USCIS District 11 (MA/RI/NH/ME/VT) recently announced that USCIS National has directed local USCIS offices to waive up to 80% of family-based interviews. This is a huge change in USCIS practice, especially for marriage-based green card cases. Historically, almost ALL marriage-based green card cases required the US citizen spouse and the noncitizen spouse to appear at at USCIS office for an interview, before the Read More
Peace of Mind After 11 Years!
This week our firm obtained a big win for one of our clients at their removal hearing. Our client had been in removal proceedings since 2011. Our client suffered 11 years of stress because of the removal proceedings. Our attorney was able to gather strong evidence and argued a strong compelling argument in favor of our client. The court granted our client his green card. Not only will our client get his green card, Read More
George W. Bush Criticizes GOP Approach to Immigration
In a series of interviews held this past weekend, former George W. Bush distanced himself from his party on the topic of immigration. On NBC’s Today show, he said the Republican party he served has become “isolationist, protectionist, and to a certain extent, nativist.” He also criticized the fear mongering tactics of many anti-immigrant Republicans. In a Sunday Washington Post op-ed, George W. Bush advocated for Read More
Unknown: The Implications of Last Night’s “Presidential” Tweet about Immigration
Last night, Trump tweeted that he was closing immigration to the US. No one knows what that means. USCIS is the agency that processes immigration in the US. The Department of State's embassies and consulates process US immigration from outside the US. The worst case scenario is that Trump actually effect a closure of both agencies' immigration operations. While there is no "best" case scenario following such a Read More
Don’t Lie: An Immigration Golden Rule
The immigration process can be stressful and frustrating. It can be tempting to lie on an application or during an immigration interview to get it over with and keep the process “less complicated”. You may even know people who have lied and then successfully obtained their green card and even US citizenship. But lying on an immigration application, or to an immigration officer, is a bad idea. Please don't do Read More
Will my criminal history make me ineligible for immigration benefits?
Having a criminal record can affect your ability to receive immigration benefits, whether you’re seeking a temporary visa, green card, or an adjustment of status. But under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) convictions for certain crimes, or admissions to committing certain crimes, will automatically make you “inadmissible” to the United States. If you’ve been convicted of or admitted to any of these crimes, Read More
Immigration under Donald Trump
Donald Trump and his administration issued memoranda relating to the administration's deportation/removal priorities. These memos do not change the definition of deportable, that is, reasons why someone could be deported from the US. However, the memos signal a drastic change from President Obama's humane focus on immigrants with certain criminal backgrounds, to anyone who has ever made any criminal mistake (whether Read More
What Can Trump Do On Day One?
Many of us are concerned about President-Elect Trump's views on immigration (aside from his wife's alleged misuse of her visa). Attached is information from the American Immigration Lawyers' Association about what Trump could do with a "stroke of a pen" on the first day (or any day) of his Presidency. As of the writing of this blog, however, no immigration laws or policies have been changed. If you ever hear about Read More
Visa Bulletin – November 2016
Visa Bulletin is a monthly publication prepared by the US Department of State. It provides the availability of immigrant visa numbers during the month of publication. Visa Bulletin is intended as a guide for consular officials, attorneys and immigrant visa applicants who would like to know if visas are immediately available for individuals in particular categories. This Visa Bulletin summarizes the availability of Read More
New Edition of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization
As part of USCIS's ongoing forms improvement initiative, effective April 13, 2016 USCIS revised Form N-400. The 9/13/13 version of Form N-400 can still be used until August 9, 2016. Some of the changes include removing the 2D barcode technology from the form, removing parts that do not apply to certain applicants and providing additional instructions to help applicants identify what evidence they need to submit with Read More
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