Waiving fraud due to extreme hardship
FOR individuals who are seeking to obtain lawful permanent residency, any past fraud or misrepresentation renders the individual inadmissible and ineligible to legalize status unless they are granted a fraud…
Category: Immigration Columnists
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Some issues and pitfalls in pursuing US citizenship
(Part 1) FOR many people, attaining US citizenship is the final step in achieving their “American Dream.” After getting a green card, they eagerly count off the years until they…
Abandonment of US residence
JON and Kate own and operate a successful real estate business in California. In addition to owning a beautiful home, they had acquired several homes and apartment buildings which they…
Why Grace Poe is a natural-born Philippine citizen and eligible to be president
BY Resolution issued on December 1, 2015, the Second Division of the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled that Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares is not a resident of the…
Reinstating a deceased petitioner’s family-based petition
IT is very common for beneficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current. This is usually the case with US Citizen parent…
4 ways filing for divorce can benefit your immigration case
COUPLES get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law…
The January 2016 Priority Dates
EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A…
USCIS’ draft policy guidance on extreme hardship
AS you may be aware, an alien seeking permanent residency status in the US must be “admissible” to the US. Admissibility means the ability of an alien to receive a…
No fraud waiver needed, despite fraud
ORDINARILY, when a person commits fraud or makes a misrepresentation in connection with applying for an immigration benefit, the person is required to file a fraud waiver (Form I –…
Visa options for victims of domestic violence or crime
VICTIMS of domestic violence or certain crimes are granted immigration benefits so they can remain in the United States to reside and work here. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)…
Relief from default in divorce cases
THERE are situations in both Divorce and Child Support cases where the Summons and Petition resulted to a default against one party for failing to respond on time. In certain…
Tax consequences of divorce on non-custodial parents
CONSIDER the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides primary custody of the children to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation. The parties begin to file…
Filipino crewman on CI/D granted waiver for immigrant visa
BY Approval Notice dated October 30, 2015, the USCIS granted Form I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver to a Filipino crewman, who is married to a US citizen spouse. Roman P….
Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks
THANKSGIVING is when people take a step back and reflect on all of the wonderful things and events to be grateful for, and to give thanks to those people who…
The Adam Walsh act: Bar to a US citizen or permanent resident to petition family members
THE Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 was enacted with the avowed purpose to protect and keep children safe from sex offenders; prevent child abuse and pornography;…
The U Visa: Assistance to victims of certain crimes
When a serious crime has been committed, justice can only be served when the perpetrator of the crime is successfully prosecuted and jailed. Unfortunately, justice is often not served when…
Waivers for criminal grounds of inadmissibility
An alien seeking permanent residency status in the US must be “admissible” to the US. Admissibility means the ability of an alien to receive a visa to enter the US…
Marriage and Immigration Laws
James, a noncitizen foreign national, is married to Lesly, a United States citizen, and by virtue of this marriage was accorded a lawful conditional permanent resident status. However, not even…
Are you ready to be confused over the December 2015 priority dates?
In October 2015, the State Department and Department of Homeland Security announced a new format for the monthly priority dates. The monthly Visa Bulletin would now have TWO charts: the…
Restraining orders on conduct
IN my last article, I discussed a type of restraining order i.e. a stay-away order. This restraining order is a judicial order (granted by a judge or commissioner) preventing a…
The December 2015 priority dates
EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A…
Petitioning children of your spouse from a previous marriage
A STEPPARENT may file an immigrant petition for a stepchild even without the stepparent having to legally adopt the stepchild. However, before a stepparent may be able to file an…
CSPA late filings and extraordinary circumstances
AN alien who seeks to be classified as a “child” or as a derivative beneficiary under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and who is under 21 years of age…
Modifying child and spousal support obligation after a divorce
DIVORCED parties are sometimes ordered to pay child support and spousal support in the divorce judgment. The support orders are generally based on the parties’ financial situation and custody arrangements…
Petitioning a stepchild: No adoption required
IF a person marries a US citizen before their child’s 18th birthday, the US citizen can also directly petition the person’s child (as the US citizen’s stepchild). There is no…
Classifying your adopted child as immediate relative under the Hague Convention
IF you are adopting a child from a foreign country and wish to bring the child to the United States, you must comply with the adoption laws of the child’s…
Permanent residency through marriage to US citizen spouse
CHANGES in the economy and in the employment lanscape has made it more difficult to pursue certain traditional paths to obtaining permanent residency in the United States such as employment…
Naturalization disaster: Misrepresenting absences from the US
ONE of the most important requirements for naturalization is that an applicant must maintain residency in the US for the five years before filing a naturalization application. The person should…
Is contingent bonus community property in a divorce?
IN many professions, bonus is a material part of a professional’s compensation. It is often a challenge characterizing bonuses in the context of a divorce case especially if the bonus…
Revised procedures in determining visa availability
AS you may be aware, the USCIS, in coordination of the Department of State (DOS), announced last September 2015, announced revisions as to the procedures for determining visa availability for…