Delia de la Garza's Legal Blog

Petitioning for your wife and step-children

admin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:47:42 +0000

If you are a U.S. citizen, petitioning for your foreign national wife and kids(from a previous marriage), be aware that you must have been married to your wife prior to those children reaching the age of eighteen (18). While the definition of a child includes unmarried children up to the age of twenty-one (21), there is a special provision, or rather, exlcusion for step-children. Again, they must have been below the age of eighteen (18) prior to the new marriage between parent and step-parent. Still, this does not mean that the child is out of luck. There are other ways to petition for the child, whether immigrant or non-immgrant. What you need to do is consult with an attorney and get a plan together, so you will know what to do. And, wouldn’t you know it, that’s what we are here for. Set up a consultation today!

Update on FBI Name Check

admin — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:15:51 +0000

When you apply for a benefit with USCIS, whether lawful permanent resident status or citizenship, you undergo a name check with the FBI. Sometimes those name checks can take some time. There are cliams that these name checks are for national security, but I do not see that national security is being served by delaying issuing benefits to people. Also, USCIS always has the right to revoke any benefit….back to the story, people have sued the government in order to force thier hand to make a decision. Some people have waited 1 year, others 4 or 5. Most courts have been very sympathetic to this problem and more often than not have required that USCIS issue a decision in 30-60 days. As a result of this litigation, USCIS has finally changed its national security and adjudication requirements. USCIS indicates that it has not changed its background check policies related to citizenship applications, but these new policy changes will affect I-485, I-601, I-687 and I-698 applications. USCIS has informed the public that if the application is otherwise approvable and the FBI name check request has been pending for more than 180 days, it will approve tha application. USCIS says there are 47,000 applications for permanent residence that are approvable, but for the pending FBI name checks. USCIS claims that only a subset of these cases has the FBI name checks been pending for 180 days or more. Finally, the USCIS has made predictions that these cases will be processed by mid March 2008. I find that very unlikely! First, I find that the number of cases that USCIS says is pending name checks for residency is way off! Next, I find that it is almost impossible to believe that these two agencies could ever get anything done in 1 month’s time. I cannot wait to see the next roll of litigation!

H-1B clock is ticking!

admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:31:21 +0000

If you are on our site, chances are you are looking for an immigration attorney to help you with an H-1B petition. This is the most sought after employment-based visa that USCIS offers. You probably already know most of the details, and have already been thru the vast information on our site. What you need to do is contact us! With this petition, you must start early! There are many details to take care of before you can even file a petition with the USCIS and may details that we need to review with you. Last year, USCIS received three times the number of applications that they could handle. Do not let this discourage you! Because of last years move to a lottery, most people have decided not to try at all. Do not give up hope and get started, call us today!

Sorry sweetheart, you can’t get married here!

admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:21:47 +0000

Imagine you were in love and you and your sweetheart decided to get married. Forget about calling your parents for a big wedding, you just want to head down to the courthouse and do it! Talk about getting the jitters! There is all this excitement and adreniline running thru you as you try to pick out something a little nice to get married in. Your honey picks you up and you take one last look in the mirror. You get in the car and when you see his beautiful smile, you realize that you are doing the right thing, this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. When you get to the courthouse, you are refused a marriage license becuase of your immigration status! What a blow! Your whole life flashes in front of you, your hopes and dreams are crushed. This is one of the daily struggles that immigrants were facing in Scranton, PA. These are not the only daily struggles that immigrants face. They cannot get licences, jobs, are refused service, housing, etc. This only drives them more underground. They end up working for people “under the table” and get exploited because they are not paid a reasonable wage or at all. I get calls all the time about people who went to work in Louisiana to help rebuild New Orleans, who did not get paid. Or, people who were arrested in Traffic Court by a Judge, who may or may not be a lawyer, because they don’t have any papers under some new law, according to him. Imagine that! This judge is enforcing some new law-that the public has yet to hear about. I wonder what that new law is?

Renew old “green card”

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:38:02 +0000

If you were issued a “green card” between 1977 and 1989, chances are, your card does not have an expiration date. USCIS has decided that, in the interest of national security, lawful permanent residents with this older edition of the green card, apply for a new one. That being said, lawful permanent residents should understand that USCIS will be collecting your fingerprints and conducting a background search to review any criminal activity the applicant may have been involved in. So, while the application to renew the green card is relatively simple, it is highly recommended that a lawful permanent resident consult with an attorney with respect to any circumstances that may make them deportable. If you apply or have already applied to renew your green card, and USCIS is now requesting certified copies of your criminal record, you should consult with an attorney. Only a qualified immigration attorney can help you understand the ramifications a conviction or deferred adjudication can have on your status as a lawful permanent resident.

Immigration Waivers

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:20:21 +0000

If a person is applying for permanent residency, either thru a family member or an employer, he or she must not be found inadmissible. There are many acts, convictions, health problems and/or economic reasons as to why a person may be found inadmissible and therefore denied adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident. In addition, some, but not all inadmissible acts, etc. have an option to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility. For example, if a foreign national is found to have entered the United States thru fraudulent means, he or she may apply for a waiver. The waiver consists of proving several elements, particularly that he or she is the spouse, son or daughter of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and they establish that their spouse, son or daughter will suffer extreme hardship if the foreign national is not granted admission as a lawful permanent resident. There are more detailed provisions for those applicants applying for lawful permanent residency under VAWA. The definition of what is extreme hardship is usually the biggest obstacle the applicant faces. There is a laundry-list of circumstances that can be taken into consideration when proving to USCIS or an Immigration Judge how and why the applicant qualifies. If you, a family member or a friend is in this situation, or has an immigration law related question, please call our office to schedule a consultation today.

