Immigration Visa Attorney Blog

May 25, 2022

USCIS temporarily extends validity of work permits by 540 days

A frequent concern brought to the attention of Los Angeles area immigration attorneys Romben Law, APC is the long delay in the processing of work permits.

USCIS has sought to alleviate this issue by temporarily extending the validity of existing employment authorization documents (more commonly known as “work permits” by 540 days. In the past, immigrants would be unable to work after the expiration of their cards and while their applications for new permits languished at the agency. USCIS had previously allowed a 180-day extension, but this new policy acknowledges the long delays in generating new cards and the hardships endured by immigrants who may be terminated from their employment. As a result of this policy change, immigrants may show their expired cards and the receipt indicating that they have applied for a new permit.

The USCIS policy announcement may be found here. For more information, we invite you to contact us. –ra

May 5, 2022

Joint Motions to Reopen: Getting Rid of the Stormy Clouds of an Old Deportation Order

by Romben Law, APC

A question frequently asked to Romben Law, APC’s Palm Springs immigration lawyers is whether an old deportation case can be reopened.

During the previous presidential administration, the answer was no. Thus, many people living under the storm cloud of a deportation order were unable to seek the government’s consent to file a joint motion to reopen to an Immigration Judge. Now, under a revised memorandum (known as the “Doyle memo”), an avenue to petition the government has been restored.

I had previously written about motions to reopen here.

September 10, 2021

Let’s encourage more naturalization!

by Romben Law, APC

The people that make up the United States have been compared to a melting pot, a salad bowl, and a quilt. Whichever analogy you prefer, the immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC have always believed that immigrants are a vital part of this society. Immigrants may be found at all levels of the socio-economic ladder and within each of the fifty states.

We believe that immigrants should fully participate as part of the voting electorate and the body politic. Immigrants can bring their wide breadth of experiences to bear while serving on juries of their peers. And immigrants who have lived in this country for many years should participate in determining the direction of the country through the ballot box. And as these privileges are only available to United States citizens, the first step to making this happen is to encourage the naturalization of as many eligible immigrants as possible.

The lawyers at Romben Law, APC have historically provided free services in this endeavor. We have volunteered at immigration clinics. We have partnered with local organizations to provide seminars on naturalization. We want to do our part to encourage as many immigrants to naturalize and become full members of the American community. From here on out, we pledge that for straightforward applications, our legal fees to prepare the application and to have an attorney attend the interview in the Los Angeles metropolitan area will be significantly reduced. (While we can also assist many folks who are farther away, we will need to assess costs for travel and accommodations.)

January 25, 2021

BIG changes can be made with small tweaks

by Romben Law, APC

As the Biden administration takes the reins of the executive branch in Washington this week, immigration advocates have noted that immigration is one of its top priorities. After the inauguration, Romben Aquino was asked to appear on ABS-CBN News Channel in the Philippines to discuss the Administration’s plans. Mr. Aquino noted that in his first week, President Biden:

rescinded the “Muslim travel ban”;
implemented a 100-day pause on deportations while the Administration reviews enforcement policies; and

December 22, 2019

Immigration Issues for 2020

by Romben Law, APC

Lawyers are not psychic. It’s pretty hard to predict what the Trump Administration will do to change immigration law. Any changes in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for 2020 must first be passed by both houses of the Congress and signed by the President. The Trump Administration will find it difficult to make changes in the actual INA, because it is unlikely the House of Representatives will approve them.

However, immigration lawyers can guess that there may be some changes in policy coming for US immigration law in 2020. Trump will continue to promote policies that attempt to restrict immigration to the United States. Further, he will implement rules to infringe on the rights of immigrants and to deny asylum seekers the right to seek refuge in this country. Trump is even trying to make it more difficult for attorneys to do their jobs as advocates for immigrants.

We remain concerned whether the courts will continue to strike down the most outrageous and unlawful practices and whether current nationwide injunctions protecting basic rights of immigrants will stay in place. The courts have been a protective barrier from the worst, most inhumane, and illegal policies of this Administration. Two important issues to watch are:

October 6, 2019

Now we can watch a sitcom about immigrants!

by Romben Law, APC

Today, we are going to talk about a new comedy on NBC called “Sunnyside”! It stars Kal Penn (the tall guy from the Harold and Kumar movies) as Garrett Modi, a down-on-his-luck former city council member who is booted out of office. Somehow, he is hired by a motley crew of immigrants to be their “citizenship test tutor.”

Before we go any further, I know that some of you might be wondering about my qualifications to critique a show about immigrants in Sunnyside, Queens. Well, I have watched “Coming to America” at least twenty times and 90% of that movie happens in Queens. (Fun factoid: Not only is Queens the largest of the five boroughs, it is also the most ethnically diverse.) Also, when I first moved to New York City, I lived in Woodside, which is two stops away on the illustrious 7 line from Sunnyside. (I lived near the 61st Street stop, which is an express station. When I first moved in, I thought “This is great! I will be in Manhattan in ten minutes!” Then, during my first week of work, I learned that the express train was very full by the time it reached Woodside. Which then forced me to discover the benefits of the local. Like how my commute to work would take an extra 30 minutes.)

