Rachel Huan Kao's Archived Articles

Immigration News
September 2004

“Enforcement must always be tempered with common sense”
In a press release issued Thursday, August 12, 2004, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner announced that CBP officers have discretion to grant a one-time parole to travelers using the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) who have overstayed previous entries, and are determined to be no-risk. Under the VWP, nationals of certain countries (not the Philippines) are given the opportunity to enter the US for 90 days without applying for a visitor’s visa. Any nationals who overstay their 90 day entries are ineligible for future entries under the VWP, but may apply for visas to enter the US. Unfortunately, many individuals who overstay their VWP entries are not aware of this penalty until they present themselves for entry. At this time, they would be detained, handcuffed during transport to and from the detention facility, and then returned on the next flight back to the country they arrived from. By Commissioner Bonner’s announcement, CBP officers are able to make a determination of the arriving individual’s potential as a terrorist, economic migrant or criminal, and if no such threat is determined and their prior overstay under the Visa Waiver Program was minor, they are granted a one-time parole to enter the US. Future entries to the US will require a visa.

CPP Redesignated a Terrorist Organization
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has been redesignated as a terrorist organization by the Department of State. The CPP is also known as the New People’s Army (NPA), and the CPP/NPA.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
The Ninth Circuit found that based on the Covenant between the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States, Act of March 24, 1976, all persons born on or after January 9, 1978 are citizens of the United States. This decision overrules the district court’s decision.

Crew List Visas End July 21, 2004
As of July 21, 2004, crew list visas have been eliminated. Each crew member must now apply for and obtain a visa on an individual basis. The purpose of this change is to eliminate this security loophole.

California Service Center helps out
Nebraska and Texas Service Centers have begun sending immediate relative I-130 petitions to California Service Center for adjudication to alleviate the backlogs at the Nebraska and Texas Service Centers. As a result, cases filed with Nebraska and Texas Service Centers will receive receipt notices from California to reflect this change.

Health Care Worker Certification
As of July 26, 2004 all foreign Health Care Workers must have certification to be eligible for temporary or permanent employment visas. TN health care workers (from Canada or Mexico, in TN visa status) have been given a one-year reprieve from obtaining the certification, but only if they were employed as a TN nonimmigrant health care worker before September 23, 2003, and have a valid license from a U.S. jurisdiction prior to September 23, 2003. All other foreign health care workers must obtain certification from an approved credentialing organization before applying for or extending temporary or permanent employment visas.

New Photo Requirements
CIS announced that soon all required photographs should be passport-style, the current standard utilized by the Department of State. All new cases filed to the California Service Center should include passport-style photographs if photographs are required. Nebraska Service Center is expected to utilize this standard as of August 1, 2004. All pending cases should wait for further instructions and not send in new photographs.

H-1B Cap 2004/2005
As of August 23, 2004 56,100 H-1B petitions have been granted that are chargeable to fiscal year 2004, which ends September 30, 2004. There are additional cases pending that may be chargeable to fiscal year 2004. If there are any H-1B numbers available after all of the Singapore and Chile Free Trade Agreements H-1B’s have been counted, these can be added back into the fiscal year 2004 H-1B numbers within the first 45 days of fiscal year 2005. (65,000 total H-1B’s are permitted for fiscal year 2004. By agreement, up to 6,800 of these are reserved for nationals of Singapore or Chile. If they are not used up by the end of the year, they can be allotted for nationals of other countries.) As of August 20, 2004 40,000 cases have been received that will be chargeable to fiscal year 2005, which begins October 1, 2004. Of these 40,000 cases received 21,000 have been approved.

Labor Certification Applications
The Department of Labor mobilized their personnel to focus on H-2A cases for the past several months. Since December 2003, officers at the Chicago Regional Office have not worked permanent labor certification cases, but rather temporary H-2A cases, at the behest of the National Office. Beginning in mid-July, officers have been able to return to processing permanent labor certification applications. This explains the lack of activity in permanent cases since December. Anecdotal information from other regions indicates that other Regional Offices have been similarly affected by the National Office’s priority handling of H-2A temporary cases.

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