Legal/Financial Assistance Scheme of up to USD $1000 for Women Deserted by their Overseas Indian Spouses

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is running a scheme to provide legal assistance to Indian women divorced/deserted by their overseas Indian spouses.

The domicile of the woman seeking relief under the scheme is not relevant for allowing the benefit and the woman may be domiciled in the country of her overseas Indian spouse or in India at the time of making the application.

Under the scheme, Indian Missions in the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Gulf would empanel credible Indian women’s organizations, Indian community associations, and/or NGOs to provide legal aid to women in distress who have been deserted by their overseas Indian spouses.

The term “Overseas Indian” includes NRIs (Non-resident Indians) and foreign citizens of Indian origin.

The following requirements must be met in order for a woman to be eligible for assistance under this program:

·         The woman must be an Indian passport holder

·         The marriage must have been  solemnized in India

·         The woman’s spouse has deserted her in India or after being abroad within 5 years of the marriage

·         The divorce proceedings are initiated by her spouse within five years of the marriage

·         The spouse has obtained an ex parte divorce within ten years of the marriage, including alimony and maintenance being filed.

·         A woman who has criminal records or pending criminal charges is ineligible to participate in this program.

 The Indian women’s organizations/NGOs will assist with meeting the cost of filing and documentation of each case.  The limit to monetary assistance is $1,000 US dollars, which will be given to the Indian women’s organizations/NGOs, who are responsible for assisting with filing and documenting the case.  It is hoped that community advocates, especially women’s rights advocates, will aide with further legal assistance, court appearances, etc. on a pro bono basis.

Additional information on this program can be found at: http://www.indiacgny.org/php/showAddtnlArticle.php?art_id=2

 

H-1B Fraud Report Signals Oversight and Changes

H-1B visa category generally allows specialty workers to work in the United States for a period of six years. Where the “green card” process has been started, a specialty worker can seek an extension of time in the H-1B classification. 

In October 2008, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a report that found that approximately one in five H-1B visa applications are fradulent or contain technical violations of federal laws and regulations.

For more on the USCIS report and analysis see our attorney Hanishi Ali’s article published in the Worcester Business Journal.

http://www.wbjournal.com/news41983.html

USCIS Naturalization Processing Times at end of FY 2008

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) days ago released a fact sheet listing the Naturalization processing times at the end of FY 2008 by city and in months.

Charleston, S.C. has the longest processing time of 14.8 months and Boston ranks in between at an average of 8 months. 

