How is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger going to save us money? How about massive deportation plan. California Corrections officials are reviewing the cases of undocumented immigrant prisoners to see who can be deported. About 6,000 up for consideration have more than one felony. Releasing undocumented prisoners is part of the Governor’s…
Recently AILA shared some information about a “new” benefit fraud assessment program in which USCIS is beginning to use the millions of dollars it has received over the last decade from the “fraud fee” in the H-1B program. This new program involves the hiring of a private contractor to send…
We all know that Asylum is a tough relief to get and one must fit a very strict set of legal standards. Mostly political or related cases. But now the Obama Administration opened the door to a new policy. The government has opened the way for foreign women who are…
A few days ago, Attorney General Eric Holder, vacated the decision in Matter of Compean and directed the BIA and Immigration Judges to apply the decision in Matter of Lozada for claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, pending promulgation of relevant regulations. Attorney General Eric Holder withdrew the decision issued…
I am not very proud to announce this but, ICE stated a few days ago that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is the first law enforcement body to implement the Secure Communities program, under which every individual booked into the three largest jails in San Diego County will have…
There are presently 3-5 full time I-601 adjudicators, and 3 staff who are on duty. There is a backlog of 7000 – 9,000 I-601 applications. They are discussing opening an office in Los Angeles where they will only work on those backlog cases. I-601 Procedure: The applicant has to make…
Last week, the Attorney General overruled the Board’s decisions in Matter of Lozada, and Matter of Assaad. The decision held that there is no Fifth Amendment right to counsel in immigration proceedings. Matter of Compean-Bangaly-J-E-C, 24 I&N, Dec. 710 (A.G. 2009). When immigrants face possible deportation, they don’t have the…
When the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed by Congress in 1996, among its main goals was expelling and stiffening penalties against aliens who overstay visa allowances and improving security against illegal immigration on the borders and internally. While the law achieved some its objectives, it also…
U.S. Border Patrol announced that they discovered an incomplete tunnel that originates in Tijuana, Mexico and stretches about 10 feet into San Diego. Several Taxi Drivers that cross in the area reported suspicious activity in that area. Border Patrol spokesman Julius Alatorre says an agency contractor discovered the tunnel when…
ILW.com recently published an interesting article by a former USCIS officer stationed at the London US Embassy, working on I-601 waivers. The question we all ask is whether officers exercise discretion when adjudicating 601 waivers, or are they following the law with respect to the extreme hardship standard. Officer Heller…