IANH Organizes Its First-Ever Immigration Clinic

What happens if your mother fails to pass the citizenship interview because she does not know sufficient English? What if visitors overstay the I-94 expiration date? Can a speeding ticket affect your immigration process? These and many other questions and issues were discussed by Ambassador George Bruno on Sunday October 7 at the first Immigration Clinic organized by the India Association of New Hampshire (IANH) at the Nashua Public Library.

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.

The clinic on Sunday 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 pointed out that 9-11 changed many things in regard to immigration and naturalization. The security concerns have become very important to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is now a part of the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

Ambassador Bruno 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 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 Bruno pointed out a number of interesting facts, some of which are not well-known. A US citizen can walk into to a US embassy or consulate abroad without prior appointment to discuss any issues. Of the 65,000 H-1B visas that are allowed each year, 15,000 are reserved for the nationals of Chile and Singapore. It takes less time to bring in your fiancé from abroad than to bring your spouse. It is a good idea to register your dates of stay with the US embassy in the country you are visiting.

Ambassador Bruno provided a listing of useful resources (official and unofficial) that are available. CIA’s website www.cia.gov has a Word Fact Book, which is like an encyclopedia and can be downloaded for free. One can visit the site www.state.gov with links to every US embassy and consulate to see the latest policies, hours, etc. at any US embassy or consulate abroad. He also provided the audience with handouts describing the visa availability status for various categories.

IANH President Prithvi Kumar opened the meeting with welcome remarks and Secretary Dr. Tej Dhakar introduced Ambassador Bruno. The talk concluded with Q&A session when Ambassador Bruno provided answers to specific questions submitted through Email as well as questions from the floor. IANH Executive Member Tony Epaphras thanked Ambassador Bruno for a very useful session. Ambassador Bruno’s Immigration Column is being published in ‘Samaj Patra’, the quarterly IANH Newsletter, starting from the current Fall 2007 edition.