USA Green Card Immigration Blog

The United States military is composed entirely of volunteers. While individuals are paid for their service, the decision join the military is entirely voluntary. The branches of the United States military include the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and the Marines. In general each branch has different requirements for enlistment, but there are some standard requirements for all the branches. Only individuals who are U.S. citizens can become commissioned officers in the United States military. Those who are considered US citizens also include citizens of Puerto Rico, the Northern Marianas Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Non-citizens are eligible to enlist in the military but can not be commissioned. A non-citizen that is eligible to join the military must meet certain requirements: (1) Have an Alien Registration Receipt Card (stamped I-94 or I-551 Green card/INS Form 1-551), (2) Have a bonafide residence established, and (3) Have established a record of the U.S. as their home. Some non-citizens from countries with a reputation of hostility towards the U.S. may also require a waiver. The federal government cannot petition on behalf of an illegal immigrant so that they can obtain legal status and be able to enlist in the military. In order for an immigrant to join the United States military, they must first go through the immigration process of the USCIS and then and then begin the enlisting process. Another requirement is that the Green Card and/or visa if the immigrant desiring to join the military must be valid for the entire period of their enlistment.

Being a U.S. Citizen or legal immigrant of the United States is only one of the basic requirements to join the U.S. military. Applicants must also pass a physical exam. The military will take only those in relatively good health, but in certain cases the military may make some exceptions for some conditions and issue a waiver. In order to be considered for the military, applicants must obtain a minimum score on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test. Those entering any military branch must be a minimum of 17 years of age. However, at 17 the recruit is still considered a minor, so authorization of the recruit’s parents or guardian must be obtained. The maximum age limit varies depending on the specific branch so it is recommended to check with the recruiters. The number of dependents a potential military recruit has is also another factor that is considered by all military branches. As a general rule, the Department of Defense does not allow an applicant that has more than two dependents to enlist in any branch. The U.S. military considers dependents to be: spouses, unmarried children under 18, unmarried adopted children under 18, stepchildren under 18 who reside at their home, and a parent or other individual who obtains more than half of their income from the applicant. At times, the military branches can override this requirement and issue a waiver but it is something that is not done often. The military applicant must be able to show that they can meet their financial obligations for the waiver to be granted. For the most part, single parents are not allowed to join the military. The only exception is made by the Army National Guard and the State Adjutant General must grant the waiver.

Applicants, including immigrants who wish to become part of the U.S. military, must meet minimal education requirements. The military branches usually require a high school diploma, but some exceptions are made. Each branch is only allowed to take a certain percentage of applicants without high school diplomas. However, this percentage is relatively small. In addition, those applicants without a high school diploma are required to score a minimum ASVAB score. Individuals who enlist in the military and are non-citizens, are limited to one service term. If non-citizens become U.S. citizens then they are permitted to reenlist. For an immigrant who joined the US. military, once they are in active duty status in the military, the process of going from a non-citizen to U.S. citizen can be expedited. It is important to note is that non-citizens, or immigrants, who enlist in the military will also have limited job choices. The Department of Defense (DOD) does not currently allow non-citizens in the military to take on job choices that require a security clearance. All branches of the U.S. military have slightly different requirements so check with the recruiters. With these considerations in mind, immigrants seeking to join the military are encouraged to speak with their local recruiter.

Latest Ariz. immigration bills have tougher path – Yahoo! News.

PHOENIX – Fatigue with the illegal immigration issue could stand in the way of new legislation being considered by Arizona lawmakers, including a sweeping bill championed by the same senator whose law last year prompted nationwide protests.

The many provisions of Senate President Russell Pearce’s latest bill target education and other public services as well as activities ranging from hiring to driving.

Pearce’s late-emerging bill and other proposals sponsored by fellow Republicans cleared a Senate committee dominated by conservatives late Tuesday. But two committee Republicans voted against Pearce’s bill, and a GOP senator who’s not on the committee said Wednesday that full Senate votes on the measures will be close.

Minority Democrats regularly vote against most Republican hard-liners’ illegal immigration bills, “and there are other Republicans besides me that have concerns with them,” said Sen. John McComish of Phoenix. “We need a timeout on immigration bills.”

Pearce drafted his bill Friday and introduced it Monday, past the normal deadline.

