LegalMatch: Immigration Law

Political Asylum and Refugee Status.

Prior to 2002, we had Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) in charge of refugees, green cards, amnesty agreements—the whole immigration shebang. Then President Bush launched the Homeland Security Act, and the INS disappeared. In its place grew the more serious-timbered Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), an agency built to handle all questions of political asylum and refugee status from 2002 onward.

The idea of political asylum is as old as Ancient Egypt, with laws of “sanctuary” in place since 511AD. Our modern concept of political asylum is not so different from its ancient predecessors. Political asylum allows people from one country to seek “asylum” or protection in another country if they fear persecution from their home country. This type of asylum is occasionally extended to suspected criminals as well, as in the case of France’s recent protection of Georgia’s former defense minister.

Those who are granted political asylum have the extra benefit of becoming eligible for a green card. Once a year has passed under asylum status, the protected individual can apply for a green card and become a permanent citizen.

Refugee status is similar to political asylum, but generally concerns a group of people who are seeking asylum. There is a limit on the number of people who will be selected for refugee status, so it is important to apply early if you are seeking this kind of protection.

 

For those who qualify for neither political asylum nor refugee status, there are two other options: temporary haven and amnesty. While temporary haven provides refuge for those who face dangerous conditions in their home country, it is still temporary. A person who is protected by temporary haven will not be able to apply for a green card. Amnesty, on the other hand, is for people who are already living illegally in the United States. Amnesty is occasionally granted to specific groups of people who live illegally in the US, providing them with the chance to gain legal citizenship.

In any case, it is usually in your best interests to speak with a qualified immigration attorney—especially if you are living in the country illegally. You can file your case at no cost by visiting our main site, www.legalmatch.com.

 

By Kate Beall

Deportation Laws Stack up Against San Jose Minister.

The arrest of Lucio Caciano Miranda, a 37 year-old minister and illegal immigrant, sparked a debate this week about unflinching deportation policies in the United States. Miranda was arrested while visiting his goddaughter’s mother, despite the fact that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who came to the door were looking for someone else. The ICE stated that “agents are required while conducting their raids to arrest anyone found to be in the country illegally”.

Deportability grounds not only cover illegal immigrants, but legal immigrants as well. Criminal offenses, possession of false documents, espionage, welfare abuses, fraudulent marriage (to obtain a visa or green card), and unlawful voting are all valid reasons for expulsion or deportation from the United States.

Luckily, there are detained alien lawyers who specialize in dealing with ICE. Such lawyers can assist you in obtaining a bond if you have been detained, which will allow you to return home until you either (a) return to trial or (b) voluntarily depart the United States by a specified date.

Unfortunately, many illegal immigrants who already live in the United States are in a precarious position. Even in the case of Miranda, who spent over eight years working to help youths in gangs, the lack of a valid visa almost always leads to deportation. This is because the United States requires that immigrants obtain a visa before entering the United States.

If you are considering immigration to the United States, you should discuss your options with an inadmissibility lawyer to make sure that you qualify for a visa. For more information about the different kinds of visas offered to immigrants, please see my previous post on green cards.

 

By Kate Beall

The Sky is Blue for Many Awaiting Green Cards.

The wait to obtain a “green card,” or permanent visa, has been an excruciatingly long one for thousands of immigrants. But starting July 1^st, that situation promises to change.

In the U.S. State Department’s July visa bulletin, it was announced that the government would be accepting new applications from India, mainland China, and other countries that had previously suffered through almost decade-long waiting periods. The Houston Chronicle reports that Reshma Soni, a 33 year-old legal student, was so happy that she almost ran of out of the office where she worked.

News, Views, and Analysis marks this long delay up to overwhelming backlogs in the I-485
department:

For years the I-485 stage was backlogged beyond belief. As of early June they were processing applications from 4 years ago. So all of us who had applied for the Green Card were resigned to a long wait. So imagine then that we get the news that this is all current.

Unfortunately, the July 2007 visa bulletin cannot help most new visa applicants. Only those who can file the I-485 while the visa bulletin is active will be able to benefit.

For those who have not yet begun the application process for a green card, there are several stages yet ahead. For those who wish to enter the U.S. as a specialized worker, it is necessary to have both a sponsor and an H-1B Temporary Work Permit. It is highly recommended that both the sponsor and the alien consult with a reliable alien immigration lawyer before beginning their application. However, once the H-1B permit is obtained, an alien is permitted to live for up to 6 years in the U.S. as a working citizen.

Employment-based immigrants fall into three merit-based categories: EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3. But even at the most permitting level (EB-3), an immigrant must be a skilled worker or professional, and often must hold a Bachelor’s degree. The EB-4 category, while also employment-based, is reserved for religious workers.

 

If you are considering application for a green card, temporary visa, or other permit, you may wish to consult our Legal Library’s articles on immigration law and working with an immigration lawyer. Explore further for answers to specific questions about immigration and visa law.

By Kate Beall

Canada and Your Minor Criminal Record.

Planning a visit to Canada in the near future? Have a skeleton or two in the closet? If any of those bones had anything to do with John law, you'd best do a little research before you go because you may be in for a big surprise at the border. Thanks to heightened security and improve data sharing between US homeland security and their Canadian counterparts, border police in Canada now have complete access to your criminal records, nor matter how old your crimes are or how minor they might be. As beauty is in eye of the beholder, so are your crimes. DUI/DWI in Canada is considered to be a serious offense, a felony, whereas in the US it's generally regarded as a misdemeanor unless there are aggravating circumstances (you killed or injured someone).

