Subject: [[email-masked]: CND-US, August 15, 1994]

From: [email-masked] (Mi Mi)
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 94 11:58:05 CDT

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+   C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                               (US Regional)

                          Monday, August 15, 1994

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4. Immigration Visa Numbers for September ............................... 80
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Source: NAFSA Central Office, 08/11/94
_From: Doug Mollenauer
Forwarded by: Bo Xiong

Employment-Based

1st: (Priority workers)
Current

2nd: (Advanced degrees, exceptional ability)
Current

3rd: (Skilled workers and professionals)
Current except for China-mainland born, July 5, 1993; and the
Philippines, April 8, 1993

3rd: (Other workers)
Worldwide date: May 1, 1988

4th: (Special immigrants)
Current except for the Philippines: April 28, 1993

4th: (Religious workers)
Current except for the Philippines: April 28, 1993

5th: (Employment-creation)
Current

5th: (Targeted employment areas/Regional Centers)
Current

Transition Immigrant (AA-1, or Visa Lottery) Category:
For September, AA-1 numbers are current for all qualifying
countries on a "current" basis. The program expires on September
30, 1994. Registered applicants must obtain visas while numbers
are available. Applicants who wish to take advantage of their
AA-1 registration should respond as quickly as possible to the
notification letter.

Family-based preference dates:

1st: (Unmarried sons and daughters of citizens)
Current except for Mexico: August 1, 1993; and the
Philippines: October 10, 1985

2A: (Spouses and children, exempt from per country limit)
Worldwide date: earlier than August 1, 1991

2A: (Spouses and children, subject to per country limit)
Worldwide date: from August 1, 1991 to August 15, 1991; except
for Mexico: no visas available

LB: (Spouses and children of legalization beneficiaries)
All visa numbers provided by this three-year program have been
allocated. No further allocations will occur in this category.

2B: (Unmarried sons or daughters of permanent residents, 21 years
or older)
Worldwide date: November 22, 1989 except for Dominican Republic:
November 15, 1989; and the Philippines: April 8, 1988

3rd: (Married sons and daughters of citizens)
Worldwide date: January 1, 1992 except for Mexico: February 28,
1986; and the Philippines: June 21, 1983. A retrogression of the
cut-off date was required to keep the category within the annual
numerical limit. FY-1995 begins in October, at which time
allocations will resume.

4th: (Brothers and sisters of adult citizens)
Unavailable. The annual numerical limit was reached after
August's allocation. Allocations will resume in October.

Visa-91, the latest revisions to the visa portion of the Foreign
Affairs Manual (FAM), may now be obtained from the Department of
State. Revisions to Appendix C of Vol. 9 include changes in
reciprocity schedules, inclusion of newly-created European
countries, and Special Clearance and Issuance Procedures which
were formerly included in Appendix A.

Visa-91 is available for $28 by check from: Distribution Services
(OIS/PS/PR), Room B847 A, Department of State, Washington, D.C.
20520.

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5. U.S. to Ease Strict Chinese Asylum Policy ............................ 45
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Source: The Washington Post, August 05, 1994, FINAL Edition
By: Roberto Suro, Washington Post Staff Writer
Forwarded by: Daluo Jia

President  Clinton  has  decided  to  modify a restrictive asylum policy on
Chinese  immigrants  who  claim  they  are fleeing coercive family planning
practices to allow some individuals to remain here on humanitarian grounds,
U.S. officials said yesterday.

The  new  policy  will  be  presented  in Capitol Hill briefings today, the
officials   said,  and  it  is  expected  to  open  a  new  debate  between
antiabortion  legislators  who seek more open policies and those whose main
concern is the fight against immigrant smuggling.

   About  1,000  Chinese  are in detention around the United States because
they  were  caught trying to enter the country illegally on smuggling ships
or by other means. Many have sought asylum on the grounds that China has an
abusive   family   planning   policy  that  includes  forced  abortions  or
sterilizations.

   Administration  officials  said the new directive seeks to clarify their
status and set policy for the future.

   It  will  remain  difficult  to  win  asylum on the grounds that China's
policies  are  cruel. Only those demonstrating that they specifically could
be persecuted will be allowed to stay here.

   But  the  officials  said  Clinton wanted to create a mechanism by which
some  of immigrants would be allowed to remain in the United States instead
of being forced to return to China when they are denied asylum.

   Under  the  new  policy,  directors  of  Immigration  and Naturalization
Service district offices will be given leeway to grant stays of deportation
on humanitarian grounds.

   The  Bush administration had a more lenient policy of granting asylum to
Chinese who simply claimed they feared persecution for their views on birth
control.
   Clinton's  decision  takes  on a special importance because for the past
year the administration has been waging a battle of perception with Chinese
immigrant smugglers.

   Some officials within the administration have argued that the new policy
sends a welcoming signal.

   Acknowledging that a vigorous internal debate has been waged for several
weeks,  an official speaking in support of the policy change said, "we want
to provide some relief, but we don't want to send a signal that the door is
open."

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6. Chinese Join Haitians in Special "Relief" Status ..................... 90
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Source: The Washington Post, August 07, 1994, FINAL Edition
By: Roberto Suro, Washington Post Staff Writer
Forwarded by:  Daluo Jia

President   Clinton  last  week  faced  a  decision  on  how  to  handle  a
controversial flow of people fleeing human rights abuses, and as he did for
Haitians  earlier  this summer, he created a new program to protect Chinese
refugees.