Musings on Immigration

Las personas que tienen solicitudes pendientes con el Servicio de Ciudadanía e inmigración a menudo necesitan un "permiso de salida" o documento "Advance Parole" antes de salir de los EE.UU. Esto evitará que inmigración considere que   las solicitudes de los aplicantes   han sido "abandonadas" por haber salido del país sin pedir primero permiso mientras se espera una decisión final sobre sus aplicaciones.   En términos prácticos, conseguir un documento de permiso anticipado no es complicado: usted paga la cuota, llena un formulario, y su permiso de viaje se expedirá dentro de unas pocas semanas. Lo que es complicado de este proceso es saber realmente si viaja fuera de los EE.UU. está en su mejor interés cuando se sabe que tiene una solicitud pendiente. USCIS con mucho gusto toma su cuota y emite un permiso de viaje, pero eso no significa necesariamente que sea elegible para viajar al extranjero sin complicaciones. Sólo un abogado le puede dar una re...

Debido a las redadas de ICE y el control inmigratorio tan estricto que se ha vivido en Georgia en los meses recientes, es de gran importancia que todas las personas en visa (o incluso sin una visa válida) tomen cuidado de sus records criminales. ¿Alguna vez usted ha sido arrestado por una ofensa criminal? Hable con un abogado criminal para ver si él puede reducir ese cargo o deshacerse de él. ¿Usted piensa que podría tener algo en su récord? No espere a que ICE toque a su puerta o a que su visa sea revocada por Servicios de Inmigración, hable con un abogado criminal antes de que esto suceda para que esta persona pueda investigar qué tipo de ofensas podrían encontrarse en su record. Algunas personas terminan en un centro de detención antes de haber podido tener la oportunidad de contratar a un abogado criminal para tomar cuidado de ese DUI o arresto de agravo físico del que fueron arrestados mas de una década atrás. Gran error. Quince anos después, ICE tocó a sus puertas y los detu...

Because of the ICE raids and tight immigration enforcement prevalent in Georgia in the recent months, it is imperative that all persons on visas (or even without them) take care of their criminal history. Were you ever convicted of a criminal offense? Talk to a criminal attorney to see if he can reduce the charge to a lesser offense or even vacate it (this basically means there would be no conviction in the end). Do you think you may have something on your criminal record? Don't wait until ICE is knocking on your door or your visa is revoked, talk to a criminal attorney beforehand so that he can investigate what sort of offenses might be on your record. Some people see themselves in a detention center before they had a chance to hire a criminal attorney to take care of that DUI or battery offense they were charged with decades ago. Nothing on your criminal record ever goes away--even if you pay all your fines or so probation; your criminal history is there for life. We hav...

People with pending applications with the U.S. Citizenship and immigration services often need a "travel permit" or "advance parole" document before leaving the U.S. This will prevent applicants from having their applications deemed "abandoned" for having departed the country without asking first for permission while waiting a final decision on their applications.    Practically speaking, getting an advance parole document is not complicated: you pay the fee, fill out a form, and your travel permit is issued within a few weeks. What's complicated about this process is actually knowing if traveling outside the U.S. is in your best interest when you know you have a pending application. USCIS will gladly take your fee and issue a travel permit, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are actually eligible to travel abroad without complications. Only an attorney can give you a definite answer on whether you should--or shouldn't--travel abroa...

Una persona que esta detenida en un centro de detención puede pedir por una audiecia de fianza para ver si el juez accedera a otorgarle libertad bajo fianza. El detenido puede representarse a si mismo o puede contratar a un abogado para que lo represente. En el lado opuesto de la corte, tenemos al abogado del gobierno o de la fiscalía (o abogado de ICE) quien es el que típicamente esta peleando para que el detenido sea deportado. Generalmente, uno tiene derecho a solamente una audiencia de fianza, asi que solamente hay una oportunidad de presenatr los mejores argumentos, evidencia, y testigos a favor del detenido. Debe tomar la audiencia de fianza seriamente. Aunque no sea una audiencia formal de inmigración, lo que usted haga--o no haga--en una audiencia de fianza puede determinar cuanto tiempo mas le queda en los Estados Unidos, que tan rápidamente el caso será procesado (los casos detenidos se procesan mas rápidamente), y donde el caso será escuchado (por ejemplo, la corte de i...

A person who is detained at an immigration detention center can ask for a bond hearing to see if the judge will agree to release him on bond. The detainee can represent himself or he can choose to be represented by an attorney. On the opposite side, we have the government attorney (or ICE attorney) who is typically fighting to deport a detainee. A bond hearing is conducted to present to the judge arguments in favor and against the release of this detainee. Generally, you only get one bond hearing , so you have one chance to present the best arguments, evidence, and witnesses to help your case. You should not take a bond hearing lightly. Although this is not a formal immigration hearing, what you do—or not do—at a bond hearing can determine what remaining time you will have in the U.S., how quickly your case will be processed (detained cases are processed quicker), and where your case will be heard (for example, the court immigration in Stewart/Lumpkin, Georgia will typically hea...

In 2005, after extensive investigation into the attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the REAL ID Act. This act had a provision regarding drivers’ licenses that would make it more difficult for an individual or apply for a state driver’s license without proof of their real identity. The goal of this law was to prevent immigrants who are terrorists, like the 9/11 terrorists, from obtaining driver’s licenses. This would leave them with only a passport and no driver’s license, making them easier for law enforcement to detect. What effect did this law have in reality? A singling out of Hispanic and Asian immigrants who have no criminal history and who are not terrorists. Yet TSA might stop letting individuals travel with just a driver’s license from these states and will instead require a secondary form of ID to travel. A disproportionate number of Hispanic and Asian immigrants cannot obtain visas to enter the U.S. legally or have extremely long waits for visas because the U....