Even as the Obama Administration has espoused some more lenient policies toward persons who have violated their immigration status in the US, such as prosecutorial discretion, USCIS over the past several years seems to have increased the rate of denial of applications for adjustment of status. With the denial of these applications, particularly employment-based adjustment…
A criminal conviction for domestic violence might affect an alien’s eligibility for immigration relief or benefit. This conviction might qualify as a ground for inadmissibility under crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). It might also qualify as a ground for deportability under aggravated felony or domestic violence. Grounds for inadmissibility disqualify an alien who is trying to enter the US from getting a visa or admission. Grounds for deportability make an alien who has already been admitted into the US susceptible to removal.
IF the Department of Homeland Security has initiated Removal Proceedings against you, an Immigration Judge will preside over your case in Immigration Court and a government attorney will seek your removal from the US. The series of immigration hearings, collectively known as “immigration proceedings” can take several years and can include four or more court…
Couples have different spending habits and different philosophy in handling marital finances. Some spouses are conservative in managing their finances and stick with a budget while other spouses do not even set budgets. What is your exposure if your spouse is a shop-a-holic and runs though his/her credit card like there is no tomorrow? What…
Although some same – sex couples, like many opposite sex couples, may think they can file and handle the case on their own, I would strongly suggest they seek the advice, assistance, and representation of an attorney. When the US Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), their ruling enabled same-sex…
ALTHOUGH attorneys take an oath upon admission to the bar to zealously advocate on behalf of their clients, I have heard an overwhelming number of stories in which potential clients depict their attorneys’ actions and statements in meetings as completely adverse to their cause. Instead of listening with empathy and compassion to a prospective client’s…
Dear Atty Gurfinkel: My American Citizen sister would like to petition me, but it would take many, many years to get a green card through a family petition. She also has a very successful business and would like to petition me as her employee through an employment based petition. Is there anything wrong or illegal…
As this year’s H-1B filing season comes to a close, employers not able to submit their applications on time or those whose cases are not chosen in the H-1B lottery will be looking for other options. The B-1 visa is commonly considered as a possible alternative, but this category does not cover typical employment scenarios….
IN accordance with the US Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Judulang v. Holder, the BIA issued a decision on February 28, 2014 that makes Section 212(c) relief available to thousands or immigrants who were ordered deported or are presently deportable for criminal convictions. The decision, Matter of Abdelghany, abolishes the so-called “comparable grounds” rule that…
California law on the nature of spouses’ rights and obligations with respect to management and control of community property has evolved over the last thirty years from less stringent “good faith” standards to heightened “confidential duty” and “fiduciary duty’ standards. Under current law, the duties owed between spouses in transactions between themselves are the same…
Drug trafficking crimes are aggravated felonies. There are two distinct aggravated felonies under INA 101(a)(43)(B), illicit trafficking in drugs and drug trafficking. In Matter of Sanchez-Cornejo, 24 I&N Dec. 273 (BIA 2010), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) defined illicit trafficking as a conviction involving the unlawful trading or dealing of any controlled substance. Drug…
REPUBLIC Act No. 10175, known as the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, is caught in a time warp. Its provisions on cybercrime offenses in Chapter 11 are copied from current cybercrime laws of the United States (United States Code), but its provisions on online libel (Section 4(c)(4) and Section 6) date back to 1932,…
Employees of an international company that are transferred into the US temporarily to work for the company’s parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary enter the US on an L-1 Intra-company Transferee visa. This classification of visa is issued to employees that are at the managerial or executive level (L-1A) or have specialized knowledge (L-1B) and are…
Many people may be guilty of attempted “alien smuggling” and not even realize it. They may also be totally unaware of the harsh or drastic consequences to themselves and the rest of their family if they are caught. A person could be committing alien smuggling by claiming that a grandchild or “given” child (whom they…
THE debate over the United States economy and dearth of high-tech workers has spotlighted the H-1B professional working visa in the press. Nonetheless, Congress has been slow to respond in the face of economic problems throughout the World and the FY 2014 H-1B quota was reached within just a couple of weeks of April 1,…