“This was a very quick fix (at the) last minute to make sure that we did not ignore the voters of this state,” he said, referring to provisions that would tighten illegal immigration laws approved by voters in the last decade.

However, Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, said, “This bill is miles beyond SB1070 in terms of its potential to roll back the rights and fundamental freedoms of both citizens and non-citizens alike.”

Opponents also said fallout would damage the state’s economy just as businesses are poised to regain lost ground. Passage of SB1070 last year touched off calls for boycotts and a national debate on whether states can enforce federal immigration laws. Key portions of the law have been put on hold by a court pending outcome of legal challenges.

The Senate Appropriations Committee that narrowly endorsed Pearce’s latest bill on a 7-6 vote also approved others targeting automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants and requiring hospitals to report patients who cannot show they’re in the country legally.

The measures now face a legal review and discussions by party caucuses before being considered by the full Senate. Passage would send them to the House.

Two committee Republicans joined four Democrats in voting against Pearce’s bill.

It would make it a state crime with a 30-day minimum jail sentence to drive a vehicle while in the country illegally, and Republican Rick Crandall of Mesa said a provision allowing forfeiture of vehicles driven by illegal immigrants could prompt car rental companies to demand proof of legal status from tourists and other visitors.

“It’s the type of thing that completely undoes” a recently unveiled campaign to promote the state’s tourism industry, Crandall said.

The measure allows for business licenses to be suspended if an employer doesn’t use the federal E-Verify system to check the work eligibility of new hires. Workers caught using a false identity to get a job would face mandatory six-month jail sentences.

It also requires schools to collect information on the legal status of students and report them to law enforcement if their parents don’t provide the necessary documents or the documents appear false.

Public universities and community colleges would be barred from admitting students who cannot demonstrate legal status.

In housing, the bill requires public agencies to verify the immigration status of renters and to evict everyone living in a unit if one is found to be an illegal immigrant. For health care, the bill changes some of the document requirements for the state’s Medicaid program.

The bill turns public officials into immigration officers and “launches an unprecedented attack on minorities and people of color,” said Jaime Farrant of the Border Action Network, an advisory group.

But the Appropriations Committee chairman, Republican Sen. Andy Biggs, said the bill was a response “to economic and social costs that we face with the onslaught of illegal aliens in our state.”

“We need to have the moral courage to deal with this issue when there is a vacuum at the federal level,” he said.

Democrats said Republicans should be focused on the state’s ailing economy, not taking steps that would hurt it.

“This is totally the wrong time for the leader of our Senate to throw our state into another state of chaos,” said Democratic Sen. Paula Aboud of Tucson.

Sponsors of the automatic citizenship bill hope it will prompt a court interpretation on an element of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to people born in the country and who are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S.

Bill proponents said the amendment shouldn’t apply to the children of illegal immigrants because such families don’t owe sole allegiance to the U.S.

The committee also approved an accompanying proposal that would establish an interstate compact that defines who is a U.S. citizen and asks states to issue separate birth certificates for those who are citizens and those who are designated as not citizens.

Similar proposals defining who would get automatic citizenship have been introduced in Indiana, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Backers expect another dozen states will take up the issue this year.

The other bill originally barred nonemergency treatment without proof of legal status but was amended to only require hospitals to report patients who lack valid health insurance and who cannot show they’re in the country legally.

Supporters said it still would help reduce health care costs and burdens on taxpayers. Critics said it could deter some people from seeking needed care.

U.S. Businesses Everywhere: Are Your Immigration Papers In Order? – Law Blog – WSJ.

The Obama administration’s somewhat under-the-radar crackdown on illegal immigration is expanding. And for now, one of its its primary targets is U.S. business.

The federal government is requiring as many as 1,000 companies to turn over their employment records for inspection. Click here for the story, from the WSJ’s Miriam Jordan.

The audits, which the government is expected to make public in the next few days, represent the biggest such operation since 2009. At that time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a DHS unit, conducted an auditing sweep of businesses working in public safety and national security.

The latest round of audits targets at least a few regional fast-food chains, according to people with knowledge of the operation.

Federal agents are expected to visit the companies in coming days to notify them of the requirement.

