Dallas-Fort Worth Immigration Lawyer
Honduras Consular Section Closed July 1, 2009 - July 3, 2009
Category: Immigration News
The U.S. Embassy in Honduras announced today that due to the political situation in Honduras, the Consular Section will be closed July 1, 2009 and July 2, 2009. Thus, all non-immigrant and immigrant visa appointments for July 1, 2009, and July 2, 2009, have been cancelled and applicants will be contacted directly for rescheduling appointments. In observance of the July 4, 2009, Independence Day Holiday, the Embassy was scheduled to be closed on July 3, 2009.
Services for U.S. citizens including regular passport applications, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, notarials and Social Security services are unavailable. Emergency passport application and emergency services are available to U.S. citizens only.
To view the schedule announcement, please visit the U.S. Embassy in Honduras Web site.
66 Arrested in North Texas Crackdown on Transnational Gangs
Category: Deportation and Detention
The Dallas Morning News reports that 66 gang members have been arrested in a North Texas sweep. This effort is part of a continuing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement project targeting gangs that operate both in Texas and in other countries including Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Laos. Here are excerpts from the article:
The arrests were made with assistance from police agencies in Arlington, Dallas, Carrollton, Fort Worth, Irving, Lewisville and Plano. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also participated.
Among those arrested were six gang members from the Mara Salvatrucha 13, considered one of the most violent transnational gangs. Two members of that gang were arrested in Carrollton, one person in Irving, and the other three in Dallas or Fort Worth, said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok.
One person, arrested in Fort Worth, was identified as a member of the Zetas, a gang linked to a Mexican narcotics cartel. Another 22 gangs were represented among those arrested, ICE said.
About a third of those arrested were U.S. citizens, ICE said. Fourteen of the 66 were deemed "gang associates."
H-1B Cap Not Yet Reached
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
As of June 26, 2009, approximately 44,800 H-1B petitions have been received and counted toward the 65,000 cap. USCIS continues to accept cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until the 65,000 statutory cap limit is reached. More information is available at www.uscis.gov.
Notice to U.S. Citizens Traveling to Honduras
Category: Immigration News
The U.S. Embassy recently issued a notice advising U.S. citizens to defer all non-essential travel to Honduras until further notice. This announcement is in response to the current unstable political and security situations. The U.S. Embassy will be open for emergency services but no visa services will be available June 29, 2009.
For the latest updates, please visit the U.S. Department of State Web site at www.travel.state.gov or the U.S. Embassy’s Web site in Tegucigalpa, Honduras at http://honduras.usembassy.gov.
USCIS Accepting Concurrently Filed Religious Worker Petitions Form I-360 and Adjustment of Status Applications Form I-485
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
Do you have a pending Form I-360 Special Immigrant Religious Worker Petition? If so, you are now eligible to file an application to adjust your status to permanent resident. On June 25, 2009, in response the district court’s order in Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, No. CO7-1881RSL (W.D. Wash. June 11, 2009), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now accepting concurrently filed Form I-360 and Form I-485 Applications to Adjustment. Applicants who filed Form I-360 religious worker petitions and are currently pending with USCIS are immediately eligible to file Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status and Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization. USCIS has posted this notice on their website and is available at http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/dkt_127-2_notice.pdf.
Under the district court's order, if you have a Form I-360 religious worker petition that is pending with USCIS as of June 11, 2009, then you are eligible to file Form I-485 and/or Form I-765. Also, applicants filing after June 11, 2009, are eligible to concurrently file Form I-360/I-485. The order protects foreign nationals from the accrual of unlawful presence and unauthorized work since any period of unlawful presence and unlawful employment will be tolled until will be tolled until September 9, 2009.
For additional information please see the USCIS Web site.
H-1B Cap Still Not Reached
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
As of June 19, 2009, approximately 44,500 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been received by USCIS and counted towards the H-1B cap. Approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption have been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits.
Note: the reduction in count from May 27, 2009, is due to H-1B cap cases that have been denied, revoked, or withdrawn during the filing period.
For more information, please visit www.uscis.gov.
