Visa Lawyer Blog

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Because state laws requiring local law enforcement to verify citizenship are now tied up in the courts, some state lawmakers may focus instead on making daily life difficult for illegal immigrants. Of particular interest is a provision in Alabama’s law that invalidates all contracts entered into with illegal immigrants. “That is one that has a much greater effect than some people might expect at first glance,” said Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped write the law. But Karen Tumlin of the National Immigration Law Center complained the provision “has led to nothing short of chaos” in Alabama, as it has been “applied to a striking range of activities, from getting tags on your cars to getting public utilities to changing title on your cars.”

Still, that seems to be the objective for Kobach and some others: Create enough fear and uncertainty, and illegal immigrants will leave a state on their own.

An article in today’s San Diego Union Tribune confirms that, supporters of such measures said they are intended to make life difficult for the undocumented, with the goal of spurring them to return to their native countries or at least leave this region. The report, titled “Life as an Undocumented Immigrant: how restrictive local immigration policies affect daily life,” was released by the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C., that produces in-depth analysis of various issues targeted at policy makers and media. This study is the second in the center’s “Documenting the Undocumented” series, which began with a look at how immigration-related laws in Alabama were affecting the undocumented population there.

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This is a recent update on the E2 Visa Bill for Israeli Nationals. Many investors from Israel would like nothing better than the opportunity to do so and thus earn the right to live and work in the U.S.

On February 9, 2012, legislators introduced H.R. 3992 which would allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to receive E–2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United States nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel.

On 2/28/12, the House Judiciary committee passed H.R. 3992 by a voice vote. The measure must next be scheduled for vote by the entire House of Representatives.

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Following our recent update on retrogression, we have the following news: Charlie Oppenheim, Chief, Immigrant Visa Control & Reporting in the State Department, provided AILA with further information on priority date movement in the EB-2 category for China-mainland born and India for the remainder of FY2012.

When the May Visa Bulletin is published, the China and India EB-2 cut-off will retrogress to August 15, 2007. Demand is still increasing at a very high rate and must be checked to maintain numbers for natives of other countries. As for projections for the remainder of the year, it is too early to predict movement.

USCIS has informed Mr. Oppenheim that they will continue to “preadjudicate” adjustment applications received through April. The “preadjudicated” cases will be held by the State Department in the “pending” demand file.

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Tens of thousands of same-sex couples in the United States live under the threat of separation because federal law prohibits immigration authorities from treating them the same as married opposite-sex couples.

And in a country where feelings run deep on immigration and same-sex marriage, the foreign-born same-sex spouses and partners of Americans live in a unique legal limbo: In the eyes of the government, they’re neither married nor are they citizens.

It’s an emotional and financial burden. They can’t leave the country to see loved ones for fear they won’t be allowed back. They might not be allowed to work or get loans to pay for college. If they’re deported, they can be barred from re-entering the U.S.

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A group of immigrant activists in Arizona is developing a smartphone application that will enable people arrested on immigration charges to inform their family and attorney of their whereabouts and detention.

The “Emergency Alert and Personal Protection” app will send arrest information to a pre-set list of supporters using GPS technology. With the touch of a button, friends and family will know what’s happened. Too often, undocumented immigrants can be detained for days or even weeks before relatives are able to find out where they are. The application also will have an option to record video and audio, and then send it to a safe storage place so legal counsel can access it later. The app will also provide information about basic civil rights in English and Spanish to help guide the detainee during police questioning.

Immigrant advocates say they’re using the technology to counter SB 1070, the Arizona law that has driven thousands of immigrants out of the state. Considering how difficult it is for undocumented immigrants to send any message of their whereabouts to friends or family, the smartphone app will help facilitate release and speed up the process to resolving the situation. Many times, undocumented immigrants wait days, even weeks before anyone knows what has happened or what can be done to take care of their detention.

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On March 16, 2012, at the AILA Midwest Regional Conference in Chicago, Charlie Oppenheim, Chief, Visa Control and Reporting at DOS, informed participants that he will likely retrogress India and China-mainland born Employment-Based Second Preference priority dates to around August 2007, effective with either the May or June 2012 Visa Bulletin. He also advised that he projects that all EB-1 visas available in FY2012 will be used this year, resulting in no “spilldown” to EB-2.

Congress sets limits on the number of immigrant visas that can be issued each year. In order to adjust status to that of legal permanent resident, an immigrant visa must be available to the applicant both at the time of filing and at the time of adjudication. The Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin which lists the cut-off dates that govern visa availability. Therefore, the monthly Visa Bulletin determines which applicants are eligible to file for adjustment of status, as well as which applicants are eligible for a grant of permanent resident status. Applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date published in the most current Visa Bulletin are eligible to apply for permanent residence.

The cut-off dates on the Department of State Visa Bulletin are adjusted monthly and are posted on its website at http://travel.state.gov. This adjustment is determined by the Department of State after consideration of a number of variables such as:

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Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), victims of domestic violence and cruelty have an alternative to waiting for their abusive spouse or parent to submit the paperwork for a green card on their behalf. They can submit a “self-petition,” using Form I-360, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), creating special routes to immigration status for certain battered noncitizens. Among the basic requirements for eligibility, a battered noncitizen must be the spouse or child of an abusive U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Through a self-petitioning process, the battered spouse/child may apply for immigration status without the knowledge or involvement of the abuser. Derivative status is available to certain children and parents of the principal immigrant.

