Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Deportation & Removal

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After a week full of outrage about the Arizona Immigration law, we are happy to report about an opposite spirit coming all the way from the state of New York.

Gov. David Paterson stepped into the immigration debate Monday, saying he would create the nation’s first “pardon panel” to investigate requests of legal immigrants facing deportation because of past convictions.

Paterson, proposing the measure as the nation is embroiled in conflict over an Arizona law that critics say would encourage racial profiling, said he would pardon immigrants if they meet requirements including rehabilitation and demonstrate they’re not a danger to society.

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San Diego Restaurant, The French Gourmet Inc., indicted recently for knowingly making false attestations on I-9 Forms, hiring employees unauthorized to work in the U.S., and employing those aliens after learning of their ineligibility to work. U.S. v. The French Gourmet Inc. is the case, and you can read it here:

French gourmet compalint

View more documents from usvisalaw.

In May 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed a criminal search warrant at, The French Gourmet, and have taken workers suspected of being illegally in the country into custody. ICE has arrived at worksites with both criminal and civil warrants. It has searched businesses, frozen bank accounts, and arrested not only employees but also employers. This recent indicment sends a clear message to employers.

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Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton announced standardized Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) with 67 state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in 287(g) partnerships by prioritizing criminal aliens who are a threat to local communities.

The administration had previously suspended the program, which critics say was mismanaged and allowed racial profiling and discrimination. Before it was suspended, there had been 66 local and state agencies participating.

Immigration advocacy groups were quick to respond to the ICE announcement. From Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington:

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Most Immigration Lawyers that care for their work are tired of Mr. Dobbs. Mr. Leopold from AILA posted a valid statement about Dobbs’ campagin of Hate:

CNN has a journalistic obligation to dump Lou Dobbs and his campaign of hate against immigrants.

It is unthinkable that a major network would permit someone to build a career based on fear and hatred of human beings. Why the double standard when it comes to immigrants?

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How is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger going to save us money? How about massive deportation plan. California Corrections officials are reviewing the cases of undocumented immigrant prisoners to see who can be deported. About 6,000 up for consideration have more than one felony.

Releasing undocumented prisoners is part of the Governor’s plan to save the state about a billion dollars. The Governor has the power to release about 2000 undocumented immigrant prisoners. Included are those who have not committed serious, violent or sex crimes and have just one felony.

Mexican officials on the other hand, are not so pleased. Deporting thousands of criminals back to Mexico may weaken the current crackdown on drug gangs all across Mexico. Working together the two governments should find the middle ground.

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Recently AILA shared some information about a “new” benefit fraud assessment program in which USCIS is beginning to use the millions of dollars it has received over the last decade from the “fraud fee” in the H-1B program. This new program involves the hiring of a private contractor to send “investigators” out to conduct 25,0000 site visits to H-1B employers to verify if the H-1B employee is working at the employer and performing the work as outlined in the H-1B petition.

The representative will indicate that he/she is a contractor hired to conduct these investigations (this is similar to the investigators that conduct the background investigations for government clearances) wearing badge with a picture. Questions can be asked in the following way:
1. Basic questions about the company, what you do, how many employees you had, work hours, office locations, etc.

2. How many employees one has on H1Bs, how many of them been sponsored for permanent residency and how many of them are legal permanent residents. Approximate numbers will be fine.

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We all know that Asylum is a tough relief to get and one must fit a very strict set of legal standards. Mostly political or related cases. But now the Obama Administration opened the door to a new policy. The government has opened the way for foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the United States. The action reverses a Bush administration stance in a protracted and passionate legal battle over the possibilities for battered women to become refugees.

In addition to meeting other strict conditions for asylum, abused women will need to show that they are treated by their abuser as subordinates and little better than property, according to an immigration court filing by the administration, and that domestic abuse is widely tolerated in their country. They must show that they could not find protection from institutions at home or by moving to another place within their own country. We welcome the new policy and will update you of developments in this area.

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A few days ago, Attorney General Eric Holder, vacated the decision in Matter of Compean and directed the BIA and Immigration Judges to apply the decision in Matter of Lozada for claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, pending promulgation of relevant regulations.

Attorney General Eric Holder withdrew the decision issued by former Attorney General Mukasey on the last day of the Bush Administration, which had eviscerated the right to effective representation in Immigration Court proceedings. Attorney General Holder had stated during his confirmation process that he would review the Mukasey decision and that he disagreed with its reasoning.