ABOUT THAT CITIZENSHIP TEST

July 31, 2019

Congress says “No TPS for Venezuela” at this time.

by Romben Law, APC

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designates certain foreign countries for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in extreme cases of war, natural disasters, and epidemics. A country can be TPS designated for any type of disaster that could potentially prevent its citizens from returning, but the decision to assign TPS is completely at the discretion of the U.S. government. TPS allows certain citizens who are currently in the United States to stay because their countries have been deemed unsafe for return. It does not, however, grant permanent legal residency in the United States. Under TPS, people can temporarily remain, live, and work in the United States until DHS ends the designated period.

Recently, using “fast track” congressional procedures, Congress considered but ultimately voted against extending TPS to Venezuelans, with the bill facing significant Republican opposition. Venezuela has been entrenched in an economic and humanitarian crisis that has since worsened under its current president, Nicolas Maduro. Many Venezuelans see Maduro’s rule as illegitimate because of an allegedly rigged election in May 2018 and have taken to the streets in protest. Leading the opposition is politician Juan Guaido, who claims he is the rightful president of Venezuela. The Trump administration has condemned Maduro and his socialist government and formally recognized Guaido as the only legitimate Venezuelan ruler, but the House Republican’s refusal to grant TPS tells a different story. Republicans voiced concerns that if granted TPS, Venezuelans would be allowed to stay in the United States for years while relying solely on welfare programs (although there is no evidence to support this). Condemning Maduro’s rule while refusing to grant Venezuelans TPS in the United States shows the Trump administration’s hypocritical stance towards Venezuela and ultimately reveals a persistent anti-immigrant sentiment.

TPS initially emerged in response to the ongoing civil war in El Salvador during the 1990’s (a war that pitted the communist guerrilla insurgents against the U.S. backed Salvadoran government). El Salvador has been designated since 2001 because of various natural disasters, and Salvadorans now constitute the largest number of TPS beneficiaries living in the United States. TPS recipients have been in the United States for over 10 years, an issue that Republicans fear will happen to Venezuelans granted TPS.

May 8, 2019

It’s a boy! Master Archie Mountbatten-WIndsor is a US citizen, too!

by Romben Law, APC

It’s a boy! HRH Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the newborn son of Prince Harry Duke of Sussex and US-citizen HRH Lady Meghan Markle Duchess of Sussex, was born in the early morning of 6 May 2019. (No, Master Archie is not (yet) a Prince; that style must be conferred on him by The Queen.)

In case anyone was wondering, the young Prince is a dual US-UK citizen. He has UK citizenship from his UK father. By §301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, US citizenship is transmitted to him automatically because he is the child, born in wedlock, between a US citizen (Lady Meghan) and a foreigner (Prince Harry). The Lady Meghan may or may not be a UK citizen at this time, but that does not matter. For purposes of transmission of citizenship, at the time of Master Archie’s birth, all that counts is that she is a native-born US citizenship who has lived most of her life in the USA.

Master Archie will have a US passport — issued by the US Embassy in London. He will not need a green card or a visa to enter the USA.

December 20, 2018

The dangers of puff, puff, give . . .

by Romben Law, APC

I was having lunch with a former client who had flown in and out of LAX the other day. We were celebrating that after a long journey involving his moving from California to Washington, the government had granted his application for lawful permanent residence. Knowing that California had legalized the recreational use of marijuana, he mentioned that he was surprised that he didn’t see any “amnesty boxes” at the airport.

As of November 2018, 10 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana and 33 states allow the use of medical marijuana. However, federal immigration law has not changed: marijuana is still a “controlled substance.” And the consequences can be severe.

Canadians who have admitted to taking a puff in the past or who are involved in the cannabis industry can be turned away at the border and possibly banned from future travel into the United States. CBP officers have stated: “Anytime somebody plans on entering the United States to involve themselves in the distribution, proliferation, possession of any form of marijuana, that could lead to them being found inadmissible.”

November 16, 2018

Adios, Senor Sessions!

by Romben Law, APC

In my third year of law school, I had a small bit part in a talent show skit that parodied the lyrics of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” The gist of the skit was that Professor Lucy Williams’s Federal Courts course was the most difficult class on the schedule. So brutally rigorous that it reduced the 2L and 3L students into feeling “like a first year.”

Why this trip into Romben’s law school past? Although the course had a textbook, the not-so-secret-supplemental-hornbook-that-you-had-to-read-if-you-wanted-any-chance-of-passing was “Federal Jurisdiction” written by one Professor Erwin Chemerinsky . . . who is now Dean Chemerinsky at UC Berkeley School of Law.

Dean Chemerinsky recently wrote an op-ed praising now-former Attorney General Jefferson Sessions’ upholding the rule of law by recusing himself from the Mueller investigation and allowing it to continue.