Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Citizenship

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Several thousand immigration rights advocates marched in Los Angeles, San Diego and hundreds gathered in the rain in San Francisco on Friday, but crowds in California appeared much smaller than in previous May Day demonstrations.

Marches in downtown Los Angeles took on a festive atmosphere with people carrying signs and banging drums while vendors sold food, cotton candy and ice cream from pushcarts with ringing bells. One group walked to a building housing federal immigration offices and blared salsa music from loudspeakers.

Immigrants and supporters in San Francisco’s Dolores Park hoped to keep immigration reform on Obama’s agenda. They held signs calling for amnesty for undocumented immigrants and an end to immigration enforcement raids. Many argued that allowing undocumented immigrants to become citizens and take a more active role in the economy will improve the country’s financial outlook. Dozens of students participated, many calling for passage of the DREAM Act, which was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate in March, and would make undocumented immigrants brought into the U.S. under the age of 15 eligible for in-state tuition.

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Certainly more good news in the Immigration arena. According to the LA TimesThe College Board is supporting legislation that would offer some undocumented youths a path to citizenship through college or the military.

The association best known for the SAT and AP tests it administers is stepping into the contentious issue for the first time, just as President Obama is signaling that he may encourage lawmakers to overhaul immigration laws this year. The board’s trustees have voted unanimously to support the legislation, known as the Dream Act.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The “DREAM Act”) is a piece of proposed federal legislation that was introduced in the US Senate, and the US House of Representatives in March 26, 2009. This bill would provide certain immigrant students who graduate from US high schools, are of good moral character, arrived in the US as children, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. The students will obtain temporary residency for a lapse of six years. Within the six year period, a qualified student must attend college, and earn a two year degree, or serve in the military for two years in order to earn citizenship after the six years period. If student does not comply with either his/her college requirement or military service requirement, temporary residency will be taken away and student will be subjected to deportation.

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Living in a border city like San Diego we hear stories like this one from time to time. The AP report about Pedro Guzman has been an American citizen all his life. Yet in 2007, the 31-year-old Los Angeles native — in jail for a misdemeanor, mentally ill and never able to read or write — signed a waiver agreeing to leave the country without a hearing and was deported to Mexico as an illegal immigrant.

For almost three months, Guzman slept in the streets, bathed in filthy rivers and ate out of trash cans while his mother scoured the city of Tijuana, its hospitals and morgues, clutching his photo in her hand. He was finally found trying to cross the border at Calexico, 100 miles away.

In a drive to crack down on illegal immigrants, the United States has locked up or thrown out dozens, probably many more, of its own citizens over the past eight years. A monthslong AP investigation has documented 55 such cases, on the basis of interviews, lawsuits and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. These citizens are detained for anything from a day to five years. Immigration lawyers across the nation say there are actually hundreds of such cases.

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We are reporting constantly on this program. As many of you know, On 23 February the United States Army initiated a pilot test that allows the enlistment of certain legal non citizens with foreign language abilities under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest

(MAVNI) Recruitment Pilot. This test is for individuals who live in New York City area.

We now have the official questions the Military is sending as part of the initial screening for MAVNI. In the mean to initiate faster processing of requests, applicants are encouraged to answer the following qualifying questions that will assist in expediting the records.

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Recently President Obama told the lawmakers that he will travel next month to Mexico to discuss escalating violence from drug cartels and immigration with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, White House officials said. During the campaign, Obama supported a comprehensive overhaul of immigration policy, including creation of a possible path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding.

President Obama has yet to tackle the issue, as his administration has grappled with the economic crisis and an increasingly crowded agenda in his two months in office. Obama said that he will work immigration system in a similar way that he has rolled out other major policy initiatives. There will be a public forum on immigration, possibly within the next two months. At that forum, key principles of a legislative package would be unveiled. We will keep our readers posted.

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We continue the updates on the MAVNI program. Through MAVNI, the U.S. Armed Forces will recruit nationwide for health care professionals and in New York City for those fluent in certain languages.

Health care professionals will have the choice between a three-year contractual active duty tour or a six-year commitment to serving in the military’s Selected Reserve. Both physicians and nurses may seek enlistment through MAVNI as health care professionals.

MAVNI language recruits must enlist for a minimum four-year contractual active duty tour. Applicants should make sure that they fully understand this commitment, and any other standard requirements beyond these time frames that apply when enlisting in the U.S. Army.

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Ever since the military released information about MAVNI, the new Citizenship opportunity, potential applicants are anxious to learn more about this unique program. The Defense Department has authorized the U.S. Army to implement, under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program, a test that permits the enlistment of certain legal aliens into the U.S. Army.

To be eligible for consideration, one must be legally present in the United States, and able to provide a passport, I-94 card, I-797 form, employment authorization document or other government issued documents proving legal presence in the United States.

Today I had a chance to speak in detail with the MAVNI military coordinator about the process of applying for this program. The information I was able to gather is as follows:

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Martin Miles Ulsano, age 7, the child of a member of the U.S. Navy, today recited the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony held here in the Chapel of Hope. In doing so, he became the newest citizen of the United States, and the first child naturalized overseas.

The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2008 permits children of U.S service members to receive their citizenship overseas where their parent is stationed even though the child may never have been in the United States. Previous immigration law required these children to be physically present within the United States to naturalize.

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On November 25, 2008, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates signed a memorandum authorizing the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to implement a new non-citizen recruiting pilot program for the United States Armed Forces. Titled “Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest” (MAVNI), the new pilot program allows certain non-citizens who are legally present in the United States to join the military and apply immediately for US citizenship without first obtaining lawful permanent residence.

The US Army MAVNI recruiting program, which seeks to recruit health care professionals and persons who speak certain strategic languages, began on Monday, February 23, 2009.

Under the MAVNI program, the Army is not sponsoring anyone for a visa or green card or authorizing anyone to enter the United States for the purpose of enlistment. This program is not available to persons who are overseas. Instead, MAVNI allows certain aliens who are already legally present in the United States to enlist. Under the Army’s rules, all MAVNI recruits must pass an English test and score 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT).

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Pro-immigrant advocates believe the Obama administration will have a window of opportunity between this September and March 2010 to shepherd a comprehensive immigration package that will provide a path to legalization for an estimated 12 million undocumented residents, strengthen border security and help the ailing economy.

Part of their optimism is attributed to the large Latino vote that broke for Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio in key states like Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.

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