Immigration QA

During the recent upsurge by ICE in Minneapolis, a few common themes have arisen in my immigration law practice that both frustrate and educate.  I've also  learned that I'm equally vulnerable to emotion-based fears and lashing out as anyone, despite possessing  the actual knowledge and tools to act. So after profuse apologies to some people around me, I "started a list."  Here's what I, as an immigration attorney, believe could stem ICE arrests and/or strengthen a deportation defense. I welcome additional suggestions.  PS I’ve actually stopped saying "undocumented," because lots of people with legitimate immigration processes are being unjustly arrested by ICE, as well as U.S. citizens. T hese practical actions can make a true difference in a noncitizen's life: Emotional Support. Specifically: Assurance of friendship, love, compassion, and trust. Starting with listening is often helpful. Privacy is paramount . Calm nerves, first with oneself and the...

Recently I posted a poll asking if people had heard of the video game Don’t Tax Me Bro. I asked, because the video game reminded me of a phone call I received regarding renunciation of one’s US citizenship. A US citizen, who I assumed from his Midwest accent had grown up in Minnesota, wanted an immigration lawyer to renounce his U.S. citizenship.  He explained that people in his church had been doing this because they were tired of paying taxes. “I’m a businessman, see, and pay a lot of taxes.”  So he wanted to hire an immigration lawyer to get that done. I have to admit this was a new one for me. In my previous life as a lawmaker, I encountered people all the time that didn’t want to pay taxes—AT ALL—regardless of the benefits they receive for living in America.  If someone would like a list of those benefits in a different post just holler.. Let’s just say, I’m of the belief that freedom isn’t free.  But it is one’s right to advocate for zero taxes if they wish, an...

  My translation service friends have been in my mind lately. Not sure why, maybe because a recent case required both an Arabic and French document translation.  From time to time I enjoy a chuckle from a funny interpreting experience some years ago. The matter involved an urgent need for spoken Gujarati, and no professional service was immediately available. I asked a local aide society if they could find someone who spoke Gujarati, and they heartily agreed.  When the interpreter arrived he spoke beautiful Gujarati with my client. Small problem: he couldn’t speak a word of English back to me!  Basic lesson: make sure your interpreter is fluent in BOTH languages! Lol!

I was recently asked what I'd like non-immigration attorneys to know about the practice of immigration law. The first thing that came to mind is it's complexity.  This is not to say other areas of law are not incredibly complex, but a flavor of what a typical immigration lawyer encounters may be enlightening for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. In a landmark decision expanding rights of noncitizens regarding proper immigration advice before a guilty plea, the U.S. Supreme Court specifically stated, “Immigration law can be complex, and it is a legal specialty of its own.” Padilla v Kentuck y (2010).  The court was right to underscore this, and it’s understandable how many can overlook just how complex immigration law is. For example, different “legal statuses” exist for noncitizens depending on their purpose of entry. There are temporary entries ranging from visitor or student, to refugee and myriad of narrowly defined occupations.  Then there is Legal Permanent Residency, o...

I think most immigration advocates agree it's been a mixed bag.  There were immediate reversals of SOME of President Trump's most anti-immigration executive orders, but not all.  Suprising, given President Biden's pro-immigrant rhetoric. One example is the refugee moratorium, which the administration declined to lift until there was a public outcry.  Another is the many months it took the AG to recind the onerous Castro-Tum decision, which imposed procedural restrictions on immigration judges.   I myself had a client who grew up in the US but was deported under Castro-Tum rule, even though the immigration judge HERSELF ruled he was eligible for a U Visa. Before Castro-Tum, he could have stayed in America waiting for its approval. Under Castro-Tum, he was deported to a life in Mexico he's never known.  How many countless noncitizens were unfairly deported while Merrick Garland delayed this no-brainer move? Castro-Tum should have been rescinded the day he was conf...

The 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, has issued  immigration changes on his inaugural day .  His transition organization issued a fact sheet laying out many executive orders to sign as he steps into the White House for the first time as U.S. President, including several immigration policies.  UPDATE 01/21/21: Those executive orders and actions are now in effect and their language can be found on the White House web page or this link . Day-1 executive orders orders are commonly prepared and signed by all modern U.S. Presidents.  Some are meant to reinforce the new President's priorities, and some are to temporarily suspend the previous President's orders, especially prior agency regulations that have not yet been finalized and may be cancelled by the President/agency heads. President Biden's inaugural schedule includes primarily ceremonial visits.  But once he arrives at his new abode for the next four years, he will step into the oval office...

UPDATE06/17/2020:  BREAKING: US government denial of COVID relief to noncitizen students has been blocked by a judge. Check with your DSO! In a letter to colleges last April, the Education Department advised colleges to only give relief funds to students who typically qualify for federal financial aid, excluding international students and beneficiaries of DACA. The letter was not binding at the time. In May, the California community college system filed a lawsuit against the DOE alleging that DeVos exceeded her authority in barring colleges to give aid to whom they please. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted an injunction blocking the Department of Education from enforcing their CARES Act guidance on June 17, 2020. The proposed rule will be up for public comment for 30-days until July 17. During this time period, anyone from the public can file a comment on regulations.gov for the agency to consider. Once the rule is finalized, it will be binding on co...

