Immigration Blog

US Citizen and Lawful Permanent Resident same-sex couples married to foreign nationals are now eligible to file Immigration applications on behalf of their same-sex spouse after the recent Supreme Court decision holding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act states: “The word‘ marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced on July 1, 2013,… Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on May 6th 2013, implemented a new program called Customer Identity Verification (CIV) in its field offices. Individuals will be required to submit fingerprints and photographs when appearing at USCIS local offices for interviews or to receive evidence of an immigration benefit such as temporary travel documents, parole authorizations, and temporary green card stamps on passports or on Forms I-94 to show evidence of lawful permanent resident status. USCIS staff will take two fingerprints and a photograph of the individual in order to re-verify their identity. After identity verification is satisfactorily completed, individuals will… Read More

Today, the Senate introduced the long-awaited immigration bill: Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. Outline and highlights of the bill can be found here and here. Get updates Read More

President Obama's Proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill: According to the fact Sheet released by the white house on January 29th, 2013 titled “Fixing our Broken Immigration System so everyone plays by the Rules “AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 13012946, President Obama acknowledged that America’s immigration system is broken, and it is time to fix it in a way that requires responsibility and accountability from everyone. Below is a summary of the key principles President Obama proposed and believes should be included & covered in a common-sense immigration reform bill/legislation: Continuing to Strengthen Border Security According to the President's proposal, the immigration… Read More

One of the requirements of eligibility for the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver is the approval of an Immediate Relative Petition (Form I-130 or I-360) and the payment of the Immigrant Visa and Affidavit of Support fee to the Department of State (DOS). Non-US Citizens who were already scheduled for their Immigrant Visa interviews before January 3rd 2013 (the date of the publication of the final rule for provisional unlawful presence waiver) are disqualified from the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver process. The date of scheduling by DOS, and not the date and time the applicant must appear for the interview, is… Read More

Eight Senators; Schumer, McCain, Durbin, Graham, Menendez, Rubio, Bennet, and Flake recently came together to propose an Immigration reform legislation which they announced on January 28th 2013. The immigration reform legislation proposed by the senators have four parts which are summarized below: I. Creating a Path to Citizenship for Unauthorized Immigrants Already Here that is Contingent Upon Securing the Border and Combating Visa Overstays. According to the senators, the proposed legislation will provide a tough, fair, and practical roadmap to address the status of unauthorized immigrants in the United States that is contingent upon the success of securing the US… Read More

In the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver process, the waiver, by itself, does not convey a legal status. It is a secondary benefit to a primary application that would give a non-US Citizen legal immigrant status. The primary application is the Immigrant Visa, over which the Department of State (DOS)  has jurisdiction. The Provisional waiver only addresses grounds of inadmissibility (unlawful presence) that may prevent DOS from issuing the Immigrant Visa at the time of the applicant’s interview abroad. If USCIS approves the provisional waiver and DOS approves the Immigrant Visa, the applicant will be admitted to the United States as… Read More

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope this year will be the year of the much-anticipated Immigration Reform. This year started off right with the publication of the final rule of the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposed rule on the provisional unlawful presence waiver on April 2, 2012, to allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are seventeen years old and physically present in the United States but ineligible for lawful permanent resident status (green card) within the U.S., due to their unlawful presence in the US, to request provisional unlawful presence waivers… Read More

Recently, a comment was posted on my immigration blog - The Reality of USCIS Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver. Stating: I have been listening to some rumors that suggest that the Provisional Waiver would be put, in effect, on December 4th. I was told that any individual that has paid their Visa fees, would not be able to qualify for the Provisional waiver, even though they do not have an appointment in their country of origin. This blog post will attempt to respond and clarify certain issues relating to the proposed provisional unlawful presence waiver Effective Date of USCIS Proposed Provisional… Read More

Based on the Secretary of Homeland Security’s June 15th, 2012 announcement, applicants for deferred action for childhood arrivals must show among other requirements that they are either: 1. Currently in school, 2. Have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, 3. Have obtained a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or 4. Are honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States.  What it means to be “In School” For Deferred Action purpose. What exactly United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) considers being “in school” isn’t as straightforward as it seems. It is… Read More