USCIS, FBI Eliminate National Name Check Backlog
Category: Immigration News
On June 22, 2009, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that a partnership between the two agencies has resulted in the elimination of a large backlog in the FBI’s National Name Check Program (NNCP).
The purpose of the NNCP is to “disseminate information from FBI files in response to name check requests received from federal agencies… foreign police… intelligence agencies…” as well as “state and local law enforcement agencies.” NNCP employees within the FBI respond to such requests by determining “whether a specific individual has been the subject of or mentioned in any FBI investigation(s)…” The FBI states that they do not adjudicate such requests from the various agencies – the FBI simply provides the relevant information.
While delays are still likely to occur, the USCIS reports that the continued partnership with the FBI will help ensure that name check processing is completed as soon as possible without compromising national security.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov. For additional information on the FBI, please visit www.fbi.gov.
Worker ID Cards May Be a Central Component of Immigration Law Reform
Category: Proposed Immigration Laws
The Los Angeles Times reports that Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) favors requiring every eligible worker in America to obtain a "forgery-proof" worker identification (ID) card to show proof of ability to work. Schumer intends to lead the Senate’s effort at comprehensive immigration reform and also called the ID card “the best way to ensure that all workers are authorized to work” in the U.S.
In his 2007 book, “Positively American,” Senator Schumer asserted that “the ID will make it easy for employers to avoid undocumented workers, which will allow for tough sanctions against employers who break the law, which will lead to no jobs being available for illegal immigrants, which will stop illegal immigration.” Senator Schumer also believes that, “once Americans are convinced that we will permanently staunch the flow of illegal immigration, they will be more willing to accept constructing a path toward earned citizenship for those who are already here.”
While many business and community organizations also favor the idea of a worker ID card, labor activists and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fear violations of civil rights, possible intrusions into private lives, and the expense to workers.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce spokesman Angelo Amador argues that U.S. employers never truly know whether the identifications presented by workers now are genuine. Also, anyone presenting the new worker ID card would be assumed legally able to work, subject to confirmation by checking on a national database.
More Texas County Sheriff's Offices Now Partner With ICE to Identify and Remove Criminal Aliens
Category: Deportation and Detention
Sheriff's offices in the South Texas counties of Hidalgo, Starr, Brooks, Jim Wells, and Kenedy have begun accessing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fingerprint databases to determine if arrested individuals are immigration offenders who may face removal.
Once each individual’s criminal process is completed, he or she will be taken into ICE custody. Secure Communities was launched in October 2008, and is currently in place in San Diego, California; Mesa, Arizona; Fairfax, Virginia; and Dallas, San Antonio, and Huntsville, Texas. All U.S. counties are expected to implement the system by 2012.
ICE asserts that the Secure Communities initiative will allow law enforcement officials to streamline a “time-consuming and spotty system of Border Patrol interviews in jails.”
More information may be found by visiting: www.ice.gov.
USCIS Begins Transfer of Historical A-Files to National Archives
Category: General Information
A signing ceremony was held on June 3, 2009, to formally announce the schedule that will initiate the permanent retention and transfer of alien registration files (“A-files”) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to the National Archives and Records Administration.
An A-file documents the complete history of every interaction between the United States government and an individual alien. These comprehensive files may contain a wealth of information for genealogists and historians, from photographs, marriage licenses, foreign birth certificates, recordings, and interview transcripts, in addition to the more routine biographical and demographic information. A-files were previously considered to be temporary records and could have been destroyed 75 years after the date the file was retired to a Federal Records Center or date of last action. Now, however, these A-files will become a permanent record and will be transferred to the custody of the National Archives 100 years from the person’s date of birth. Newly-eligible files will also be transferred to the National Archives for processing every five years.
USCIS currently maintains approximately 53 million A-files. Of these 53 million, 21 million have been retired to a Federal Records Center. The National Archives could finish processing 135,000 files by next summer, at which time these files would become available for public access at National Archives facilities in Kansas City or San Francisco. Copies of the A-files will also be made available through the mail.
More information about the USCIS or the A-file preservation program may be found at: www.uscis.gov.
