New York, December 2005
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E-3 Work Visa for Australians is now Available
 WASHINGTON
- President George W. Bush signed into law the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief,
Public Law 109-13, 119 Stat. 231 on May 11, 2005. In addition to terrorist and
tsunami relief, this new law gives Australian nationals an alternative to the
H-1B visa; this new classification will be designated the
E-3 visa. Under the
Division B, Title V, Section 501 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, adds
a new nonimmigrant visa classification for Australian professionals.
The E-3 Treaty Professional Visa is a temporarily work visa. It is usually
issued for 2 years. United States legislation limits the
E-3 visa to nationals
of Australia. The main E-3 work visa applicant must be going to the United
States to work in a specialty occupation. The spouse and children of the main
E-3 visa applicant need not be Australian citizens. Spouses of
E-3 visa holders
are entitled to E-3D (dependent) visas and work authorization.
E-3 WORK VISA
APPLICATION FOR
AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS:
$49.95 |
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The annual quota for E-3 visas is 10,500. This a very high quota, by comparison
only 900 Australians succeeded in obtaining H-1B work visas in 2004. The
H-1B
work visa has an annual cap of 65,000. This quota applies to citizens of all
countries in the world, while the E-3 Visa is available to Australians only. If
you are an Australian citizen, the E-3 visa can be easier to obtain than the
H-1B work visa. E-3 work visas are temporary visas, meaning that when the visa
expires, the individual has to leave the United States.
E-3 work visas are
usually issued for 2 years. However, E-3 visas maybe renewed indefinitely (in
two-year extensions).
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Mexico criticizes U.S. immigration bill focusing mostly on border security
 MEXICO
CITY – The Mexican government slammed the U.S. Congress for approving the
construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico
border, while Mexican human rights
groups said it will only cause more deaths. The U.S. House of Representatives
late Thursday approved building 700 miles of fence along the 2,000-mile
U.S.-Mexico border, giving priority for construction in Laredo, Texas. The city
is across the border from Nuevo Laredo,
Mexico, where warring drug cartels have
been blamed for more than 140 killings this year. The measure is part of a
wider immigration enforcement bill that the U.S. Congress is likely to vote on
late Friday. Border experts say existing barriers built along heavily crossed
sections of the border have not stopped migrants from
crossing, and instead have
pushed them through more desolate, dangerous areas. A record number of more than
415 people died crossing the border illegally in 2005, according to statistics
from the U.S. Border Patrol for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. That compares
to the previous record of 383 deaths in 2000.
President Vicente Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar said a comprehensive
immigration
reform that includes a guest worker program is the only way to curb the flow of
illegal migration. "A migratory reform that only addresses security will
not resolve the bilateral immigration problem," Aguilar said in a Friday morning
news conference. "It is indispensable to establish legal, secure and ordered
migration. Our countrymen make an enormous contribution to the United States
economy."
Source: San Diego Union Tribune [full article]
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Diversity Immigrant Visa Program - Green Card Lottery
 Registration for the 2005 Green Card Lottery (DV-2007) is now
closed.
The United States Government issues 50,000 permanent resident cards (Green
Cards) every year through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, commonly known
as the Green Card Lottery. Applicants are selected randomly by a computer
generated drawing. If selected, the main applicant, spouse and all unmarried
children under 21 years of age will have a chance to apply for permanent
resident status in the United States. The registration period for the 2005 Green
Card Lottery ended on December 4th 2005 with a record number of online
applications received by the U.S. Department of State. Selected applicants will
receive a "winning notification letter", officially called "Notice of Approval"
between May and July 2006.
How to proceed if your application is selected: It is a misconception to
believe that “winning” the Green Card Lottery (receiving the "Notice of
Approval") automatically grants the selected
applicant U.S. residence, a Green Card or United States Citizenship. There are
several additional forms and documents that must be submitted to the U.S.
government before the applicant receives permanent residence in the United
States. Find out how to submit your application and continue the application process if selected.
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US Border Patrol's newest tool: a drone
 While
Bush and others want to create an unmanned fleet, critics say the technology is
too costly.
HOUSTON – As President Bush was bumping along the banks of the Rio Grande last
week with the United States Border Patrol, an American unmanned aircraft was
apparently tracking a top Al Qaeda member to an abandoned house in remote
Pakistan.
While details are emerging as to whether the terrorist network's operation
manager was killed in a drone attack, Mr. Bush is increasingly convinced that
the military technology should be used more widely within the US as well - to
spot illegal border-crossers. So far, the US Border Patrol has one unmanned
aerial vehicle, or UAV, and it is equipped solely with a camera for
surveillance. But the president says he wants to outfit the border with several
more.
"Slowly but surely, technology is being employed up and down the border, and
that's a key part of our strategy," Bush said from El Paso, Texas, last week.
With the numbers illegally crossing the US border with Mexico remaining high,
estimated at 1 million people each year, the Border Patrol has increasingly
turned to technology to help secure the 2,000-mile stretch. Electronic sensors,
night-vision goggles, and high-tech cameras are all well established. But the UAV, known as the Predator B, is just making its border debut - and some remain
unconvinced that its whopping $14 million price tag is worth it.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor [full article]
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Downloadable Immigration eBooks are now Available
 NEW YORK
- Immigration Services (an independent organization) has recently started offering immigration kits as downloadable PDF files, also called "eBooks".
Previously, immigration packages could only the ordered in hard copy format,
which meant the applicant had to wait until the requested immigration kit arrived
by mail, before the application process could start. Now with the introduction
of downloadable immigration kits, applicants can order the desired application
kit online, and receive the download link within seconds. Immigration eBooks are
also cheaper than regular application kits, since there is no shipping and
handling charges. Downloadable immigration packages contain the same information as
regular hard copy versions, including application requirements and
instructions, and all required USCIS application forms. Immigration eBooks are
available for download at
www.usimmigrationsupport.org
UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION
APPLICATION KITS:
$49.95 |
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The most popular titles include: "H-1B Work Visa", "Green Card through
Marriage", "Green Card Renewal", "U.S. Citizenship" and "U.S. Passport", among
others. The view full list of immigration packages visit
www.usimmigrationsupport.org
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Illegal Immigration Could Be a Felony
 WASHINGTON
— Under immigration legislation being considered in the House, living illegally
in the United States would no longer be a violation of civil immigration law. It
would be a federal crime.
But making the nation's estimated 11 million
illegal immigrants into felons
could deal a fatal blow to the proposed guest-worker program that is a
cornerstone of President Bush's immigration overhaul, because immigrants who
have committed crimes are not eligible for legal status in the United States. The move, spearheaded by the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. F.
James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), is part of a push by House Republicans to set
the tone for the debate over revising immigration laws that will continue into
2006. The measure could come up as soon as today.
House Republicans want tough border security and enforcement provisions in place
before discussion of a guest-worker program. Their clash with pro-business
Republicans has created tensions within the party and with the administration
that the House bill could intensify. "How does the provision fit in with the
president's proposal for creating temporary workers?" said Harry J. Joe, an
immigration lawyer and partner with Jenkens & Gilchrist, a Dallas law firm. "Or
is the House really saying we never intend to take up Bush's proposal to give
them some form of legal status? It would appear so."
Source: LA Times
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