Musings on Immigration

En el 2013, el USCIS implementó el Programa de Exención Provisional I- 601A, que permite a los cónyuges de los ciudadanos de Estados Unidos presentar sus solicitudes de perdón por su presencia ilegal en los Estados Unidos, esperan la aprobación, y luego asisten a su entrevista programada únicamente si su solicitud fue aprobada. Este fue un cambio significativo en la ley porque las familias se separaban un período mucho más corto, y mucho menos existía el miedo de tener que abandonar los EE.UU. para una entrevista - sabían que iban a ser capaz de volver con una tarjeta verde. El mayor inconveniente de esta exención de reciente aplicación era que sólo se puso a disposición a los cónyuges e hijos de ciudadanos estadounidenses. ¡Hasta ahora! ¿Qué quiere decir este último anuncio? Hasta el anuncio de hoy, sólo ciertos parientes de calificación inmediatos (cónyuges de ciudadanos estadounidenses y los padres) eran elegibles para presentar una solicitud de exención provisional. USCIS ...

THE WAIT IS OVER --- Expansion of the Provisional Waiver Program is Finally Here!! As we all know, in 2013, USCIS implemented the I-601a Provisional Waiver Program, which allows the spouses of U.S. citizens to file their waiver applications requesting forgiveness for their unlawful presence here in the United States, await an approval, and then depart for their scheduled interview only after the waiver is approved.   This was a significant change in the law because families were separated for a much shorter period of time, and there was much less fear associated with having to depart the U.S. for an interview – they knew they would be able to return with a green card.   The biggest downside of this newly implemented waiver was that it was only made available to spouses and children of U.S. citizens.   Until now!        What does this latest announcement mean? Until today’s announcement, only certain classes of immediate relatives with qualifying...

Justice was served today at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) office in Atlanta, Georgia.   Our clients, a mother and her minor child, were facing imminent deportation to their native country, Guatemala.   Their deportation had been scheduled for Monday at 7:00 am, but thanks to our amazing immigration attorneys, Mario Guevara from Mundo Hispanico, and the General Counsel of Guatemala in Atlanta, Georgia, our client will stay in the country and have an opportunity to present her case before an immigration judge. Our client and her child came to the U.S. in 2014, after fleeing her native country and fearing for her life.   She hired a local attorney, who did nothing but take her money.   He failed to request a credible fear interview, failed to submit an asylum application, and failed to inform ICE officers of our client’s fear to return to her native country.   This placed our client in a big predicament that almost got her sent b...