Dear Readers:
Every week since 9/11/2001, we have reported on developments in immigration that relate to the nation’s war on terrorism. This week we report in great detail on the program that to date will have the largest impact on the most people – the long-awaited SEVIS program. SEVIS is the new online tracking system for F-1 and M-1 students and J-1 exchange visitor visas.
SEVIS implementation has been taking place at campuses across the country and the deadline is fast approaching. This week the State Department and INS simultaneously released regulations announcing that the program will go live on January 30th. The State Department rule was especially surprising in that it only gives four days for a J-1 program to get registered in the system in order to be assured of being able to continue issuing DS-2019 (formerly known as an IAP-66) after the January 30th implementation date.
The implications of SEVIS are far-reaching. Opportunities for students and exchange visitors to stay “off the radar screen” when they violate their visas will be far fewer. Schools will have less leeway to get away with sloppy recordkeeping and using inexperienced officers. Problems with the theft and forging I-20s and DS-2019s will become less of an issue. Of course, who knows what will happen if passwords are stolen and data is hacked?
SEVIS has also created a whole new industry. Software firms and consultants are being handsomely paid by schools across the country to help in the transition. This may be one of the few areas in the software business that is actually booming.
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Just prior to press time we received word that Saudi Arabia, Armenia and Pakistan will likely be added Monday to the Special Registration Program. We will report on this major piece of news next week.
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Some of you attended our Memphis headquarters first open house last Tuesday. If she ever decided to retire from the legal profession, my partner Lynn Susser could make a great career as an interior decorator. Our offices here are stylish, to say the least, and our opening party gave us the opportunity to show off a bit. We thank everyone who stopped by and look forward to hosting a similar event next year.
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We have updated the local office processing times section of our web page to include more information and be more user friendly than before. We’ve also linked to labor certification processing times on our processing times web page. Go to http://visalaw.wpengine.com/processing.html.
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Unfortunately, many less-than-honest attorneys are attracted to immigration law. This is probably the case because many immigrant clients lack language skills and an understanding of the American system. These not so honorable attorneys prey on unsuspecting immigrants and sometimes give our profession a bad name. This week an immigration lawyer was convicted of fraudulently filing labor certification applications. While this person was brought to justice, many more are not. While a bad immigration lawyer can cause dire problems for a client, a good one can be worth their weight in gold. Several months ago we wrote an article on how to choose a great immigration lawyer. The in depth article certainly does not promote ours or any other particular law firm and it was received extremely positively. Many of my fellow lawyers around the country requested the article and I have liberally granted permission to all who have requested to reprint the article or post it on their web sites. We also have it permanently linked on our sites. You can find the article at http://visalaw.wpengine.com/hal.html.
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As always, we remind readers that we’re lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://visalaw.wpengine.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.
Regards,
Greg Siskind
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law