California Immigration Lawyer Blog

I previously wrote a post on the Department of State's Social networking site promoting cultural exchange. Now the Department of Homeland Security is following with their social networking site called, "Our Border." The purpose of the site is to facilitate conversation between people and groups interested in issues surrounding the southwest border. Groups that are established on the site include: Citizenship and Immigration Services ("CIS"), Customs and Border Protection ("CBP"), Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") and Comprehensive Immigration Reform. It is interesting that on the DHS social networking site, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform group has the most members.

Every day the site will feature a video from the DHS' Youtube channel. (Look how far DHS has come!) Users can also post their own videos or posts. There are currently over 290 members of the networking site.

As a San Francisco bay area immigration attorney, I was kind of skeptical at first about a social networking site on border issues, but at looking at the posts, I have changed my mind. There appears to be some interesting discussion from a variety of people about border issues. There are also some good links to news stories on immigration topics. I joined the site and hope that it really will be a tool for open discussion. I will report back.

The virtual world of Second Life® is increasingly being used for education purposes. I never thought that I would see an educational use in the field of immigration but recently it was used just for that. In the blog post, "Case Study: Loyalist College Massively Improves Test Scores and Training Outcomes Using Second Life," Second Life employee, Amanda Linden highlights a new study published by a college in Canada that discusses the training of border guards at their school.

The college, Loyalist College, in Ontario, Canada, has a program which students to be customs and immigration agents. Prior to September 11, 2001, students would go into the field at a border office and observe agents working. After September 11, non-bonded personnel were not permitted to observe professional agents. The school tried roll-playing scenarios but the training was not effective. They decided to create a training program in Second Life which creates border crossing simulations.

Photo from Second Life Blog

The training program is comprised of various scenarios that could happen on the border. A Second Life script generates information from the virtual license plate on the cars passing through the border and replicates the information in the guard booth. Statistically relevant issues are programmed to pop up inside the guard station such as problems driving records and stolen car warnings. Students take turns playing the drivers and border agents.

You can see a video of the training here:

Continue reading "Could Second Life® help U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers learn their skills?" »

On June 1, 2009, new document requirements go into effect at land and sea ports for entry into the United States. Pursuant to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative ("WHTI") an individual may show one of the following documents in order to be admitted into the United States:

• U.S. or Canadian passport;


• Trusted Traveler Card (Nexus, Sentri, or Fast/Express);


• U.S. passport card;


• State or province issued enhanced driver's license.

California does not issue "enhanced driver's licenses." (Enhanced driver's licenses contain multiple levels of security features.) It is no longer possible after June 1, to travel to Canada and expect to return with just a California driver's license. You must therefore have proof of citizenship as indicated above or proof of lawful permanent residence (i.e., "green card"), or proof of some other kind of non-immigrant status in order to be able to return to the United States.

For more information about the document requirements, please see my previous post on "Free travel widget helps plan trips abroad and return to the United States." You may also go the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website on WHTI to obtain further information.

The government has rolled out another program in the name of security for visa waiver applicants called "Electronic System for Travel Authorization," or ESTA, for short. Effective January 12, 2009, all visa waiver program ("VWP") travelers will be required to obtain a travel authorization via ESTA prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea under the VWP.

The VWP permits visitors from certain countries to visit the United States for 90 days without obtaining a visa. A list of the countries is as follows.

As of November 17, 2008, The following countries are now included in the visa wavier program: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia. Visitors from these countries must have an e-passport and must be using ESTA now.

Continue reading "ESTA or arresta " »

As you make your vacation plans for the holidays, you may wish to check out a new desktop widget that U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") has recently launched. You can input the destination and the date of your trip and it will then provide you with the weather and a countdown of days until your departure. More importantly, the widget will also remind you of the appropriate immigration documents necessary to obtain before you leave so that you may re-enter the United States.

CBP is trying to do more outreach concerning the "Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative" known as "WHTI." WHTI requires American and Canadian travelers to present a passport or other document that denotes identity and citizenship when entering the United States. As Californians, we have been used to going to Mexico and then returning with nothing more than a regular driver's license. This is no longer possible. WHTI is already in effect for travel though all air ports and will be effective June, 1, 2009 for all land and sea ports.

I tested the widget out by entering a date for a trip to Mexico. I wish I was going!

You may download the widget at the CBP's website link for WHTI appropriately entitled "getyouhome."