Kim Kardashian’s Aussie Trips Highlight Visa Fraud Problems Couples Face - Kim Kardashian is on an Australian immigration watch list now due to her multiple trips to Australia taken to promote her handbag line and reality TV show. The cardinal rule of visitor visas in the US is that you are here to visit, not work. Aussies feel the same way and expect her to get… Read More »
Lies Discovered by Immigration After You Get Your Green Card - What happens if you lied to immigration to get your green card in the first place or you were inadmissible at the time of adjustment in the United States and CIS found this out after you’ve received your green card? CIS can start immigration proceedings against you by issuing an NTA. You may have relief… Read More »
CIS finally issues "guidance" on when officers will issue NTAs for criminal cases - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new policy today to guide officers in knowing when to issue notices to appear (NTA). An NTA is the charging document that’s filed with the immigration court to place in immigrant into removal proceedings. Once an NTA is issued an accepted by the court, CIS no longer has… Read More »
Common Issues on CA Drivers Licenses for Immigrants - It is difficult to obtain a driver’s license in CA if you are in CA illegally or can’t prove legal status. It may be advantageous for immigrants who are undocumented to keep their foreign driver’s licenses valid so they have i.d. and are less likely to get fined or arrested for driving without a license… Read More »
Be Careful: Permanent Bar Now Retroactive! - In Carrillo de Palacios, the Ninth circuit held that any unlawful presence period before 4/1/1997 can be used to trigger the permanent bar even if the illegal or attempted illegal re-entry happened only months after 4/1/97. The case is currently on appeal because it allows for a new law to be applied retroactively to unlawful… Read More »
Determining Case Status on Waivers filed outside the US - Determining case status is one of the most frustrating parts of the current waiver process outside of the US. CIS offices not only differ on processing times for waiver submissions, but there is usually no way of finding updated information on how long a case is taking. The first place I always recommend is reviewing… Read More »
Direct Filings of Marriage Green Card Cases at Consulates Changing - The One Step Filing Procedure Is Now Rare. As of August 25, 2011, US citizens residing in a foreign country that does not have a US CIS office in that country, are no longer allowed to directly file their marriage-based immigrant visa cases with the consulate in that country. They have to file the case… Read More »
Fast Track Waiver Program Stays in Mexico - The US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico receives 20,000 waiver filings (for unlawful presence, misrepresentation, prostitution, and criminal grounds) a year, with two full time workers assigned t the waivers. They have the only waiver system in the wqorld that is two-tracked. A case can be “instantly approved” within 3 weeks, on average, if the… Read More »
DHS Announces New Policy for those in Removal Proceedings - On June 17, 2011, ICE published a memo on their interpretation of when they will use prosecutorial discretion to dismiss pending removal cases. ICE, a subset of the Department of Homeland Security, is aiming its resources on enhancing border security and identifying and removing criminal aliens, those who pose a threat to public safety and… Read More »
245(i) Grandfathering Getting Tougher - 245(i ) is an ever changing area of court interpretation. The Board of Immigration Appeals decided in Matter of Legaspi that an immigrant spouse cannot always grandfather under 245(i) and independently qualify for a green card if s/he is married to another immigrant who does have 245(i) grandfathering protection. 245(i) allows immigrants who entered the… Read More »
Unlawful Presence & Criminal Waiver Process Changing Worldwide - CIS recently announced in June 2011 that worldwide changes to the inadmissability waiver process are underway. One of the biggest changes affects how long these cases take to be decided. Applicants for waivers can send in their waiver directly to the CIS office assigned to the foreign consulate. Prior to this, Applicants were required to… Read More »
The In-Laws & Conditional Residency - Choosing whether to file a joint petition or a waiver to remove the condition on residency often comes down to what you can prove. I speak to many immigrants who have evidence of abuse or that they married for love (not immigration purposes) in the form of affidavits of relatives. Often times, relatives are the… Read More »
Any way back from marriage fraud? - A finding of marriage fraud is a lifetime bar to a later filed immigrant visa by another spouse. This situation commonly arises when an immigrant pays someone to help them get their green card by posing as their spouse even though they have no relationship, do not live together and the marriage was set up… Read More »
When You face a Judge After Conditional residency expiration - Often a conditional resident may end up in removal proceedings. This could be due to a denied case or failure to file to remove the condition while the residency period was intact. But not all hope is lost if placed in removal. If a CLPR’s status has been terminated, the immigrant may be able to… Read More »
Overstay Could Bar Green Card for Visa Waiver Entrants - Overstay Rules for Visa Waiver Countries Are Changing! Visa waiver entrants benefit from a program that Congress created allowing citizens of certain countries to come to the U.S. as tourists for 90 days or less without visitor’s visas. To get the government waiver of the usual visa requirement, the tourist has to sign a wiaver… Read More »
Abused Spouses Who Enter Illegally Now Able to Obtain Green Card - CIS recently released a memo confirming a nationwide policy to allow battered spouses who have received an approved Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petition to apply for a green card while in the U.S., despite an illegal entry. Prior to this memo’s release, there was no nationwide interpretation of the statute on this issue and… Read More »
Must the marriage be consummated? - Whether a marriage is considered a sham(“fake”, i.e., entered into for immigration purposes only, not for love), can hinge on whether the marriage was consummated (the couple had sex). If the immigrant refuses to consummate the marriage, then it can imply that the marriage was a sham. If the US citizen resfuses to consummate the… Read More »
Conditional LPR marriage breaking up - Yes, the shorter the marriage is, the worse it looks on paper for a conditional green card holder. The whole point of having a conditional green card was congress was worried about sham marriages so there will be skepticism as to whether a short marriage was real to begin with if it breaks up especially… Read More »
Re: Conditional green card holder married to someone else - This is a tricky situation. A conditional green card holder cannot change or adjust her status to another conditional green card while she’s still in conditional status. Plus, if her last entry was as a conditional green card holder (i.e., got her green card then went on vacation in Mexico and re-entered), there is some… Read More »
Working Abroad – Abandoning Green Card? - Stephen, this one’s for you.Marriage to a US citizen does not protect a LPR (lawful permanent resident) from losing his/her permanent residency if the LPR and their US citizen spouse decide to live outside of the U.S.Typically when an LPR expects to be out of the US for longer than 6 months for a temporary… Read More »
