U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham Tells San Antonio Hispanic Chamber Immigration Laws Hurt Economy (BIZ)

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham Tells San Antonio Hispanic Chamber Immigration Laws Hurt Economy

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina, told an audience of Texas business leaders that America needs to have a “welcoming” immigration system to remain competitive in the future, but that politically, comprehensive immigration reform must be done in pieces.

“As a nation, if we don’t have a rational immigration system, we’re cutting our economic throat,” said Sen. Graham at a luncheon hosted by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “If we shut this country off from the rest of the world, we’re going to slowly die as a nation.”

Sen. Graham spoke candidly and passionately in an hour-long interview with Texas Tribune Editor Evan Smith in front of a capacity audience of more than 300. Smith set the stage by reciting recent U.S. Census numbers, which confirm that a Hispanic majority is coming to Texas. Hispanics now comprise 64% of the San Antonio population, and it is an example of what Texas and other U.S. cities will look like in the future, said Smith.

“The discussion on jobs, health care and immigration reform is extremely timely in San Antonio especially during these unique times we are living in,’ said San Antonio Hispanic Chamber President and CEO Ramiro A. Cavazos. “We know Senator Graham is a highly-regarded national leader and his visit to San Antonio is an opportunity to create further dialogue on economic issues.”

The South Carolina senator acknowledged that the Republican Party has a problem with Hispanic voters over the immigration issue. However, he added that, “I’m not going to create a bill to help my party with Hispanics; I’m going to create a bill to help America.”

Sen. Graham said the number one problem facing America in the future is a declining population and flat birth rate. However, he said that “citizenship has become the new amnesty” — that there is a growing view among Republicans that immigration reform cannot include a path to citizenship.

Sen. Graham favors comprehensive reform that encourages illegal immigrants to “come out of the shadows, quit being exploited, raise your hand, pay a fine for the law you violated, pay taxes, learn the language and get in the back of the line if you want to become a citizen. I like citizenship if it’s done the right way,” said Graham.

“Right now, we’ve got an irrational immigration system that can’t tell the difference between a guy who wants to fix roofs and a guy who wants to sell drugs,” said Graham.

The luncheon was one of a series hosted by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on national issues impacting San Antonio and Texas.

To see the event visit: www.localcolortv.com/clients/SAHCC

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Randy Escamilla, APR, 210-208-8208

Director of Communications

Cell: 210-913-3999

randye@sahcc.org

Source: Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

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US Embassy Outlines New Visa Application Rules

General News of Friday, 25 February 2011

Source: Graphic

The American Embassy in Accra has announced a new non-immigrant visa appointment service which takes effect from March 1, 2011.

From that date, all non-immigrant visa applicants are to schedule their appointments through the US Visa Information Service at www.ustraveldocs.com or by calling 233-263011685.

A visa application fee of $140 or its equivalent will now be paid at all Ecobank branches throughout the country and not Standard Chartered Bank (STANCHART) as had been the usual practice.

At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Counsellor Chief of the US Embassy, Mr Michael Evans, said the new service was for English-speaking West African countries, namely, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

He said gone were the days when Internet cafe operators hijacked the visa appointment dates on the net and sold them to prospective applicants for a fee.

He said the first step all prospective applicants should take was to pay the visa application fee at any ECOBANK branch, complete the online non-immigrant visa application form (CEAC/DS-160) and then schedule a visa interview appointment at www.ustraveldocs.com or by calling 233-263011685.

Mr Evans said three pieces of information would be required to schedule an appointment — passport number, MRV fee payment receipt and the 10-digit bar code number from the applicant’s DS-160 confirmation page.

He said applicants would then visit the US Embassy in Accra on the date and time of the visa interview, adding that applicants would need to bring a printed copy of the appointment letter, the DS-160 confirmation page, one recent visa photograph, current and all old passports and the original visa fee payment receipt.

Applications without any of these items will not be accepted.

He said applicants were required to collect issued visas in person at the US Embassy in Accra, reiterating that for further information on the US visa process, 'visit www.ustraveldocs.com'.

The counsellor chief stressed that all applicants who had already scheduled visa appointments would not be impacted by the change, while those who had already scheduled appointments through the current online system should bring their Standard Chartered Bank receipts and proceed via the current process.

'Applicants who have paid their MRV fees prior to March 1, 2011 but have not scheduled appointments will have a grace period from March 1, 2011 until April 30, 2011 to use their MRV fees for appointment scheduling,” he said, adding that anyone with an MRV receipt obtained prior to March 1 would have to pay the MRV fee again if he or she had not scheduled an appointment before April 30, 2011.

Mr Evans indicated that having a huge bank account did not guarantee an applicant a US visa and that one had to demonstrate strong ties to one’s country.

He announced that last year 15,000 visas were issued by the embassy.

He also announced that the walk-in renewal service had been cancelled and that all visa renewal applicants would pass through the new service.

View the original article here

US Embassy Outlines New Visa Application Rules

General News of Friday, 25 February 2011

Source: Graphic

The American Embassy in Accra has announced a new non-immigrant visa appointment service which takes effect from March 1, 2011.

From that date, all non-immigrant visa applicants are to schedule their appointments through the US Visa Information Service at www.ustraveldocs.com or by calling 233-263011685.

A visa application fee of $140 or its equivalent will now be paid at all Ecobank branches throughout the country and not Standard Chartered Bank (STANCHART) as had been the usual practice.

At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Counsellor Chief of the US Embassy, Mr Michael Evans, said the new service was for English-speaking West African countries, namely, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

He said gone were the days when Internet cafe operators hijacked the visa appointment dates on the net and sold them to prospective applicants for a fee.

He said the first step all prospective applicants should take was to pay the visa application fee at any ECOBANK branch, complete the online non-immigrant visa application form (CEAC/DS-160) and then schedule a visa interview appointment at www.ustraveldocs.com or by calling 233-263011685.

Mr Evans said three pieces of information would be required to schedule an appointment — passport number, MRV fee payment receipt and the 10-digit bar code number from the applicant’s DS-160 confirmation page.

He said applicants would then visit the US Embassy in Accra on the date and time of the visa interview, adding that applicants would need to bring a printed copy of the appointment letter, the DS-160 confirmation page, one recent visa photograph, current and all old passports and the original visa fee payment receipt.

Applications without any of these items will not be accepted.

He said applicants were required to collect issued visas in person at the US Embassy in Accra, reiterating that for further information on the US visa process, 'visit www.ustraveldocs.com'.

The counsellor chief stressed that all applicants who had already scheduled visa appointments would not be impacted by the change, while those who had already scheduled appointments through the current online system should bring their Standard Chartered Bank receipts and proceed via the current process.

'Applicants who have paid their MRV fees prior to March 1, 2011 but have not scheduled appointments will have a grace period from March 1, 2011 until April 30, 2011 to use their MRV fees for appointment scheduling,” he said, adding that anyone with an MRV receipt obtained prior to March 1 would have to pay the MRV fee again if he or she had not scheduled an appointment before April 30, 2011.

Mr Evans indicated that having a huge bank account did not guarantee an applicant a US visa and that one had to demonstrate strong ties to one’s country.

He announced that last year 15,000 visas were issued by the embassy.

He also announced that the walk-in renewal service had been cancelled and that all visa renewal applicants would pass through the new service.

View the original article here