Delia de la Garza's Legal Blog

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.  

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. 

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.  

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. 

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!