On October 24, 2013, President Obama urged Congress to prioritize immigration reform and pass a bill by the end of the year. A day earlier, the GOP Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, said he was “hopeful” that immigration reform could happen by the end of 2013. Politico is reporting that Representative Darrell
On October 17, 2013, an estimated 100 immigrant rights protesters blocked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) bus. The bus held detainees who were being transferred from the San Francisco local ICE office. The bus was blocked for about 2 hours. Related articles Activists Block Bus In Protest Near San Francisco Immigration Office (sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)
Due to the government shutdown, the San Francisco non-detained Immigration Court was closed for the first part of October, 2013. Effective Friday, October 18, 2013, the Immigration Court will reopen and all non-detained case dockets will proceed as scheduled.
Registration for the Diversity Visa Lottery is open now until November 2, 2013. Only citizens of certain eligible countries who possess the required employment/educational backgrounds may apply. For more information about Diversity Visa registration, go to the Department of State’s website.