Days ago, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen denied a request made by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to lift his injunction, which placed a block on the immigration executive action (IEA). This means that, currently, the promised deportation relief offered by the IEA will remain unavailable until the courts resolve the issues regarding the […]
On February 28, 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision that effectively revoked the comparable grounds rule it had been using to determine whether immigrants convicted of crimes would be eligible for relief from deportation per Section 212(c). The BIA’s recent ruling falls in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling […]
Even if a fiancé(e) or spousal visa petition is approved (i.e., the foreign spouse/fiancé(e) receives the right to sit for an immigration interview), that does not necessarily ensure that a visa will be issued. In fact, there are several reasons why a petitioner will be deemed inadmissible to the U.S. These include a petitioner who: […]
On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law amendments to the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) reversing the longstanding rule that visa petitions filed for relatives are automatically revoked upon the death of the Petitioner. The new law will ameliorate the harsh, unfair consequences resulting to thousands of beneficiaries of family and employment-based visa […]
Over the past 18 months, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been stepping-up arrest and detention levels of immigrants in the US to unprecedented levels. Many of these arrests have come about as a result of well-publicized "worksite raids," where ICE has been targeting manufacturing, construction and food service industries for large-scale assaults designed […]
The immigrant communities of the United States have been stirring ever since Congress created the dreaded "3 and 10 year bar" to reentry in 1996. The INS still has not promulgated regulations regarding the law, which has added to everyone's confusion and caused public speculation as to what the law really means. With so many […]
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 […]
For many immigrants living in the United States having a legal permanent resident status may not necessarily give them a lot of comfort. This is because more and more, legal residents are facing deportation for minor crimes. In 1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was enacted. The law specified that any immigrant who was convicted of […]
When a foreign citizen marries a United States citizen living in the Los Angeles area, he or she may be able to obtain a spouse visa and eventually become a citizen of the United States. In order to become a citizen, various requirements have to be met such as living with the spouse who is a U.S. […]
Southern California has an incredibly diverse population that includes immigrants from around the globe. Many people moving from other countries to the United States can find the system of deportation a complex one to navigate and work hard to avoid such action or any other immigration violations. Often, the laws are difficult to understand and can also […]
