Weekly immigration news roundup

Drunk driving illegal alien kills 21 y/o woman

MARYLAND HEIGHTS -- A suspected drunken driver was charged Saturday with involuntary manslaughter after his car plowed into the back of another vehicle, killing a young woman. The suspect, Pedro Santos, 27, was arrested about 3 a.m. Saturday, about three hours after the crash, hiding in woods not far from the scene at Marine Avenue and Bennington Place. Killed in the crash was Nicole Allen, 21. She was a back-seat passenger in an Acura that had slowed or just stopped at the intersection, waiting for a green light, about midnight Friday. A Lincoln Town Car slammed into the back of the Acura. [source]

Congress members continue to introduce immigration reform bills

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Ken Salazar is seeking the help of supporting Democrats, Republicans and even evangelical leaders. Salazar sees the need to secure America's borders, enforce immigration laws and deal with the estimated 12 million immigrants in a humane way. Meanwhile in the House of Representatives, Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois have come together to propose another bill. The Flake-Gutierrez legislation calls for the opportunity for illegal immigrants in the U.S. to gain permanent residency after paying fees and leaving the United States temporarily. However, their return to the country must be legal. In addition, restrictions on the number of family members the immigrants could bring into the U.S. would be limited to how many they could support financially. Other components of the bill include added security, a guest worker program for up to 400,000 immigrants and the introduction of a biometric e-card system. The card system would allow employers in the U.S. to check the legal status of immigrants. Representatives Flake and Gutierrez feel that such bill is balanced as it pleases both sides by reaching a compromise between those against granting amnesty and those against deportation. [source]

Cap Count for Non-Immigrant Worker Visas for Fiscal Year 2008 as of 04/19/2007

A 4/19/07 USCIS Update clarifies the status of receipts issued for H-1B petitions prior to 4/12/07. The Service underscores that the issuance of a receipt notice prior to conducting the computer-generated random selection process has no correlation with whether a petition has been randomly selected for processing. [source]