Rule Requiring Federal Contractors to Use E-Verify System Delayed Until September 8, 2009
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
Final implementation of the rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to begin using U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) E-Verify system has been delayed until September 8, 2009. Once applicable, the rule will require federal contractors and subcontractors to agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees. The E-Verify system will ensure that the federal government only does business with companies that agree to verify the new hires are authorized to work in the U.S.
The Federal Acquisitions Regulatory Councils published an amendment in the Federal Register on June 5, 2009, which postponed the applicability of the final rule until September 8, 2009. For more information on E-Verify, please visit: www.uscis.gov/everify.
USCIS Reminds Applicants for Adjustment of Status, Asylum, Legalization, and TPS Beneficiaries to Obtain Advance Parole Before Traveling Abroad
Category: Immigration News
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds individuals that they must obtain Advance Parole from USCIS before traveling abroad if they have:
• been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS);
• a pending application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident;
• a pending application for relief under section 203 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA 203);
• a pending asylum application; or
• a pending application for legalization.
Advance Parole is legal permission to reenter the United States after traveling abroad. Advance Parole is a rare and extraordinary measure used to allow an otherwise inadmissible individual to enter the United States due to compelling circumstances. Individuals requiring Advance Parole may not be allowed to enter the U.S. and may have their pending applications denied or administratively closed if they attempt to enter without Advance Parole. To obtain Advance Parole, individuals must file Form I-131 (Application for Travel Document), which is available on the USCIS website. Applicants should receive their travel document within 90 days of applying.
Please note that, under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, even if an alien who has been unlawfully present for certain periods of time obtains Advance Parole and then departs the U.S., he or she can be barred from admission to lawful permanent resident status. Further, those who are refugees or lawful permanent residents who were first refugees do not need to obtain Advance Parole. Such individuals should apply for a Refugee Travel Document using Form I-131 and comply with all USCIS requirements. However, asylum applicants, asylees, and lawful permanent residents who obtained that status based on their asylum status are subject to special rules regarding travel outside the United States. These individuals are strongly encouraged to review USCIS Fact Sheet regarding asylum and travel.
The USCIS also recommends that all individuals with pending applications for adjustment of status, NACARA 203, or asylum, consult an immigration attorney, an assistance organization accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals, or call USCIS Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 before making any travel plans.
For more information, please visit: http://www.uscis.gov.
Immigrants Can Appeal Deportation If Bad Lawyer Work Is To Blame
Category: Deportation and Detention
As reported in the Dallas Morning News, a rule limiting access to lawyers for immigrants facing deportation has been tossed out by the Obama administration. Here are excerpts from the article:
The rule was issued in the waning days of the Bush administration, angering immigrants' rights groups that immediately sought to persuade the incoming Democratic administration to discard it.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder did just that, saying he is vacating the order issued by predecessor Michael Mukasey that said that immigrants facing deportation do not have an automatic right to an effective lawyer.
Mukasey had issued a 33-page decision in January saying the Constitution does not entitle someone facing deportation to have a case reopened based upon shoddy work by a lawyer. Mukasey also said, however, that Justice Department officials have the discretion to reopen such cases if they choose.
H-1B Cap Still Not Reached
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
As of May 27, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had received 45,700 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. For the fiscal year 2010 H-1B program, USCIS continues to receive petitions subject to the 65,000 cap. Visit the USCIS Web site for updates at: http://www.uscis.gov.
Texas Prison System First in Nation to Partner With ICE to Identify and Remove Criminal Aliens
Category: Deportation and Detention
Until now, new inmates booked into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison system had their fingerprints checked only for criminal history information. But now, each new inmate booked into the Huntsville, Texas, intake site will now also have his or her fingerprints checked by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biometric system for any immigration record.
The TDCJ prison system is the first in the United States to partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in this new program, called Secure Communities. This comprehensive program is intended to streamline the process by which ICE determines if the screened inmate is a criminal alien, subject to automatic removal after the inmate completes his or her prison term. Highest priority is given to inmate aliens who have been convicted of crimes such as rape, robbery, murder, kidnapping, and major drug offenses.
