Month: February 2024

More information on the provisional waiver mentioned in my post yesterday.

Yesterday, I had the honor of celebrating with two of my favorite clients after their U.S. citizenship swearing-in ceremony.  The Mrs. is a recent cancer survivor.  She is an amazing lady.  My life has been enriched by meeting her, her husband, and frankly, all of my clients.  During our celebration lunch, we shared life stories and talked about motherhood.  I…

I am intrigued by this case of a 24-year-old adopted by a U.S. citizen who may be deported.  Apparently, the adoption was not legal or something went wrong in the process.  The 24-year-old was arrested after a DUI incident and discovered through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he had no immigration status.  The man’s mother believed that her father…

There are still unanswered questions regarding the proposed rule that will allow spouses and children of U.S. citizens to await the pendency of a provisional waiver for unlawful presence in the U.S.  For example, what happens if the waiver is denied?  Will the applicant be placed in removal proceedings?  Also, the rule change will not expand the applicant pool for…

I recommend “A Better Life,” a movie about illegal immigration and a father’s struggle to provide the best for his child.  From the director of  “About a Boy” and “New Moon,” the movie’s star, Demian Bichir, has been nominated in the Best Actor category for an Academy Award.  It is not light viewing, but it’s one of those movies that…

Thisproposed rule is a positive change that has been in the works for a while.  Currently, undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens cannot apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident within the U.S. because they have no proof of lawful entry.  They must leave the U.S. to consular process abroad, which most often renders them ineligible to…

Under section 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), and 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii), “Any alien who falsely represents, or has falsely represented, himself or herself to be a citizen of the United States for any purpose or benefit under this chapter (including section 1324a of this title) or any other Federal or State law is inadmissible.”  In other…

A Misssouri firm was indicted recently for selling USCIS forms that are available for free online to unsuspecting customers.  The company would charge the customer the amount of the USCIS filing fee to send them the forms.  Oftentimes, the customer would then send his or her application in to USCIS thinking that the filing fee was already paid.  This is…

This is a great editorial piece from David Leopold, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) about judicial resources and the broken immigration system.  A nugget of optimism: “there is a “signal [of] a major shift in the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence toward greater protection of immigrants’ rights.”