During the State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to pass immigration reform legislation to fix our broken immigration system and laid out a "blueprint" for the reform.

The blueprint, "Building a 21st Century Immigration System", calls for creating opportunities for an estimated 10.8 million immigrants who are currently in the U.S. with no legal status who are simply here seeking a better life for themselves and their children. The plan would allow them to join the legal economy, which would ultimately improve our national security and economic prosperity. You can view video of the president's speech and the blueprint for reform by visiting our website and clicking on the link to our Weekly Immigration Newsletter.

 New affidavit of support (I-864) minimum income requirements released for 2012

The new 2012 income requirements have been released for the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, required for all family sponsored U.S. residency applications. The minimum income requirement is based upon 125 percent of the "poverty guidelines" published in the Federal Register:

 2012 Affidavit of Support (I-864) income requirements (48 Contiguous States & Washington D.C.)

# of family                            125% of

members                        poverty guidelines

1                                               $13,962

2                                               $18,912

3                                               $23,862

4                                               $28,812

5                                               $33,762

6                                               $38,712

7                                               $43,662

8                                               $48,612

The official 2012 poverty guidelines and Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) are available by visiting our website and clicking on the link to our Weekly Immigration Newsletter.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's immigration solution: 'Self-Deportation'

During the January 23 Republican debate, Romney expressed a solution to the broken immigration system, "self-deportation". Yes, that's right, a self-service immigration solution.

Romney's immigration reform policy is a plan to make immigrants' lives so miserable that they would choose to leave the country on their own. Romney plans to institute a national ID card which would be required in order to live and work in the U.S. legally. Those who do not possess the card would not be allowed to work or obtain other benefits in the U.S. and would simply just leave the country to find work elsewhere. A YouTube video of Romney's comments is available on our website and by clicking on Weekly Immigration Newsletter.

Few of celebrities who were once illegal in the United States

Salma Hayek - admits that for a short time, she worked illegally in the U.S.

Michael J. Fox - a Canadian actor who came to the U.S. to work illegally

Rodolfo Jiménez - host of the Univision's 'La Tijera', admits crossing the U.S. border illegally at age 15.

Dorismar - Argentine model, actress and Univision personality, overstayed her visa and was deported.

Cesar Millan - the Dog Whisperer, crossed the U.S. border illegally and became a U.S. citizen in 2009.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Austria-born actor, former California Governor worked illegally in the U.S.

** Contributions to this column are made by Attorney Caroly Pedersen, Esq. of the American Immigration Law Center – Call 954-382-5378