Hates Crimes May Cover Gender, Sexual Orientation

Headline Legal News

The Associated Press is reporting that on Thursday the Senate approved an expansion of federal hate crime laws. The legislation will allow the 1968 hate crimes law to cover those attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "This bill simply recognizes that there is a difference between assaulting someone to steal his money, or doing so because he is gay,or disabled, or Latino or Muslim."

The legislation also ends the "federally protected acts," meaning that now it doesn't matter where the crime takes place. The 1968 bill only covered crimes in federal government-related environments, including schools and court rooms.

This piece of legislation is an amendment to the new defense spending bill that is expected to be finished sometime next week. President Barack Obama has promised to veto the bill if it includes more money for an F-22 fighter program he is trying to end.

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Processing Change for Certain Form I-730 Petitions

USCIS changed the processing location for certain Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, filings. Previously the Service Center Operations Directorate processed these filings. Now, the International Adjudications Support Branch (IASB) in the Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate will process the petitions filed by individuals who were admitted to the United States as refugees. Petitioners and/or accredited representatives who file refugee-based Form I-730 petitions will receive further instructions when IASB receives their filings. Form I-730 petitions filed by persons granted asylum will not be affected by this change. The mailing instructions for Form I-730 remain the same. Petitioners should continue to follow the Where to File directions on the Form I-730 page. This policy update is consistent with the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Standard Occupational Classification system. DOL defines economists as people who conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy. Economists may collect and process economic and statistical data using sampling techniques and econometric methods.

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