Marriage Fraud is very serious.  Marriage Fraud carries with it potential criminal fines of $250,000 and/or 5 years imprisonment for anyone who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws.

Are you unsure of what to bring with you to the DMV?  Check out the “Gather, Go, Get” website ww.gathergoget.com/checklist/index.php

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently begun a transition to paperless processing for VWP travelers arriving by air or sea who have obtained a travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

VWP travelers arriving by air or sea have been required to obtain travel authorization via ESTA before boarding carriers en route to the United States since January 12, 2009. Applicants applying for admission to the United States under the VWP are exempt from having a Visa.

It is important to note that the CBP Form I-94W (green paper) will continue to be required at land borders, in the case of system outages, and at ports of entry that have not completed the transition to automated processing.

If admitted under the new automated process at a designated port of entry, the CBP officer will stamp the applicant’s passport with a United States admission stamp and annotate it with the class of admission WT/WB and date admitted until. The traveler’s departure from the United States will be documented electronically.

Currently, 36 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program, as shown below:

Everyone from judges, lawyers, immigration officers, investigators, etc. are using social networking sites to find information about you.  Do yourself a favor and change your profile settings to private.

The popular host of “The Colbert Report,” Stephen Colbert, accompanied by a media swarm, sarcastically testified on Capitol Hill Friday about the conditions facing America’s undocumented farm workers.  Colbert, in character, told members of a House Judiciary subcommittee that he hoped to bring attention to the workers’ hardships.

Colbert appeared with United Farm Worker’s president Arturo Rodriguez however most of the media attention was focused on Colbert. The chairwoman of the subcommittee, Democrat California Rep. Zoe Lofrgen, who invited Colbert, told CNN reporter before the hearing that she did not think Colbert’s appearance was a stunt.

Democrat, Michigan Rep. John Conyers, initially asked Colbert to leave the committee room and submit his written statement instead because he feared Colbert would create a “circus” atmosphere. Conyers later remarked Colbert, who engaged in a question-and-answer session with the subcommittee, actually turned out to be “profound.”

To read more and view a video clip of Colbert on Capitol Hill visit CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/24/colbert.house.immigration/index.html?hpt=T2

There are two issues facing the United States–high unemployment and undocumented people in the workforce–that many Americans believe are related.  It is a fact that the food we all eat comes to us from the labor of undocumented farm workers.

Agriculture in the United States is dependent on the immigrant workforce. Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. According to government statistics, since the late 1990s, at least 50% of the crop workers have not been authorized to work legally in the United States.

United Farm Workers (UFW) has initiated the “Take Our Jobs” campaign. The UFW is inviting Americans to come to into the fields to try their hand at agricultural work.  The UFM is trying to dispel the belief that immigrants are taking all the jobs away from Americans.

The Take Our Jobs Campaign was launched on Thursday, June 24, 2010.  Until Stephen Colbert featured UFW’s President Arturo Rodgriguez on his show, The Colbert Report, on July 8, 2010, only 3 Americans had taken the UFW up on their offer.  Stephen Colbert signed up as number 4.  The episodes featuring Stephen Colbert’s trip to an upstate N.Y. farm started airing last night, September 22, 2010 on Comedy Central, tune in tonight for more clips.  Mr. Colbert is scheduled to speak tomorrow on Capitol Hill at the Protecting America’s Harvest hearing.

According to and ABC News article, since the campaign was launched: 3 million people have visited takeourjobs.org, 8,600 people have expressed interest, and only 7 have actually accepted the challenge.

As part of the campaign UFW is sending a letter to U.S. lawmakers, offering up farm workers who are “ready to welcome citizens and legal residents who wish to replace immigrants in the fields.” The campaign is encouraging Members of Congress to refer their constituents to vacant farm worker positions in locations across the country. All who are interested or unemployed and are legal residents or U.S. citizens are encouraged to apply.

Those interested can apply at takeourjobs.org but you must agree to the following: “Job may include using hand tools such as knives, hoes, shovels, etc. Duties may include tilling the soil, transplanting, weeding, thinning, picking, cutting, sorting & packing of harvested produce. May set up & operate irrigation equip. Work is performed outside in all weather conditions (Summertime 90+ degree weather) & is physically demanding requiring workers to bend, stoop, lift & carry up to 50 lbs on a regular basis.”

This time the operation went down in New Orleans.  Similar to the Chicago bust last week, ICE and local law enforcement agencies conducted a three-day operation in which 28 gang members or associates were arrested.  These individuals have connections to the MS-13 and Latin Kings street gangs.  Five of those arrested face federal prosecution for re-entry after deportation, fraud, and misuse of visas and misuse of social security cards. Re-entry after deportation is a federal violation that carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

If you missed our previous post on the topic ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has teamed up with local law enforcement agencies around the country to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations.  This cooperative is called Operation Community Shield and it began in February 2005.  Since its inception ICE special agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and gang associates.

The medical exam consists of a physical exam, an evaluation for Tuberculosis (TB) which involves a skin test and sometimes a chest x-ray, and a blood test.

If you have any of the following communicable diseases you are considered inadmissible:

1. Infectious state Tuberculosis (TB)
2. Syphilis
3. Chancroid
4. Gonorrhea
5. Granuloma Inguinale
6. Lymphogranuloma Venereum
7. Hansen’s Disease (infectious leprosy)
8. Quarantinable diseases including: cholera, diphtheria, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers, SARS, or pandemic flu
9. Any events report as public health emergency of international concern to the World Health Organization under the International Health Regulations of 2005

There are some health related waivers available so it is important to meet with an attorney to discuss your options.

I am often asked about what vaccines/boosters are required as part of the medical exam. All immigrants are required to have an assessment for the following vaccine-preventable diseases: Mumps, Measles, Rubella, Polio, Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids, Pertussis, Haemophilus Influenzae Type B, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Meningococcal disease, Varicella, influenza, and Pneumococcal Pneumonia.

If you need to find a Civil Surgeon to perform your Medical Exam please visit: www.uscis.gov and select “Find a Medical Doctor (Civil Surgeon)” from the Customer Tools  section

More information is available at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website www.cdc.gov under Immigrant and Refugee Health, Medical Exam: Frequently Asked Questions

Other health considerations regarding inadmissibility:

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 212 persons who have, or had, “a physical or mental disorder and behavior associated with that disorder may pose, or has posed, a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others” are also inadmissible.

Drug abusers and addicts are also inadmissible to the United States under the INA.

On September 14^, 2010, after a 3 day operation, ICE and local law enforcement agents in Chicago, Illinois arrested 20 foreign born gang members.  The 20 men arrested were documented street gang members from: the Latin Kings, Belizean Bloods, Two-Six Boys, Sureño 13s, and Latin Dragons.  Sixteen of these men had criminal records including previous offenses involving: aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, drug possession with intent to distribute, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, aggravated drunken driving, and retail theft.  Two men are facing federal prosecution for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The operation is part of a larger cooperative called Operation Community Shield, which began in February 2005.  Since its inception ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and associates linked to more than 900 different gangs.

In 2009 approximately 743,715 people completed the naturalization process and become U.S. Citizens.  Of these +700,000, individuals 74% of them resided in California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, Massachusetts, Washington and Maryland.

The top five countries of origin were Mexico, India, Philippines, China and Vietnam.