AN ATTORNEY RECENTLY ASKED ME: "A friend asked me to review a retainer agreement from a law firm representing both the noncitizen employee from Turkey and the sponsoring employer.  The agreement says that, in the event a conflict, the attorney could choose which party to continue representing and that any and all information learned during the course of application's representation would no longer be privileged.  For persons attempting to obtain a work visa, is it common practice to hire a firm that plays matchmaker between applicant and employer?  If the relationship/arrangement goes south, what, if any, remedies does the applicant, as a non-citizen, have against the law firm and/or the employer?" ANSWER:  Dual representation is indeed a reality in several types of immigration scenarios. In the employment-based immigration setting, many applications must originate from an employer seeking the government’s permission to hire a foreign nati...

Could you win a duel for your immigration status? On this date in 1804,  U.S. Vice President, Aaron Burr , mortally wounded former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.  The two had once been friends, but a long history of conflict spawned largely by their clashing political ambitions set them at odds. The bad blood may have started in 1791, when Burr replaced Philip Schuyler , Hamilton's father-in-law, in the United States Senate.  In 1800 Burr very nearly won the presidency, tying Thomas Jefferson with 73 electoral votes, and Hamilton—who disliked both Jefferson and Burr, but distrusted Burr more—worked hard to ensure that Jefferson emerged the victor when the election was thrown into the U.S. House of Representatives. Hamilton similarly labored to defeat Burr's bid for the governorship of New York when it became evident that Jefferson meant to drop Burr as vice-president after one term.  ...

Farruko was arrested for not declaring more than $10K to U.S. Customs. That's the Question When Bringing Money into the U.S. This week, the reggaeton music artist, Farruko, was arrested and charged for failing to declare the import of more than $10K into the U.S.  Had he simply stated on his customs card that he had $54K, Farruko fans would've been Chillax-ing at his next gig with Ky-Mani Marley as we write this. Readers of Chaudhary Immigration Attorney's  blog, however, have the benefit of legal advice that Farruko apparently did not.  So, in the singer's words, listen to "Lo question Yo Diga"(What I Have to Say): 1. It is NOT illegal to bring more than $10,000 into the U.S. 2. Bringing more than $10,000 into the U.S. is NOT subject to any extra duty (on its own). 3. Such money is not necessarily reported to the IRS without other relevant concerns. Now, although this is a common myth, it is not without government blame.  Just reading I...

New H1B Visa for FY19 Cap Filled in 5 Days. And just like that, the cap is full. Well, that did escalate fast didn't it? The  USCIS announced this morning that it has received more new H1B visa applications than it can approve under law for FY19.  Although not explicitly stated, previous practice tells us that USCIS has now ostensibly begun a "lottery" process for selecting which applications it will even consider for approval or denial, and which applications will be returned with their filing fee checks uncashed.  Actually, the timeline for this announcement, five days after applications were allowed to be filed, is about the same as previous years as well.  Chaudhary Immigration Attorneys  also filed new, Cap-subject H1B petition on behalf of clients this year.  Our practice is to ensure petitions arrive at USCIS on the first day applications were accepted, this year being this past Monday, April 2.  Fingers crossed now that they will b...

If you're in IT, foreign or not, sit up and read this. In 2016, Time Magazine listed the  20 Best Songs to Wake Up To.   Don't ask me how Hit the Quan made the list.  In immigration news, however, the Trump administration just issued a policy memo that should wake up every IT manager in America, whether or not they employ noncitizens.  To be sure, every IT Consultant involved with H1B visas should sit up and read this. As of today, the USCIS has "clarified" the  Policy Requirements for Third-Party Worksite H-1B's , i.e. IT consultancies.  I put "clarified" in quotes because, although the new memo mostly restates the current law and requirements for H1B visas (not altogether unneeded by the way), there are several subtle and not so subtle hints regarding the way off-site employee H1B visas will be treated in the Trump administration.  This amounts to new H1B policy just as we enter the season of annual new H1B filings. SUMMARY Less deferenc...

You Do Have Choices In Your Immigration Destiny Last year the USCIS announced new scrutiny for third party IT consultancies.  As part of the priority given to combating fraud in employment-based immigration programs, USCIS issued a policy targeting site visits in certain sectors that commonly receive H1B visas and have shown more than average propensities for fraud and abuse.  These included circumstances where an employer's basic business information could not easily verified, employers with a high ratio of H1B workers, and--the topic of this post--employers who send their H1B workers off-site to work for another company (i.e. "IT consultants"). See the announcement here:  USCIS: Combating Fraud And Abuse in the H-1B Visa Program . So then, almost a year later, what have been the results?  The answer is at the moment is hard to tell.  Today, the USCIS recycled their year-old announcement on Twitter, without amendment let alone report, on the succes...