Immigration Law Blog

Immigrants don't want to become citizens.

The number of eligible immigrants submitting citizenship applications continues to increase. Due to huge backlogs in the system, the majority of applicants must wait years to hear a decision. Several factors determine an immigrant's eligibility, and meeting all of the requirements is not easy. In order to apply for naturalization, immigrants must pass background checks, verify they have paid their taxes, take a U.S. history and civics test, and prove they have resided in the United States (with lawful permanent resident status) for five years, among other regulations. In fact, only 7 percent of Hispanic immigrants surveyed as part of a Pew Hispanic Center study said they didn't want to become citizens.

Immigrants Won't Learn English.

Immigrants to the U.S. may not speak fluent English right away, but polls show that after 15 years, 75 percent of first generation immigrants speak English proficiently. The ability to speak the language increases significantly with succeeding generations: 91 percent and 97 percent of second and third generation immigrant families, respectively, speak English.

Immigrants don't pay taxes.

Despite the fact that most immigrants are unable to benefit from federal and federal-state assistance programs, the majority pay income tax or have taxes withheld from their paychecks; all immigrants pay sales and property taxes. Both legal and undocumented immigrants can't claim social security benefits, a tax refund or other welfare benefits.

Immigrants bring crime to the areas in which they settle.

The Immigration and Naturalization Act allows citizens and permanent residents of the United States to sponsor family members abroad for immigration to the U.S.  The relatives must be direct relatives, and their sponsors must commit to supporting them financially.

A petitioner may apply on behalf of a son, daughter, husband, wife, parent, brother or sister.  In many cases, these relatives may bring along dependents, such as a spouse or unmarried children under 21.

What Paperwork Is Required?

The sponsor begins by filing a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, which contains basic information about the identity of the sponsor and the relative seeking to immigrate.  The sponsor must also complete a Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, agreeing to be financially responsible for the relative.  

Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bars individuals from entry in the United States for a variety of reasons.  These include terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG). 

Regardless of whether a person is coming to the U.S for tourism or employment, and regardless of whether he or she has married a U.S. citizen or won a visa lottery, TRIG may bar entry completely.

Types of Terrorism-Related Activities That May Be Covered

Terrorism-related activities include some that are violent and illegal, others that involve association with and support of causes or people involved in terrorism.  For example, a person who engages in terrorist acts, who has received military training from a terrorist organization, who has incited terrorist activity, or who has endorsed or espoused terrorism would be inadmissible.  So too would a spouse or child of anyone who engaged in terrorist activity during the preceding five years.

The INA's definition of terrorist activity covers various types of sabotage, assassination, kidnapping, hijacking, and other acts commonly associated with terror. 

Studies reveal that nearly half of all marriages in the United States end in a divorce. With these staggering numbers, it may seem that divorce is a rather simple proceeding. When immigration is involved, however, a divorce may not only dissolve a marriage but it may also jeopardize one partner’s ability to remain in the country.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 237(a)(1)(G)(i): a person can be deported for marriage fraud if the person was married less than 2 years prior to obtaining Legal Permanent Residence(LPR) status, and the marriage was judicially annulled or terminated within 2 years of LPR entry. Under these guidelines, most marriages must span at least four years or the immigrant spouse may risk deportation once the divorce is finalized.

Please be advised that Policy Guidance for the validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, is being revised by USCIS.  USCIS officers use Form I-693 to determine whether an applicant for an immigration benefit in the United States is inadmissible under the health-related grounds of inadmissibility.  As of November 1, 2018, the updated policy will go into effect.

As such, applicants filing an underlying application (i.e. Form I-485 for adjustment of status) will be required to submit Forms I-693 signed by a civil surgeon no more than 60 days before submission of filing.  This will allow for a two-year period of validity following the civil surgeon’s signature date. Although USCIS will continue to retain the current two-year maximum validity period, a more effective way of calculating the validity period will be implemented in order to enhance operational efficiencies and reduce the number of requests to applicants for an updated Form I-693, including the reduction of delays in adjudicating underlying applications based on fewer requests for updated forms.

Proponents of strict immigration laws often state that stricter laws can significantly reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the US.  However, according to a study released by the Center for American Progress, increasing regulation will not necessarily drive America’s estimated 10 million unauthorized immigrants out of the country. The study “Staying Put but Still in the Shadows: Undocumented Immigrants Remain in the Country Despite Strict Laws” instead suggests that several other factors influence whether unauthorized immigrants stay or leave.

According to the study, proponents of “attrition through enforcement,” a measure whereby law enforcement puts into effect strict measures against unauthorized immigrants to encourage them to leave, are mistaken in their basic premise. The basic idea of “attrition through enforcement” revolves around making life miserable enough for unauthorized migrants that they “self-deport” to their home country. But the authors of the study argue that such restrictive measures against unauthorized migrants are not only costly – they’re ineffective. Instead, the measures “complicate” already-tense relationships between law enforcement agencies and unauthorized immigrants.

Adopting a child from a foreign country can be an incredible experience for both the parent and the child but it is not an easy process.  Even after the exhausting process of finding the right child, the adopting parents must work with officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department in order to bring the child home to the U.S.

There are three different ways for U.S. citizens to adopt a child internationally. They are Hague, Orphan (Non-Hague) and adopting an immediate relative. The Hague process applies to children who are in countries that are a party to the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention. The Orphan process applies to children who are in countries that are not a party to the Hague Convention.

The K-1 nonimmigrant visa is commonly referred to as the fiancé visa. The fiancé visa exists to allow United States citizens bring a foreign fiancé to the United States to be married. To bring your fiancé to the United States, you must first file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé. Once the Form I-129F is filed, it will be reviewed and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will likely request evidence or completion of any details that are missing or incorrectly filled out. After the petitioner (the U.S. citizen filing the Form I-129F) has responded to any requests for evidence or additional information, the USCIS will deliberate on the decision and then notify the petitioner whether the petition has been granted. Same sex couples should note that they can apply for a fiancé visa in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act.

The previously announced temporary suspension of cap-subject H-1B petitions has recently been extended by USCIS to February 19, 2019. The suspension is also now expanded, beginning September 11, 2018, to include petitions not subject to the H-1B cap, including H-1B “transfer”/change of employer petitions and extension petitions with the same employer where there has been a change in the terms of the employment.

USCIS will continue to Premium Process H-1B petitions that are not currently suspended if the petitioner properly filed the petition with an associated Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing) before Sept 11, 2018 and will refund Premium Processing fees if the Petitioner filed before September 11, 2018 but USCIS did not adjudicate the case within the 15-calendar day processing period.  While the suspension is in effect, Forms I-907 filed with H-1B petitions will be rejected.

Illegally entering the United States, or remaining within the United States without legal status, is a civil offense that carries penalties of removal and potentially fines. However, illegally reentering the United States is a criminal offense punishable by fines and imprisonment. The following sections will define illegal reentry, explain the penalties associated with illegal reentry, and identify common defenses to charges of illegal reentry.

What is Illegal Reentry?

Under Title 8 U.S.C. Section 1326, it is illegal for someone who “has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding, and thereafter,” to enter or attempt to enter the United States. Thus, illegal reentry is being in the United States after the United States government has taken an affirmative action to exclude or remove the alien.