The big new sweep comes as state and federal lawmakers who champion tough immigration enforcement are pushing to mandate that all U.S. companies use a government-run electronic database to verify whether their new hires are legal workers. Currently, only federal contractors are required by law to use the program, called E-Verify.

The enforcement approach allows both Democrats and Republicans to argue that they’re tackling illegal immigration even in the absence of major new legislation on the issue. Both sides can tout enforcement as an effort to protect American workers from illegal immigrants, perceived as creating unfair competition for scarce jobs.

“I have just received I-9 notices for several clients,” said Victor X. Cerda, an attorney with Jackson Lewis LLP and a former general counsel of ICE. Cerda, who advises companies on immigration compliance, says he is collecting his clients’ paperwork to start discussions with authorities.

Audits last year ensnared the fast-growing burrito chain Chipotle (a burrito from which is pictured), which in recent months was forced to dismiss hundreds of illegal workers in Minnesota. An ongoing investigation of 60 Chipotle restaurants in Virginia and Washington, D.C., will likely force the company to shed more workers, according to immigration authorities.

California Democrat to reintroduce immigration reform bill in Republican House | CAIVN.

Despite a historic Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in this week’s midterm elections, Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) plans to maintain pressure on the new majority to reform the nation’s immigration policy.

“With Republicans now the majority in the House of Representatives, many policies will probably change radically. What must not change, however, is work on immigration reform” Honda said in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed that he co-authored with current NFL player Scott Fujita.Rep.

Honda will reintroduce the Reuniting Families Act in the 112th session of Congress, which allows immigrant families to be reunited with other family members in the United States via an expedited legalization process. Despite some immigrant families having broken the law by entering the country illegally, Honda’s legislation maintains that these immigrant families have played by the rules and that they are unfairly subject to what he calls a 20 year old outdated immigration policy.

Immigration policy has always been a touchy issue for the Republican Party as it has given Democrats an upper hand in winning the Hispanic vote, but there is yet another issue in the Congressman’s bill that will also likely have socially conservative Republicans shying away from it. Included is language allowing the reuniting of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender permanent partners that are immigrants. Honda touts that the benefit of his policy is that it brings together family communities, regardless of orientation for the benefit of the country.

“American workers with their families by their side are happier, healthier and more able to succeed than those living apart from loved ones for years on end. By pooling resources, families can do together what they can’t do alone- start family businesses, create American jobs and contribute more to this country’s welfare” he wrote.

At this point in the game, with Republicans now having extensive power to control the legislative agenda, the party shows no sign of compromising in the direction of their Democratic colleagues on this issue.  Likewise, Honda and fellow Democrats show no sign of compromising or moderating on the issue over the course of the next two years. While they may not get very far in accomplishing their legislative goals in their roles as the minority party in Washington, Democrats seem to be solidifying their voter base for future elections on the immigration issue.  Even before jumping ahead to 2012, Democrats appealing to their base on immigration may have been crucial in saving the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In his efforts to pull in the Hispanic vote, helped by opponent Sharon Angle’s Asian-Hispanic gaffe, Reid pulled in over 60 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Despite all the gridlock that’s bound to continue over immigration when the issue arises, it will be an important issue with the voters that helped drive the Republican revolution of 2010. However, it won’t be the primary issue. The whole “Fire Pelosi” campaign instituted by the Republican National Committee was over Congress aiding and abetting what Republicans viewed as Obama’s job-killing agenda. Just as soon-to-be Speaker John Boehner led the cries of “Where are the jobs?,” so will voters ask the same of the new Republicans in Congress and evaluate the party’s response by 2012.

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR.

October 28, 2010

Last year, two men showed up in Benson, Ariz., a small desert town 60 miles from the Mexico border, offering a deal.

Glenn Nichols, the Benson city manager, remembers the pitch.

“The gentleman that’s the main thrust of this thing has a huge turquoise ring on his finger,” Nichols said. “He’s a great big huge guy and I equated him to a car salesman.”

What he was selling was a prison for women and children who were illegal immigrants.

“They talk [about] how positive this was going to be for the community,” Nichols said, “the amount of money that we would realize from each prisoner on a daily rate.”

But Nichols wasn’t buying. He asked them how would they possibly keep a prison full for years — decades even — with illegal immigrants?

Laura Sullivan/NPRGlenn Nichols, city manager of Benson, Ariz., says two men came to the city last year “talking about building a facility to hold women and children that were illegals.”

