Ambassador Bruno Conducts Second Immigration Clinic for IANH in Manchester, New Hampshire

9-11 changed many things in regard to immigration and naturalization. The security concerns became very important to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is now a part of the newly created Department of Homeland Security. These and many other questions and issues were discussed by Ambassador George Bruno on Saturday March 22, 2008 at the second Immigration Clinic organized by the India Association of New Hampshire (IANH). This clinic was organized in conjunction with the NSF Regional Essay, Math and Geography Bee contests organized by IANH at the Manchester Community College, Manchester on the same day.

The clinic was an interactive session in which various topics from non-immigrant visa to naturalization were discussed. Ambassador Bruno gave an overview of the recent changes to the Immigration Law. He explained the processes associated with important categories of non-immigrant and immigrant visas. He discussed the naturalization and citizenship requirements in detail. He also discussed other issues such as FBI security check delays; mandatory green card renewal requirement; consequences of criminal actions, domestic violence and overstay violations; increased employer responsibilities; inviting friends and family to visit the US; and Western hemisphere travel initiative (WHTI). He used examples to highlight the interpretation of complex immigration laws.

Ambassador George Bruno (http://hometown.aol.com/gbruno1/) is an attorney and the Managing Director and General Counsel of USA Group International (http://www.usagroupinternational.com). He practices immigration and business law in New Hampshire. He served as US Ambassador to Belize from 1994 to 1997 and has traveled to over 45 countries. He is well known in public and international affairs and the political circles in New Hampshire. Ambassador Bruno is a close friend of the Indian-American community and a life member of the IANH.

IANH Executive Member Tony Epaphras welcomed Ambassador Bruno. The talk concluded with a Q&A session when Ambassador Bruno provided answers to specific questions from the floor. At the end of the talk, the audience applauded loudly to show their appreciation for a very informative and interesting talk by Ambassador Bruno. Ambassador Bruno’s Immigration Column is published in the Association’s quarterly Newsletter ‘Samaj Patra’.