Eventually all 24 intake sites in Texas will have the same capability to screen inmates’ immigration history. ICE currently partners with 50 counties and law enforcement agencies across the nation in the Secure Communities program, and looks to expand the program to all law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.
More information about ICE's Secure Communities effort is available at www.ice.gov. Additional information about TDCJ’s partnership with ICE may be found at: http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0905/090519huntsville.htm.
New Requirements on Border ID Cause Worries at Crossings
Category: Immigration News
Big changes are coming on June 1, 2009, for Americans who return to the United States after trips to Mexico or Canada, or who come back from a cruise. These changes have caused concern about an adverse effect on trade between Canada and the United States. The details were provided by an article in the New York Times. Here are the opening paragraphs:
After years of delay and hundreds of millions of dollars in preparations, Customs and Border Protection officials said new security measures would go into effect on June 1, requiring Americans entering the country by land or sea to show government-approved identification.
Currently, Americans crossing borders or arriving on cruise ships can prove their nationality by showing thousands of other forms of identification. But after the start of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Americans will be required to present a passport or one of five other secure identification cards.
Coming as the summer vacation season starts, the measure is expected to lengthen lines at least temporarily at border crossings and seaports. But the biggest impact is expected along the nearly 4,000-mile border that the United States shares with Canada, which both countries once boasted was the world’s longest undefended frontier.
Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans and Canadians crossing that border were required to do little more than state their nationality. Security has been gradually increased since then, causing longer lines and a steady drop in casual cross-border excursions, according to business and travel associations that monitor border traffic.
Senate Bill Requires Sheriffs to Determine "Citizenship Status" of Certain Convicted Felons
Category: Proposed Immigration Laws
On May 18, 2009, the Texas Senate passed a bill requiring Sheriffs or any other officers in charge of a correctional facility, to determine the “citizenship status” of all convicted felons. The bill, S.B 2584, amends Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Article 2.245. If a defendant has been convicted of a felony under Title 5 (Offenses Against the Person), Penal Code, Title 6 (Offenses Against the Family), Penal Code, Title 7 (Offenses Against Property), Penal Code, Chapter 43 (Public Indecency), Title 9 (Offenses Against Public Order and Decency), Penal Code, Chapter 45 (Weapons), Title 10 (Offenses Against Public Health, Safety, and Morals), Penal Code, and Chapter 481 (Texas Controlled Substances Act), Health and Safety Code, the sheriff or officer will make a reasonable effort to determine the defendant’s “citizenship status”. If the sheriff has reason to believe the defendant is a foreign national, within 48 hours after the defendant is received at the correctional facility, the sheriff or officer will contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify the defendant’s immigration status. The bill becomes effective September 1, 2009.
The bill places “sheriffs or other officers in charge of a correctional facility” in the role of immigration agents. The sheriff or officer now has another duty, to determine whether defendants have lawful status. The bill is available at Texas Legislature Online.
Non-Minister Special Immigrant Religious Worker Program Extended Through 09/29/2009
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
On March 20, 2009, President Obama signed Public Law 111-9 extending the non-minister special immigrant worker program through September 29, 2009. The program, which had expired on March 6, 2009, includes professional or non-professional capacities within a religious vocation or occupation.
Religious workers seeking to file in professional or non-professional capacities within a religious vocation or occupation must file their special immigrant petitions before September 29, 2009. For more information on the non-minister special immigrant religious worker program, please call us at 214-999-9999.
H-1B Cap Still Not Reached
Category: Employment-Based Immigration
As of May 18, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had received 45,500 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. For the fiscal year 2010 H-1B program, USCIS continues to receive petitions subject to the 65,000 cap. Visit the USCIS Web site for updates.
Naturalized Citizens Are Poised To Reshape Political Landscape
Category: Citizenship and Naturalization
Almost one-third of these new citizens reside in California, with Florida recording the second-largest contingent, and Texas in third place, with about 8% of the total. This could have a profound impact on the political future of those states, and could eventually change the composition of the state governments, as well as the services provided by the states. Here are excerpts from the article:
Mexicans, who have traditionally registered low rates of naturalization, represented the largest group, with nearly one-fourth of the total. They were followed by Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, Cubans and Vietnamese.
