Immigration and Firm News

Drinking (or using drugs) and driving has huge consequences, whether you are an immigrant or a US citizen.  Aside from the obvious health and safety risks, financial cost, and emotional hardships to families, the following immigration consequences can happen. Non-US Citizens For immigrants, ICE has a policy of arresting people for DUIs (through detainers at jails) and confining defendants at immigration detention centers. You will be detained without bond!  It doesn't matter if you are … [Read more...]

Now that the government has reopened, there are a few lingering immigration related issues. Today, USCIS issued this advisory concerning work visa applications: We would like to share the following information on Form I-129 H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B petitions. If an H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B petitioner submits evidence establishing that the primary reason for failing to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request was due to the government shutdown, USCIS will consider the government … [Read more...]

In the world of immigration and citizenship law, our clients deal with many government agencies. My readers know that I like to cite directly to government sources; so, let's take a look at the contingency plans of various federal agencies in case Congress puts us all over the fiscal cliff into a government shutdown next week. Keep in mind that things are changing by the hour. If ever there is a time for it, should there be a shutdown, patience will certainly be a virtue while our crazy … [Read more...]

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments in Arizona v. US. The statement of the case as presented to SCOTUS was as follows: Arizona enacted the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (S.B. 1070) to address the illegal immigration crisis in the State. The four provisions of S.B. 1070 enjoined by the courts below authorize and direct state law-enforcement officers to cooperate and communicate with federal officials regarding the enforcement of … [Read more...]

In an earlier post, Prosecutorial Discretion: "Backdoor Amnesty"? 9 Myths Debunked, I discussed the latest announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that it will work with the Immigration Courts to cull from its docket "low priority" cases. The August 18, 2011 announcement by Homeland Secretary, Janet Napolitano, makes reference to two June 17, 2011 memos from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discussing the criteria ICE should be using to determine if and when it … [Read more...]

On August 18, 2011, Secretary Janet Napolitano, announced that her office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will work with the Immigration Courts in the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), to review over 300,000 pending court cases to determine which ones are "low priority" and can be closed or terminated. This will enable DHS and EOIR to focus scarce resources on dangerous criminals and terrorists. Locally, DHS has already been reviewing the detention status of … [Read more...]

A new report out by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University details asylum denial rates by individual judges across the country from 2006-2010 and compares them across national trends. The national denial rate is 53.2%. TRAC states that denial rates can vary among judges because of nationality of the applicant, whether the person is represented, and the individual personal perspectives brought to the court by the judges. TRAC statistics are for judges … [Read more...]

For 24 immigrants in New York, Santa could not have brought a better gift. Outgoing Governor David Paterson pardoned 24 individuals for crimes he felt had immigration consequences that were "excessively harsh and in need of modernization." Earlier this year, Governor Paterson set up an immigration pardon board after he learned that even the most minor of crimes can have devastating immigration consequences including deportation of the offender, permanent separation of families in mixed status … [Read more...]

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has launched a new website, www.stopnotariofraud.org, to help consumers of immigration services avoid becoming victims of dishonest behavior by non-lawyers who hold themselves out as providing immigration services. The site also has state-by-state guides on how to verify information about lawyers, what kinds of questions to ask when entering into an agreement, and how to file complaints against notarios and unscrupulous lawyers. The site is in … [Read more...]

In a very important 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Dent v. Holder, No. 09-71987, November 9, 2010, the Court held that Mr. Dent was entitled to his immigration files in order to have a full and fair hearing under the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Mr. Dent represented himself in an Immigration Court Proceedings. He was charged with being deportable because of an aggravated felony. However, he alleged that he had been adopted by a U.S. Citizen when he … [Read more...]