Visa Lawyer Blog

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Client walked into the office and demanded info about the new Obama amnesty.”I need to apply as soon as possible and hope you can help me.” Where did you hear about amnesty, I asked. A local paralegal told me about it and told me to put a deposit down and the price might go up.

Ever since the 8-18 announcement, similar inquiries come in and I fear this is not the end of it. So what can prospects do, check and double check.

The Obama Administration announcement is NOT an amnesty, it is NOT about granting legal status, and is NOT something that you can sign-up for!

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The college dreams of thousands of students who are illegal immigrants moved closer to fulfillment Wednesday after the state Senate approved a bill that for the first time would give them access to public financial aid.

Part of a two-bill package known as the California Dream Act, the measure would allow undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition to apply for Cal Grants, community college waivers and other public aid programs. To be eligible, they must be California high school graduates who attended schools in the state at least three years, and demonstrate financial need and academic merit.

The Senate vote brought relief to Brian Lee, a UCLA undergraduate who was brought to the U.S. at age 4 from South Korea and fell out of legal status when his mother did not renew their visas. Lee, a biology major who hopes to become a dentist, said the chance to apply for financial aid would help him finish school more quickly and alleviate the stress of working multiple under-the-table jobs. As it is, he has worked for two academic quarters to pay for each term he attends.

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It is tempting to imagine that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has adopted a kinder and more just approach to its immigration enforcement mission. After all, the department announced in recent days that it will henceforth focus its enforcement efforts on “high priority” immigration cases; that is, those cases involving serious criminals and individuals who are a threat to public safety or national security. While this is a welcome, long overdue announcement, we must keep in mind that there are still DHS enforcement policies in place that are in dire need of repair.

For instance, according to a story in the New York Times earlier this month, U.S. immigration agents stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border have taken to detaining and sometimes arresting unauthorized immigrants as they try to leave the United States and return to Mexico. In other words, after pouring billions of dollars into immigration enforcement programs to make the United States as unwelcoming as possible to unauthorized immigrants, the Obama Administration has decided to make their departure just as difficult and to torment them as they leave. This policy is as nonsensical as it is cruel.

To be fair, the Administration is snaring unauthorized immigrants as it attempts to do what previous administrations have not: stem the flow of drug money and guns from the United States to Mexico, into the waiting arms of drug cartel leaders. But this neither explains nor justifies why immigration agents are arresting immigrants who have no connections to drug money or gun smuggling—and who are leaving the country. As the Times notes, even some vehemently anti-immigrant groups oppose this practice on the grounds that it slows, and perhaps even discourages, the departure of unauthorized immigrants from the country. In a surreal moment last year, the president of the nativist organization Americans for Legal Immigration issued a statement saying that:

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A federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of Alabama’s new law cracking down on illegal immigration, ruling Monday that she needed more time to decide whether the law opposed by the Obama administration, church leaders and immigrant-rights groups is constitutional.

The brief order by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Blackburn means the law — which opponents and supporters alike have called the toughest in the nation — won’t take effect as scheduled on Thursday. The ruling was cheered both by Republican leaders who were pleased the judge didn’t gut the law and by opponents who compare it to old Jim Crow-era statutes against racial integration.

Blackburn didn’t address whether the law is constitutional, and she could still let all or parts of the law take effect later. Instead, she said she needed more time to consider lawsuits filed by the Justice Department, private groups and individuals that claim the state is overstepping its bounds.

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As many of you may know the DOL has suspended issuing prevailing wage determinations for several weeks now. Such determinations are essential to start any PERM case.

On Wednesday, August 24, 2011, AILA received reports from members that PERM prevailing wage determinations are beginning to be received for requests submitted in early June 2011. Additionally, AILA has been in discussions with other stakeholders on possible courses of action, including individual mandamus actions, if DOL does not resume issuing prevailing wage determinations promptly.

The following are a few questions that were brought up to the DOL in light of the recent delays, see what they responded:

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Reflecting a change in deportation policy, the Obama administration has dropped its attempt to remove a member of a same-sex California couple who overstayed his visa.

The announcement in a case pending before an immigration judge in San Francisco represents the administration’s decision to put a greater focus on deporting criminals and less emphasis on removing illegal immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding and have family ties in the United States.

Families, the administration has concluded, include gay and lesbian couples.

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Three alleged members of an international alien smuggling scheme were charged Tuesday with smuggling hundreds of aliens from China into the United States. The charges stem from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

HSI agents arrested Hak Tung Lam, 44, of Flushing, N.Y., Wen Wo Lam, 43, of Staten Island, N.Y., and Ying Yang, 30, of Flushing, for allegedly participating in smuggling more than 450 aliens into the United States. Hak Tung Lam, an immigration attorney who practiced in Manhattan, Wen Wo Lam, and Ying Yang allegedly served as legal advisors to alien smugglers by recommending ports of entry, advising on methods of avoiding detection, filing false immigration documents, and obtaining the release of detained aliens through fraud.

“As an officer of the court, Hak Tung Lam swore to uphold the laws and constitution of the United States. Instead, he used his training and education to allegedly perpetrate one of the most wide-ranging criminal fraud schemes that this office has ever investigated solely for his personal financial gain,” said James T. Hayes, Jr., special agent in charge of HSI in New York. “HSI will continue to pursue those individuals who seek to take advantage of this country’s legal immigration system for their own benefit and at the expense of others.”

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Attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office wrote this great article on maintaining H-1B compliance procedures by employers.

If you are an H-1B employer, you need to be familiar with the H-1B regulations and Labor Condition Application (LCA) compliance procedures. Each employer petitioning for an H-1B worker has to file a Labor Condition Application, containing a number of employer’s attestations, which each employer has to abide by. The penalties for LCA violations are severe, ranging from payment of back wages and civil money penalties to debarment from the H-1B program.

Many employers filing H-1B petitions are unfamiliar with the compliance measures that can, unfortunately, lead to employer’s sanctions.

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The Obama Administration’s Immigration announcement is not an Amnesty program. The consumer advisory from AILA put out a warning stating that:

Do not believe anyone who tells you they can sign you up for a work permit (Employment Authorization Document or “EAD”) or get you legal status based on the Secretary Nepolitano’s August 18, 2011 announcement. Anyone who says that is not to be trusted. There is no “safe” way to turn yourself in to immigration and there is no guarantee that your case will be considered “low priority.” any person who comes into contact with immigration authorities may be arrested, detained or even removed. Only a qualified immigration lawyer can evaluate your case and tell your about your rights. Do not seek legal advice from a notario or immigration consultant.

The Obama Administration announcement is not an amnesty, it is not about granting legal status, and it is not something that you can sign-up for. The Obama Administration made very clear that the announcements do not provide any way to “apply” for a work permit or “EAD” nor is there a new way to apply to remain in the United States. The change announced is not about giving people work permits or legal status. The announcement applies ONLY to cases already in the system, ensuring that low priority cases do not continue to clog up an already overburdened immigration court system.

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Attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office has prepared this article on acquiring U.S. citizenship through parents where the individual is born abroad.

In certain situations, a person who was born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent and who has been living abroad for years may have acquired U.S. citizenship at birth without even knowing so. Sometimes, the clients have not even met their U.S. citizen parent/s.

Often times, we are asked a question on whether an adult person who was born abroad to a U.S. citizen mother or father can obtain U.S. citizenship.

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