Musings on Immigration

I Do Not Want to Go To Jail! Most people would do anything to avoid going to jail. When you’re at court looking at the armed deputy, all you’re thinking about his how to avoid leaving in the deputy’s shiny, cold handcuffs. Going on probation for 6 or 12 months seems very tempting, even as the judge is listing off all of the probation appointments you have to attend (and pay for), the restrictions on your movement and travel, the constitutional protections you have to give up, all the community service you have to do, the fines you have to pay, the drug tests you have to take, and the classes you have to complete (and pay for as well). None of that matters in the moment because you do not want to go to jail. You barely even hear the judge remind you that if you violate anything at any time, if you get a speeding ticket or simply are late to a drug test, you will be arrested and go back to jail for up to the entire remainder of your sentence. You think that probably won’t hap...

Una orden de deportación en su record le impedirá obtener una tarjeta verde (Green card) si eso es lo que desea hacer. Algunas veces, las personas no saben que hay una orden de deportación en su contra. Esta orden puede tener varias décadas o puede originar de esta misma semana. Las razones son varias: los abogados de estas personas no les informaron de sus fechas de corte y ellos no fueron; las personas nunca recibieron noticia de la corte por el correo postal; estas personas faltaron intencionalmente a sus fechas de corte; etc. El remedio para deshacerse de esta orden deportación va a depender de la razón por la cual esta orden surgió en primer lugar. Una consulta con un abogado traerá a la luz el tipo de evidencia que el solicitante necesitara para pedirle a la corte que termine esa orden deportación. Algunas veces se deben meter mociones, formas, y evidencia formal con la corte que ordeno la deportación. Los jueces no se toman a la ligera este tipo de mociones y no ven con bue...

A removal order in your record will not allow you to get a green card. Sometimes, people do not know that a Judge issued a removal order against them in the past. The removal order may be decades old or may be as recent as this week. The reasons are many: their attorneys did not inform them of their hearing dates, so they did not show up at the hearing; they never received the hearing date in the mail; they intentionally missed the hearing; etc. The remedy to getting rid of this removal order will depend on the reason a green card applicant has that order in the first place. A consultation with an attorney can shed light on the type of evidence the applicant will need to ask a court to terminate the removal order. Sometimes motions, forms, and proper evidence need to be filed with the court that issued the removal order. Judges do not take these motions lightly and it is highly discouraged to file several motions in a given case for fear of giving the impression that the applicant...

En medio de la interminable temporada política, escuchamos mucha retórica sobre inmigración, y qué candidatos van "hacer" algo para arreglar lo que cada uno considera un sistema roto de inmigración (no fallido, sólo roto). La mayoría de los candidatos, sin embargo, puso una condición sobre la fijación de este quebrado sistema diciendo que: "En primer lugar, hay que asegurar la frontera y al final la inmigración ilegal, hasta entonces vamos a hablar de ello". Lo que se tarda en lograr esta condición previa para resolver un problema reconocido. Hay dos tipos de inmigración "ilegal" a Estados Unidos. La primera es lo que todos ya consideren la inmigración ilegal--los que entran a Estados Unidos sin una visa a través de nuestros miles de millas de las fronteras. Propuestas para solucionar este tipo particular de gama de la inmigración ilegal de caimanes y fosos, en automático disparando ametralladoras a muros de "la bella", a ilimitado número de...

A principios de este año USCIS aclaró cuando se requiere una enmienda de H-1B es cuando un empleado H-1B cambia lugares de lugar de trabajo. En la parte crítica de su decisión, cuestión de Simeio Solutions, LLC , la oficina administrativa de Apelaciones de USCIS sostuvo que los empleadores están obligados a presentar una enmienda de H-1B cuando el empleado de H-1B cambia su lugar de empleo a una ubicación del lugar de trabajo fuera del área estadística metropolitana (MSA). La celebración de Simeio entró en vigor el 19 de agosto de 2015. USCIS considera el cambio en la ubicación del lugar de trabajo fuera de la MSA a ser cambio de material de la aplicación de condición laboral (ACV). Como requisito previo al empleo de un trabajador de H-1B, el empleador debe presentar una recibir una LCA certificada desde el Departamento de trabajo, que asegure que los empleadores paguen a empleados de H-1B el mayor entre el salario que prevalece para la clasificación profesional en el "á...

