Home » Posts tagged 'Immigration Law' (Page 3)
Tag Archives: Immigration Law
Changing or Adjusting Visa Status While in the United States
People visiting the United States for a temporary purpose, such as tourism or to attend school, usually obtain different visas that are grouped into a category known as nonimmigrant visas. The nonimmigrant status usually means that at the time the visa is granted, the person has represented that he or she has no intention of staying in the country long term. However, when a nonimmigrant visa holder changes his plans and wishes to stay longer, he is required to apply for a change or adjustment of status.
A person may adjust status from a nonimmigrant visa status to an immigrant visa status, or change status from one category of a nonimmigrant visa to another. For example, if a visitor on a nonimmigrant tourist visa wishes to change status in order to attend school in the United States, he or she can apply for a nonimmigrant student visa. Similarly, if a visitor on a nonimmigrant visa wishes to get married, he or she can apply to adjust his status to an immigrant visa or lawful permanent residence.
You cannot change your nonimmigrant status if your nonimmigrant visa is expired. You would have to leave the country and reapply for the visa you need from outside the United States. However, if your visa expired and you stayed in the country for a long period of time out of status, leaving the country is no guarantee that you will receive another nonimmigrant visa.
There are some nonimmigrant visa holders who may not change status while in the United States. These include finance visa holders and people who are granted nonimmigrant visa for helping the United States government by informing on terrorism and organized crime. If you cannot change status while in the United States, it does not mean that you cannot change status by leaving the country and reapplying for a different visa from your home country or from another country.
Additionally, some nonimmigrant visa holders, for example under the J-1 visa, are required to return to their home country for a minimum of two years after the end of their program. This means that they are not allowed to change or adjust status before fulfilling the two-year requirement if it applies to them. There is a waiver available under certain conditions. If the person holding a J-1 visa and his or her family members believes they will be subject to persecution based on race, religion, or political opinion upon returning to their home country, they may qualify for a waiver of the requirement. If a waiver is applicable, it may be possible to change or adjust status.
Contact Us for Legal Assistance
Life can be unpredictable, and your reason for visiting the United States may change during your visit, and you may have to apply for a new visa in order to avoid immigration issues down the road. If you need to change your visa from one nonimmigrant visa to another, or from a nonimmigrant visa to lawful permanent resident status, contact us for more information and assistance on filing your application. Contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to an experienced immigration attorney from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP.
How an Arrest or Conviction Affects Immigration Status
The fact that a potential immigrant has engaged in criminal activity can have far-reaching, negative consequences for him or her. A person’s immigration status and ability to apply for a visa can be affected by an arrest or a conviction, even for what some may consider minor crimes. A delay in a visa application can mean a cancelled trip or a missed semester from school.
Other than the risk of conviction and having a criminal record, immigrants who find themselves in legal trouble can lose the ability to stay in the United States. Even immigrants who are in the country legally at the time of the arrest are subject to what are called collateral consequences, which are changes to their immigration status based on a conviction in an unrelated criminal case.
When a person is arrested, he or she gets fingerprinted and otherwise processed through a national system, National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and therefore, if he or she applies for a change in immigration status or a visa, the arrest can raise a red flag and delay the application. If convicted for a crime following the arrest, there is a higher risk of deportation. Plea bargains, by which the immigrant pleads guilty to a crime in return for a more lenient sentence, are also counted against the immigrant much in the same way as a conviction.
Lawful permanent residents can be deported after a criminal conviction much in the same way as an undocumented immigrant, and the Supreme Court has held that a person’s criminal defense attorney is required to advise him or her of this fact. If your defense attorney failed to advise you of this fact, you can appeal your conviction on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel, and ask for a new trial.
While there are a wide range of crimes that could result in deportation, lawful permanent residents should pay attention to one class of crimes in particular – crimes involving moral turpitude. A lawful permanent resident becomes eligible for deportation if he or she commits a crime involving moral turpitude within five years of entry into the country, and receives a sentence of at least one year imprisonment.
Crimes involving moral turpitude are not defined under United States immigration law, and can be a property crime such as theft, or a crime against a person such as murder or aggravated battery. It is up to a court to determine if the crime a lawful permanent resident is convicted of qualifies as a crime of moral turpitude, and can therefore be the basis for deportation.
