New Visa Bulletin posted

"SEPTEMBER VISA AVAILABILITY - Heavy applicant demand for numbers in the Family First preference could require retrogression of some of the September Family First preference cut-off dates. This action may be necessary to keep visa issuances within the respective annual preference numerical limits. If this were to occur they could be expected to return to the previous cut-off date for October, the first month of the new fiscal year." Department of State Publication 9514, CA/VO:July 11, 2011.

Lcick the link to view the latest visa bulletin

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Djimon Hounso

Djimon Diaw Hounsou was born April 24, 1964. He is a Beninese-American actor and model. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards in Gladiator and Amistad.

Hounsou became a naturalized American citizen in 2007. He was reluctant to renounce his Beninese citizenship and therefore opted to become a dual citizen of both Benin and the United States, effectively rendering him a Beninese-American. Hounsou is one of just twenty-seven people in the world today to be officially recognized by this nationality.

Vet avoids deportation

A military veteran who was facing deportation will likely be allowed to stay in the United States after he was released from immigration detention earlier this month, in part thanks to help from Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).

Navy Reserve Petty Officer Elisha Dawkins, 26, entered a pre-trial diversion program on Tuesday that will spare him from federal charges for allegedly lying when he applied for a U.S. passport in 2006, a crime that could have landed him in prison for 10 years.

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Annika Sörensta

Annika Sörensta was born 9 October 1970 in Sweeden. She is a Swedish She was professional golfer whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful golfers in history.[1] Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she won 90 international tournaments as a professional, making her the female golfer with the most wins to her name. She has won 72 official LPGA tournaments including ten majors and 18 other tournaments internationally, and she tops the LPGA's career money list with earnings of over $22 million—over $8 million ahead of her nearest rival. Since 2006, Sörenstam has held dual American and Swedish citizenship.
The winner of a record eight Player of the Year awards, and six Vare Trophies given to the LPGA player with the lowest seasonal scoring average, she is the only female golfer to have shot a 59 in competition. She holds various all-time scoring records including the lowest season scoring average: 68.6969 in 2004.
Representing Europe in the Solheim Cup on eight occasions between 1994–2007, Sörenstam is the event's all-time leading points earner.
Sörenstam made history at the Bank of America Colonial tournament in 2003 as the first woman to play in a men's PGA Tour event since 1945. Often known simply as "Annika," she achieved the fame of male golfers known in the same way: Arnie (Arnold Palmer), Jack (Nicklaus) and Tiger (Woods). Her growing off-course interests include the ANNIKA golf academy, golf course design, ANNIKA-branded products, and a charitable foundation.

NFL draft pick faces deportation

ESPN New York reports that Jets third-round pick Kenrick Ellis is not a U.S. citizen and risks deportation if he's found guilty of the "malicious wounding" felony charge against him.
The trial was recently postponed to November 28, so Ellis should at least be safe till then. A native Jamaican, Ellis is in the United States on "permanent resident status." Persons of that classification who are convicted of aggravated felonies can be deported. Thus, Ellis' best bet will be to agree to a plea deal that reduces the charge against him. If Ellis fights it hard, he'll risk losing not only his NFL career, but his home in

U.S. Naturalized Citizen of the Day - Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger (27 May 1923 - Present) is a German-born American diplomat. Kissinger served as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon, and continued as Secretary of State under Nixon's successor Gerald Ford. Kissinger pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, seeking a relaxation in tensions between the two superpowers during the Nixon administration. Recently, Kissinger was on the Colbert Report where he discussed his book "On China." The book examines how China has approached diplomacy, strategy, and negotiation throughout its history, and reflects on the consequences for the global balance of power in the 21st century.

Kissinger on The Colbert Report

Chipotle Caught Employing Undocumented Workers

"Chipotle Mexican Grill has hired a team of Washington legal A-listers to shore up its hiring and handle a federal criminal investigation stemming from the discovery of hundreds of illegal workers in its popular burrito restaurants.

The Denver-based chain has been in hot water since audits by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) turned up large numbers of undocumented workers on payrolls in Minnesota, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Around the start of the year, Chipotle quietly brought in a lawyer who knows the ins and outs of ICE -- Julie Myers Wood, the director of the federal agency under President George W. Bush and now an immigration consultant..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/chipotle-hires-a-list-was_n_879473.html

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Johannes Puck was born July 8, 1949 in Austria/ He is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions.

Following the 1981 publication of his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen based on his Ma Maison recipes, Puck opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck opened the award-winning Spago in Beverly Hills, which has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004.

It is also one of my mother's favorite restaurants, anyone who goes there.. try the lobster cobb salad.

Sponsor of Darconian Arizona immigration bill being Recalled

Russell Pearce, the sponsor of the controversial SB 1070 law that sparked a new flash point in the country's immigration debate, is facing a recall election in his district in Arizona.
Critics of the legislator filed petitions Tuesday.
The requirement to do so is 7,756 voter signatures from the Mesa Republican's legislative district.


Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/06/01/russell-pearce-sponsor-sb-1070-faces-recall-election/#ixzz1O7YBoEzy

Another Case for the Dreamers

Elier Lara is concentrating on final exams this week and not worrying about his immigration status.

The University of Cincinnati honor student has learned that his attorney and the chief deputy counsel for the Department of Homeland Security filed a joint motion requesting dismissal of Lara's deportation case.

Click the link to see a wonderful article by Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer

Another Case for the Dreamers

Another Case for the Dreamers

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Peter Lawford

Peter Sydney Vaughn Aylen (7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984), better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor. He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting. In his earlier professional years (late 1930s through the 1950s) he had a strong presence in popular culture and starred in a number of highly acclaimed films.

Mexico Deports immigrants too

They stood and squatted for hours, crammed into two sweltering semi-trailers, clinging to ropes so they would not fall as the trucks traveled through winding mountain roads.
Mexican authorities say the more than 500 illegal immigrants they detained Tuesday wanted to reach the United States and each had paid $7,000 to get there.
But by Wednesday, a day after X-ray equipment detected them at a highway checkpoint, the majority of them had been deported to their home countries in Central and South America.

DV Lottery Snafu

Tens of thousands of would-be immigrants may be unable to move legally to the United States after the State Department said Friday that a computer glitch is forcing them to scrap the results of an annual worldwide lottery for U.S. visas.

More than 14 million applicants entered a lottery last fall for one of 50,000 visas distributed as part of the annual Diversity Visa Lottery, designed for people who would otherwise have little chance of legally entering the country. The program doesn’t require applicants to have a family or employer as a sponsor.

Bin Ladin is Dead

"I've never wished a man dead but I've read some obituaries with great pleasure." ~ mark twain

God Bless America and our troops. Bin Ladin and Al Queda has forever changed the immigration landscape. Let us hope his death brings a new wave or understanding and compassion