From all four corners of the US

Period on tourist visas to be shortened significantly?

We don't really like to open the news section with bad news, but we consider this one of the most important topics:

James Ziglar, Commissioner of US Immigration and Naturalization Services, has officially announced last week that the length of stay for people on a B1/B2 tourist visa is to be shortened significantly. Up to now, you could stay in the US up to six months on such a visa, in the future it will be only 30 days! However, the new regulations are not yet in effect and remains unclear whether they will become effective or when. Furthermore, people entering the US on the Visa Waiver Program will still be allowed to stay for 90 days. These are almost all EU citizens and people from many other countries.

No further details are known so far. However, you can rely on us to provide you with more information in the next newsletters, as soon as we have any.

Flight school receives visas for dead terrorists

A flight school in Florida found some strange letters in their mailbox - the student visas for Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi. The two terrorists had flown the planes into the World Trade Center on September 11. This does not cast a very good light on the INS, US politicians are ranting.

The director of the flight school couldn't believe his eyes when he read the letters from the INS. The student visas for the flight students Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi had been issued now, they said. A bad joke? No, a serious mistake made by the INS. Because the flight school in Florida had applied for the visas for Atta and al-Shehhi in August 2000 already. After that, it took almost one year before the applications for both were approved. After that, it took another seven months before the flight school was informed that the visas had been approved. According to US law, flight schools do not have to turn away applicants without a visa. It is enough if the visa application has been submitted.

On Wednesday, it was still unclear why the letters had been delivered so late. One thing is quite clear, however - the story caused an uproar on the Capitol. An INS spokesman tried to calm the politicians - saying that when the visas were issued, INS had not had any hints that Atta and al-Shehhi had connections to terrorist groups. Ben Ferro, a former INS district director, commented on the embarrassing situation with a good deal of sarcasm - at least the INS doesn't discriminate against anyone with its delays. It keeps everyone waiting, even the dead.

(Source: Spiegel Online)

H-1B work visa more popular and successful than ever

It seems paradox - on the one hand, an estimated 25,000 employees in Silicon Valley alone have been fired in the crisis year of 2001, not few of them from abroad. On the other hand, the number of H-1 B work visas (we wrote about this several times) increased significantly. According to serious estimates to about 340,000, that is a 14% increase compared to 2000. However, the results developed positively as well - 40% more visa applications were approved than the year before, when Silicon Valley was still needing foreign know-how. Back then the US technology lobby had put massive pressure on the US government to significantly increase the H-1B quota. During the downturn many visa holders lost their status, there wasn't enough time to look for a new position. All in all it does not look like the demand for suitable employees will remain as high, even if the number of visas is going to decrease over the next years.

So there still are promising alternatives for making the dream of the land of opportunity come true.

(Source: Handelsblatt)

Number of illegal immigrants increasing

According to a new report by the statistics agency, the number of illegal immigrants in the US has increased significantly again, among them are an increasing number of Europeans. Since 1990 the number has almost doubled to 9 million. Both political sides are using the new numbers for their own political causes. Those in favor of a liberal immigration policy are saying that the people inside country make an important contribution to the US economy, and that the US government should give them an appropriate status, in order to prevent them from being exploited. Those opposed are saying that those people pose a great security risk to the US, especially those coming from the Middle East.

The American Dream - soon also underground?

For ten miners, their dream of the land of opportunity will probably come true soon. They are to transfer to a US coal mine. An article in the January edition of the company journal "Steinkohle" (Engl.: hard coal) had an amazing resonance. More than 100 miners were interested in a trip with no return ticket. At least 30 candidates submitted their applications. The new beginning seems attractive to bachelors and family men, entrants and old hands. They are needed in the coal mines from Colorado to West Virginia. The company supports them wherever possible - with language classes, intercultural information, and last but not least the right work permit.

(Source: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung)

No Social Security Card to get a Driver's License

In the future, the Social Security Administration SSA will no longer issue Social Security Cards to people who only want it to get a driver's license. This new regulation is effective as of March 1. In the future, only those people who are legally working in the US will get one. This group includes all US citizens, immigrants (green card holders), holders of H, L, and E work permits, and people holding an Employment Authorization Card (EAD). As we wrote before, these can now be issued also to spouses of L and E visa holders.

In case someone "only" has a student visa, the H-4 status derived from the H-1B or an extended tourist status (B1/B2 Visa), he can get one under two conditions - first, federal law may require such a card to get a special service. However, driver's licenses which are issued by the states do not fall under this category. Second, state or local law may allow forr a card as well, provided the applicant has gained a claim for one.

So we recommend that you ask in your respective state whether or not a Social Security Card really is a requirement for a driver's license. In the states in which this is required, this could represent a problem for people without a work permit. Spouses of H-1B and F1 Visa holders (H-4 and F-2) could no longer legally transport their children around the US.

(The administration online: ssa.gov)

US Originals: OREO Cookies

OREO entered the US food market in 1912 for the first time. This was the beginning of this cookie's success story. The OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies are the most popular cookies in the US. In America, they are called "King of Cookies." And there's no age limit either, young or old, OREOs are to be found in each American household. One question has been present among consumers ever since the beginning - where did the name OREO come from?

There's no specific answer to this question, but several theories and just as much stories, as old as the cookie himself. Some believe that the name OREO was created simply because it sounds so melodic, it is short and easy to pronounce. Some believe that the name OREO has been borrowed from the French. "Or" is French for gold - and one of the first wrappings for the cookies was gold. Still another story claims that the name comes from the Greek, because "Oreo" means mountain. And supporters of this theory see a connection here, because one of the first test examples of the cookie was shaped like a hill.

However the name may have been created, one thing is certain - OREO was something that people remembered, and it became one of the most popular cookies among people of all ages, it is its own brand.

PS: You may also find OREO online, on www.oreo.com/oreo. There you will find interesting facts like that all OREOs that have ever been produced (490 million) would, if piled up, reach to the moon and back six times. And there's more, like interactive OREO games!