Changes in sending family petition forms from abroad

Beginning August 15, 2011, individuals living in countries that do not have USCIS offices will be required to submit their family-based Form I-130 petitions to the Chicago Lockbox facility. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that this change will improve the efficiency of the process for those filing family-based petitions from the Chicago Lockbox facility. Read more

Error forces to redo 2012 visa lottery drawing

Due to a computer error, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery have been voided, affecting and disappointing thousands of people who thought they had won a visa through the lottery. Apparently, the computer program conducting the lottery mistakenly caused the 90% of winners to be from applications submitted in the first 2 days - and not ... Read more

Spanish-language E-Verify website launched

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of the Spanish version of its E-Verify website. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine whether their employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. USCIS says it will add information to the website as it ... Read more

San Francisco Sheriff rejects enforcement of "Secure Communities".

San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessy announced that he will begin releasing undocumented immigrants who are in jail for minor crimes, even if federal authorities request that they remain in detention for a deportation hearing. San Francisco is a "sanctuary city," as established by an ordinance passed in 1989. The ordinance ... Read more

Illinois withdraws from "Secure Communities" program

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced yesterday that his state will no longer participate in the Secure Communities program. The governor sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notifying them that the state is withdrawing from the program because the federal government is applying it in a discriminatory manner, and because it is not complying with ... Read more

Undocumented mother wins civil lawsuit

A federal judge ruled that Juana Villegas' civil rights were violated when prison authorities kept her handcuffed to a bed during the final stages of her labor and postpartum recovery. U.S. District Court Judge William Haynes Jr. must now set a hearing to determine the ... Read more

Actress convicted of immigration fraud

A federal judge sentenced Mexican actress Fernanda Romero to 15 consecutive weekends in jail, 1,000 hours of community service and five years on probation after she was found guilty of lying to immigration authorities about her marriage. Last year, the soap opera and movie actress was charged with the federal crime of ... Read more

Man fined for abusing immigrant employees

In Sunday's edition of The Post Standard newspaper, there was a story about the abuse of a group of immigrants recruited in Mexico to work in Syracuse, New York at a fair. The account of the abuse and mistreatment suffered by 19 Mexicans horrified me. It also infuriated me to learn that there are such inhumane people willing to practically enslave and ... Read more

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