notice that will establish your place
in line. This date is called the “priority date,” and you can expect your case
to be reviewed when your priority date “becomes current.” For information
about current visa availability dates, you can visit http://www.state.gov/travel.
It is my pleasure to serve you
and keep you informed. If you have any questions or concerns about
immigration,
please feel free to e-mail me at sardar@durrani.com. Sincerely, 
Sardar Durrani | | | | In This Week's
Issue: Indian American Woman Selected to US Olympic Gymnastics
Team
DOS Proposes Fee
Increase For Certain Consular Services Including Diversity Petitions
INFOPASS Online Immigration Appointment System Coming to New
York
USCIS Changes Approval Methods for I-130
Applications
GAO Says Delayed Visa Revocations are a Problem
AILA Asks for Help with I-797 Problems
FBI Seeks Aid from U.S. Muslims on Terror
Attorney forms organization to defend rights of Muslims, other
minority groups
New Visa Bulletin, AAO Processing Times
Available
Indian
American Woman Selected to US Olympic Gymnastics Team
Fighting off injury and even
temporary retirement, Indian American gymnast Mohini Bhardwaj has made it to
the US team for the Athens Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old sociology
major from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was Sunday selected for
the August Olympics.
It has been a dramatic turnaround for the gritty
young woman, who was selected after five days of training at the Olympic team
selection camp at the Women's National Team Training Centre near Huntsville,
Texas...
You can read the rest of the article here. DOS Proposes Fee
Increase For Certain Consular Services Including Diversity
Petitions The DOS is proposing adjustments in
current fees for consular services. These adjusted fees would take effect on
October 1, 2004. There are nine proposed fee changes on the Schedule, of which
seven are increases and two are decreases of existing fees.
You can read the report in its entirety here. INFOPASS Online
Immigration Appointment System Coming to New York U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) plans to formally open its Internet-based appointment system
known as InfoPass to New York City area residents. The national director of
USCIS, Eduardo Aguirre, will be in New York City to formally launch InfoPass on
July 22nd.
With InfoPass, the public will be able to go online to schedule a date and time
to meet with an immigration information officer, avoiding the need to wait in
line. Last year, more than 350,000 people visited the USCIS information room in
New York, and 1,400 visit on a daily basis. Developed in Miami a year ago, New
York City is one of four key sites where InfoPass is currently available. The
USCIS Los Angeles and Dallas District Offices launched InfoPass earlier this
year.
You can read the entire announcement here.
USCIS Changes
Approval Methods for I-130 Applications
As we told you above, the USCIS
recently changed its approval procedures for I-130 applications.
You can read the USCIS Notice here. GAO Says
Delayed Visa Revocations are a Problem
Government Accountability Office
officials said Tuesday that delays are continuing in the government's visa
revocations of terrorist suspects.
In a follow-up report to a critical
GAO report on weaknesses in the visa revocation system issued a year ago, GAO
discovered in a review of 35 cases between October and December 2003 delays of
months before revoking visas.
You can read the entire story here. AILA Asks for
Help with I-797 Problems
American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA) is trying to determine the extent of the problem with
unreceived I-797s. Thus, if an an I-797 has not found its way to either the
attorney of record or the petitioner, AILA would like to know about these
cases, you can contact DURRANI LAW FIRM at 305-271-1122 or 608-255-9891 and we
will forward your facts to AILA. You can read this story online here. FBI Seeks Aid
from U.S. Muslims on Terror
The FBI is intensifying efforts
nationwide to enlist Muslims, Arab-Americans and Sikhs to help thwart a
possible terrorist attack this summer or fall.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told top agents in all 56 FBI field offices to
increase contacts with these groups in their areas amid a consistent flow of
intelligence that indicates al-Qaida wants to launch a major attack on U.S.
soil in coming months... You can read the rest of this story here. Attorney forms
organization to defend rights of Muslims, other minority groups
An attorney who has defended hundreds
of Middle Easterners and Muslims is starting what she says will be a lead
organization championing communities put on the defensive by suspicion and
investigation after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Attorney Banafsheh Akhlaghi
said the National Legal Sanctuary for Community Advancement will address the
plight of Muslims and other communities as a civil rights matter, similar to
the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and the
disenfranchisement of African-Americans.
You can read the rest of this story here. New Visa
Bulletin, AAO Processing Times Available
You can read the August, 2004 Visa Bulletin here. You can read AILA's AAO Processing Time Report here. | 
