SSI benefits will be terminated within 1 year from the date listed on your SSI notice; AND,
Form N-400 has been pending for 4 months or more from the date of receipt.

If you have any questions about the Naturalization process or this priority processing please contact our office at info at harms-law.com.

Please see the link below for instructions for individuals whose SSI benefits are being terminated within 1 year and have applied for OR will apply for citizenship through Form N-400: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=7d84314b55eb1310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

USCIS has updated its handbook for employers regarding the I-9.  The updated handbook with helpful information can be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf

USCIS has also posted a new  I-9 Q&A at:  http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=330df7c555b2e210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=330df7c555b2e210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

If you have questions about the I-9 form or are interested in an I-9 training for your HR staff please contact our office at info at harms-law.com.

To read more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/us/politics/30raid.html?pagewanted=1&sq=immigration&st=cse&scp=2

Georgia enacted a law allowing local officers to check the immigration status of a suspect who can’t produce an accepted form of ID. It also includes a provision requiring employers with more than 10 employees to use E-Verify by July 2013, similar to a 2007 law Arizona.   Opponents say they plan to sue the state.

A few states in reaction to Arizona-like laws have passed laws supporting immigrants.   The article gave Utah as an example.  Utah’s law includes a provision to allow illegal immigrants to work in the state, and the American Civil Liberties Union has already sued Utah over the law’s enforcement provisions.  Other states adopted legislation to assist undocumented students with college attendance and financial aid f ollowing the failure of the recent Dream Act in Washington.

You can read the full article at:  

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/23/national/a024708D88.DTL

Family based petitions are backlogged, with the most recent date at August 2007. 

Employment-based categories have moved a bit since last month and are as follows:

•  EB-1 is current for all countries
•  EB-2 is current, except for India (October 2006) and China (October 2006)
•  EB-3 is at September 2005 for all countries, except for India (April 2002), China (May 2004), and Mexico  (December 2004)
•  EB-3 other workers is at November 2003 for all countries, except India (April 2002), China (April 2003 and  Mexico (November 2003)
•  EB-4, religious workers, EB-5, and targeted employment areas and regional centers are all current.

The full visa bulletin can be found at http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5452.html

 Here is the link to I-9 Central www.uscis.gov/I-9central

Customers who receive notices of approval can contact USCIS’s Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283 to request tracking information for their documents. USCIS customer service representatives will provide customers with their USPS tracking number and current USPS delivery status.

For the full  public release see: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=79ecdd8ae14af210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

There were a few notable points released in this memo:

1)  A self-check initiative will be introduced in December.  This initiative will enable anyone to go to the website and run a verification query on him/himself and determine the accuracy of his/her government record.  Hopefully, this will allow those individuals who have recently changed their name or their immigration status to verify that the system is correct and solve problems before they are given an abbreviated window by the e-verify system to do so.

2) The Verification Division informed stakeholders that it runs monthly reports to see if companies are running checks outside 3 business days of an employee’s hire date.  This statement confirms our suspicion that the USCIS is using the e-Verify tool to police Form I-9 completion.  This monitoring could expand into other areas and also prompt further audits and investigations.

For further information about worksite enforcement activities, please visit our worksite enforcement portal under the “information” tab.

What is almost more disturbing than the law itself, is the statistic that one radio show touted: Seventy percent of Americans agree with Arizona’s law.  My question is: what part of the law?  Fixing a broken immigration system?  Yes.  Arresting people with “reasonable suspicion” that they are illegal which will undoubtedly lead to racial profiling?  Not so much.  This law is going to have disasterous consequences on many fronts.  It is true that something needs to be done, but this is a horrible misguided effort.

Jon Stewart offers some humor on a very humorless situation:

Looking for the silver lining, maybe Arizona’s folly will finally breathe life into comprehensive immigration reform.  One can only hope.