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein will head to the floor today with other Democratic women Senators to push for renewal of the Clinton-era Violence Against Women Act. It is part of a coordinated Democratic push for the women’s vote, which Democrats see as in play following the Rush Limbaugh fiasco, the GOP primary’s focus on contraception and claims, disputed by the Mitt Romney campaign, that the Republican frontrunner said he would eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.

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Recently, the Washington Post published the story about a man accused of practicing law without a license. His story represents a serious issue that is faced in immigration law, namely how so many individuals are taken advantage of by “notarios” and others who advise on legal services without a license to practice law.

Luiz Ramirez, a paralegal in the Washington, D.C. area, dispensed free legal advice on a thrice-weekly radio show on WURA (920 AM) and pushed for the Dream Act in Spanish-language dailies. A Univision segment featured his work helping two women who said they had been forced to become sex slaves. Over the past year or so, the publicity brought him awards and helped send hundreds of clients to his McLean-based legal services firm. Lawyers say the carefully honed image hid one of the most sophisticated and lucrative legal shams they have seen in the Washington area aimed at the very people for whom he purported to advocate: Latino immigrants.

Ramirez is facing felony ­charges for allegedly telling clients that he was a lawyer, even though he is not licensed to practice law in the area. People who sought his help accuse him of taking thousands of dollars in fees for legal work he never performed. The case highlights a concern in the Washington area, where tens of thousands of recent immigrants, who are often vulnerable because of language and other barriers, rely on a relatively small number of professional services providers that market to them.

Ramirez insists that he never practiced law, stating that “My contract is very clear: I’m a paralegal…To make a complaint, these people will say I’m an attorney. . . . We did our work. We did what they requested.”
Some cash-strapped clients allege Ramirez failed to fill out visa paperwork or to represent them in bond matters and say they are now facing deportation. Others say they pulled together thousands of dollars to pay him for help in legal cases but got nothing in return.

Ramirez, an Oakton resident, is charged with five felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses. The charges involve four clients in Fairfax County. Ramirez is scheduled to appear in court June 15.

He also faces a civil suit brought by another client in Fairfax and a handful of Virginia State Bar complaints. And a client filed a claim against him in the D.C. courts last year.

“Ramirez is one of the better marketers out there,” said Manuel Leiva, former president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Virginia and one of the lawyers who brought Ramirez’s case to authorities. “The reason people fell for this is because he had such a slick operation.” On the home page, Ramirez stands before an image of a waving American flag and offers a personal message, calling immigrants “those brave ones” with “the hope of freedom.” He concludes with a direct appeal: “Let’s give them a chance.”
One such story regarding the work he has done comes from Reyna Ordonez-Viera. Ordonez-Viera, who lives in the District and works as a janitor, said she turned to Ramirez after her husband was charged in a drug case last year.

Speaking Spanish, she said Ramirez led her to believe that he was a lawyer and assured her “everything would be fine.” She said she paid Ramirez to represent her husband, borrowing the $2,200 fee from a co-worker.

At the first hearing, Ordonez-Viera said, Ramirez introduced himself as a friend to her husband’s public defender and offered no legal assistance. Ordonez-Viera said that she demanded her money back and that Ramirez gave her a $600 check, which she said bounced. Ordonez-Viera filed a complaint in D.C. Superior Court and went back to Ramirez for a refund. When she confronted him on an elevator at his office, then in the District, she said he stopped the elevator and threatened to call police and tell them she was a drug trafficker.

“Nobody should believe him,” said Ordonez-Viera, whose husband is behind bars. Her complaint against Ramirez was dismissed because court papers could not be served to him, according to court records.

Ramirez disputes Ordonez­-Viera’s account, saying that he never told her he was a lawyer and that she was a client of a lawyer he previously worked for as a paralegal. He denies threatening her and said her money was eventually refunded.

Others said Ramirez had done good work for them. Diogenes Bustamante, a plumber from Alexandria, said Ramirez helped his wife’s mother get a visa to visit the United States and assisted family members with the green card process. “He did a great job for my family,” Bustamante said.

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A recent USCIS Q&As, updated on March 12, 2012, provide information on establishing an H-1B employer-employee relationship. New questions include information on end-client documentation and establishing an employer-employee relationship in the consulting or staffing company context.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memorandum ( dated January 8, 2010 that had great significance for the IT consulting industry. This memo specified how USCIS personnel should determine the existence of the required employer-employee relationship when adjudicating H1B petitions. The memo, issued by Associate Director of Service Center Operations, Donald Neufeld, provided guidance regarding the type of evidence that sufficiently confirms the existence of an employer-employee relationship between an H1B-petitioning employer and the beneficiary when the employee’s work is performed off site.

The update from today added the following clarifications:

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As we reported previously on this blog, on February 9, 2012, legislators introduced H.R. 3992 which would allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to receive E–2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United States nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel. We have provided below a copy of the Bill. At this time this is not Law yet, and the Bill will need to go through several stages if and when it will become effective.

Upon introduction, bills are assigned a number. At the beginning of each biennial session. Separately, the Senate and the House debate the bill, offer amendments and cast votes. If the bill is defeated in either the Senate or the House, the bill dies.

Sometimes, the House and the Senate pass the same bill, but with different amendments. In these cases, the bill goes to a conference committee made up of members of Congress. The conference committee works out differences between the two versions of the bill.

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