Author: SCwpadmin

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 586 Comments

DHS Expands the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver of Inadmissibility

DHS last week published a long-awaited final rule expanding eligibility for the provision unlawful presence waiver to include family members of lawful permanent residents.

Individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days trigger a three-year bar on reentering the country once they depart, or a ten-year bar if unlawfully present more than one year.  The unlawful presence waiver allows  individuals who are otherwise eligible to apply for an immigrant visa to waive this unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility if a qualifying family member will suffer extreme hardship in their absence. In 2013, USCIS created the “provisional” waiver, which allows individuals to apply for the waiver before departing the United States, avoiding lengthy separations from family members in the United States while the waiver is adjudicated. Until now, however, only U.S. citizen spouses or parents could serve as qualifying relatives for the purpose of the provisional waiver. Under the new rule, lawful permanent resident spouses and parents may also serve as qualifying family members for a provisional waiver. USCIS will begin accepting provisional unlawful presence waivers based on extreme hardship to LPR spouses and parents when the rule goes into effect on August 29, 2016.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 409 Comments

US – Mexico to Reevaluate Migration Crisis Response

The United States and Mexico make Commitments to Reevaluate the Strategy of Deterrence and Detention in Response to the Central American Migration Crisis

In early July, the United Nations refugee agency held a summit in Costa Rica on the Central American refugee crisis. The Summit gathered representatives from refugees’ countries of origin, transit and asylum countries, and NGO’s, addressed responses to the crisis and called for greater awareness and action regarding this issue affecting scores of migrants from the Northern Triangle region of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

At the end of the two-day meeting, participating nations offered commitments to a circulated document draft. Of particular note, the primary asylum countries, the United States and Mexico, have agreed to ensure the “timely identification and documentation, in particular at border areas, of persons in need of international protection” and to “implement, where possible, alternatives to detention.” The U.S., Mexico, and other contributors also agreed to set up a monitoring system on migrant displacement patterns.

These new commitments to reevaluating responses to the crisis come in the wake of the U.S. and Mexico largely pursuing strategies of deterrence, including the mass detention of migrant women and children, since the surges in Central American migration flows in 2014 and 2015. Following the pushback against such heavy-handed tactics by NGO’s, these latest steps by Mexico and the U.S. may signal the beginnings of a new strategy toward the plight of Central American migrants, and bode well given the UNHCR’s efforts to financially back closer monitoring of the situation in the region, as well as the planned migrants and refugees summit of the U.N. General Assembly on September 19, and a parallel summit organized by President Obama on September 20.

 

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 339 Comments

Friday Feels: Casa de Paz

If you need a some inspiration heading into this weekend, you need to read this recent feature in Westword magazine. The article highlights the amazing work being done by Sarah Jackson, founder of Casa de Paz, a nonprofit that provides housing, meals, visits, and transportation to families affected by immigrant detention. We should also add that Sarah Jackson was recently honored by the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) for her work to support immigrants.

Below is an excerpt from the article, to read the full piece, click here.

“The experience that had the biggest impact on Jackson, though, was meeting a man named Abel on the Mexican side of the border. Abel had grown up in the United States, and as far as he was concerned, Mexico was a foreign country. He only spoke English, and he hadn’t known that he was undocumented until he went to get a driver’s license at the age of sixteen.

“So they were deporting him ‘back home,’ but his home was the United States, because his parents brought him here when he was a child,” Jackson says.”

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin No Comments

Immigration-Related Fines to Increase on August 1st

In an effort to keep up with inflation and increase enforcement of immigration laws, the Department of Justice announced that they will be increasing the penalties for hiring unauthorized workers and unlawfully discriminating against immigrant workers. The penalty hikes were authorized by Congress as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, and will go into effect August 1, 2016.

The most significant increase is for mistakes and omissions on the Form I-9. The minimum penalty for I-9 paperwork violations will increase from $110 to $216, while the maximum penalty will more than double, from $1,000 to $2,156. Civil penalties will similarly increase for violations of the H-1B, H-2B and H-2A temporary worker programs, such as misrepresentations on labor certifications, displacing US workers, and violations related to wages and working conditions. With these higher penalties in place, it will be more important than ever for employers to work closely with experienced immigration attorneys to ensure that they are following the proper procedures and avoiding costly mistakes.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 101 Comments

Alcohol Incidents May Affect Visa Eligibility

Under U.S. immigration law certain medical, mental health and substance abuse issues are grounds of inadmissibility into the United States. As such, individuals who have certain diseases or who suffer from addiction to certain substances, including alcohol, may be denied a visa to enter the U.S. for any type of temporary stay, whether for work or pleasure. The U.S. Department of State recently announced that visa applicants who have been convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI or DWAI) during the five years prior to the visa application will be required to have a medical exam by a designated physician to determine if the individual suffers from a disease or addiction that renders him/her ineligible for the visa. Similarly, visa applicants who have had two such alcohol incidents within the 10 years prior to a visa application will be required to undergo the same exam process.