Several polls show that Latinos and Asians are more supportive than whites of public investments and broad services, even if they require higher taxes.
Nationally, nonwhite voters overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, while most whites voted for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a recent study by the Pew Research Center showed. And there were more nonwhite voters last year -- Latino registered voters increased by 3 million compared with 2004, said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voting Registration Education Project in Los Angeles.
The surge in new citizens will accelerate by several years the California electorate's shift from majority white to nonwhite, according to Dowell Myers, a USC demographer. Although that shift won't be completed until 2026, Myers and others said, Latinos, Asians and African Americans are already joining with progressive whites to elect ethnically diverse candidates.
"As we have more Asian American and Latino voters, our electorate will begin to look more like the face of the public at large," said Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute. "From the standpoint of representative democracy, few things could be more important than this."
Those demographic and political trends will continue to marginalize Republicans unless the party makes major changes in its tone and policies toward immigrants, said Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican political consultant in Los Angeles.
"The reason the Republican Party is in such dire straits is its inability to successfully reach out and change its image among Latinos and Asians," he said. "The image is too shrill on immigration. It's an image of an intolerant cult."
But Gonzalez said Latinos and other immigrants still had far to go, noting that 8 million of them have not yet claimed citizenship although they are eligible. "The test is going forward," he said.
Indeed, new citizenship applications have already dropped significantly. In the Southern California district, for instance, applications plunged to 58,433 last year from 253,666 the previous year, U.S. immigration statistics show.
Most experts say that a 69% increase in application fees to $675 was one reason for the steep decline. The Obama administration is proposing $206 million in funding for immigration services that could help reduce the fee by about $50, and activists are hoping for more, said Rosalind Gold of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund.
Migrant-Smuggling Bust Leads To 27 Arrests Around Dallas
Category: Deportation and Detention
The Dallas Morning News reported that 27 people were arrested in the Dallas area on charges of migrant-smuggling. The Federal government has accused these people of bringing 500 to 1,000 illegal immigrants a month into the United States. The U.S. Attorney's office said these arrests were the result of a two-year investigation.
Helpful Information for Visa Applicants in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Category: Immigration News
The Web site for the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez reflects that most consular services that were suspended until May 8, 2009, will remain suspended until May 15, 2009.
Once the consular services for immigrant and non-immigrant visas begin operating again, we can only imagine the huge backlogs that will exist for visa applicants. According to consular officials and a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) local office at a State Bar of Texas meeting, the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez is the largest in the world. There are numerous processings of visas taking place at Ciudad Juarez per day. The consulate processes between 800-1200 immigrant visas each day, 1,000 non-immigrant visas each day, 70-150 waivers each day, and 50-100 various other services for U.S. citizens.
Once the consulate begins its daily operations, applicants should arrive 15 minutes prior to their appointments. There is a parking lot across the street from the consulate, in the Centro Commercial. Before walking to the consulate, it is important that applicants leave their cell phones and any other electronic devices in their cars. After checking that all electronic devices and other prohibited items are left in the car, the applicants will enter the building and go through security. After going through security, they will be issued numbered tickets. All U.S. citizens should be prepared to present their passports (or passport cards if traveling by land) beginning June 1, 2009. After their interviews, a courier service, DHL, will deliver their visas within 2-3 days.
Court Bars Identity-Theft Law as Tool in Immigration Cases
Category: Immigration News
As reported in the New York Times, unauthorized immigrants got a big break from the U. S. Supreme Court this week. The Court ruled unanimously that prosecutors cannot use federal identity-theft laws against illegal immigrants who use Social Security numbers belonging to U.S. citizens in order to get jobs. Here are excerpts from the Times article:
The question in the case was whether workers who use fake identification numbers to commit some other crimes must know they belong to a real person to be subject to a two-year sentence extension for “aggravated identity theft.”
The answer, the Supreme Court said, is yes.
Prosecutors had used the threat of that punishment to persuade illegal workers to plead guilty to lesser charges of document fraud.
