Immigration QA

There has been an important recent development in the fight against notario fraud. I want to thank the Washington County Attorney and Kevin Magnuson for pursuing this matter and charging the above-pictured perpetrators.  Unfortunately, this case represents only the tip of the iceberg. In my professional practice, I am acutely aware of noncitizens with strong, legally viable immigration cases who are now facing deportation—not because they were ineligible, but because nonlawyers posing as immigration professionals took their money and filed unsubstantiated or even falsified applications on their behalf. Had these individuals worked with a licensed immigration attorney from the start, many could have entered or remained in the United States legally. What is especially troubling is that some of these notarios charge more than qualified lawyers. A common refrain I hear is, “You don’t need a lawyer unless there’s a problem.” Unfortunately, immigration law does not work that way. When...

La cantidad de consejos legales que se dan en TikTok es alarmante. Si su hijo estuviera enfermo, ¿acudiría a TikTok para pedir consejo médico o iría a un médico?  A veces tengo que informar a las personas que una opción de inmigración no está disponible para su caso. La gente dice: "Pero mis amigos obtuvieron sus papeles de esa manera". Cuando alguien dice esto, siempre les pido a sus amigos o familiares que me muestren cómo lo hicieron. Si me equivoco, con gusto cambio de opinión. Pero hasta ahora eso nunca ha sucedido. En primer lugar, circulan muchos rumores sobre lo que es posible, y esos rumores no son ciertos. En segundo lugar, la situación de cada persona es diferente. Por eso, cuando alguien me llama, hago muchas preguntas sobre su situación particular para ver si la ley puede ayudarle. TikTok no es un bufete de abogados. Los notarios no son abogados. Aquí, los abogados deben tener licencia y, si engañan a sus clientes, se les puede revocar la licencia. Sí, hay malos ...

One way to reduce delays in an immigration application is to ensure a properly formatted passport photo. Here in the US, it’s not as difficult because you’re typical Walgreens or CVS knows exactly what a passport photo should look like. They have the white background set up and Paper cutters set to the precise 2 x 2 square size. However, when people send me photos from foreign countries, the results very widely. Photos will be one by 1 inch, have a blue background, improper, head and shoulder proportions, etc. If a passport photo is required for an immigration application and such a photo is submitted, the entire application can (and often is) be rejected. I don’t know why they can’t simply process the star processing the application and then send a notice to provide new passport photos. In the vein of Bob Weber, I think there is a Tamata mentality.Keep in mind, that an application can take a a week to arrive at the USCIS, and anothercouple weeks to just to begin processing. if it does...

Did you know you can rent your own personal vault in an actual bank?  A young man called me today because he needs a new Social Security card, but can’t prove U.S. citizenship with merely a copy of the  certificate. He lamented the $500 application fee to replace it. I don’t blame him.  But the point remains: Lack of essential documentation is a frequent root cause of immigration (and life) problems.  Safe deposit boxes are a reliable way to store documents like birth certificates, naturalization certificates, passports, wills, family heirlooms, and Social Security cards. See link below. Non-citizens in particular should start to use them as well as fireproof safes that can be gotten for relatively cheap off Amazon and Walmart. This is particularly so in the initial stages of immigration when non-citizens tend to move frequently, increasing the chance for loss. I think it’s important to begin educating on documentation preservation. PS I don’t agree with some critici...

Credit Reuters Happy days to the Indian national cricket team, taking its first grand title of a T20 World Cup.  A nearly blemish-free record by most accounts. By the way, this year was also America's first serious ICC Cricket tournament on home turf. The U.S. team actually won enough games to qualify for the 2026  T20 World Cup  in Sri Lanka and India! This rather reminds me of U.S. immigration law.  This is because, in addition to the many requirements for U.S. naturalization, applicants must have what is called Good Moral Character (GMC). This can be a highly discretionary standard used as a catch-all for a derogatory past that may not be technically disqualifying. Some people think it only matters for the previous five years. This is not true. For clients without a blemish on their record, I don’t submit proof of GMC.  For those that do, I work hard to prove this up.  So what is considered a blemish?  This must be examined early in a client screeni...

  Extensions can be beautiful yet complicated. Like hair extensions, H1B extensions can be a very good thing, but are complicated to achieve.  To be sure, both require particular attention. Recently I received some questions about extending an H1B visa. BACKGROUND An H1B, or "H1," visa is a temporary visa allowing a company to petition for a noncitizen with a bachelor's degree or higher to work for the business on specific project whose occupation requires such a degree. Most often it is used for S.T.E.M. occupations, but that is not required.  There is an annual cap on these visas and competition is high to just be allowed to apply for the H1.  Once approved, one can work on an H1B visa for up to six years before needing to go through the "cap" process again. However, an H1B is usually only approved for one to three years, requiring a company to apply for an extension that proves a project still exists for the noncitizen to work on. Also, if a company sponsors ...