Immigration

Relationships That Can Sponsor Lawful Permanent Residence

The freedoms we enjoy, the economic opportunities and the relatively peaceful and stable social situation in the United States continues to make it a prime destination for people throughout the world seek to settle here. Another draw is family ties to the United States Only certain family relationships qualify for sponsoring family members to immigrate to the United States. In

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Foreign Nationals and the Right to Counsel

The influx of minors from Central America into the United States has created reverberations in the country’s ongoing immigration debate and now occupies a position of important constitutional debate with the U.S. courts. In immigration removal proceedings, the scope of an alien’s right to counsel is a topic of recurring congressional and public interest. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S.

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Impact of Tattoos on Consular Processing

Tattooing has been consistently practiced around the world since at least Neolithic times. Today, a tattoo can be a scarlet letter that precludes someone from legally immigrating into the U.S. Under 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(A) (ii), any applicant for a visa who a consular officer knows, or has “reasonable ground to believe,” seeks to enter the U.S. to engage “solely, principally,

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Possible Naturalization for Deported Veterans

While statistics are not readily available, it is conceivable that hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S. veterans have been deported for having committed a criminal offense. This is particularly devastating for veterans that need their earned benefits and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other injuries resulting from combat. Pursuant to a memorandum by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Read More »

Who Cannot Obtain a Green Card?

People often ask me how difficult it is to obtain a green card. In typical lawyer fashion, I generally answer, “It depends.” For someone with a significant criminal record or a string of deportations in his or her record, it will be near impossible for that person to obtain a green card. For someone who entered the United States legally,

Read More »

Ninth Circuit Finds That Statute Violates Equal Protection

Certain forms of immigration relief require a showing of good moral character, such as voluntary departure, cancellation of removal and naturalization. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and federal regulation, certain individuals will be found to be persons lacking moral character for having committed certain acts that either trigger a permanent bar or a conditional bar if committed

Read More »

Seeking Asylum: Effects of the Immigration and Nationality Act

The human right to seek asylum from persecution is fundamental. The controlling international convention on refugee law is the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Optional Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. The United States committed to protecting refugees in 1967 when it enacted legislation to incorporate the Optional Protocol’s key provisions. In 1996,

Read More »

Are Your Corporate Clients Ready For The H-1B Visa Stampede?

Companies use the H-1B visa to employ foreign national professionals in engineering, information technology, finance and other fields requiring a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent for entry-level work. Due to the quota, the H-1B visa is unavailable most of the year and the April opening of the filing window triggers an employer stampede. The H-1B visa filing window opens April

Read More »

The DAPA & DACA Debate

On Jan. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide the legality of the president’s executive action to protect more than four million undocumented immigrants from potential deportation. Given the significant constitutional and social impacts that such a decision could entail, the Supreme Court’s decision will have looming consequences beyond the boundaries of the nation’s immigration laws and regulations. As

Read More »

Political Asylum

Political asylum is an application filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that allows an applicant to seek protection from persecution in their country of nationality. An applicant must prove the following: That the application has been filed within one year of entry into the United States (there are

Read More »

Relationships That Can Sponsor Lawful Permanent Residence

The freedoms we enjoy, the economic opportunities and the relatively peaceful and stable social situation in the United States continues to make it a prime destination for people throughout the world seek to settle here. Another draw is family ties to the United States Only certain family relationships qualify for sponsoring family members to immigrate to the United States. In

Read More »

Foreign Nationals and the Right to Counsel

The influx of minors from Central America into the United States has created reverberations in the country’s ongoing immigration debate and now occupies a position of important constitutional debate with the U.S. courts. In immigration removal proceedings, the scope of an alien’s right to counsel is a topic of recurring congressional and public interest. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S.

Read More »

Impact of Tattoos on Consular Processing

Tattooing has been consistently practiced around the world since at least Neolithic times. Today, a tattoo can be a scarlet letter that precludes someone from legally immigrating into the U.S. Under 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(A) (ii), any applicant for a visa who a consular officer knows, or has “reasonable ground to believe,” seeks to enter the U.S. to engage “solely, principally,

Read More »

Possible Naturalization for Deported Veterans

While statistics are not readily available, it is conceivable that hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S. veterans have been deported for having committed a criminal offense. This is particularly devastating for veterans that need their earned benefits and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other injuries resulting from combat. Pursuant to a memorandum by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Read More »

Who Cannot Obtain a Green Card?

People often ask me how difficult it is to obtain a green card. In typical lawyer fashion, I generally answer, “It depends.” For someone with a significant criminal record or a string of deportations in his or her record, it will be near impossible for that person to obtain a green card. For someone who entered the United States legally,

Read More »

Ninth Circuit Finds That Statute Violates Equal Protection

Certain forms of immigration relief require a showing of good moral character, such as voluntary departure, cancellation of removal and naturalization. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and federal regulation, certain individuals will be found to be persons lacking moral character for having committed certain acts that either trigger a permanent bar or a conditional bar if committed

Read More »

Seeking Asylum: Effects of the Immigration and Nationality Act

The human right to seek asylum from persecution is fundamental. The controlling international convention on refugee law is the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Optional Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. The United States committed to protecting refugees in 1967 when it enacted legislation to incorporate the Optional Protocol’s key provisions. In 1996,

Read More »

Are Your Corporate Clients Ready For The H-1B Visa Stampede?

Companies use the H-1B visa to employ foreign national professionals in engineering, information technology, finance and other fields requiring a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent for entry-level work. Due to the quota, the H-1B visa is unavailable most of the year and the April opening of the filing window triggers an employer stampede. The H-1B visa filing window opens April

Read More »

The DAPA & DACA Debate

On Jan. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide the legality of the president’s executive action to protect more than four million undocumented immigrants from potential deportation. Given the significant constitutional and social impacts that such a decision could entail, the Supreme Court’s decision will have looming consequences beyond the boundaries of the nation’s immigration laws and regulations. As

Read More »

Political Asylum

Political asylum is an application filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that allows an applicant to seek protection from persecution in their country of nationality. An applicant must prove the following: That the application has been filed within one year of entry into the United States (there are

Read More »

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