Articles Posted in Immigration legislation & policy

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B&W $.jpgPlease remember that fees for most filings with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase on 23 November 2010. Applications submitted with incorrect fees will be rejected, and such a rejection could result in the applicant falling out of status in the USA, so it’s important to be sure to file with the correct fee.

The USCIS statement about the increased fees, and the list of the increased fees, can be found here. –jcf

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Everyone’s been talking about immigration reform, what would it look like, when will it happen. Just this week, Senators Menendez and Leahy introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) Act of 2010 in Congress. Here are some key provisions of what is proposed in the bill:

  • Increased Border Enforcement including the hiring of 1,000 new ICE investigators each fiscal year, 250 new CBP officers at new ports of entry, and $300 million towards infrastructure improvements along the Northern and Southern borders
  • Increased Interior Enforcement aimed at the prevention of unauthorized entries and removal with fines and criminal penalties for reentry of previously removed aliens
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    For years now, Congress has debated whether to pass the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act would give a future to undocumented youth through a conditional path to citizenship and it would have legalized people like Tam Ngoc Tran who died earlier this week in a tragic car accident.

    Tam was a native of Garden Grove, California, born in Germany to Vietnamese refugees. She was pursuing a doctorate at Brown University. She was a graduate of UCLA, and she was a tireless DREAM Act Advocate, having testified before Congress in favor of its passage.

    Tam, herself was undocumented and found removable by an immigration judge who denied her and her family political asylum. On appeal, the Board of Immigration Appeals found that the family could not return to Vietnam because of fear of political persecution, so the US could not remove the family to Vietnam. Having been born in Germany, the government sought to remove her to her birthplace, yet Germany refused to grant her entry. Tam was stateless. The only home she knew was the United States.

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    I-551 card.pngThe day when you could become a US Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) simply by walking off of your boat has long passed. Since that time, paperwork or cards documenting an immigrant’s status have taken various forms, the most well known being the “green card.” The “green card” was a plastic laminated card issued by the US Immigration and Nationality Service (INS) so that immigrants could demonstrate that they were legally in the USA. Here in Los Angeles at Romben Law, APC, virtually everyone — even the attorneys — will at least some of the time call the Legal Permanent Resident card “the green card” It’s simply a habit.

    The card ceased to be green over 25 years ago.

    This week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, the successor to the INS) announced that it has redesigned the LPR card. It will now have a multitude of security and safety features. The redesigned card has media which will store photo and biometrics of the cardholder; holographic images and laser-engraved fingerprints are supposed to make the card “nearly impossible to reproduce.” The LPR card will now also, like US Passports, have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip, allowing the card to be read from a distance.

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    As the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform moves forward, the immigration lawyers of Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles have heard and read accusations from some that the US cannot “afford” to have more immigrants, that the US has huge budget problems, and that we should look after Americans first.

    At least one American political leader, Florida Governor Charlie Christ, has recognized that a fair, reasonable legalization program will allow millions of undocumented immigrants to get social security cards, pay

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    Pinocchio.jpgBorder guards are not known to be the friendliest people in Federal service. The immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles routinely hear stories of border guards shouting at aliens who are telling the truth, bluntly telling aliens, “you are lying to me,” or asking in a hostile manner, “why are you lying to me?” The border guards do this, even when they do not really think someone is lying. They do it to destabilize or disturb the alien, to get the alien to make an error or say something wrong. Basically, it is a trap.

    Recently, Alan Bersin, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection — the head of all the border guards — told Congress that he did not know he was required to fill out and keep Federal paperwork to verify that his household employees had the right to work in the USA.

    Bersin is the head of US Customs and Border Protection.

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    Los Angeles is full of immigrants. California is a home to people from many nations. Romben Law, APC in Hollywood has clients from everywhere, and we get calls and inquiries from people all over the world. With all the talk about illegal aliens, unemployment, and the new “breathing-while-brown” law in Arizona, I keep getting one big question.

    “WHEN will a comprehensive immigration law pass?”