“They talked like they didn’t have any doubt they could fill it,” Nichols said.

That’s because prison companies like this one had a plan — a new business model to lock up illegal immigrants. And the plan became Arizona’s immigration law.

Behind-The-Scenes Effort To Draft, Pass The Law

The law is being challenged in the courts. But if it’s upheld, it requires police to lock up anyone they stop who cannot show proof they entered the country legally.

When it was passed in April, it ignited a fire storm. Protesters chanted about racial profiling. Businesses threatened to boycott the state.

Supporters were equally passionate, calling it a bold positive step to curb illegal immigration.

But while the debate raged, few people were aware of how the law came about.

NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.

The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce says the bill was his idea. He says it’s not about prisons. It’s about what’s best for the country.

“Enough is enough,” Pearce said in his office, sitting under a banner reading “Let Freedom Reign.” “People need to focus on the cost of not enforcing our laws and securing our border. It is the Trojan horse destroying our country and a republic cannot survive as a lawless nation.”

But instead of taking his idea to the Arizona statehouse floor, Pearce first took it to a hotel conference room.

Enlarge Joshua Lott/Getty ImagesArizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, pictured here at Tea Party rally on Oct. 22, was instrumental in drafting the state’s immigration law. He also sits on a American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) task force, a group that helped shape the law.

Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, pictured here at Tea Party rally on Oct. 22, was instrumental in drafting the state’s immigration law. He also sits on a American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) task force, a group that helped shape the law.

It was last December at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. Inside, there was a meeting of a secretive group called the American Legislative Exchange Council. Insiders call it ALEC.

It’s a membership organization of state legislators and powerful corporations and associations, such as the tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., ExxonMobil and the National Rifle Association. Another member is the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America — the largest private prison company in the country.

It was there that Pearce’s idea took shape.

“I did a presentation,” Pearce said. “I went through the facts. I went through the impacts and they said, ‘Yeah.’”

Drafting The Bill

The 50 or so people in the room included officials of the Corrections Corporation of America, according to two sources who were there.

Pearce and the Corrections Corporation of America have been coming to these meetings for years. Both have seats on one of several of ALEC’s boards.

Key Players That Helped Draft Arizona’s Immigration Law

Source: NPR News Investigations

Credit: Stephanie D’Otreppe/NPR

And this bill was an important one for the company. According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in “a significant portion of our revenues” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.

In the conference room, the group decided they would turn the immigration idea into a model bill. They discussed and debated language. Then, they voted on it.

“There were no ‘no’ votes,” Pearce said. “I never had one person speak up in objection to this model legislation.”

Four months later, that model legislation became, almost word for word, Arizona’s immigration law.

They even named it. They called it the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.”

“ALEC is the conservative, free-market orientated, limited-government group,” said Michael Hough, who was staff director of the meeting.

Hough works for ALEC, but he’s also running for state delegate in Maryland, and if elected says he plans to support a similar bill to Arizona’s law.

Asked if the private companies usually get to write model bills for the legislators, Hough said, “Yeah, that’s the way it’s set up. It’s a public-private partnership. We believe both sides, businesses and lawmakers should be at the same table, together.”

Nothing about this is illegal. Pearce’s immigration plan became a prospective bill and Pearce took it home to Arizona.

Campaign Donations

Pearce said he is not concerned that it could appear private prison companies have an opportunity to lobby for legislation at the ALEC meetings.

“I don’t go there to meet with them,” he said. “I go there to meet with other legislators.”

Pearce may go there to meet with other legislators, but 200 private companies pay tens of thousands of dollars to meet with legislators like him.

As soon as Pearce’s bill hit the Arizona statehouse floor in January, there were signs of ALEC’s influence. Thirty-six co-sponsors jumped on, a number almost unheard of in the capitol.  According to records obtained by NPR, two-thirds of them either went to that December meeting or are ALEC members.

That same week, the Corrections Corporation of America hired a powerful new lobbyist to work the capitol.

The prison company declined requests for an interview. In a statement, a spokesman said the Corrections Corporation of America, “unequivocally has not at any time lobbied — nor have we had any outside consultants lobby – on immigration law.”

At the state Capitol, campaign donations started to appear.

