Musings on Immigration

The permanent bar comes from a 1996 law called the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IRAIRA”). This law amended the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”), which is where all U.S. immigration laws are contained. Section 212 (a)(9)(C) of the INA is the provision that talks about the permanent bar. This section states that any alien who has been unlawfully present in the United States for an aggregate period of more than one year, and who enters or attempts to reenter the United States without being admitted, is inadmissible (meaning, cannot obtain lawful admission to the U.S.). Although called “permanent,” this bar lasts for only 10 years but there is no waiver an immigrant can give to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—this is why it is usually referred as permanent. How does the permanent bar work in real life?  Let’s use a hypothetical: Sarah crosses the U.S./Mexico border (with no visa) as an undocumented immigrant.  She stays in the U...

Visa applicants are advised to arrive at the embassy no more than 15 minutes before the scheduled interview; however the queue will start to form outside the embassy gates about an hour before hand. Most embassies have a kiosk at the embassy gates where you will be asked your name and appointment time. The guards have a list of those attending their interviews that day. You are not permitted to bring cell phones or bags into the embassy building and will be asked to leave these in the kiosk while you go into the actual embassy. Once inside, you will be directed to take a seat or a number. Embassy appointment offices look similar to (run-down) banks with (unhappy) bank-tellers. There will be a number of officers working at different windows. When your number or name is called you will speak to an officer, hand in your documents and make any necessary payments. The officer will check to make sure that you have the right kind of passport photos, a copy of your approval notice, compl...