    I wish I could say that I am so god-like that I am always right. Most attorneys don’t like being wrong — and our clients do not like it, either, to tell the truth. If someone asked me six months ago whether immigration reform would pass, I would have said, “I think a new immigration law — perhaps including a legalization program, the DREAM Act for young people who were brought to the USA by their parents, and a program to allow same-sex couples to immigrate on a similar basis to married couples — will pass by the end of 2010.”

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    Flying Trapeze.jpgAn immigration lawyer who has been in practice for any respectable period of time encounters fun, funny, and bizarre situations. The attorneys at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles have, among them, 40 years of experience, and a recent article describes how the Department of Justice uses your own Google enties, and postings to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites as evidence against you. If you post about the car you stole, or you post your picture taking a hit from your favorite bong, that information can be used against you!

    Romben Law, APC are located in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, and we are no strangers to clients with “fast” lifestyles. Years ago, one American client applied for Legal Residence for his wife, who was from Scandinavia. Imagine their shock — and mine — when at the immigration interview the adjudicator pulled up photos that were posted on the couple’s Facebook page — photos that depicted a very frisky sex party that they had hosted at their Hollywood Hills home two months earlier. Not having been invited to the party myself, I had no idea about this couple’s hobby, and they certainly never told me about it. Now, there is nothing illegal in California about having a some like-minded friends come for an evening’s fun and recreation. However, this is hardly the kind of thing that promotes a favorable experience with generally-suspicious immigration officers. (Yes, the green card was eventually granted.)

    So: at Romben Law, APC, we have been telling immigration applicants for years that if there is ANYthing found on a Google search or posted on social networking sites — even postings and activities that are perfectly legal — that they would rather not show to the Department of Homeland Security, it would be wise to remove them. Better to be safe than to be put into the position of explaining to USCIS what you do with that trapeze in the living room. –jcf

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    Chile-SealTwo very strong aftershocks hit Chile today, right around the time of the inauguration of Chile’s new president, Sebastián Piñera, in Santiago. Immigration lawyers at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles have received a continuous flow of inquiries about any possible immigration benefits that might be made available to Chilenos. While el Presidente Piñera may have promised una nueva forma de gobernar, it is mostly business as usual with US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Some small developments:

    * USCIS says that Chilenos may submit applications for extension of stay (EOS) or change of visa status (COS), even in cases where the individual’s authorized stay on the I-94 has expired. Please note that USCIS does not say that all these applications will be approved. If a Chileno has been out of status in the USA for a very long period of time, it is not clear that filing a EOS or COS would be effective to fix things.

    * Individuals may seek to extend a parole that has already been granted. Also, individuals may apply for expedited advance parole to exit and re-enter the USA. Be careful, because an advance parole is not a guarantee of re-admission, and an advance parole does not cure the problem of the 3-10 Bar which applies to persons unlawfully present in the USA for more than 6 months. If you exit the USA, and if you have been unlawfully present in the USA for more than 6 months, you may have serious difficulty getting another visa or legal resident status in the future.

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    The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (for the western part of the USA) handed down a decision on 4 March 2010 that strongly criticizes — and rules against — US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for arbitrarily imposing novel substantive or evidential requirements over and above those required by immigration regulations. Romben Law, APC immigration lawyers in Los Angeles have recently seen an increase in USCIS Requests for Evidence (RFEs) which ask for (a) documents which have already been submitted, (b) information which does not relate to the case at hand, and (c) proof which is not required or is irrelevant.

    This case is a vindication of the rule of law, that USCIS cannot simply make up the rules as it goes along, lawlessly flying by the seat of its administrative pants. This case says that USCIS must follow the law and provide a reasonable and fair process. This case, called Kazarian v. USCIS, can be read here.

    Does this mean that USCIS will now and forever cease and desist from arbitrary and capricious rulings, making up requirements outside the regulations, and creating their own rules? Of course not. It does mean that, at least here in the western region, attorneys have an additional legal precedent to correct future wrong-doing. –jcf

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