Thirty of the 36 co-sponsors received donations over the next six months, from prison lobbyists or prison companies — Corrections Corporation of America, Management and Training Corporation and The Geo Group.

By April, the bill was on Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk.

Brewer has her own connections to private prison companies. State lobbying records show two of her top advisers — her spokesman Paul Senseman and her campaign manager Chuck Coughlin — are former lobbyists for private prison companies. Brewer signed the bill — with the name of the legislation Pearce, the Corrections Corporation of America and the others in the Hyatt conference room came up with — in four days.

Brewer and her spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

In May, The Geo Group had a conference call with investors. When asked about the bill, company executives made light of it, asking, “Did they have some legislation on immigration?”

After company officials laughed, the company’s president, Wayne Calabrese, cut in.

“This is Wayne,” he said. “I can only believe the opportunities at the federal level are going to continue apace as a result of what’s happening. Those people coming across the border and getting caught are going to have to be detained and that for me, at least I think, there’s going to be enhanced opportunities for what we do.”

Opportunities that prison companies helped create.

Produced by NPR’s Anne Hawke.

A sum of $98 million has been allotted by the Department of Homeland Security under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for funding advanced technology (AT) X-ray units and inline baggage screening systems. The announcement was made by the Department Of Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano. The purpose of this fund is to provide support to the ongoing efforts of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to strengthen airport security. It is also aimed at boosting the local economy.

Janet Napolitano expressed his opinions and said that the cutting edge technologies used will help detect and block threats and ultimately help in reinforcing airport security for travelers.

He further added that dedicating funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the technology projects will also potentially provide employment opportunities for the locals. It will also help reorganize the passenger check-in process and bolster security. TSA Administrator, John S. Pistole also expressed similar opinions.

These next-generation AT X-ray systems will be used at checkpoints for screening carry-on baggage for weapons, explosives and other prohibited items at all airports nationwide. The TSA at present make use of more than 940 AT X-ray systems to streamline the bag checking process in all airports. These advanced X-ray units have also been used to screen passengers checked baggage too.

Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will also be used for the completion of inline and checked baggage screening systems in Terminal 1 of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) and Colorado Springs Airport (COS) respectively. Through such critical efforts, the Department Of Homeland Security in collaboration with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made progress in improving the nation’s airport security.

USA Green Card, a leading worldwide organization dedicated to the professional management of Immigrant Visa applications, provides help to applicants who want to avail immigration benefits.

Immigration Reform: The Newest Wrinkle in Immigration Reform | U.S. Financial Post.

Texans are trying to redefine language in the US Constitution in an odd twist on immigration reform. Texas state Rep. Leo Berman is seeking to introduce a bill calling for his state to discontinue granting automatic citizenship to US born children of illegal immigrants. At a time when immigrant reform is leaning toward making it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain benefits, employment, and citizenship, this bill is striking out directly at the guarantees of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Lawsuits on the Horizon

It appears that the entire purpose of the bill is to cause a lawsuit. Rep. Leo Berman is hoping in his best case scenario that passing of such a bill will lead to the state of Texas being sued. “If that bill passes, we will be sued immediately. That’s the purpose of the bill,” he said. The reasoning behind this is echoed by a number of lawmakers around the country who seek to redefine how birth certificates are issued and to whom they are issued. If the bill passes the intended outcome is for a lawsuit to reach the Supreme Court and hopefully challenge the current interpretation of the 14th Amendment, as there are no rulings affirming the 14th Amendments current interpretation.

Anchor Babies

The controversy around this proposed bill has generated the rather unappealing term, “anchor babies”. It’s believed that a number of illegal immigrants will try to use their US born children in an effort to gain citizenship for themselves. There is little evidence to support that this occurs on a large scale and most economists will attribute immigration levels to employment opportunities rather than the hope of citizenship, which makes the whole issue more political rhetoric designed to steer thinking.

A Bad Bet

Overall this appears to be a waste of time and resources. Even though the GOP would like to challenge the 14th Amendment in the Supreme Court, most legal scholars seem to agree that the language of the 14th Amendment is very clear. Anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen.

On Sept 17 every year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services observes the Constitution and Citizenship Day in commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in the year 1787. As a part of this celebration, the Promoting Citizenship and Immigrant Integration Conference is held on the same day every year. This year, around $8 million has been recently announced as grants for community based organizations by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the special Constitution Day and Citizenship Day conference.

