AMERICAN CITIZENS ABROAD (ACA)

http://www.aca.ch/

A nonprofit association dedicated to serving and defending the interests of individual US citizens worldwide.

News from ACA -- March 1999 -- issue 53c

This is an archive, links may not work.

HERE THEY ARE...

...some of the firms that have donated items for ACA's upcoming auction at the Hotel Richemond in Geneva on 12 March 1999, include the following (with links to their Web pages)

It's not too late to RSVP for this event and/or contribute (and get your firm's tie-in added)! Contact ACA at: acage@aca.ch

NEW RESOURCE FOR IMMIGRATION INFORMATION

Siskind's Immigration Bulletin now offers the Visalaw Discussion Board on its web site at http://www.visalaw.com/, where readers can submit questions regarding immigration. Queries will be answered by the firm's lawyers and by the Bulletin's readership, comprised largely of immigrants, lawyers, government officials and immigration advocates. If you have a complicated question, you may request a telephone consultation at http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html.

Other news from the January 1999 Siskind's Bulletin includes:

The INS has raised the filing fee for the Application for Naturalization (Form N-400) by 137% from $95 to $225, effective 15 January 1999. INS officials hope the increase in revenue will allow them to cut the amount of time needed to process applications.
According to the INS, the average waiting period around the country is now 24 months, down from a high of 27 months in October 1997. The Service hopes to cut the waiting period down to 12 months by late 1999 and by the end of 2000, down to less than six months.
The INS has released a new naturalization handbook for the public. Siskind's Bulletin has linked the booklet in the Documents Collection on its web site, which can be found at: http://www.visalaw.com/docs.
Seventeen countries formerly having only probationary status have been granted full participation in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, allowing nationals of these countries to enter the US for up to 90 days without a visa. Check out Siskind's Immigration Bulletin for a complete list of the 25 participating countries and more immigration information at http://visalaw.com.

PROGRAM TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF FOREIGN SERVICE

The American Foreign Service Association network reported recently that AFSA plans to launch a new outreach program as part of its 75th Anniversary celebration. The three-part program will include expansion of its successful elderhostel courses, the creation of a "Friends of the Foreign Service" program, and the revitalization of their Speakers Bureau. Visit the AFSA web site ( http://www.afsa.com) to sign up for the AFSA network, offering email updates on AFSA activities, legislative reports, press clippings and items of interest for the foreign affairs professional.

GOT A FAVORITE STATE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE?

If so, you may want to recommend him/her for the Thomas Jefferson Award, which recognizes exceptional service to Americans abroad by a US State Department employee. ACA will be taking nominations until 15 March 1999. To get more information, contact ACA at: tel./fax +41 22 3400233 or email: acage@aca.ch.

BOOK REVIEWERS NEEDED

ACA is still looking for people to review books about living abroad. If you'd like to help, a list of titles can be obtained from your Country Contact or you can contact the Book Review editor, Christine Colburn, directly at Christine_Colburn@yahoo.com.

"OANDA"NOTHER THING ...

In issue 52 of the News Update we misprinted the address for Oanda, an on-line currency converter from Olsen & Associates financial technology service. This handy service, which can calculate the exchange rate for 164 currencies on any day since 1 Jan 1990, can be found at www.oanda.com/converter/classic.

This issue of the ACA News Update was prepared by Elizabeth Davis of Bilbao, Spain, a News Update Editor.
American Citizens Abroad's biweekly News Update network offers news and views relevant to Americans living abroad. Essential to the success of such a network is feedback and input from recipients. This News Update is, like ACA itself, of, by, and for Americans abroad. ACA is staffed entirely through the efforts of volunteers, with its primary income source being membership fees and donations from concerned individuals. The News Update can be maintained in the long-term only if it justifies itself in terms of membership and donation revenue for the organization.
While ACA makes every effort to be accurate in the information it transmits, such information is not to be considered a substitute for specific and qualified professional advice.

If YOU would like to be become part of the dynamic all-volunteer team which powers ACA, there is constant need for additional physical and/or electronic "staff". In addition to regular VOLUNTEERS, ACA is interested in INTERNS and in tailoring CLASS PROJECTS aimed at awakening students to issues affecting American citizens abroad. Contact ACA's Geneva office

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   American Citizens Abroad ACA 
   5 B, rue Liotard 
   CH-1202 Geneva 
   Switzerland 
   Phone & Fax numbers: 
     +41 (0)22 3400233 or +41 (0)22 3400448 
   email: acage@aca.ch 
   
   or 
                              
   American Citizens Abroad 
   1051 N. George Mason Drive 
   Arlington, VA 22205 
   USA 
   Fax +1 (703) 527-3269

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