Beware Travis County

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:47:01 +0000

Living and working in Harris, Montgomery and other surrounding counties, I have become accustomed to clients in county jail facilities being held due to an immigration hold. In Harris county, ICE has an officer assigned to interview detainees and figure out their immigration status, whether they are US citizens, lawful permanent residents or have no legal status at all. Often, some LPR’s and others without status are not released if they have an “immigration hold” despite the fact that most can and do pay the bond in their case which was set by the criminal court judge. In Travis County, this will now become the norm. The Travis county Sheriff, Greg Hamilton, has just signed an agreement to allow ICE to put an officer in the Travis county jail 24/7 with their stated intent to put “holds” on every immigrant, legal or not, to review their status. If you or a family member is on an immigration hold, it is important to note that they will usually be held in detention until the end of their criminal case and then transferred to ICE custody to determine whether they will be place in removal proceedings. While some, may qualify for a bond from an immigration judge at that point, they will have to wait until then.

VAWA victory in immigration court

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:23:11 +0000

I received a decision just recently from an immigration judge in Houston granting an old client of mine cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act(VAWA). This decision essentially grants her a green card (lawful permanent resident status). The decision took quite a while to obtain, but who could complain about the wait when the case was eventually granted? This client of mine, a mexican national, moved to the States with her family when she was only 18 years old. She married an American man who her family did not approve of, but she was in love. His blonde hair and blue eyes gave her butterflies. Unfortunately, there love was shortlived and his desires for her turned out to be merely physical. She endured countless humiliation and abuse, but never gave up on him. He finally petitioned for divorce. All the while, he had previously petitioned for her to obtain permanent residency, but that ended when their interview went bad. A VAWA applicant is required to establish that s/he was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a spouse who is a US Citizen or lawful permanent resident, and that s/he has resided in the United States for a period of 3 years, that s/he is a person of good moral character, and that his/her removal would result in extreme hardship to him/herself or his/her child. While most applicants of this law are female, it does not exclude male applicants. Also, applicants may either file proactively with the USCIS or as a defensive application if placed in removal (deportation) proceedings. This applicant, my client, did apply proactively, but lost. Still, we were able to apply in immigration court when she was placed in removal proceedings. Many of the things that were helpful to my client were medical reports and affidavits from family and friends. Of course, advice of legal counsel was priceless in this case because there are many issues that are not clear cut. For example, what is the definition of abuse and/or extreme cruelty? Also, what does the court see as extreme hardship? I was able to identify and define these issues for the court on my client’s behalf and ultimately persuade the court that my client qualified.

How to avoid fraud

admin — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:47:29 +0000

Recently, there was an attorney in Houston indicted on immigration fraud charges for allegedly assisting Chinese immigrants with filing false asylum claims. Unfortunately, many people, whether attorneys or not, have found it easy to prey on the immigrant community. Often times they promise more than can be delivered, and even worse they charge very unreasonable rates for their services. Even the Attorney General of Texas has tried to crack down on people offering immigration services. Notarios or immigration consultants are practicing immigration law without a license and should be avoided. These people often claim special knowledge of a secret law or claim to know someone on the inside. Walk away! It is alleged that the particular attorney who was recently indicted, provided her clients with written statements about religious persecution and instructed them to copy it in their own handwriting, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Obviously, if this is true, this would have been a red flag to many U.S. citizens, but to desperate immigrants who are not knowledgeable of the immigration laws of the United States, this may have seemed ok. They should have never signed their asylum applications if it contained false information. In fact, the asylum application contains a very clear warning:

“I swear (affirm) that I know the contents of this application that I am signing, including the attached documents and supplements, that they are all true or not all true to the best of my knowledge and that correction(s) numbered to were made by me or at my request. Furthermore, I am aware that if I am determined to have knowingly made a frivolous application for asylum I will be permanently ineligible for any benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that I may not avoid a frivolous finding simply because someone advised me to provide false information in my asylum application.”Because of this attorney’s alleged advice, these Chinese nationals could be barred from ever obtaining any immigration benefits in the United States. This is why it is so important to consult with a licensed attorney regarding your immigration case. If you are hiring an attorney, demand a written contract; require them to keep you abreast of your case; require a copy of everything submitted on your behalf and require an accounting of all costs on your case.

Comments are appreciated

admin — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:22:04 +0000

Dear fellow blog readers, I began writing this blog just a short time ago, and at first I was hoping noone would read my blogs, but then I wrote about some issues that I really care about. All of the articles I have written have been mostly about immigration in some shape or form, and since I mostly practice immigration law, that’s what I am most interested in. I have to keep up with all the latest news, good or bad so that I am prepared for the next online inquiry or call I get from a current or prespective client. I really never thought I would practice immigration law. Like others, I did not think there was anything I could do. All the news sounds so hopeless, i.e. if you are here undocumented, good luck, basically, just bear down and try not to get arrested by ICE, because otherwise, you are screwed, they will just deport you. But, it’s not that simple. (Although, some people wish it was.) Thankfully there are some remedies that are available to those out of status, whether it may be an affirmative filing or a defensive filing in removal proceedings, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. And that light is what brings me the most joy to bring to someone. That’s not exactly the reason I got into immigration, but it quickly became my inspiration. I hope that the issues have been as interesting to you as they have been to me, obviously, I would not waste my time writing them. So, I would appreciate your comments. Thanks!