Citizenship And Immigration Services U S

When Jorge Garcia delivered a pizza in Van Nuys in September 2003, he was forced at knifepoint to enter the apartment. Garcia said two men choked him until he passed out. When he awoke, his neck and wrist had been sliced and his stomach burned with an iron. The men told Garcia they had a gun and threatened to kill him. Then the assailants picked him up, threw him in the trunk of his car and dumped the vehicle. Bleeding and in pain, Garcia escaped and sought help.

A former top Los Angeles federal prosecutor who was involved in a Clinton-era clemency controversy has been tapped to head an influential Department of Homeland Security immigration agency. Alejandro Mayorkas is President Obama's pick to be director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which adjudicates a broad range of immigration and naturalization issues and oversees international adoptions, asylum, refugee status and foreign student authorization.

Julia Moreno has been following the presidential campaign and studying the issues. She has even chosen her favorite candidate: "La Senora Clinton." Moreno, a legal immigrant from Guatemala who came to Los Angeles more than 30 years ago, applied for citizenship this summer so she would be able to vote -- starting with the 2008 presidential election. But U.S.

Overwhelmed by a flood of citizenship applications, some immigration offices in Southern California are staying open on weekends to get though a backlog of more than 180,000 people hoping to become U.S. citizens. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Anaheim is doing naturalization interviews on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday interviews are also available at the East Los Angeles and San Bernardino offices.

U.S. immigration authorities Wednesday proposed hefty fee hikes for citizenship and permanent residency applications, pledging to use the revenue to help shorten processing time and improve service. But the proposal, which would hike citizenship application fees from $330 to $595, drew immediate criticism that it would put citizenship out of reach for many poor immigrants. The plan also would increase overall fees for green cards, work permits and other benefits an average of 66%.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will close its El Monte office Friday as the agency consolidates operations at its Los Angeles facility, officials said Wednesday. Starting March 5, all citizenship interviews for L.A., Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties will be conducted at the agency's downtown office, 300 N. Los Angeles St. The El Monte office is shutting because the building where it is housed is no longer available for lease, officials said.

Millions of people who applied for naturalization and other immigration benefits to beat a midsummer fee increase are caught in a paperwork pileup that threatens the chance for some to become U.S. citizens in time to vote in next year's presidential election.

The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating whether the company that employs workers who process immigration and citizenship applications in Orange County violated federal regulations by cutting their pay under a new contract that begins next week.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is considering a proposal to eliminate hundreds of thousands of green cards issued years ago without expiration dates, a move that would help the agency track down individuals who have committed crimes and might be eligible for deportation. By requiring immigrants to reapply for new cards, the federal agency would be able to update their personal information, conduct background checks and electronically store their fingerprints and photographs.

In a sterile waiting room in an Anaheim office building, the applicants sit on rows of black chairs beneath bright lights. Some speak in hushed voices with lawyers and interpreters. Others pace nervously as clerks behind numbered glass windows take fingerprints and photographs. Farhad Zamani opens a secure door and calls out a number. A slender woman stands up and walks toward him, clutching a silver purse.