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Woman Given Advanced Permission to Travel was Deported on her Return to the U.S.

Lesly Cortez-Martinez, an undocumented mother of 3 United States citizen children, was deported last week after the United States granted her advanced permission to travel to Mexico.  Ms. Cortez-Martinez immigrated to the United States at the age of 15 with her family and was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.  Before traveling to Mexico she requested advanced travel permission from the United States government to allow her to visit her family in Mexico and return to the United States.

When Ms. Cortez-Martinez attempted to return from visiting her family and re-enter the United States last week at Chicago O’Hare International Airport immigration authorities detained her due to a 2004 deportation order that was in Ms. Cortez-Martinez’s immigration history.  Despite having the advanced permission to travel, Ms. Cortez-Martinez was deported back to Mexico because of this 2004 deportation order.

After national outrage at the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to deport Ms. Cortez-Martinez, she was allowed to re-enter the United States and be reunited with her husband and three children.  The Department of Homeland Security has stated that Ms. Cortez-Martinez will likely be placed into deportation proceedings after her return.  Ms. Cortez-Martinez’s experience raises significant concerns for other noncitizens who have been granted advanced travel permission and highlights the risks involved in international travel plans on advanced parole.

Before international travel, and especially for those who are traveling on advanced parole, noncitizens should consult with an experienced immigration attorney to discuss the risks involved in their travel before departing the United States.

 

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin No Comments

D.C. Federal Court Grants 90 Day STEM Extension

The United States District Court sitting in D.C. ordered that the lawsuit regarding the 17 month STEM OPT extension be stayed further until May 10, 2016.  This means that foreign nationals on STEM OPT may continue to work and their work authorization will remain valid and not impacted by this lawsuit until at least May 10, 2016.

At present, students who graduate with a qualified Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) degree, and are currently in an approved post-completion OPT period based on their designated STEM degree, may apply for a 17-month STEM extension of their post-completion OPT.  Subsequently, a proposed rule by the Department of Homeland Security sought to extend the available STEM OPT time to a total of 36 months.  However, this past year a lawsuit was brought against the Department of Homeland Security alleging that the original 17 month STEM extension was invalid because the rule was proposed without going through proper notice and comment rulemaking.  Because of this lawsuit, countless foreign nationals working pursuant to their STEM OPT have been unsure if their work permission will continue to be valid and if so for how long.  Additionally, potential STEM OPT applicants have been unsure if they are able to gain work permission under STEM OPT in the future.  Stern & Curray will continue to monitor the status of the STEM OPT lawsuit and will post the most up-to-date information on our blog.  Stay tuned!

 

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 10,924 Comments

Ken Stern & Emily White Recognized as Top Lawyers

We are proud to share that partners Ken Stern and Emily Assunta White were recognized as Top Lawyers in the field of Immigration Law by 5280 Magazine. Both Ken and Emily were also listed in the 2015 rankings. Attorneys are selected by collecting votes from thousands of Denver area lawyers along with additional research by 5280.

Congratulations, Ken and Emily, for this well-deserved honor!

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 96 Comments

Wave of Noncitizens with Final Removal Orders Arrested for Deportation

Over the New Year the Department of Homeland Security carried out an aggressive sweep and arrested 121 noncitizens for deportation. These noncitizens are largely asylum seekers who fled to the United States from Central American last summer. Many of them were residing in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, and all of them were subject to final orders of removal for failing to win their asylum cases before the immigration courts. According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, this large-scale deportation effort is intended deter other immigrants from crossing the US border without permission. While no other raids have been announced, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s official position is to conduct daily immigration enforcement.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 590 Comments

Theresa A. Vogel Becomes Partner

Stern & Curray is delighted to announce that Theresa A. Vogel has become a Partner. Theresa represents clients in all aspects of business immigration law, focusing on temporary employment visas for professionals, investors, and intra-company transferees, as well as permanent residence. She represents diverse employers and employees from multinational corporations, universities, research institutions, small businesses, and entrepreneurial investors. She also advises clients on I-9 compliance and has successfully assisted large corporate employers in responding to audits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Theresa draws upon her prior experience in civil litigation developing “big picture” case strategy and creative solutions to complicated legal issues. “Since Theresa joined the firm in 2013, she has continued to impress us with her innovative strategies which she has used to win some particularly challenging cases,” said Emily Curray, Managing Partner of Stern & Curray.

