Legal Alert
USCIS FEES SET TO SKYROCKET JULY 30, 2007
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced its new fee schedule to take effect July 30, 2007. Across the board, the new fees average increases of approximately 86 percent.
USCIS claims that the new fee structure will provide adequate funding for improving customer service and delivery of benefits, enhancing national security and public safety and modernizing the agency's infrastructure for increased efficiency. At the same time, USCIS said, the adjustment aims to make the fees truly reflective of rising administrative, overhead and overall operating costs. The agency insists current fees do not cover the full costs involved in processing each application or petition.
Previously, the agency has marginally increased fees since its last comprehensive fee review in 1998, when fees increased approximately 76 percent. The agency stated that the adjustments - last made in October 2005 and prior to that, in February 2002 were made due to inflation and did not reflect true processing and operating costs for adjudicating the applications.
If you are contemplating filing an application for immigration benefits, the time to do so would be now, before the new fee structure goes into effect. For more information, please contact our immigration section at
717-848-5134.
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Offices
Camp Hill
3425 Simpson Ferry Road Camp Hill, PA 17011 Telephone: 717.763.1121 Facsimile: 717.763.7419
Towson
40 W. Chesapeake Avenue Towson, MD 21204 Telephone: 410.825.5223 Facsimile: 410.825.5426
York
135 North George Street York, PA 17401 Telephone: 717.848.5134 Facsimile: 717.848.5125
Email
mail@shumakerwilliams.com
Website
www.shumakerwilliams.com
Editors
Rachel M. Wolf
David J. Ledermann
Editorial Staff
Michele Connor
Publishing/Layout
Jeffrey A. Lee
Melanie L. Butz
We believe that providing our clients with timely information on developments in the law will enable them to make effective business decisions. We have dedicated ourselves to providing our clients with current information. This newsletter serves as one vehicle of promptly reporting to our clients. It is provided at no cost and outside of any professional relationship with a person, entity or file. The information contained in this newsletter is merely the opinions and thoughts of the authors and does not, in any way, constitute legal or professional advice.
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WORKPLACE RETALIATION CLAIMS ON THE RISE
By Michael Rowan
Retaliation claims by employees against their employers have dramatically increased in recent years. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports that retaliation charges against employers have nearly doubled since 1992 and now constitute more than 25% of the charges before the EEOC. Generally speaking, retaliation claims involve a charge of some adverse action taken against an employee in apparent response to the employee's exercise of a legal right...
Complete Article
NEW SEC RULES FOR DELIVERY OF PROXY MATERIALS VIA THE INTERNET
By Jane Davis
The Securities and Exchange Commission has authorized public companies to deliver proxy materials to their shareholders by posting them on the internet, beginning on July 1, 2007. The new delivery system, called the "notice and access" method, is voluntary. An objective of permitting internet delivery is to make the process more cost effective; however, for companies with a large percentage of individual, rather than institutional, shareholders, there may not be significant savings since holders can request the delivery of paper materials...
Complete Article
FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP UPDATE
Shumaker Williams, P.C.'s Financial Services Group has substantial experience representing financial institutions, including federal and state chartered depository institutions, securities firms, mortgage bankers and brokers, vehicle sales finance companies, financial and bank holding companies, and insurance brokers and agencies on a variety of matters relating to federal and state regulatory and legislative issues. The Firm's professionals include former Chief Counsels from the Pennsylvania and Maryland state banking and insurance departments and a former General Counsel of a Fortune 500 company....
What's New
Complete Story
PREMIER NEW JERSEY MORTGAGE BANKING ATTORNEYS JOIN THE SHUMAKER WILLIAMS TEAM
We are pleased to announce the addition to the firm, as of counsel, E. Robert Levy and Wayne A. Watkinson of New Jersey, two leading practitioners in the field of mortgage banking law. Messrs. Levy and Watkinson counsel mortgage banking and mortgage broker clients in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and nationwide concerning all types of mortgage lending issues. These include regulatory compliance, licensing, company formation and organization, representation before state and federal regulatory agencies, mortgage banking and mortgage broker licensing training, and advice concerning affiliations with real estate brokers, title insurers and other real estate professionals....
Upcoming Events
SEPTEMBER 8 - 11, 2007
Keith A. Clark and Martin B. Ellis will present "Financial Fraud Protection Methods and Update" at the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers Annual Convention, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii.
OCTOBER 16, 2007
The firm's annual Employment Law Seminar will be held at the West Shore Country Club in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The program will feature presentations on compliance and litigation, employee benefits and workplace technology issues. Registration and other details will be available in the next issue of SideBar. Recent Events
- Keith A. Clark gave a presentation on "Ownership and Leadership Succession - A Strategic Issue" at the Expo Center in York on March 30, 2007 for the York Chamber of Commerce.
- In association with the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers, on May 1, 2007, the firm presented a one-hour telephone seminar on recent amendments to Pennsylvania's Mechanics' Lien law. These amendments will impact the ability of lenders to obtain and preserve lien positions on certain real estate projects and substantially curtail contractor and subcontractor waivers of lien rights. Presenting were attorneys Keith A. Clark, Paul A. Adams, Reginald S. Evans and Anthony J. Foschi.
- Martin B. Ellis and Reginald S. Evans spoke about "Phishing for Fraud Recovery: What Banks Can Do Legally to Protect Themselves" at the 2007 Pennsylvania Bankers Association Convention at the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida held May 16 - 18, 2007.
- Keith A. Clark presented a talk on "Leadership and Succession" for the CEO membership organization, Vistage, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on May 16, 2007.
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