THE H-1B visa cap is set to open again on April 1, 2014. As usual, we are seeing much interest by individuals and employers seeking obtain the H-1B nonimmigrant visa. Last year, USCIS received approximately 130,000 petitions on April 1. With the cap only at 65,000 and another 20,000 for master degree holders, approximately 1/3…
THE District Attorney’s Office of the County of Los Angeles, through its Bureau of Investigation, had late last year conducted worker’s compensation compliance checks in Carson, California. Investigators interviewed employees of businesses who failed to secure workers’ compensation insurance for their employees in violation of Section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code. The interviews were…
As dramatic as it sounds, the 30-45 minutes that someone spends interviewing their potential immigration attorney may turn out to be the most important conversation of their lives. During the consultation, the immigrant must evaluate the attorney’s Expertise, Personality, and Responsiveness. If the consultation is properly utilized, the time spent will leave the immigrant with…
The April 2014 priority dates indicate that the F-2A priority date still remains at September 8, 2013, which is almost the same as being “current.” It is phenomenal news for spouses and minor children of green cardholders (Category F – 2A). That means that spouses and minor children of green cardholders would be eligible to file…
WITH the US House of Representatives showing zero initiative towards overhauling the nation’s immigrations laws, it appears that H-1B visas for FY 2015 will run out on April 1, 2014, six months before the fiscal year even begins. Last year, the annual H-1B quota (“H-1B Cap”) was reached within the first week of the filing…
On February 28, 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued its decision in Matter of Abdelghany, 26 I&N Dec. 254 (BIA 2014), which clarifies the scope of INA 212(c). This is the most recent decision in a long line of cases that has tried to define, limit or extend this relief. What’s interesting is…
GETTING your green card is a wonderful accomplishment. When we represent a client at their adjustment of status interview, the room is filled with smiles and happy tears when their application is approved and the officer shakes the client’s hand and says “Congratulations, welcome to America.” It feels great to know you can finally travel…
Many individuals entering the United States on a visitor’s visa wonder whether they can adjust status on the basis of a petition from an immediate family member (spouse, parent, child). This is an area of immigration law that is a source of significant confusion, which we will demystify in this article. As many B-1/B-2 visa…
A petition for nullity of a marriage is based on an allegation that an impediment existed at the time of the marriage that prevented the marriage from ever existing. Whereas a petition for dissolution of a marriage typically alleges that some issue arose during the marriage that precludes it from continuing further (i.e. “irreconcilable differences”),…
Recently, a young woman came to my office for a consultation after USCIS denied her naturalization application. The reason? Her mother immigrated to the US as “single” but was secretly married. The mother concealed this marriage to the US Embassy years ago, when she (and this child) applied for their immigrant visas, and the mother…
The employment-based path to US Permanent Resident Status for Filipinos in the “EB-3” and “EB-3 Other Workers” categories can require a wait of up to seven years under current processing estimates. As such, in the years after an employer starts the petitioning process by filing a Labor Certification with the Department of Labor, the employment…
YOU and your spouse may have gone through a lengthy and contentious divorce proceeding. This is usually the most difficult period of a person’s life. Finally, time heals all pain. You and your spouse get tired of bickering and being mean to one another that you both decide to compromise each other positions and resolve…
USCIS has defined “nationals” as persons born in American Samoa, certain former citizens of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and certain children of noncitizen nationals born abroad”). Dear Atty Gurfinkel: Years ago, when I applied for a job, the employer asked me to fill out several documents, including an I-9 (Employment Eligibility…
On January 24, 2014, USCIS issued guidance on the adjudication of Form I-601A waivers in cases involving applicants with criminal history. To understand the significance of this guidance, let us first review the rules on Form I-601A waivers. On January 3, 2013, USCIS published the Final Rule on Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for…
Due to the significantly shorter processing times than other categories, the EB-2 classification is highly sought after by talented immigrants. In comparison to the EB-3 immigrant category, which currently takes about seven years for Filipinos, the EB-2 category is now current for processing and the Green Card can typically be obtained in about one year…
