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Beach-Oswald is a full-service law firm, concentrating on
immigration law. We have special expertise in work visas, family
based visas, visa waivers, green cards through family and employment
and asylum. We have staff members who speak many different languages
to assist you. Our firm is A-V rated, and we have 27 years of
experience.
We succeed when others don't!
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ROOTS AND FRUITS OF
GRATITUDE
by: Danielle Beach-Oswald
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Thanksgiving is as American
as motherhood and pumpkin pie. It has a tenable history in this
country, beginning with pilgrims and Presidential proclamations of
various presidents since George Washington.
But roots go back much
further in history. Israelites had a sacrifice to peace or
thanksgiving offering which on which occasion they ate bread cakes
without yeast, mixed with oil.
It was a day of
thankfulness to God. Thanksgiving to God is also part of the
Christian heritage. For example in England for centuries it was
associated with harvest festivals thanking God for a good harvest.
In contrast we don't like
an ungrateful person. Such individuals are very low on the
social and moral totem pole of life.
Thanksgiving has
roots! But also fruits like the harvest. Among the fruits
we can mention:
1.
Friendship - gratitude makes lasting friends.
2.
Kindness - gratitude towards kind and generous people
3. Peace
- gratitude makes for peaceful relations.
4. Health
and wellness - gratitude promotes health and good feeling
5. Family
- Thanksgiving strengthens family relationships even more than
Christmas. The family comes together - even the office family.
6. Patriotism - Thanksgiving unites the nation in
gratitude for one nation under God indivisible with liberty and
justice for all.
Make this holiday season about gratitude, and you just might
be surprised at how merry it will turn out!
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USCIS
FEES MAY GO UP
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USCIS
had increased filing fees two years ago, and is now considering
doing so again.
Why does USCIS want to
increase filing fees?
USCIS gets most of its funding from the filing fees
immigrants pay when submitting benefit applications. In 2009,
there was a steep decline in the number of applications submitted by
immigrants that require filing fees. As a result, USCIS
is $164,000,000 short for the 2009 fiscal year. This is
why USCIS wants to increase filing fees - to obtain more funds in
order to prevent another shortfall in the 2010 fiscal year.
Is this a good idea?
Increasing fees is not a good way for USCIS to make more
money. If filing fees go up again, many immigrants will not be
able to afford to file applications. The end result will
be another shortfall, despite the filing fee increase, because there
will be significantly less immigrants filing applications.
Does USCIS have any other
options?
In order to deal with its financial situation, USCIS is
considering laying off employees.
This, however, according to USCIS director Alejandro Mayorkas, will
be a last resort.
What should you do about this
situation?
If you are considering filing any applications in the near
future, such as an application for permanent residence or
citizenship, then you must do so as soon as possible. Do not
delay - come to BOILA PC where we will promptly file your
applications. If you wait any longer, your green card or
citizenship may end up costing you a lot more money.
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INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY & CEDAW
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The United Nations has
designated December 10th
as International Human Rights Day. This day marks the
anniversary of the UN General Assembly's adopting of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The United Nations was
formed around the central idea of promoting peace, freedom, and
equality among individuals following the horrific events of the
Second World War.
Emphasizing the value
and importance of human rights includes the promotion and fundamental
respect for women's rights and gender equality. The UN Convention
on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979, is viewed around
the world as an International Bill of Rights for women. It lays
out a concrete definition for discrimination and produces measures to
put an end to discrimination against women.
Only
seven countries have failed to ratify CEDAW: Iran, Sudan, Somalia,
Naurau, Palau, Tonga, and the United States.
The United States is the only industrialized country that has not
ratified this treaty.
The ratification of
CEDAW will be up in the U.S. Senate in 2010. Please contact
your senators and urge them to vote "yes" to ratify this
treaty! The United States must continue to be a leader and
model for the rest of the world in its promotion and respect for
human rights.
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AIDS DAY
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 On December 1,
the world came together to celebrate World AIDS day. Hospitals
and clinics around the world provided free, confidential HIV
tests. HIV testing is recommended for children and adults aged
13-64.
Over 1 million people
in the United States are HIV-positive, and one in five do not know they are HIV-positive.
African-Americans account for over half of cases, and approximately
85% of HIV cases are transmitted through sexual contact.
For more information
on World AIDS Day and HIV awareness and prevention, please visit the
U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/
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Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Speaks for Urgent Need for Immigration Reform
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Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke at the Center for American Progress
on November 13 expressing her desire for Congress enact comprehensive
immigration reform in the upcoming year. Secretary Napolitano
emphasized that fixing the current system cannot come from "a
single initiative of regulation," but rather sweeping reform is
essential and critical to fix the faulted system. She stated
that harsher penalties are needed for undocumented individuals
currently in the U.S., especially at a time when the flow of
undocumented persons has decreased by half since 2007.
Secretary Napolitano also stressed the need for reform to address the
needs of citizens with partial citizenship status, stating "no
one should have to wait in line for years" to reunite with
families.
Reform
can only come with Congressional action on the issue. While the
Obama Administration is hoping that a comprehensive immigration
reform package will be introduced in 2010, Congress is the only one
who can initiate and officially act on the issue. Congressional
action on the issue, however, is not a guarantee in the next
year. Members of Congress are focusing on other priorities,
such as health care reform and addressing the needs of the economy,
and several lawmakers do not believe that immigration reform is a
realistic possibility. Secretary Napolitano brushed these
doubts aside, however, assuring the crowd that “we can fix this.”
To
read more about Secretary Napolitano's speech, please visit: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/napolitano_event.html.
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RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN ARMENIA
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In Armenia, a
Jehovah's Witness was thrown into prison for refusing to perform
military service. His refusal was based on his religious
beliefs.
 The European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) establishes that a person has a
"right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion." However, in the Bayatyan verdict, the ECHR
insisted that the Jehovah's Witness’ rights had not been violated.
The verdict was not
based on Article 9 of the ECHR, which proved for “freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion”. Instead, it was based on a small
section of Article 4, which discusses forced labor, and was taken out
of context.
Article 4 allows for
an alternative non-military service for those people who object to
military service based on conscientious grounds. The Jehovah's
Witnesses, however, never received an alternative to non-military
service, and was imprisoned.
The only chance that
this poor man now has is for the Grand Chamber of the ECHR to hear
his appeal and to overturn the decision. If the Grand Chamber
does not do so, the Bayatyan case will set precedence for many other
similar cases to follow.
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The information contained on
this email is for informational purposes only and does not
constitute legal advice. The transmission of information to or from
this email does not create an attorney-client relationship between
the sender and receiver. We take our privacy policy seriously and
will never sell, rent or share our email list. View our Privacy
Policy here. To schedule a consultation with one of our
immigration lawyers, please click
here.
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December 2009
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NEW!
TRIVIA QUESTIONS
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1. Who was responsible for the first State
Department Country Reports and when were they first used?
2. Where does the
expression “sleep tight” come from?
$25
coupon will be awarded to the first person to answer correctly.
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STAFF FAVORITE
PLACES TO VISIT INEXPENSIVELY
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- Christmas tree exhibit at the White
House
- Shenandoah National Park
- Baltimore Christmas tree lighting
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CORRECTION on “Domestic
Violence Asylum Grant”
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We apologize for the error
in the article entitled "Domestic Violence Asylum Grant" in
the 29th issue of our newsletter.
Ms. Alverado has NOT
yet received her grant of asylum, but is likely to in the near
future.
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