Contact us for Legal Assistance with Your Immigration Issues
In some cases, the consequences of a criminal conviction are less serious and simply result in a delay in the processing of a visa. However, for other immigrants, a criminal conviction could result in deportation. Therefore, if you were arrested or convicted in relation to a criminal matter, and you are worried about how that will affect your immigration status, you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. Contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to an experienced immigration attorney from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California.
ICE Agents Making Arrests in California Courtrooms
Following reports that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are now going to courthouses to arrest undocumented immigrants, attorneys, and prosecutors are worried about the chilling impact this could have on people’s willingness to report crimes or come forward to testify in a judicial proceeding. The issue has attracted the attention of the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, who has written a letter to federal officials asking them to reconsider the tactic in light of the risks.
Whether or not a person is in the country illegally, he or she can file for protective orders to keep abusers away, appear as a witness in various criminal proceedings, be a complainant in criminal cases, and even be a plaintiff in lawsuits. The ability to access the judicial system in this way can be a life saver for a group of people who may otherwise be victimized or taken advantage of with no recourse. This is why this ICE tactic is seen as being so dangerous to communities.
This is not the first time ICE has engaged in this kind of policing and arresting tactic, but in the past, it was used mainly as a last recourse in cases where no home or work address could be found on a certain person, or where the risk of making the arrest elsewhere was high for the ICE agents. However, now it seems that it may be applicable in more situations.
Immigrants Assisting in Criminal Prosecutions
This tactic has support from some people because there is an assumption that at least some of the immigrants arrested in courthouses are there as criminal defendants. While this is true, there is also the risk of deporting those who are helping prosecute criminals regardless of their immigration status. The federal government has long recognized the role that can be played by immigrants in assisting law enforcement agents solve crimes and prosecute high level criminals, for example through the use of the U-Visa program.
Generally, non-U.S. citizens who are victims of certain crimes, who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and who are willing to help law enforcement officials in the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity are eligible for a nonimmigrant visa known as a U-Visa. This visa was introduced as a way to protect crime victims and ensure that crimes from domestic violence to human trafficking could be effectively investigated with the help of victims who are not U.S. citizens. While U-Visas are generally only applicable to immigrants who are admissible into the U.S., those who are inadmissible may apply for a waiver in order to meet the requirement.
Be Prepared
It is difficult to know what areas may be targeted by ICE agents for raids to arrest undocumented immigrants for deportation proceedings. It is important to remember that you still have rights when it comes to immigration agents coming into your home to make an arrest, and a warrant is generally required.
If you are arrested at a protest rally, courthouse, church, or any other unexpected location, it is important to have a contingency plan in place if you have young children, remain calm at all times, do not resist arrest, and always carry a number for an immigration attorney just in case.
Contact Us for Legal Help
For legal assistance with your immigration issues, contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to experienced immigration attorney Nathan Wei from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California for a consultation.
H-1B Visa Premium Processing Suspension
The United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced that it will temporarily suspend premium processing of H-1B work visas starting in April 2017. The temporary suspension is supposed to only affect the premium processing service, which guarantees that an H-1B application is processed within 15 days.
USCIS explained that it was suspending premium processing in order to go through a backlog of other applications and improve the overall processing times. An ordinary application can take six months or longer. The suspension of premium processing is worrying for workers who may need an approved visa faster in order to have their work continue uninterrupted from another visa, such as a J-Visa.
The suspension of premium processing can also affect how a company or business plans for foreign workers. Without the certainty of this faster processing of H-1B visas, a business may not be able to adequately plan projects that require certain foreign workers with specific expertise.
However, even with the suspension in place, applicants who need to have their H-1B work visas processed more quickly than the time it takes to process a visa in regular time can request expedited processing. However, the applicant has to show that he or she meets the expedited processing criteria.
Changes to the Law
The move by USCIS to suspend premium processing follows H-1B visa changes proposed through the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2017, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate in January 2017. This bill proposes several changes to how H-1B visas are awarded, for example, moving away from a lottery system to one where workers are given visas based on USCIS established preferences. The bill would also reduce the length of time an H-1B visa would be valid, and have more reporting requirements for employers. There would be more focus and investigation on work visa fraud.