According to Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director, the new citizenship grant program and the web portal would provide support required for citizenship services. He further added that the integration grant program would encourage immigrants who wish to become the citizens of the United States.

As per the announcement made, USCIS will grant $7.8 million dollars to around seventy-five organizations from around 27 states. This funding has been made to further foster citizenship education programs and to promote immigration integration.

Two funding programs have been included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program.

• Locally based citizenship programs have been strengthened through the first grant program. It has also expanded the naturalization services.

• The second grant program allows national, regional, and statewide organizations to increase the citizenship services with the help of their members or associates across the country.

Around 13 organizations were granted a total sum of $1.2 million for the citizenship programs in the year 2009, which is considerably less compared to fiscal year 2010.

Apart from the $8 million grant, a new Web-based Citizenship Resource Center has also been released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Through this new, free, and easy-to-access web portal, applicants can now understand the citizenship process better. Thus, they can easily get through the naturalization interview.

The new web-based portal features podcasts for applicants, links to the American Literacy Directory, and teaching tools to assist citizenship instructors.

Visit www.usa-green-card.com to receive guidance on U.S. immigration processes.

Around 55 noncitizen members of the U.S. armed forces and 17 military spouses have been recently naturalized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), making up to a total of 196 military members this year. The naturalization ceremony was held at the Yongsan U.S. Army Garrison, Seoul, South Korea. Since 2004, when the overseas naturalization process was founded, this is the first time that nearly 196 members of the military members have been naturalized in the Republic of Korea. Thus, this naturalization ceremony is considered a milestone in the history of USCIS.

Prior to the administration of the Oath of Allegiance, Robert Looney, USCIS Bangkok District Director made a statement that this accomplishment was solely due to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ efforts to travel to various locations all over South Korea and organize the naturalization process of U.S. military members. Nearly 961 U.S. military members and 134 military spouses have been naturalized by USCIS in the Republic of Korea since the year 2004.

Following Robert Looney, Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea addressed the new U.S. citizens. She stated that, although the new citizens vary in their nationality and backgrounds, they have been united by their act of service, which has enabled them to receive USA citizenship. She also reminded them that along with USA citizenship comes the responsibility of serving and protecting the United States.

She also quoted an incident stating the achievement of a family, which originated in Nigeria. She revealed that last year, the Nigerian woman was naturalized in South Korea for her service in the Army, followed by her daughter who was naturalized on the basis that she is a military dependent child. This year, the spouse has also received USA citizenship in South Korea.

Petitioners who require guidance on immigration processes can log on to www.usa-green-card.com.

The final fee rule for processing immigration petitions has recently been announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.) On June 11, 2010, USCIS published the proposed rule in the Federal Register. The final rule has been announced after taking into account the 225 comments received from stakeholders on the proposed rule.

As per the final rule, the overall processing fees for immigration petitions will be increased by an average of about 10 percent. The increase in fees does not apply for the naturalization applications. The adjusted fees will be effective from November 23, 2010.

Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS Director expressed his gratitude to the public who submitted their comments on the proposed rule. He also added that USCIS will work towards enhancing the services that they provide.

The final fee rule includes the following three new fees.

• . Regional center designation fee under the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program

• . Civil surgeon designation fee

• . A fee to cover the costs borne by USCIS in the processing of immigration petitions

Further, processing fees for service members and for a few experienced members of the U.S. armed forces have been reduced and eliminated. USCIS has also expanded the availability of fee waivers for certain USCIS forms.

USCIS is obliged to carry out fee reviews once in two years. The fee review is done in order to arrive at the funding levels required for processing of immigration petitions, for managing the nation’s immigration laws, and to set up the infrastructure that is convenient for those activities.

The fee revenue in financial years 2008 and 2009 was lower than it was planned and it continues to be low in financial year 2010. Although USCIS reduced its budgeted expenditures by about $160 million, the gap that existed between costs and expected revenue was not bridged. Thus, the final fee rule is expected to recover the operations cost and also meet the application processing goals that was determined in the 2007 fee rule.

Petitioners requesting for immigration benefits can visit www.usa-green-card.com to get assisted in the preparation and submission of visa applications.