I was surprised to see that my last entry was all the way back on September 18th. I try to write every couple of weeks, but now it’s been nearly a month. Is it because I’ve not had anything to write about? Hardly! While each of the topics below could be a post by themselves, […]
I understand that part of my job is following-up on cases. In fact, I’ve written about liaison work before and how sometimes that’s the best way to get a case “unstuck.” But there’s liaison work and there’s following-up. And then there’s following-up on your follow-ups and then following up on those. You know it’s bad when you
Constantly Following-Up Read More »
Did you make any resolutions for the new year? I didn’t. I know enough about myself that I probably won’t stick to a plan to practice yoga, study Spanish, eat better, and stress less. I can have the best schedule in place, the best teachers, the best recipes – but after a few weeks, I
There has been a lot of attention given to the refugee process over the past several days. Most of it has been heartbreaking – wanting to close our borders to those most in need. But, out of this has also come a great wealth of information about our refugee process. Any opportunity to educate is
Our Refugee System Is Not Broken Read More »
Over the summer, I met a woman who had gone through something no parent should ever have to endure. Her son, who was only 30 years old, had just died unexpectedly. In the midst of dealing with his funeral, his estate, and the unimaginable grief of losing her only son, she also had to think
Bad Decision by USCIS on Survivor Petition Read More »
Unscrupulous: adjective. Not honest or fair; doing things that are illegal, wrong, or dishonest (Merriam-Webster definition). There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there, and you can find them in immigration as well. There are immigration attorneys who charge insanely high prices for cases that have no legal merit. There are notarios who file forms and
There’s a lot of talk in the media about the crisis of immigrant children and how cases are being moved through too quickly. Immigration advocates constantly talk about how the immigrants at the border are being deprived of due process. So what is due process? And why is it a problem when due process is denied?
What Is Due Process? Read More »
Watching the news these days is depressing: Congress does little to nothing. Ugly hatred reveals itself as adults yell at YMCA camp kids, thinking they are undocumented minors. Our president admits that our country tortured detainees post 9/11. Corporations seem to be granted more rights and more tax breaks while families struggle to pay for
The American Dream Is Still Alive Read More »
The past few weeks, I’ve written about the unwaivable types of fraud – marriage fraud, asylum fraud, and false claims to U.S. citizenship. But not every lie or misrepresentation is a permanent bar from immigration benefits. So today I am going to write about types of fraud that can be waived. Under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration
General Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation Read More »
Not all marriage fraud is obvious. The classic example is when the foreign national offers U.S. citizen money in exchange for getting married and filing immigration paperwork. But if the foreign national and U.S. citizen are best friends and they just want to help each other out? Or what if the couple is elderly, never
Marriage Fraud Not Welcomed Here Read More »
