Congress Passes Extension of Foreign Residence Waivers for Medical Graduates Program and of Religious Worker Program

Congress Passes Extension of Foreign Residence Waivers for Medical Graduates Program and of Religious Worker Program

On September 27, 2008, the House passed, by a voice vote, a bill to extend the Conrad 30 program (H.R. 5571). This bill extends for five years the program authorizing waivers of the foreign residence requirement for medical graduates. Also, the House passed a bill to extend the non-minister religious worker program (S. 3606) through March 6, 2009.

Both of these bills were passed by the Senate on September 26, 2008, and now head to the President for signature.

Congress Passes Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act

On September 28, 2008, the House passed the Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act (S. 2840), a measure that would speed up the naturalization process for military personnel and veterans. The measure, introduced by Sen. Schumer (D-NY), would require that USCIS process and issue a citizenship decision within six months of receiving an application from a current or former member of the armed forces, or their surviving dependents. If a decision is not made within that time frame, USCIS would be required to explain the delay and provide a new decision target date.

The bill would also establish an FBI liaison office inside USCIS and processing deadlines for other naturalization applications. The bill, already passed by the Senate, now heads to the President for final approval.

President Signs Bill Extending EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program and Basic Pilot E-verify Program