A new Permanent Resident Card or “Green Card” has arrived. The new card, redesigned by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) incorporates new major security features designed to deter immigration fraud. The new card is supposed to resist counterfeiting, tampering and enables efficient authentication. The Green Card is an important document critical to verifying one’s immigration status and serves as proof of authorization to live and work in the United States. Green cards are valid either for 10 years or 2 years for conditional residents and must be renewed prior to expiration. Features of the new Green Card allows quick and reliable identification of the card’s owner. It will be virtually impossible to reproduce and alter if stolen. Customs and Border Protection officers will be able to read the card from a distance and it can easily be returned to USCIS if lost. The new card will now be colored green.

New Green Cards were issued beginning May 11, 2010 to those newly approved applicants for lawful permanent residency and those who have renewed or requested a replacement of their cards. Existing Green Cards with an expiration date will remain valid until their expiration. Owners of those cards will receive the new cards when they apply for renewal or replacement of those cards. Those cards with no expiration date will remain valid. It is recommended that those with cards with no expiration date should apply for the redesigned card. Current cost for renewing or replacing a Green Card is $370.00. A replacement card is obtained by filing Form I-90.

As an Immigration Attorney, my office frequently receives inquiries about Green Cards and other immigration issues. If you have any questions about Green Cards or wish to discuss your immigration case, contact our office at 317-236-0486 or send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For the first time since it began issuing U visas in 2008, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it approved 10,000 petitions for fiscal year 2010.  The U visa program was created to provide immigration protection for victims of crime.  According to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS, through the U visa, “is able to provide crime victims with critical immigration protection, allowing law enforcement officials to protect victims and bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.” 

October 2, 2010 is the first day of fiscal year 2011 and USCIS will resume issuing U visas then.  USCIS will continue to accept new U visa petitions and those petitioners who are conditionally approved will be placed on a waiting list.  These individuals as well as their qualifying family members will be able to remain in the U.S. legally under deferred action and will be eligible for work authorization by submitting Form I-765.  Such protection also extends to those conditionally approved petitioners or qualifying family members who are in removal proceedings or have a final order of removal.  USCIS will issue a Notice of
Conditional Approval of U visa non-immigrant status and will place the case under deferred action.  The annual cap of 10,000 established by Congress applies only to principal petitioners.  Because family members’ petitions are dependent on the principal’s petition, family members will also be placed on the waiting list.  These family members will receive their U visas when the principal receives theirs.

The U visa was born out of legislation, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which is intended to provide law enforcement agencies with power to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes while also providing protection to the victims of those crimes.  U visas are intended for victims who: 1) have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result of the criminal activity AND 2) are willing to help law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.

Family members and Attorneys may now easily locate detained aliens in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.  ICE announced that it has launched an Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS), which is a database system open to the public found on ICE’s public website, http://www.ice.gov.  The website provides information on the location of the detention facility in which an individual is being held, as well as the phone number to the facility and contact information to the regional ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office where the facility is located.  A guide on how to use the ODLS is available on the website in English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic and Somali.  The ODLS is designed to be an easy and efficient way for family and Attorneys to locate an individual in ICE custody.  Locating an individual in custody can be done in two different ways: 1) by the individual’s alien registration number (A#) and their country of birth; OR 2) by the individual’s first and last names, country of birth and date of birth.  To ensure detainee privacy, any responses to inquiries on the ODLS will only be generated if the data provided by the inquirer matches exactly the data in the system.  The ODLS is just one of many ways ICE is implementing reform in the immigration detention system.  Additional information on ICE’s detention reform can be found at: www.ice.gov/dro/detention-reform/.

As an Immigration Attorney who deals in detention matters, my office frequently receives inquiries on how to locate individuals detained by ICE, what can be done to procure their release and what remedies are available to prevent deportation.  If you wish to discuss a specific detention matter or other issues relating to immigration, contact our office at 317-236-0486 or send us an email at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Over 12.1 million qualified entries were received in the DV-2011 lottery.  That represents a drop from over 13.6 million qualified entries received for last year's DV-2010 lottery.


Here are the DV-2011 results issued by the U.S. Department of State:

The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2011 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes available *50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Approximately 100,600 applicants have been registered and notified and may now make an application for an immigrant visa. Since it is likely that some of the first *50,000 persons registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance, this larger figure should insure that all DV-

2011 numbers will be used during fiscal year 2011 (October 1, 2010 until September 30, 2011).

Applicants registered for the DV-2011 program were selected at random from over 12.1 million qualified entries (16.5 million with derivatives) received during the 60-day application period that ran from noon on October 2, 2009, until noon, November 30, 2009. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic regions with a maximum of seven percent available to persons born in any single country. During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete the information requested.

Registrants living legally in the United States who wish to apply for adjustment of their status must contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2011 will end. Selected applicants who do not receive visas by September 30, 2011 will derive no further benefit from their DV-2011 registration. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2011 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative diversity visa status until September 30, 2011.

Only participants in the DV-2011 program who were selected for further processing have been notified. Those who have not received notification were not selected. They may try for the upcoming DV-2012 lottery if they wish. The dates for the registration period for the DV-2012 lottery program will be widely publicized during August 2010.

* The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program. The reduction of the limit of available visas to 50,000 began with DV-2000.

A breakdown of DV-2011 registrations by country is also available- HERE.

Did you enter the DV-2011 green card lottery?  Find out if your entry was selected - HERE.