Naturalization Processing Times At End Of Fiscal Year 2008

Office                                   Months 

Agana, Guam …………………………… 5.0  

Albany, N.Y. ……………………………. 5.3 

Albuquerque, N.M. …………………… 5.3 

Anchorage, Alaska …………………….6.5 

Atlanta, Ga. ………………………………6.8 

Baltimore, Md. …………………………..7.8

Boise, Idaho ………………………………8.2 

Boston, Mass……………………………..8.0 

Buffalo, N.Y……………………………….7.7 

Charleston, S.C. ………………………..14.8 

Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands ….5.0 

Charlotte, N.C. ………………………….14.7 

Chicago, Ill………………………………..6.1 

Cincinnati, Ohio…………………………5.0 

Cleveland, Ohio …………………………6.5 

Columbus, Ohio ………………………..5.0

Dallas, Texas……………………………..7.3

Denver, Colo. …………………………….5.0 

Des Moines, Iowa ……………………….7.3 

Detroit, Mich………………………………5.0 

El Paso, Texas…………………………….8.5 

Fort Smith, Ark. …………………………6.9

Fresno, Calif………………………………6.7 

Harlingen, Texas ……………………….8.6 

Hartford, Conn. …………………………14.4 

Helena, Mont……………………………..6.7 

Honolulu, Hawaii ……………………….5.4 

Houston, Texas …………………………8.4 

Indianapolis, Ind………………………..6.9 

Jacksonville, Fla…………………………7.8 

Kansas City, Mo…………………………7.1 

Las Vegas, Nev. ………………………..9.0 

Los Angeles, Calif……………………..14.2 

Louisville, Ky…………………………….5.9 

Manchester, N.H. ………………………5.4 

Memphis, Tenn. ………………………..13.5

Miami, Fla. ……………………………….9.8

Milwaukee, Wis………………………….7.3

Mount Laurel, N.J……………………….5.2

New Orleans, La. ……………………….14.0

New York, N.Y……………………………10.1

Newark, N.J. ……………………………..7.2

Norfolk, Va. ……………………………..7.4

Oklahoma City, Okla. …………………5.1

Omaha, Neb. …………………………….5.0

Orlando, Fla. …………………………….14.0

Philadelphia, Pa. ………………………..8.8

Phoenix, Ariz. ……………………………8.0

Pittsburgh, Pa…………………………….5.0

Portland, Maine………………………….5.4

Portland, Ore…………………………….5.6

Providence, R.I. ………………………..8.2

Reno, Nev. ………………………………5.5

Sacramento, Calif. ……………………5.8

Salt Lake City, Utah ………………….5.0

San Antonio, Texas…………………..5.0

San Diego, Calif……………………….8.3

San Francisco, Calif………………….5.9

San Jose, Calif. ……………………….8.6

Suan, Puerto Rico ……………………6.0

Seattle, Wash. ………………………..8.6

Spokane, Wash. ……………………..5.0

St Albans, Vt………………………….8.9

St Louis, Mo. …………………………11.3

St Paul, Minn. ………………………..6.7

Tampa, Fla. …………………………..10.1

Tucson, Ariz. ………………………..10.9

Washington, D.C. ……………………9.8

West Palm Beach, Fla………………..6.1

Yakima, Wash………………………….5.0

What is the Global Entry Program and What Does it Mean for You?

 

The program and its benefits:

Global Entry Program is a new program developed to implement a single integrated passenger processing system that expedites the movement of frequent international air travelers.

In essence, the Global Entry Program, which allows approved and eligible U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the U.S. to use a Global Entry kiosk as an alternative to the regular passport control line. At the kiosk, Global Entry members will activate the system by inserting their U.S. passport or lawful permanent resident card into a document reader. The kiosk will direct travelers to provide digital fingerprints and will compare that biometric data with the fingerprints on file.

Global Entry travelers will be prompted to answer declaration related questions on the kiosk’s touch-screen. A transaction receipt will be issued upon completion that must be presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers prior to leaving the inspection area.

Who can participate?

Participation in the Global Entry Program is voluntary and only US Citizens and lawful permanent residents can qualify and are eligible to participate.

There are restrictions and limitations of participation and a participant cannot be eligible if:

• convicted of a criminal offense in any country;
• s/he has ever been found in violation of the customs or immigration laws of the U.S. or any serious criminal offense; or provided false or incomplete information on their application.
• s/he is determined to present a potential risk for terrorism, criminality, smuggling, or unlawful immigration.
• S/he is a child under the age of 14. (Note: children 14 years of age and older, but under the age of 18, will require written consent of a parent or legal guardian.)

How do you enroll?

A participant will need to sign on to Global On-line Enrollment System (GOES), set up a user account, fill out the application and submit it electronically through the system. The link for GOES can be found on the CBP web site or directly at:https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/

After submission of your application and a review of your Global Entry application information, a full interview will occur, in which your identity will be verified and validated, your finger prints and face photo will be taken and a determination will be made on your application.

Cost and documents are needed with the application:

A processing fee of $100 per applicant is charged at the time of enrollment through GOES and membership will be valid for 5 years.

Documents needed with the application for U.S. Citizens are a valid machine-readable U.S. passport and one other form of identification at the time of interview (such as a driver’s license). Lawful permanent residents have to provide a machine-readable “green card” and one other form of identification that supports your residency claim.

Global Entry Sites:

The Global Entry Program began on June 10^th at John F. Kennedy International, George Bush Intercontinental and Washington Dulles International  airports. The program is soon to expand to four additional airports: Los Angeles International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Chicago O’Hare International, and Miami International.

Bush Administration’s Proposed Plan to Collect 1.2 Million DNA Samples from Federal Detainees

The Bush Administration plans to implement a controversial plan to collect DNA samples from federal detainees starting Dec. 31 2008. It plans to start collecting DNA from an estimated 1.2 million people arrested each year by federal agents, including hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants detained along the nation’s borders. The DNA samples would then be added to the FBI’s national DNA database, which contains the genetic codes of millions of convicted felons. This change would also affect US Citizens arrested by federal agencies but not necessarily convicted of crimes. 

Although proponents of the program say the increase in federal DNA collection would aid law enforcement agents to solve crimes more quickly and efficiently, particularly those involving illegal immigrants, advocacy organizations have questioned the legality and fairness of collecting and storing people’s unique genetic makeup when they are merely under suspicion of a crime or immigration violation.

It should be noted that the regulation does not properly address the implications for people detained at the borders who have legitimate claims to asylum or later are granted legal resident status or for that matter how it aims to remove the stored DNA from the database where the person is no longer under suspicon or there is no resulting conviction. 

Further not only will there be a dramatic increase in the collection of DNA that could potentially swamp the FBI’s DNA laboratory but it may also be cost prohibitive, with no funding so far for the additional DNA collection and a price tag of $37.50 per person for collection and processing. With an estimated increase of 1.2 million samples, annually, that would mean a potential cost of collecting DNA would be about $45 million!