[September 15, 2008

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¨ù                 that U. S. citizenship filings have declined after the 69% fee hike last summer from $400 to $675?

¨ù                 that since the fee hike, about 281,000 immigrants have applied for US citizenship in the first half of 2008 which is less than half the number of applicants who filed in the same period last year?

¨ù                 that the decline followed a rush applications when immigrants hurried to get their applications filed before fees shot up at the end of July 2007?

¨ù                 that in that month alone, more than 460,000 immigrants applied for US citizenship?

¨ù                 that an immigration lawyer from Hartford, Connecticut was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day in federal prison for falsifying government documents to assist an illegal immigrant along the path to legal residency?

¨ù                 that Jose del Castillo, a native of Peru who once served as the chairman of the Hartford Redevelopment Agency, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of federal document fraud?

¨ù                 Chief U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny sentenced del Castillo, 49, to federal prison for no less than a year and a day?

¨ù                 that federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of between 12 and 18 months. Chatigny also fined him $15,000?

¨ù                 that Del Castillo was indicted in late 2006 on nearly two dozen counts of document fraud for filing immigration forms with state and federal officials saying that his clients had legitimate job offers as cooks and hosts at Mamacita's at the Forge Restaurant, a Broad Street restaurant that he owned earlier in the decade?

¨ù                 that the case against del Castillo goes back to early 2001, when windows in federal law had given illegal immigrants with an employer or family sponsor the chance to pay a $1,000 penalty, seek a green card while on U.S. soil and possibly achieve citizenship?

¨ù                 that the process began with the filing of paperwork with the state Department of Labor?

¨ù                 that in March 2001, del Castillo opened Mamacita's and on April 30, 2001, he filed about 100 applications for clients as records from the Labor Department show?

¨ù                 that Del Castillo has already been twice reprimanded by the bar counsel's Statewide Grievance Committee and he now faces the possibility of discipline that could affect his ability to practice law, according to his attorney?

¨ù                 that after the hearing, attorney Joseph Tapper — former chairman of the Connecticut chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association — said that Chatigny's sentence was well reasoned, but that it did not take into account the lives of the clients who suffered a possible ban from this country as a result of del Castillo's conduct?

¨ù                 that for purposes of proving how many days an applicant for U.S. citizenship stayed in the U.S., there is a need to prove entries and exits?

¨ù                 that such stamps are sometimes missing?

¨ù                 that when a legal permanent resident is returning to the U.S., the CBS officers are under instructions to place an admission stamp on the travel documents (passport, re-entry, permit)?

¨ù                 that if the officer fails to stamp the document presented, the legal permanent resident should request the stamp?

¨ù                 that arrival and departure information on a specific travel can be made to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Attn: Mint Annex Building, FOIA Division, Washington, DC 20229 and telephone number (202)572-0640?

¨ù                 that a parent¡¯s period of residence in the United States cannot be imputed to a child for purposes of calculating the 7 years of continuous residence required to establish eligibility for cancellation of removal?

¨ù                 that for the second time in less than a year, the 9^th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rebuked a prominent Los Angeles Judge for abusing his discretion in denying relief to a Chinese immigrant who asserted that she had a forced abortion in her home country?

¨ù                 that the ruling held that Judge Thomas Y. K. Fong was ¡°arbitrary and unreasonable¡± in cutting short the woman¡¯s hearing without listening to any testimony or considering any evidence, thus causing the woman to lose her right to present her case?

¨ù                 that as a result of this ruling, the 9^th Circuit  Court Judge held that Judge Fong abused his discretion and must be reversed?

¨ù                 that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed a federal criminal search warrant recently at Howard Industries, Inc., an electric transformer manufacturing facility, for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant for individuals illegally in the United States?

¨ù                 that as a result of that enforcement action, approximately 595 illegal aliens were arrested by ICE special agents?

¨ù                 that approximately 106 of those were identified as being eligible for an alternative to detention based on humanitarian reasons?

¨ù                 that these individuals will be required to appear before a federal immigration judge who will ultimately determine whether or not they will be deported?

¨ù                 that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revised the filing instructions for the Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence (Form I-751)?

¨ù                 that now, all petitioners filing a Form I-751 must file with the California or Vermont Service Center, depending on the state in which they reside?

¨ù                 that petitioners who live in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming must file their Forms I-751 with the California Service Center at the following address: USCIS California Service Center, P.O. Box 10751, Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-1075?

¨ù                 that petitioners who live in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia must file their Forms I-751 with the Vermont Service Center at USCIS Vermont Service Center, 75 Lower Welden St., P.O. Box 200, St. Albans, VT 05479-0001?