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Don’t Forget Your Biometrics for Re-Entry Permits and
Refugee Travel Documents 
As of March 5, 2008, the new instructions for the Application
for Travel Document (Form I-131) require those applying for re-entry
permits and refugee travel documents to have their photographs and
fingerprints taken at a USCIC
Application Support Center
for the purpose of conducting background checks and to meet heightened
security measures. The USCIS encourages applicants to apply well in
advance of their anticipated travel date to allow sufficient time for
their biometrics to be processed and for the travel document to be
issued. Those requiring expedited processing must follow the specific
instructions for submitting a request for expedited processing, and
must include a valid reason for their request. The new instructions
only apply for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents, and do
not require Advance Parole applicants to submit their biometrics—the
procedures for Advance Parole applicants remain the same.
 A
Special Visa for Iraqis
United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) announced on July 9 a special immigration visa for
Iraqi nationals who worked for, or were contractors of the U.S. government in Iraq
for at least one year after March 20, 2003. 5,000 of
these special visas will be made available every year through the
year 2012. A full description of eligibility requirements for
this new visa are available online at:
www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/AD08-17.pdf.
 ICE
Raids Local Maryland
Painting Business
Amid many reports of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) raiding businesses and arresting illegal immigrants,
the news hit a little closer to home recently when on June 30 ICE
arrested 45 illegal aliens working at a painting company in Baltimore, MD.
Those arrested came from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nigeria and Panama.
Approximately five out of
those arrested were eligible for release on humanitarian grounds, but
all will have to appear before an immigration judge to determine
whether they will be granted the right to remain in the United States.
 Work
Authorization for Refugees and Asylees Now
Valid for Two Years
When a refugee or asylee
applies for an employment authorization document (EAD) for the first
time, the document remains valid for one year. Although the application
fee is waived for the initial EAD, applicants incur a $340 filing fee
when they renew their work permit one year later. Given that refugees
usually find themselves needing to renew their work authorization
documents before they are able to adjust their status, the USCIS has just
announced that it will lighten this financial burden on new immigrants
by extending the validity of initial EADs to two years after arrival in
the U.S.
 Asylum
Seekers Along the Border
The Associated Press reports that there has been a
significant increase in people seeking asylum along the U.S.- Mexico border due to drug-cartel violence. The
news article states that at least 63 people have applied for political
asylum at border crossings in West Texas and New Mexico between October and July,
which is a significant rise compared to the 33 claims that were made
during the entire fiscal year that ended in October. “The willingness
of asylum-seekers to sit behind bars in the U.S. for months while they
await a decision,” the articles states “are a measure of how bad things
are in Mexico and how fearful people have become.”
To read the full article, please click here:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BORDER_VIOLENCE_ASYLUM?SITE=NVLAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 US
Considering Attracting More Au Pairs
In
light of the fact that the number of au pairs in the U.S.
has increased by more than 86% in the last decade, the State Department
is considering revising the requirements for the au pair program to
allow even more au pairs to participate. The proposed revisions would
raise the age limit from 26 to 30, and would allow former participants
to return for another year.
The au pair program is popular because it allows young foreigners to
take classes in the U.S.
for up to two years while living with an American family and caring for
their children. American families enjoy the arrangement because they
are able to obtain individualized childcare at an affordable price, as
well as the chance to expose their children to various cultures.
For more on this story, click here:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AU_PAIRS?SITE=ORMED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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