GIVING new hope to thousands of individuals who would have been adversely impacted by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in De Osorio et. al v. Holder, The Chief Judge of the 9th Circuit Appeals recently announced that the case would be reheard en banc and that the previous three-judge panel decision is no…
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…
(Part 2) QUESTION: If I am about to be 30 years old, but over 30 when it is ruled upon, will that be ok? Answer: That is unclear at this point. However, it would be in your benefit to immediately file while you are under 30 years old. Question: If I have a crime that…
ON JUNE 15, 2012, President Obama announced that his administration through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will grant deferred action for undocumented youth that meet strict eligibility requirements. Deferred action is meant to address the immigration concerns of certain young people who were brought to the United States as children without any fault on…
EACH month, the visa Of- fice of the State Department publishes, in the visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that par- ticular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning that immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons…
It is very disheartening to witness children of immigrants work so hard to obtain good grades in school, achieve honor roll standing in high school, get accepted to top universities, only to find out that all doors to the American Dream are closed and locked. On June 15, 2012, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano…
Shoots down most others IN A 5-3 split decision, the US Supreme Court upheld one controversial provision of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, that allows police officers to inquire into a person’s US immigration status during routine stops. The provision, which the State had previously been enjoined from enforcing by lower-court rulings, will now immediately…
ESTATE planning is defined as “the process of putting an individual’s personal and financial affairs in order”, by Richard S. Kinyon and Genevieve M. Moore in their “Overview of Estate Planning Practice” in California Estate Planning publication of the Continuing Education of the Bar. The two main objectives of estate planning are: (1) the maximization…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alerts eligible individuals NOT to submit a deferred action request under the Deferred Action Process for Young People memorandum issued by Secretary Napolitano on June 15. If you submit now, your application will be rejected. The Secretary’s directive gives USCIS 60 days to create a process to accept these…
Since 1938, US immigration regulations have provided for the automatic revocation of the approved visa petition upon the death of the Petitioner. However, immigration regulations since 2006 provided that automatic revocation provisions does not apply to a spousal immediate relative petition if the deceased petitioner and the alien widower had been married at least two…
On June 15, 2012, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that “effective immediately,” certain young people would be eligible for “Deferred Action” (relief from removal) and work authorization, provided they meet certain eligibility requirements: Be between the ages of 15 and 30, and entered the US before their 16th birthday. Were physically present in the…
THE “automatic stay” in bankruptcy is a powerful tool available to debtors to prevent collection efforts from creditors, including foreclosures. Whether you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, an “automatic stay” is in effect immediately once a bankruptcy petition is filed, i.e., most creditors (with a few exemptions) cannot take any action…
ON FRIDAY, June 15, 2012, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the DHS would consider granting deferred action status (DAS) to many young people in the US who would have qualified for the ill-fated DREAM ACT. In the absence of any Congressional movement on Immigration Reform and Congress’ repeated failure to…
A DEBTOR who gets a discharge in a bankruptcy petition is no longer personally liable for most of the debts listed in the petition. This means that creditors of the debtor are permanently barred from taking collection efforts against him such as lawsuits, phone calls and/or other forms of communication or contact. After all, the…
OVER the past three years, this Administration has undertaken an unprecedented effort to transform the immigration enforcement system into one that focuses on public safety, border security and the integrity of the immigration system. As DHS continues to focus its limited enforcement resources on the removal of individuals who pose a danger to national security…
On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, announced that, effective immediately, those who were brought to the U.S. as young children and who meet certain eligibility requirements, will be considered for “deferred action” (relief from removal or from being put in to removal proceedings). They will be eligible to receive deferred…
“ The decision, which had held that an “aged out” derivative beneficiary of a family or employment-based petition for immigrant status cannot benefit from the original priority date assigned to his or her parent, contrary to what many argue was Congress’ intent in passing the “Child Status Protection Act” (CSPA) in 2002.” GIVING new hope…
Starting June 4, 2012, people applying for immigrant visas at the Embassy, but have been found ineligible (or inadmissible) by a US consular officer, will nowfile their waiver requests in the US, vs. filing them in Manila. (In the past when applicants applied for immigrant visas, butwere found to be “inadmissible”at the US Embassy (i.e….
Question: I was raped years ago. I heard there is some type of visa. Can I get this visa? Answer: You may be eligible for a U nonimmigrant visa. If You are the victim of qualifying criminal activity. You have to have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a…
THE USCIS has announced that its Stateside Provisional Waiver process to allow immigrant visa applicants to overcome the 3 and ten year “unlawful presence” bars should be in full force by the end of 2012. Earlier this year, the US Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced that it has promulgated new regulations to allow for…
WASHINGTON — Today the formal public comment period closes for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives rule. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on April 2, 2012, proposes a new filing process for certain immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens (i.e. spouses, children, and…
QUESTION: I lost at the immigration Court level. Can I appeal? Answer: Yes, you can appeal. You can appeal it to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia. Question: When do I appeal and what happens if I don’t appeal on time? Answer: You must appeal to the BIA within the 30 days after the…
EACH year, I consult with hundreds of individuals who have been ordered to leave the US by Immigration Judges. In the vast majority of these cases, the person had applied for some form of relief from removal, such as asylum, and the Immigration Judge denied the claim and either granted the person voluntary departure or…
MARRIAGE to a US citizen is an obvious and well- known method of obtaining legal and permanent residence in the United States. Once married to a US citizen many immigration violations are forgiven or overlooked and the path to residency clear. This ease of procedure is well- known and often abused by those with no…
For the past few weeks, Filipinos in the US (and around the world) have followed Jessica Sanchez’s meteoric rise on American Idol. She instantly became a source of pride and unity within the Filipino community. In fact, a major topicof discussion among Filipinos was reminding one another to vote for Jessica. Indeed, it almost became…
EACH year, I consult with hundreds of individuals who have been ordered to leave the US by Immigration Judges. In the vast majority of these cases, the person had applied for some form of relief from removal, such as asylum, and the Immigration Judge denied the claim and either granted the person voluntary departure or…
QUESTION: I have heard that there is a new electronic filing system at USCIS. Is that true? Answer: It is called USCIS ELIS.USCIS ELIS is a user-friendly system created to streamline the application process for immigration benefits. It allows immigration benefit seekers and their legal representatives to create an account and file benefit requests online. USCIS…
Dear Attorney Gurfinkel: I was petitioned by my US citizen father, and after waiting for over 15 years, I was finally interviewed and just received my immigrant visa, which was delivered to me by the Embassy’s courier. I see that the immigrant visa is valid for several months. Would there be a problem if I…
On June 17, 2011, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton issued a Memorandum to provide guidance on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion (the Morton Memo). “Prosecutorial discretion” is the authority of a law enforcement agency or officer charged with enforcing a law to decide, in a particular case, whether – and to…
THE Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has restored its prior ruling that “admission” for the purposes of a later adjustment of status means a procedurally regular admission, and not an admission in a particular status. The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Orozco v. Mukasey. 521 F.3d 1068 (9th. Cir 2008) granted…