The use of H-1B visas has been criticized as making it easy for some companies to abuse the system and take advantage of foreign workers. Some outsourcing companies apply for visas on behalf of workers and then pass them on to other companies, taking a large percentage of the worker’s salary afterwards. The changes proposed in the bill are supposed to address issues of fraud and abuse such as these.
However, if the bill becomes law, it will mean significant changes in the way some foreign employees receive working opportunities in the United States. It may also reduce the employment opportunities available for foreign workers because it will be harder or less cost effective for employers to assist foreign workers get work visas.
For some workers who have been working in the country under previous policies need to ensure that they are in compliance with any new rules or laws that may be announced in the coming months or years.
Contact an Experienced Immigration Attorney
If you need assistance with a visa application or immigration status change, an experienced immigration attorney may be able to assist you. Contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to experienced immigration attorney Nathan Wei from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California and schedule a consultation.
Leaving the United States Voluntarily as an Undocumented Immigrant
With the increased pressure to deport immigrants, some immigrants have begun to consider a voluntary return to their countries of origin in order to leave the United States on their own terms. This voluntary departure is sometimes called self-deportation or attrition through enforcement. While self-deportation is presented as a choice, it is not always so, and is often more like a forced choice.
Government policies can target immigrants and try to encourage self-deportation by limiting access to social services or benefits, work options, and educational opportunities. Essentially, by taking away these benefits and opportunities, the government seeks to make life difficult for immigrants until they choose to leave the United States on their own. Proponents of self-deportation support the process because it is cheaper than government deportation and because deportations by the government are unpopular with many voters.
An immigrant who has been arrested for being in the country illegally and put through removal proceedings may sometimes be given an opportunity to leave the country voluntary, making his or her own travel arrangements and getting an opportunity to finalize matters in the United States before leaving. An immigrant who has been given an opportunity for voluntary departure is given a certain date by which to leave the country, and if he or she has not left by that date, a deportation order (an order of removal) is entered against him or her. If an immigrant accepts the voluntary departure option, the 10-year ban on later returning to the United States legally may not apply.
Unfortunately, voluntary departure or self-deportation is not an easy choice for many immigrants no matter how tough the climate in the United States becomes. For some, there is no home to return to, having spent decades in the United States, which is the only true home they know. Additionally, returning to the United States after self-deportation is not as easy as applying for a new visa.
Strangely enough, when some immigrants attempt to leave the United States voluntarily through a border checkpoint, they may be arrested, prosecuted for being in the country illegally and formally deported. Having a formal record of deportation is worse for the immigrant because once the person goes through a formal deportation process it becomes increasingly harder for the person to return to the country. If a deported person later returns to the country illegally, and is again arrested, he or she can face criminal charges for the reentry after deportation. Prosecution for reentry after deportation can lead to a fine and prison time, as well as a permanent ban on returning to the United States.
Contact an Experienced Immigration Attorney
Voluntarily choosing to leave the United States, whether you are undocumented or of legal status, can have legal repercussions in terms of your ability to return to the United States at a later date. You may have legal options to adjust your status while in the United States, before you decide to leave, so contact an experienced immigration attorney for a consultation. Contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to experienced immigration attorney Nathan Wei from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California.
Do You Have the Right to Stop Immigration Enforcement Agents From Entering Your Home if You are in the Country Illegally?
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that people have a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The limits of this guarantee have been tested in numerous court cases, and the basic rules are clear. Unless government agents have a reason that fits into a few narrow exceptions, they cannot enter your home without a valid search warrant issued based on probable cause. The question most immigrants living in the U.S. may ask themselves is, does the protection of the Fourth Amendment extend to them?
The possibility of immigration enforcement agents increasing raids to look for undocumented immigrants is one reason for this question. Immigration raids, where immigration enforcement agents go to businesses and even homes, looking for people who are in the country illegally are allowed under current immigration laws. Undocumented workers who find themselves in the midst of a raid or who are visited by agents should be aware that the U.S. Constitution and other U.S. laws do offer some protections, even to undocumented immigrants.