Theresa completed her law degree at The Catholic University of America-Columbus School of Law with a concentration in International and Comparative Law. Previously, she worked as a Research Assistant with the Jagiellonian University Human Rights Centre in Krakow, Poland where she taught courses on human rights and refugee law and implemented projects funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Congratulations, Theresa, on this important achievement!

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 161 Comments

Congress Passes Omnibus Spending Bill

Last week, Congress passed a $1.15 trillion omnibus spending bill to prevent a government shutdown and fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year.  This spending bill also contained several provisions which impact immigration law and policy.

In particular, the spending bill funds the Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, an office within the Department of Justice that administers the nation’s immigration court system.  The recently passed bill provides funding for EOIR to hire approximately 55 new immigration judges.  Funding for new immigration judges was desperately needed, as significant backlogs currently exist across the country’s immigration courts.

In addition, the spending bill incorporates the Visa Wavier Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.  This bill eliminates the Visa Waiver Program for individuals who live in Visa Waiver Program countries but are also nationals of Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Sudan.  This ban also includes individuals who have traveled to these countries in the recent past.  The Visa Waiver Program authorizes citizens of specific countries to travel to the United States for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa.  At present there are 38 countries that are designated as Visa Wavier Program countries.

Lastly, the spending bill modified the H-2B visa program for seasonal and temporary workers.  Now, a foreign H-2B worker who has been issued an H-2B cap number in the past 3 years can return to their position in the United States without being issued a new cap number.  The H-2B cap is currently set at 66,000 visas.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 101 Comments

Federal Judge Denies Texas’ Request to Ban Syrian Refugees

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission filed suit against the Obama Administration and a refugee resettlement nonprofit, asking a federal judge to stop the federal government from sending resettled Syrian refugees to Texas out of concern that potential terrorists may be admitted along with refugees.  In particular, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission sought to stop resettlement of Syrian refugees until a hearing was held to further define specific conditions that must be satisfied before refugees could be resettled in Texas.

In his decision denying Texas’ request, U.S. District Court Judge Godbey held that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission “failed to show by competent evidence that any terrorists actually have infiltrated the refugee program, much less that these particular refugees are terrorists intent on causing harm.”  In finding that not enough evidence was produced to concluded that the refugees presented a danger to the Texas community, the request was denied and nine Syrian refugees will be relocated to Houston, Texas.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 46 Comments

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether to Hear Case on Obama’s Executive Action Programs

The long drawn-out battle for President Obama’s Executive Action programs such DAPA and Expanded DACA may be heard and decided this summer at the United States Supreme Court. These programs, which were announced more than one year ago, have been in limbo pending a lawsuit brought against the Obama Administration by 25 states led by Texas.  As a result of this lawsuit an injunction was ordered which stopped these programs from being put into place.  Now, if four of the nine Supreme Court Justices decide to accept this case it will likely be argued before the Court in April and decide by the end of June.  If the Court rules in the President’s favor, the injunction against the implementation of DAPA and Expanded DACA will finally be lifted and President Obama will see his Executive Action programs take effect before he leaves office.

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16 Countries Added to H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

The H-2A and H-2B visa programs have been expanded to include Andorra, Belgium, Brunei, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Singapore, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste. This update also resulted in Moldova being removed from the H-2B program list. H-2A and H-2B visas allow U.S. employers to petition for foreign nationals who will come to the United States to work in seasonal positions or temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs.  For more information on H-2A or H-2B visas please contact a Stern & Curray attorney.

 

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 32 Comments

Revised Welcome Guide for New Immigrants Available from USCIS

US Citizenship and Immigration Services recently released a revised guidance book titled “Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants.”  This publication can be downloaded for free at: http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-updates-welcome-guide-new-immigrants.

The updated guidebook is available in 14 languages and provides information such as how to get a social security number, paying taxes, and information about health insurance, education, and the United States’ system of government.

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