U.S. set to process visa applications
Washington
Under pressure from Congress to quickly expand the number of foreign workers allowed in the United States, federal immigration officials will begin accepting visa applications for returning seasonal workers Wednesday. Some approvals could take up to 90 days, creating problems for parts of the summer tourism industry.
To avoid the delay, business owners – from Cape Cod restaurateurs to Maryland crabbers – said they will probably pay a $1,000 fee per worker for expedited reviews, so they can get approvals in about two weeks.
“It’s going to get everybody writing those checks, because they don’t have an option,” said Wendy Northcross, chief executive officer for the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. “They have to, if they want to get the workers here in quick enough turnaround time.”
Chris Bentley, spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the agency is ready for an expected influx of thousands of applications.
“We will work through them as quickly as we can, but we need to maintain the integrity of the process,” he said.
Thieves target auto identification
Criminals are putting a new twist on car theft: they’re looking to steal your car’s identity.
The thieves are stealing identification numbers of luxury cars and sport utility vehicles to put them on stolen vehicles, in effect laundering the hot cars so they won’t be easily traced. Stolen vehicles with legitimate identification numbers are much easier to register at state motor vehicle departments.
Since last July, about 600 vehicles with duplicated vehicle identification numbers (VINs) have been seized, says Ivan Blackman, director of vehicle investigation at the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Blackman says there also have been at least 10 arrests since January in connection with VIN thievery.
Thieves are trolling through mall parking lots, car dealer showrooms and Internet auction sites in search of identification numbers belonging to cars that are similar in make, model and year to recently stolen vehicles.
Many cars with altered VINs are sold to other criminals. But auto auction houses, car dealers, and consumers also have been duped – meaning that the car you buy from a reputable dealer might eventually be tracked down by police as a stolen car.
Fans rush to download illegal ‘Star Wars’ file
Washington
Videos purported to be illegal copies of the final “Star Wars” movie circulated across the Internet on Thursday, the same day the film opened in U.S. theaters.
Congestion from the crush of computer users trying to obtain copies of the film, “Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” meant downloads were taking more than 40 hours even over high-speed Internet connections. It was therefore impossible to verify immediately that the movie actually was circulating or what the copies looked like.
The head of the Motion Picture Association of America, Dan Glickman, said reports that the film was available for free online was the latest example of how Internet piracy was costly to Hollywood.
“There is no better example of how theft dims the magic of the movies for everyone than this,” Glickman said.
Fired officers allegedly accessed nude photos
Houston
Two Houston police officers were fired after they were accused of downloading nude photographs of a suspected drunken driver from her camera phone.
Officers Christopher Green, 34, and George Miller, 38, were indefinitely suspended late last week, tantamount to firing in the department.
A search warrant for Green’s home accused him of transferring photos from the college student’s cellular phone to his personal digital assistant.
The woman’s attorney, Ned Gill, has said he has no idea why she had nude photos of herself, or why the officers examined the phone. The woman is from China and speaks little English, Gill said.
The officers have appealed their termination to the city Civil Service Commission, union attorney Aaron Suder said. A hearing is expected within 60 days.