USCIS Improves Delivery of Immigration Documents
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has fully implemented the Secure Mail Initiative (SMI), which uses U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation to deliver certain immigration documents in a safe, secure and timely manner.
Made possible by a partnership between USCIS and the USPS, the SMI enables USCIS to confirm delivery of permanent resident cards and documents pertaining to travel and employment authorization. With USPS tracking information, USCIS customers can easily stay up-to-date on the delivery status of their documents and USCIS can confirm that these essential documents were delivered to the proper address.
SMI provides USCIS customers many benefits, including:
* The ability to track the status of their documents with USPS tracking information
* Quicker delivery—on average, documents sent through USPS Priority Mail should arrive two to four business days sooner than with first-class mail
Obama Pushes Immigration Reform (Again!)
President Barack Obama says it will take changing minds, hearts and votes to fix a broken immigration system. He also told a crowd at a Cinco de Mayo reception at the White House that their help will be needed to make it happen.
Obama recently embarked on a new push to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, despite little enthusiasm for it on Capitol Hill. He has held several meetings in recent weeks with advocates and elected officials, including members of Congress. But Obama also has asked those he has met with to help win the bipartisan support it would take to get a bill he could sign.
Obama's first immigration proposal, the so-called DREAM Act, died after it failed to overcome a threatened Republican filibuster in the Senate back in December. The proposal would have made citizenship possible for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents before the age of 16 provided they attend two years of college or join the armed forces.
Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, attempted to enact meaningful immigration reform during his second term in office but was rebuffed by members of his own party in Congress.
With the positive attention gained in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, Obama appears to be using the moment to revive his controversial plan for immigration reform, which focuses on enhancing security along the Mexican border and opening a path to legalization for the estimated eight million to 12 million foreign nationals living in the U.S. illegally.
Update: Tri Valley U. President Indicted for Student Visa Fraud Scheme
A federal grand jury in California indicted the president of a university in Pleasanton, Calif. on 33-criminal counts, charging her with an array of violations, including visa fraud, money laundering and alien harboring, after a two-year investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Tri-Valley University President Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, who also served as the school’s chief executive officer, is accused of engaging in a two-year scheme to defraud the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by submitting phony documents in support of Tri-Valley University’s applications to admit foreign nationals on student visas. The indictment further alleges that after obtaining such approvals, Su fraudulently issued visa-related documents to student aliens in exchange for “tuition and fees.”
Su was taken into custody by HSI special agents.
Latest H-1B Visa Count Released on May 3, 2011
As of April 29, 2011, approximately 9,200 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 6,600 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. Not all H-1B nonimmigrants are subject to this annual cap.
VISA PREFERENCE NUMBERS FOR JUNE 2011
FAMILY India Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st 01May04 01May04
2A 22Aug07 22Aug07
2B 15Apr03 15Apr03
3rd 01Jun01 01Jun01
4th 08Mar00 08Mar00
EMPLOYMENT India Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st Current Current
2nd 15Oct06 Current
3rd 22Apr02 15Sep05
Other 22Apr02 08Nov03
4th Current Current
5th Current Current1B
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
