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Current News events May 2005
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McCain Bill offers hope Read AILA summary and copy of Bills press release "The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005"
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MACHINE READABLE PASSPORTS REQUIRED FOR ALL VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TRAVEL AS OF JUNE 26, 2005
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today reminded travelers from 27 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries that as of June 26, 2005, they must have a machine-readable passport to enter the United States without a visa, as mandated by Congress. Machine-readable passports have a sequence of lines that can be swiped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to confirm the passport
holder’s identity quickly and to obtain other information about the holder typically found on a passport’s inside cover.
The Immigration and Nationality Act originally set October 1, 2003 as the date by which VWP travelers needed to present a
machine-readable passport. At the request of 23 of the 27 VWP countries, the United States postponed that requirement until October 26, 2004, for those requesting countries. For a limited period, DHS has been authorizing a one-time waiver for entry into the country for VWP travelers without a machine-readable passport, at no charge to the traveler. This limited period will end on June 26, 2005. Beginning June 26, 2005, transportation carriers will be fined $3,300, per violation, for transporting any VWP traveler to the United States without a machine-readable passport. Similarly, VWP travelers arriving in the United States on that date without a machine-readable passport should not anticipate being granted one-time entry into the country.
“The machine-readable passport benefits foreign visitors as much as it does homeland security,” said Randy Beardsworth, Acting Under
Secretary for Border and Transportation Security. “With one fast swipe, front line officers can pull up the information that they need to process legitimate travelers quickly. At the same time, this immediate information access enables our officers to focus even more on
identifying and interdicting potential threats.”
Since October 26, 2004, CBP officers have notified VWP travelers entering the United States with a letter explaining the new entry requirements. In addition, VWP countries are working closely with the United States Government to communicate information about these new requirements to their citizens. Anyone from the 27 VWP countries thinking of traveling to the United States is encouraged to check
with their passport issuing authority to ensure they are in possession of a machine-readable passport. As an alternative for persons with immediate travel plans who are unable to obtain a machine-readable passport in time, the individual may apply for a U.S. visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad.
The 27 countries participating in the VWP include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Any traveler from these 27 countries will need a machine-readable passport on June 26, 2005 to enter the United States. Last year, approximately 15 million VWP travelers visited the United States.
The machine-readable passport requirements do not affect the separate congressionally mandated deadline requiring VWP country passports issued on or after October 26, 2005, to contain biometrics in order to be used for visa free travel to the United States.
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The President signed into law H.R. 1268, the "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005" on May 11.
The following immigration provisions were included in the bill:
REAL ID Act: This act includes a variety of misguided provisions impacting asylum, judicial review, free speech, driver's licenses, and security barriers at the borders. (SEE ATTACHED OVERVIEW)
- Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act: The implementation date for the exemption from the H-2B cap is set for 14 days after enactment.
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New Professional Visa for Australian Nationals: No effective date was specified for this new visa program.
- Recapture of Unused Employment-Based Immigrant Visas for Schedule A Occupations.
Click on the following link to access the PDF document. The free adobe acrobat reader is necessary to read the following guide.
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A New Day Has Dawned in the Immigration Reform Debate: Bipartisan Comprehensive Legislation Introduced
May 12, 2005
Washington, DC – Today, bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate to fix our broken immigration system. The legislation was authored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Representatives Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Jim Kolbe (R-AZ).
Reacting to the bill’s introduction, Frank Sharry, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, said, “This carefully crafted legislation is an important turning point in the debate over how to best control our immigration system. With the introduction of this bill, we are moving beyond assessing the problem, and beyond piecemeal, enforcement-only approaches that have failed to control immigration and secure our borders for over a decade. The focus of the debate from here forward is: what is the solution? And this bill is the most serious attempt in a generation to craft a solution that will work on the ground, secure our borders, grow our economy, protect workers, and restore the rule of law to our immigration system.”
The legislation, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, combines the following elements: 1) legal channels, proper vetting, meaningful protections, and realistic caps for workers and family members entering the country; 2) incentives for undocumented immigrants already here, working, and contributing to our nation to come out of the shadows, register, pay a hefty fine, study English, clear up their taxes, and continue to work hard as a means of eventually earning permanent residency; 3) tough enforcement of more realistic laws at the border and in the workplace; and 4) enabling more immigrants to learn English and prepare for citizenship.
“America is a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws,” Sharry continued. “This bill will reconcile the fact that we have hardworking immigrants already here and coming in the future, but insufficient legal channels. This bill gets the combination of admissions and enforcement just about right. In contrast to the status quo, it will mean honest admissions policies, tightly enforced.”
Sharry thanked the authors and co-sponsors of the bill, saying “these Members of Congress have done something extraordinary. They have tackled a tough issue, reached out across the aisle to Members of the other party, compromised, and crafted a workable and sustainable solution that goes beyond the typical grandstanding and posturing so typical of the immigration debate.”
Sharry also noted that the bill combines the two essential elements of successful and workable immigration reform legislation, comprehensiveness and bipartisanship. “Immigration reform must be comprehensive to work and bipartisan to pass,” Sharry said.
Sharry predicted that the legislative debate will most likely focus on the Senate first. Sharry urged Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, to find a way to work with the sponsors of this bill and move forward with all due speed. “The bipartisan leaders who introduced the bill have started the conversation, but Senator Cornyn will play a critical role in moving the legislation forward and enacting a fix for our broken immigration system.
Finally, Sharry praised President Bush for opening the door to the consideration of comprehensive immigration reform legislation by his continued inclusion of immigration reform on the White House’s agenda. “The President should be commended for his willingness to raise such a contentious issue and to stick with it. His leadership has created the political space for a bipartisan, comprehensive approach to take shape. With the President's continued support, we are within sight of enacting a serious, common-sense approach to modernizing our immigration system in a way that works for America, works for security, works for immigrants, and works for a healthy economy.”
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Reminder to update addresses for Drivers licence and for Green card.
Attention: All foreign nationals (including permanent residents, nonimmigrants and children) are required to report any change of address within ten (10) days to USCIS using Form AR-11. Foreign nationals must report address changes to USCIS by completing this form and sending it to the USCIS. The form can be obtained from the USCIS website at: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/ar-11.ht
Previous news items from March 2005
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