“The court’s ruling preserves basic ideals of fairness for some of our society’s most vulnerable workers,” said Chuck Roth, litigation director at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago. “An immigrant who uses a false Social Security number to get a job doesn’t intend to harm anyone, and it makes no sense to spend our tax dollars to imprison them for two years.”
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said in a concurring opinion that a central flaw in the interpretation of the law urged by the government was that it made criminal liability turn on chance. Consider, Justice Alito said, a defendant who chooses a Social Security number at random.
“If it turns out that the number belongs to a real person,” Justice Alito wrote, “two years will be added to the defendant’s sentence, but if the defendant is lucky and the number does not belong to another person, the statute is not violated.”
Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote that the case should be decided by applying “ordinary English grammar” to the text of the law, which punishes an offender who “knowingly transfers, possesses or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person.”
The government had argued that the “knowingly” requirement applied only to the verbs in question. Justice Breyer rejected that interpretation, saying that “it seems natural to read the statute’s word ‘knowingly’ as applying to all the subsequently listed elements of the crime.”
He gave examples from everyday life to support this view. “If we say that someone knowingly ate a sandwich with cheese,” Justice Breyer wrote, “we normally assume that the person knew both that he was eating a sandwich and that it contained cheese.”
About 8 million illegal immigrants are working in the United States, the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington estimates.
Stephen H. Legomsky, a professor of immigration law at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, said Monday’s decision would have a major impact on the strategy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, making it more difficult for the agency to press criminal charges against immigrants with no other offenses but working illegally.
“In the ordinary immigration case, this will no longer be a weapon,” Professor Legomsky said.
The Obama administration has said that it will shift the focus of immigration enforcement to employers who intentionally hire unauthorized immigrants in order to pay lower wages or otherwise lower costs. But last week the administration said agents would continue to detain illegal immigrants found in raids.
DHS Swine Flu Update
Category: Immigration News
Here is the latest press release from the Department of Homeland Security regarding swine flu:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
PRIVATE SECTOR OFFICE
H1N1 FLU OUTBREAK UPDATE
FEDERAL INTERAGENCY UPDATES AND INFORMATION
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DHS H1NI Update: http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/programs/swine-flu.shtm
Featured: Video of Monday’s press conference
Help us get the message out to the public, post the H1N1 Flu Outbreak Web Widget to your web site: http://www.hhs.gov/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Main CDC H1N1 Flu Outbreak Page: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
(4/27) CDC Press Briefing: http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090427.htm
(4/27) CDC activates Emergency Operations Center: http://www.cdc.gov/news/2009/04/swine_flu/
(4/26) Travelers Health: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluTravel.aspx
(4/26) Travelers Health (Spanish): http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluTravelSpanish.aspx
Key Facts on H1N1 Flu: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm
CDC Caretaking Guidance: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance/
Information for Airline Passengers Exposed to H1N1 Flu: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluPassengers.aspx
Good Health Habits Guidance: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm
H1N1 Flu (Swine) Flu and You: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: PandemicFlu.gov
(4/26/09) HHS Declares Public Health Emergency for H1N1 (Swine) Flu Outbreak http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/04/20090426a.html
Frequently Asked Questions on H1N1 Flu Outbreak: http://pandemicflu.gov/faq/swineflu/
Guidance for individuals and families preparing for pandemic: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/individual/index.html.
Planning information for community organizations: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/index.html
U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez Limits Consular Services
Category: Immigration News
In compliance with the precautionary measures and the travel health warning issued by the Department of State, the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez is canceling all immigrant visa and waiver appointments from April 30, 2009, through May 8, 2009. Individuals with immigrant visa appointments scheduled during this time will receive a letter with the rescheduled appointment date. Individuals with a scheduled waiver appointment will be contacted via e-mail or phone regarding the rescheduling.
Additionally, appointments for non-immigrant visas that were scheduled between April 29, 2009, through May 5, 2009, will be rescheduled. Applicants will be contacted by the call center via e-mail or phone. Additional information is available at the Ciudad Juarez Web site.