The Fourth Amendment protections are guaranteed to all people living within the U.S., both citizens and noncitizens. A person’s immigration status does not affect this basic protection. This Fourth Amendment protection is one more right that is aimed at ensuring the government follows due process in arresting and deporting an immigrant. These rights apply whether a person is in his or her car or home when stopped for a search. Police officers and immigration enforcement agents also cannot stop your car for a search based on your race or religion.
Therefore, if immigration enforcement agents arrive at your home and demand entry, ask to see a search warrant. If the agents ask your permission to enter, and you grant them permission to enter, then they do not need a warrant. Your permission satisfies the requirements of the Fourth Amendment because it makes the agents’ entry reasonable. There are other ways in which the Fourth Amendment may not protect you, and if you find yourself in a situation in which you believe your rights are being violated, it is better not to do anything such as resisting arrest or presenting false papers. It is best to wait for an opportunity to speak to your attorney.
There are some constitutional protections that are reserved for U.S. citizens only, such as the right to vote. Immigrants who are in the country illegally can make their immigration situation worse by exercising rights that are reserved for U.S. citizens only.
Contact Us for Legal Advice
Regardless of your immigration status, it is important to remember that there are laws that protect your rights. If your home is searched and you are arrested by immigration enforcement agents or local police officers, you should avoid making any statements or admissions before speaking to your attorney. You should also avoid signing any documents they present you with, even if they promise it will lead to your release. Be prepared by learning more about how the law can protect you as an immigrant; contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to an experienced immigration attorney from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California for a consultation.
Seeking an Option to Work Legally After DACA
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) after the program was implemented in June of 2012. Under this program, many were able to receive Employment Authorization Documents, allowing them to work legally in the United States. With the future of DACA uncertain, because it was authorized through Executive Order by President Obama, many with work authorization under DACA may begin to look into other kinds of work visas or permits for which they may qualify.
There are a number of guest worker visa program under the United States immigration laws. The most commonly referenced is the H-1B visa program which hires temporary workers who typically have a first degree and often more advanced degrees. The types of workers employed on this visa include engineers, teachers, and computer programmers. In order to receive an H-1B visa, a person must have a qualifying employer willing to sponsor his or her application.
An employer cannot seek an H-1B visa on behalf of an undocumented immigrant. Unfortunately, DACA as a program did not legalize its participants, and they are technically still eligible for deportation at a later date if the program is eliminated or the next administration reprioritizes deportation targets. This means that it is not generally possible for a person who is on DACA, and is therefore an undocumented immigrant, to get an H1B visa.
The Immigration and Nationality Act’s Section 212(d)(3) waiver presents a way for an undocumented immigrant with an employer willing to sponsor an H-1B visa to successfully gain legal admission into the country and work under the temporary H-1B visa. However, the waiver is also a huge gamble because the undocumented immigrant has to leave the country in order to apply for the waiver, and leaving after having been in the country unlawfully for more than one year triggers certain bans on re-entry. This is where the waiver comes in; an undocumented immigrant who received the waiver of inadmissibility can be allowed to return to the United States on a temporary non-immigrant visa such as the H-1B visa without having to serve out the period of the ban abroad.
This waiver would not remove the person’s inadmissibility permanently, and the person would still likely have to serve out the three- or ten-year bans once the temporary visa expired or he or she sought to change status to an immigrant visa. In addition, the H-1B visa restricts the worker to the sponsoring employer, if an employee want to change employers, the new employer has to sponsor a new H-1B visa or the employee has to leave the country.
While this option presents a way to exit the country and re-enter and work without fear of deportation if DACA gets revoked, it is also quite dangerous because the exiting immigrant is not guaranteed a waiver or an H-1B visa. Before deciding what action to take, it is always best to discuss your case with an experienced attorney.
Contact Us for Legal Assistance
If you are in Pasadena, California, and looking to change your status from a non-immigrant visa to an immigrant visa, or looking for a way to adjust your status so you can legally live and work in the United States, contact our multilingual staff to speak to an experienced immigration attorney from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP.
Immigration Lawyer.Blog 