April 30, 2001: Final Deadline for 245(i)
December 9, 2013
On December 21, 2000 President Clinton signed the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act ("LIFE") into law. LIFE extends the "grandfathering deadline" of Section 245(i) of the Immigration & Nationality Act ("INA") until April 30, 2001. Section 245(i), which allowed many otherwise ineligible applicants for adjustment of status to apply for and receive green cards […]
Appeals Processing From Immigration Court Decisions
December 9, 2013
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 […]
Administrative Denaturalization: A Grim Reality
December 9, 2013
The Ninth Circuit court of Appeals in Gorbach v. Reno recently dealt a serious blow to thousands of individuals who may have obtained their Naturalization certificate by mistake or misrepresentation. The Ninth Circuit reversed the ruling of a Washington District Court Judge, which had held that the INS' "administrative denaturalization" rules were unauthorized, and enjoined […]
Adjustment Of Status For "T" And "U" Visa Holders
December 9, 2013
The USCIS has finally issued a rule allowing holders of “T” and “U” visa status to apply for “adjustment of status” to green card. Based on the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act Congress passed in 2000, the new rule will work to further protect the humanitarian interests of victims of trafficking and serious […]
"ORANGE CRUSH! - LEGALIZATION PROGRAM INTRODUCED IN WASHINGTON"
December 9, 2013
Marking what could be the beginning of the end to partisan infighting in the US Congress over immigration reform, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) on April 26, 2007 introduced the “Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007” (S. 1225). Focusing on an effort to resolve the status of some 18 million “undocumented” persons in the US currently, rather […]
Legal permanent resident faces deportation for minor crime
December 8, 2013
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 […]