In the midst of the never ending political season, we hear much rhetoric about immigration, and what candidates will "do" to fix what everyone considers to be a broken (not failed, just broken) immigration system.  Most of the candidates, however, put a condition on fixing this broken system by saying that:  "FIRST, we must secure the border and end illegal immigration, then we will talk."   What will it take to accomplish this precondition to solve a the acknowledged problem. There are two types of "illegal" immigration to the United States.  The first is what everyone already considers to be illegal immigration--those who enter the United States without a visa through our thousands of miles of borders.  Proposals to fix this particular type of illegal immigration range from alligators and moats, to automatic firing machine guns, to “beautiful” walls, to limitless numbers of border patrol agents.  The second type of "illegal" immigratio...

                 Earlier this year USCIS clarified when an H-1B amendment is required when an H-1B employee changes worksite locations. In the critical portion of its decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC , the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office held that employers are required to file an H-1B amendment when the H-1B employee changes his or her place of employment to a worksite location outside of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The Simeio holding took effect on August 19, 2015. USCIS considers the change in the worksite location outside the MSA to be material change of the Labor Condition Application (LCA). As a prerequisite to employing an H-1B worker, the employer must submit a receive a certified LCA from the Department of Labor, which ensures that employers pay H-1B employees the higher of either the prevailing wage for the occupational classification in the “area of employment” or the actual wage pai...

El programa de visas "U" creado como parte de la violencia contra la mujer ley (VAWA) era y es, una buena idea y una herramienta eficaz para la aplicación de la ley. Como sociedad, queremos que la gente, (incluidos los indocumentados) presenten e informen sobre los crímenes, tanto como víctimas y testigos, para traer la aplicación de la ley en situaciones y lugares que pueden ayudar a las víctimas inocentes, castigan a los delincuentes y combatir el crimen. La visa "U" está disponible para 10.000 personas al año que son víctimas o las víctimas indirectas de delitos violentos por lo general. Una vez que se emite la visa "U", el individuo se convierte en condición jurídica de los Estados Unidos, y después de tres años en este estado pueden solicitar la residencia permanente (una Green card). Dicho esto, el programa en sí, como todos los otros programas del Congreso tienen un número limitado artificialmente de los visados, se ha convertido en una sombra de s...

The "U" visa program created as part of the Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA) was, and is, a good idea and an effective tool for law enforcement.  As a society, we want people, (including undocumented people) to come forward and report crimes, both as victims and witnesses, in order to bring law enforcement into situations and locations that can assist innocent victims, punish criminals and fight crime.  The "U" visa is available to 10,000 people a year who are harmed as victims, or indirect victims, of typically violent crimes.   Once the "U" visa is issued, the individual is converted to legal status in the United States, and after three years in this status can seek lawful permanent residence (a green card).  That said, the program itself, like every other program that Congress caps with an artificially limited number of visas, has become a shadow of its former self. In just released Fiscal Year 2015 numbers, USCIS let the public know that more than ...

No. An attorney who only reviews and fills out forms is not only acting unethically but is also doing you a disservice. When an attorney signs an immigration form he or she has duly reviewed and prepared, this attorney is certifying that all information on the form is correct and is assuming responsibility for the case. An attorney who does not sign a form he has reviewed is not accepting responsibility for his work and is not trustworthy. In fact, notarios do the very same thing when they fill out forms on behalf of other people. Mistakes happen when people avoid consulting with an attorney (or fail to hire the attorney) to review their case because no case is the same, and not everyone will complete a form with the same information or provide the same type of evidence to Immigration Services or the Court. Attorneys are bound by the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") to sign all forms they have prepared and reviewed. The CFR (which is the authority attorneys follow...