Immigration Issues Blog

Independence Day is a special day for many Americans, but in particular for new immigrants. For those who lack basic freedoms in their own country, there is a ray of hope contained within our Declaration of Independence: "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

In 1776 when the Declaration was signed, Congress understood that immigration was the building block of the nation and needed to be protected. They even listed the prevention of immigration as one of the oppressions by the King of Great Britain. "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands."

To our naturalized citizens and permanent residents, I wish you a happy 4th of July weekend. And to those of you seeking immigration that have not yet joined us in the U.S., I wish you a speedy journey.

Happy 4th of July!

Suggested Reading:

• Declaration of Independence Timeline
• General Naturalization Requirements for U.S. Citizenship

Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

U.S. soldiers raise their hands during a naturalization ceremony at Camp Victory, July 4, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq. Soldiers were reenlisted and about 160 soldiers from 52 countries were naturalized as U.S. citizens during the ceremony.
Photo: Ali Al-Saadi-Pool/Getty Images

If you haven't been to the Immigration Issues forum lately, now would be a great time for a visit. Click on one of the links below to jump into a discussion.

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Recent Posts:

• Transferring Money: macdaddy71 would like to know how others have dealt with transferring funds from their home country when they immigrated to the U.S.


• McCain, Obama & immigration: krikitgurl is up for a discussion about the presidential candidates' immigration policies.


• Site Wish List: If you didn't find what you're looking for here on the Immigration Issues site at About.com, let me know. I'm adding new content all the time, and I'd love to hear if there's something in particular you'd like to read about.

The 76th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors took place this week in Miami. The conference brings together mayors from cities of all sizes to discuss important community issues, including immigration.

Presumptive Democratic Nominee Senator Barack Obama (IL) spoke at the conference. The theme of his speech was about people being the catalyst for change in this country. Very little was said about immigration, except for this:

"You know what happens when Washington succumbs to petty partisanship and fails to pass comprehensive immigration reform – because it’s your communities that are forced to take immigration enforcement into their own hands, your cities’ services that are stretched, and your neighborhoods that are seeing rising cultural and economic tensions."

This nation's mayors know all too well what they have had to take on because of their government's inaction. While Obama only managed a passing comment on the state of immigration, the mayors spoke loud and clear on the issue, passing three important immigration resolutions. These resolutions now become the official policy of the Conference of Mayors, and will be forwarded to Congress and the new Administration.

A tourist shows his new U.S. visa at the Beijing Capital International Airport as the first group of Chinese tourists set out to visit the U.S. on June 17, 2008.
Photo: China Photos/Getty Images

Two U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices will close its doors this summer.

The Tijuana and Hong Kong field offices will be permanently closed as of July 3 and August 29, respectively. USCIS has posted schedules of when it will stop accepting applications in its Tijuana and Hong Kong offices. (Update 06/29: Please note USCIS has revised its instructions for the Tijuana office.)

The agency has been centralizing many of its services lately, so it's not surprising that its field offices are the next to be hit. According to YumaSun.com, USCIS spokeswoman, Marie Sebrechts, says the closure is about increasing efficiency:

The Tijuana office is being closed as part of efforts to “make the operations and resources more efficient, because we have seen that the majority of the work in Tijuana is focused in giving information that the customers could obtain from the Internet or on the phone.”

Sebrechts added that the last five years USCIS has tried to make information available through the Internet or the telephone. She said the distribution of applications for immigration purposes could be centralized in the offices in Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City, where there is more demand for these services.

"The majority of the people who go to Tijuana (go) to request information and applications but not for interviews, and that is why we think not many people will be affected, because that information can be obtained thought the Internet or the telephone."

Responsibility for the Tijuana field office will transfer to the USCIS Mexico City District office, and the Bangkok District Office will take over for Hong Kong.

The State Department has released its Visa Bulletin for July 2008. This monthly bulletin provides a summary of the availability of immigrant visas. Immigrant visas give foreign individuals the privilege of living and working in the United States. While the process of obtaining an immigration visa is fairly easy, the wait can be unbearable.

The process begins when an American relative or employer files a petition with USCIS for the individual who wants to immigrate. Once the petition is approved, it is placed in chronological order according to the date the petition was filed. This date is known as the priority date. Priority dates are categorized based on a preference system. Once a visa number becomes available, it is issued to the beneficiary of the visa who then begins the process of becoming a U.S. permanent resident.

It's shocking to learn how long it can take for a visa number to be issued. Let's look at the numbers from this month's bulletin. U.S. citizens filing a petition for a brother or sister in the Philippines should be prepared for a long wait. The State Department is currently issuing visas in this category with a priority date of March 8, 1986 or earlier. If you're a lawful permanent resident who filed a petition for your spouse or children, the State Department is now issuing visa numbers to those with priority dates prior to August 1, 2003. Except, that is, in Mexico, where there are no visa numbers currently available for this category. The employment-based petitions fair a little bit better, unless you're a skilled worker, professional or other worker. There are currently no visa numbers currently available for this third preference category.

Do you think it's acceptable that a U.S. citizen must wait 22 years to bring a sibling to the U.S.? How about five years to be reunited with a spouse? If you're eager to become a permanent resident and the timelines haven't scared you off, then take a look at the process to get an immigrant visa number.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun to centralize the initial processing of naturalization applications at its National Benefits Center in Missouri in an attempt to "increase the efficiency of case management and improve customer service."

Applicants will continue to send their N-400 Naturalization package to the designated USCIS Service Center for their region. USCIS will inform the applicant when the package is forwarded to the National Benefits Center. In-person interviews and naturalization exams will still take place at local field offices.

Why the change? USCIS has been completely overwhelmed with the number of naturalization applications it received last year. In 2007, USCIS recieved 1.4 million naturalization applications - almost double the normal annual volume. In July alone, it received 460,000 applications for naturalization. USCIS has been hiring and training hundreds of additional immigration officers to adjudicate these cases. The agency is also conducting naturalization interviews on weekends, after normal business hours and in additional locations.

With over 900,000 naturalization applications pending in April 2008, time will tell if the centralization has a positive impact on naturlization processing, or if it just adds another level of bureaucracy.

May was not only Military Spouse Appreciation month, it also marked an historic day for U.S. military spouses seeking U.S. citizenship while stationed overseas. On May 20, 2008, Zita Chouchan, a military spouse, took her naturalization oath in Frankfurt, Germany, marking the first time a military spouse has naturalized overseas.

Revisions in the U.S. citizenship law in 2004 allowed foreign-born service members to take the citizenship oath at military installations abroad. Military spouses, however, have had to wait to take their citizenship oath until they returned to the U.S. The policy changed this past January, when an amendment to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act allowed certain spouses of military members to naturalize overseas where their family is stationed.

Members of the U.S. Armed Forces in good standing and their spouses may qualify for expedited citizenship under the Immigration and Naturalization Act. During peace time, service members are eligible for expedited processing after a one-year waiting period. During times of conflict, service members are not subject to a waiting period.

Data from U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Services (USCIS) shows that more than 39,085 members of the U.S. Armed Forces have naturalized since 9/11, with more than 5,275 members taking the Oath of Allegiance in overseas ceremonies.

Photo © U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has moved the location of its lockbox within Chicago. The postal address remains the same, but all courier packages must now be addressed to the new physical address.

This affects anyone sending a courier package for family-based adjustment of status, all petitions for alien relative, and temporary protective status.

USCIS has updated its filing instructions for all affected forms. Please be sure you're using the most current versions of the forms for your applications and petitions.