By ensuring that immigrants seeking relief from the harsh consequences of deportation are assured that they will not be punished by the ineffective actions of their counsel, Attorney General Holder has reset the standard that the Constitution ensures.

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I am not very proud to announce this but, ICE stated a few days ago that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is the first law enforcement body to implement the Secure Communities program, under which every individual booked into the three largest jails in San Diego County will have biometric-fingerprints checked in a DHS system for an immigration record.

Secure Communities, which is administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), streamlines the process by which ICE determines if an individual in the prison system is a removable criminal alien. Under the program, every individual booked into the three largest jails in San Diego County has their biometrics-fingerprints-checked in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biometric system for any immigration record. Prior to the advent of Secure Communities, as part of the standard booking process, these fingerprints were only checked for criminal history information in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) biometric system.

If any fingerprints match those of someone in DHS’s biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE and the San Diego intake site submitting the fingerprints. ICE evaluates each case to determine the individual’s immigration status and takes appropriate enforcement action after offenders complete their prison terms.

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There are presently 3-5 full time I-601 adjudicators, and 3 staff who are on duty. There is a backlog of 7000 – 9,000 I-601 applications. They are discussing opening an office in Los Angeles where they will only work on those backlog cases.

I-601 Procedure:

The applicant has to make his I-601 appointment through the Call Center. He can call to make his I-601 appointment as soon as he knows when his IV interview will take place (He just has to make his I-601 appointment for a date after his IV interview).

When an applicant arrives for his or her appointment, a clerk will take the I-601 packet. It is given to an adjudicator who spends approximately 10-15 minutes reviewing it. The adjudicator does not speak with the applicant.

The applicant is then told to pay a fee of (80) pesos at a kiosk inside the facility. This fee pays for the DHL delivery of the preliminary I-601 decision. The next day, the applicant can go to the DHL office (which is close to the Consulate) and pick up the preliminary decision.

He will either be informed that the I-601 was granted, and given instructions on how to obtain the actual immigrant visa, or he will receive a letter telling him that he has 30 days to submit additional information to support his I-601 application.

If his case is not granted right away, he can supplement the I-601 at any time up to the day he receives a decision. New information can be mailed, or sent via e-mail to the USCIS. This is good for people who prepared an I-601 without an attorney. If they hire an attorney later on, the attorney can file the supplemental documents even if it has been more than 30 days since the case was referred to the backlog. They do not need to file a new I-601.

Between 50% and 60% of I-601 waivers are approved upon filing. There is no information on what percentages of referred cases are ultimately approved. The cases in the “backlog” are taking about 13 to 15 months to decide!!
Expedited Processing:

They will consider expediting an I-601 for serious medical issues. This excludes mental/psychological conditions that have come about due to the separation. If you have a physical medical condition, or a pre-existing mental condition, you can request an expedited decision on your waiver via e-mail.

Criminal Issues:

If your client has any arrests or convictions, you must fully document and disclose them even if the charges were never filed or were dropped. They have been asking for police reports and juvenile records too! Even issues that would not make someone inadmissible can be considered for discretion. They want this information up-front from the applicant.

Denials:

If an I-601 is denied, the applicant may appeal the denial. While the appeal is pending, it is possible to request a new I-601 appointment. The applicant should first contact the call center. They are required to submit a new immigrant visa application, new fees, have a new medical, etc. Basically they have to repeat the whole IV process. However, there is no need to file a new I-130 visa petition. After the new IV interview, they can schedule a new I-601 appointment.

The applicant does not have to withdraw a pending I-601 appeal before submitting a new I-601.

Tips for legal cover letter:
• The consulate will follow BIA case law, so citing cases from a Court of Appeals is a waste of time.

• The less legalese the better; if you are going to include any, save it for the end of the letter.

• Start off your letter with a summary of the case. It is helpful to have a bullet point list of the documents you are submitting.

• Do not bother including country condition evidence since the adjudicators live in Mexico!
I-212 Applications:

The government only adjudicates I-212 applications (Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal) in conjunction with an I-601 waiver application. So if your client does not need an I-601 waiver, CDJ will not accept their I-212 applications. These applications must be filed in the U.S.

They adjudicate the I-601 first. Because the I-601 standard is higher, if the I-601 is granted, approval of your I-212 is pretty much a given.

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