[ALBSA-Info] SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE (Special Alert) (fwd)

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 20:45:41 -0800
From: Carl at shusterman.com
To: visalaw at shusterman.com
Subject: SHUSTERMAN'S IMMIGRATION UPDATE (Special Alert)

CONGRESS HOLDS HEARING REGARDING INS DELAYS

On February 25, 2000, Members of Congress Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Sam Farr
(D-CA) held a congressional field hearing in San Jose, California regarding
chronic delays and mismanagement by the INS.  Among those who testified
were members of Congress, officials from high-tech employers including
Intel and Sun Microsystems, representatives from the American Immigration
Lawyers Association and other advocacy organizations, and members of the
public.

The result was a litany of complaints which included, in the words of the
press release "long lines, lost files and poor service", coupled with
recommendations for improvements.

Representative Lofgren stated that 

"We have met on a regular basis with Commissioner Doris Meissner to air our
frustrations and to find some fair and expeditious way to end this human
tragedy. Each of us, individually and jointly, has received reassurances
and promises from INS that things were getting better and soon. But they
haven't. Instead, they've gotten progressively worse in the five years I've
been working on this problem. I am working hard at being patient but my
patience has gone unrewarded and now my patience is exhausted. I'm irate
about INS's seeming indifference toward our constituents, our staffs, and
even ourselves..."

"...In an era when FedEx can tell you on-line precisely where your package
is, why can't the INS office tell you anything about the status of an
application pending with INS for years?"

"...In an era when you can secure a home loan and obligate yourself on the
World Wide Web for hundreds of thousands of dollars without standing in
line, why is it that the best you can do at an INS website is to download
some form so you can fill it out by hand, stand in line in the rain, and
wait half a decade for an answer?"

"...I know that the thousands of employees who work for the INS are
frustrated and upset, just as are the people here today. If we can create a
system where the work can get done efficiently, everyone will be better
off. Our community, our economy, our families and those who are employed in
this troubled agency."

Read the testimony of all the witnesses at this important hearing at

	http://shusterman.com/lofgren-pr.html

and send your stories, comments and suggestions for improvements to
Congresswoman Lofgren at

	zoe at lofgren.house.gov

Carl Shusterman
February 27, 2000