Immigration Reform and Consulate Updates

The word from Washington is that the Obama administration is preparing for a January push to get a comprehensive immigration reform bill through Congress. President Obama has said that the failure to fix the nation's immigration system was the biggest disappointment during his first term. He wants to make the most of his political energy from the election to get an immigration reform bill passed during the first half of 2013.

Any immigration reform bill is likely to have at least four main points:

· Enhanced border security
· Tougher penalties against employers who hire illegal workers
· A guest worker program for seasonal agricultural workers who would be allowed to enter the country, work legally for a specific period and then return home
· A path to legal residency and citizenship for the 11 million or so illegal immigrants living in the country. Under the draft legislation of 2013, the illegal immigrants would be required to learn English, pass a criminal background check, pay back taxes and pay fees for entering the legalization process. Illegal immigrants would not receive expedited treatment and would have to wait years to get their green card or U.S. citizenship.

The president plans to appeal directly to the people for support and use Facebook and Twitter as he did during the election campaign. Part of his argument will focus on the current high levels of border enforcement and deportation. According to federal statistics and census data, illegal immigration has fallen sharply while deportations have risen in recent years.

The greatest single factor in reducing illegal immigration has been the sluggish U.S. jobs market. Tougher state laws have encouraged self-deportation, and federal laws against employers who hire illegal workers also have reduced the number of illegal immigrants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consulate Updates:

MEDICAL EXAMINATION FEES CHANGE : Effective December 01, 2012, the medical examination fees for the US increased from US $110 to US$130 for each applicant 15 years and older and from US$80 to US$100 for each applicant under 15 years.

American Citizen Petitioners Who Come to Vietnam and Want an Appointment with a Consular Officer: In the past, American citizen petitioners could just show up at the Consulate at certain hours to talk with an officer. From now on, they can only meet an officer by appointment.

If it has been more than 3 months since the applicant’s interview or submission of required documents, the American Citizen petitioner who would like to request a file review must visit the Consulate website to submit aPetitioner Request for File Review. If the Consulate decides that an appointment with an officer is necessary, the Consulate’s customer service team will contact the petitioner with further guidance. The Consulate will try to resolve as many cases as possible without an appointment.

Note: Walk-in petitioners without a scheduled appointment will not be able to meet with a Consular officer.

Q.1. How will a Comprehensive Immigration Reform affect Vietnamese immigration to the US?
A.1. At this time, it appears that everything will remain the same for family based petitions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.2. Is it true that starting in February 2013, immigrant visa applicants will be required to pay an additional $165 after they receive their visas to the US?
A.2. Yes, the $165 fee will be used by CIS in America to cover the costs of Green Card processing.