Department of State: * U.S. Consulate Ciudad Juarez, Mexico will no longer process Third Country National visa applications as of November 1, 2002. Only residents of the consular district and Third Country Nationals with FM2/3 visas will be allowed to apply. * DOS non-immigrant visa application fee will increase to $100.00 effective November 1, 2002 ...
Department of State: * DOS issued a Worldwide Caution on September 9, 2002 advising of the continuing threat of terrorist actions, which may target civilians and include suicide operations. DOS also indicates terrorist groups may seek softer targets including foreign facilities where American citizens are generally known to congregate or visit, such as clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools or outdoor recreation events ...
Department of State: * DOS has released the instructions for the 2004 diversity immigrant visa program. The congressionally mandated program is a lottery for 50,000 permanent residence visas. Applicants must meet strict eligibility criteria. Instructions have been issued by the DOS at www.travel.state.gov/DV2004.html * Jordanians are now eligible for E treaty trader/treaty investor visas upon the basis of reciprocity secured by the United States-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act ...
Every company with operations or sales overseas should carefully consider whether it has effective policies and procedures in place that adequately manage the company’s risks under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Enron Corp. is the target of a new U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation involving allegations of FCPA violations ...
Department of State: * Nationals of the twenty-six countries subject to additional DOS consular scrutiny are experiencing lengthy delays in the processing of nonimmigrant visa applications. For example, the U.S. Consulate in Paris is unable to specify how long its additional administrative processing will take for these cases, and the previously indicated time frame of 30 days is no longer applicable ...
Department of State: * DOS indicated it plans to end the visa and passport exemptions for Commonwealth Citizens residing in Canada. Currently, citizens of British Commonwealth countries are not required to obtain nonimmigrant visas to enter the United States and do not need passports if they enter the U.S. from a Western Hemisphere country. New regulations would end the current visa and passport exemptions for these individuals ...
In the buzzword-compliant society that we live in, one of the loudest buzzes these days is Privacy. Start-up companies trumpet their privacy protecting software. Privacy consultants are starting to dot the landscape. Companies are employing Chief Privacy Officers. The Federal Trade Commission is bringing charges and levying fines against companies for privacy violations ...
In the Fall of 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “Federal Circuit”) issued a decision known to patent attorneys as “Festo.” Critics argued that Festo retroactively and severely restricted a patent holder’s rights, while proponents argued that the decision created more certainty when trying to decide whether a patent was infringed, thus significantly reducing the cost of patent litigation ...
Department of State: * DOS Visa Revalidation Unit is rejecting cases subject to the 30-day “Condor” security check. Certain responses on the supplemental visa application Form DS-157 trigger the 30-day “Condor” security check. Applicants receiving rejections for this reason must apply for the visa outside of the U.S. and will be subject to the 30-day “Condor” security check. Due to security issues, the DOS cannot divulge the basis for “Condor” triggering responses ...
Department of State: ∙ DOS issued public announcements for Peru, Nepal, and the Philippines alerting U.S. citizens to the general security environment, the continued potential for violence, and the possibility of terrorist activity directed at American interests in the regions. ∙ DOS issued a travel warning for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza due to deteriorating security situations ...
Introduction A. Changes Since September 11. The events of September 11 have brought about an unprecedented surge of change in laws and regulations related to international trade and other aspects of global business. Companies would be well-advised to update and upgrade their trade compliance, internal monitoring and management systems to accommodate the changes that have already occurred and those yet to come. The U.S ...
4th Edition of the Haynes and Boone, Employment Law Desk Reference Guide Chapter Summary The employment of foreign nationals will require a company to follow the rules and regulations of several federal agencies, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Labor and Department of State. Employers should be versed in U.S ...
Department of State American Citizen Services: ∙ DOS issued a Worldwide Caution on March 17 stating that the attack on worshippers at the Protestant International Church in Islamabad underlines the growing possibility that as security is increased at official U.S. facilities, terrorists and their sympathizers will seek softer targets. ∙ DOS American Citizen Services will soon begin issuing U.S. passports with new security features to those U.S ...
Introduction Imagine yourself as a trademark owner when domain names were first introduced. Your first thought of “it’s just a fad” quickly fades and you decide that your business needs a web site, whatever that may be. You hire an eighteen year old web designer, tell him to register two different domain names for the site, and sit back. An unexpected problem pops up ...
Introduction 1. Background of the Foreign Investment Law and Regulations. Consistent with NAFTA, Mexico enacted a Foreign Investment Law (FIL), effective March 20, 1998, which abolishes restrictions of foreign investment in most areas. The Regulations of the FIL, effective on September, 1998, were also enacted to provide legal certainty to foreign investors. 2. General Rule: 100% of Foreign Investment Participation ...
INS FILING FEE INCREASE: INS fee increases are effective February 19, 2002. The new INS fee for Form I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Workers (H-1B; L-1A; L-1B; and TN) is $130.00, an increase of twenty dollars, and for Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (H-4; L-2; and TD), the new fee is $140.00. The new fee for Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker is $135 ...
On January 6, 2002, the Argentine Congress passed Law 25,561 (the “Law”) that revoked the convertibility regime that established the currency board system. The old Convertibility Law maintained a fixed exchange rate of 1:1 between the peso and the US dollar. In addition, on January 10, 2002, the President issued Decree 71/2002, which outlined the types of debts to be converted from US Dollars to Pesos at 1 to 1 exchange rate ...