Furthermore, based on the new policy, the U.S. Department of State has begun to revoke visas of certain individuals who have already obtained them and may currently be in the U.S., with the result that such individuals would have to apply again for a visa in the event they depart the U.S., despite the current expiration date on their visa. At the very least, individuals who have a DUI or related alcohol conviction in their past should expect to be delayed abroad when applying for a visa at a U.S. Consulate. They should also be aware that they may be determined ineligible for the visa in which case their visa application would be denied. Please note that this rule has no effect on individuals who are lawfully present in the United States and do not depart the United States. Individuals who must travel internationally and have a DUI or related conviction in their past should seek counsel with an immigration attorney to understand the gravity of their situation and whether there are options such as a waiver of inadmissibility.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 62 Comments

OPT Extensions

Q&A of the Day: Can I Extend My 17 Month Stem Opt To 24 Months?

Yes, if you currently hold a STEM Employment Authorization Card you may apply to extend it for an additional 7 months, if:

  • You file when you have at least 150 days remaining on your current STEM EAD
  • You file by August 8, 2016

Your employer will need to complete the new I-93 form outlining a training plan and you will need to work with your DSO to prepare the filing.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 93 Comments

Colorado Repeals Employment Verification Law

Effective August 10, 2016, Colorado employers will no longer have to complete the state affirmation verifying employment authorization of new employees.  Similarly, they will no longer be required to keep a new employee’s identity and employment authorization document(s).  Governor  Hickenlooper recently signed into law a provision that repeals the verification requirements passed in 2006 during a special legislative session.

Employers are reminded that the verification law remains in place until August 10, 2016 so until then they must continue to complete the Colorado affirmation and retain documents.  Additionally, the law does not address whether employers are required to retain the legally completed affirmations and retained documents subsequent to August 10, 2016.  The conservative approach would be to retain them for the duration of the employee’s tenure as was originally required.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 673 Comments

Equally Divided Supreme Court in United States v. Texas Affirms Injunction of DAPA Program

The Supreme Court has finally announced its decision on the controversial case United States v. Texas (No. 15-674), and in effect, on the future of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program as well. This program was an attempt by the President, through executive action, to shield close to five million undocumented immigrants from deportation, while simultaneously allowing them to legally work, similar to the administration’s previous program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In a single statement per curium opinion however, the Court notes that the Fifth Circuit’s judgement–ordering an injunction of DACA’s expansion and DAPA’s launch–is “affirmed by an equally divided Court.” While the 4 to 4 deadlock means the injunction will remain in place, the precedential value of this decision going forward on jurisdictions outside of the Fifth Circuit is negligible at best, and ambiguous at worst. Whatever the ruling’s effect on the president’s authority to act unilaterally, it seems assured that President Obama’s successor will inherit the task of reworking the nation’s immigration system.

The President made a brief statement to press in response to the Court’s decision, available here.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 109 Comments

A New Parole Program for Caregiver Family Members of Filipino-American WWII Veterans

The Department of Homeland Security is developing a new parole program to allow eligible family members of Filipino and Filipino-American World War II veterans to bypass extensive waiting periods and enter the United States to provide much-needed care and support for their aging veteran family members in the United States.

Over 260,000 Filipino soldiers fought for the United States during World War II. Approximately 26,000 of these veterans became U.S. citizens following the war, and an estimated 6,000 Filipino-American WWII veterans still reside in the United States today. This ageing population increasingly requires home health care and assistance, and many wish to spend time with their family members during their final days. Unfortunately, due to statutory visa caps and administrative backlogs, family members of Filipino-Americans must wait decades to receive a visa to enter the United States and reunite with family members. A recent NPR program spoke with some of these veterans as well as their advocates about their experiences following WWII and the challenges they face without family members to help care for them.

Under the new parole program, USCIS would be authorized to permit these family members to enter the country for a temporary period of time to care for their veteran family members. These issuances of parole would be made by USCIS on a case-by-case basis, based on humanitarian concerns and significant public benefits. The parole program was proposed as part of President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration, and was detailed in the 2015 White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century. Although the agency has not begun accepting applications, USCIS expects the first group of parolees to enter the United States by the end of this year.

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 467 Comments

New Colorado Law Cracks Down on Notario Fraud

The Colorado Legislature recently passed a bill to protect immigrants and other Colorado residents from notario fraud. The Immigration Consultants Deceptive Trade Practice bill, HB16-1391, would prohibit deceptive practices among nonattorneys who provide immigration services. The bill targets notarios who fraudulently present themselves as legal representatives or attorneys for compensation. In many Spanish-speaking countries, a “notario” is an attorney or a highly-trained legal specialist. In the United States, however, a “notary public” is able to certify the authenticity of documents, but is not trained or licensed to provide legal assistance or represent individuals in court. Individuals who present themselves as notarios are able to use this mistranslation to take advantage of vulnerable immigrant populations, offering to provide immigration status, relief, or benefits to people regardless of their eligibility. This deception can carry serious, life-changing consequences. It costs immigrants thousands of dollars in charges and filing fees, prevents them from receiving immigration status, relief, or benefits in the future, and can lead to deportation and permanent bars on admission into the United States. Governor Hickenlooper is expected to sign the bill into law in the near future.

Colorado Public Radio recently spoke with the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Dan Pabon, along with victims of notario fraud. The full interview can be found here.

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