According to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article, entitled "Going to Canada? Check your past" many 'respectable' US citizens have been rudely turned around at the border lately, resulting in some ruined vacations.

You can read more about basic DUI/DWI charges see a list of 45 other DUI/DWI  articles in the LegalMatch Law Library. Next post we'll have more information about what you can do to gain entry into Canada should you be encumbered by your past.

What Could Be Better Than Winning the Lottery?

Diversity Visa Lottery Program that is.  How exciting… Each year 50,000 immigrant visas are made available through a lottery.  Those who win this lottery come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  The winning entries are selected at random from qualified applicants from qualified countries.  For the 2006 drawing (which closed January 7, 2005) residents of countries not allowed to participate included Canada, China, Columbia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Who is eligible to enter the visa lottery?  First, you must be from a country eligible to participate in the lottery.  Remember, this changes every year so simply because your country is on the list one year does not mean that it will be on the list the next year.  Second, you must have a high school diploma or the equivalent or you must have two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training/ experience to perform. 

If you qualify based on the above criteria you may be wondering how you apply.  For each drawing the State Department publishes instructions on how to apply.  Instructions are usually posted in August and registration usually begins in October.  For the 2006 drawing the registration period was from November 5, 2004 through January 7, 2005.  For the 2007 lottery instructions will be coming out in the next few months and registration will start in the Fall of 2005. 

Along with your online registration you will be required to submit a digital photo of yourself, your spouse and any and all children, natural or legally adopted, under the age of 21.  The person being photographed must face the camera directly and must be photographed in front of a neutral or light colored background.  Head coverings are only allowed due to religious beliefs but cannot obstruct the face.

You will be disqualified if more than one application is submitted for you even if the extra submissions were not done by you.  You will also be disqualified if you fail to submit any and all digital photographs per the State Department specifications.  Don’t forget to fill out the Electronic Visa Entry Form in its entirety because this could also disqualify you.

If you are selected at random by computer you will be notified by mail.  Winning does not automatically guarantee that you will be issued a visa.  You will be sent complete instructions including appropriate fees required.  Remember, you must meet all eligibility requirements under U.S. law. 

I could not think of a better lottery to win.  Okay maybe winning millions of dollars could also be exciting.  I wish you luck with any and all lotteries you decide to enter.  Especially the Diversity Visa Lottery.  Take it from me, America is pretty cool. 

By Lisa Zanassi

Has 9/11 Changed Immigration Law?

As with nearly all facets of life following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, American society was forced to adapt and change in ways that would leave themselves less vulnerable to future attacks of the same kind. Much of the controversy in the aftermath of 9/11 is that the hi-jackers were in the United States legally, having passed a screening process and successfully obtained VISAs. In response to this revelation, lawmakers took steps to make our borders more secure through the implementation of stricter border controls and immigration laws, making our borders less porous and our beaucratic processes more scrutinizing of its applicants.

The most important question is how do these changes affect an average citizen of another country either seeking a visa or trying to obtain citizenship in the United States? Well, one must look to the laws that Congress passed in order to properly understand where one currently stands in the post 9/11 immigration process. The USA PATRIOT Act, which covers a number of areas, has several sections that deal with immigration. Among the chief provisions are:
• the tripling of the border patrol on the U.S.–Canadian border
• INS and Department of State access to the FBI’s criminal record-keeping system for help in determining visa issuance and entry questions
• a requirement for a standardized technology that can be used to verify the identity of foreign nationals seeking entry or visas
• new grounds for denying or deporting persons “deemed to be representatives of foreign terrorist organizations or of any group that publicly endorses terrorist acts”;
• directing the INS to use “biometric identifiers” (higher tech fingerprinting methods) and tamper-proof documents, and to implement fully the Foreign Student Visa Monitoring Program (established under the 1996 revision of the immigration laws).

The Border Security Act, introduced in November 2001 and signed into law just days later, focuses on enhanced security measures “while continuing to allow for the ongoing entry of people as well as certain necessary or desirable goods and materials. To these ends, it authorizes money for more INS and Customs Service staff, for upgrading their technology and for personnel training, and raises certain fees to help offset the added expense.”

By looking to other government action in response to 9/11, it becomes clear that the two new laws aren’t the only governmental measures to have had an impact on immigration practices and procedures. Under an executive regulation issued on October 29, 2001, the government has the power to detain an alien “even after an immigration judge has ordered that person’s release.”  According to various immigration groups, the new rule will allow the INS to continue to detain aliens for minor violations, allowing their detention to go on for months without requiring a hearing before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

If anyone is attempting to move to this country on either a permanent or temporary basis, it is crucial that they review the new procedures, and in particular the new governmental powers, which make clear that the protections afforded to U.S citizens are no longer equally allocated to non-citizen aliens.

By Evan Anderson

Welcome to the LegalMatch Immigration Law Blog!

Are you seeking legal advice or representation on an immigration law-related issue? Perhaps you're an attorney who specializes in immigration law? The LegalMatch Immigration Law Blog is the online source for relevant and informative articles and information. LegalMatch offers an authoritative and trustworthy voice on the issues of the day as they concern the legal industry and you as a consumer. Please note, the articles and information in this blog are for informative purposes only. Always consult the professional advice of a lawyer for your particular legal issue. Enjoy!