There is a major proposed announcement changing the Immigration process for many foreign nationals who are illegal in the United States. At present, many people must travel outside the United States and wait months if not years to seek forgiveness (a waiver) to re-enter the U.S.

Now, the Obama administration is proposing to allow certain relatives of U.S. Citizens to apply for the waiver and wait inside the United States. Then once the immigrant petition (I-130) and waiver (I-601) have been approved, the foreign national can go to simply and expeditiously pick up the visa from their home embassy or consulate.

The proposal was preliminary announced this morning and will become official once published in the Federal Register on Monday, January 9, 2012.

Below is the Advance copy of the USCIS notice that would allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens to request INA 212(1)(9)(B)(v) unlawful presence waivers, prior to departing the U.S. for consular processing of their immigrant visa application.

Ricky Malik, Esq.

Immigration Attorney

On occasion (all the time in Prince William County, VA), when a non-citizen is pulled over or arrested by law enforcment for traffic or criminal violations, ICE place a detainer, a hold, on that person. A detainer is a request by ICE for the local police department or jail to hold the person for up to 48 hours while ICE determines if they should take that person into immigration custody.

While ICE is getting better, the 48 hour rule is not complied with as much as should be the case. ICE issues its detainer request on form I-247 which is shown below. As you can see, in CAPS and bolded is the language "MAINTAIN CUSTODY OF ALIEN FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED 48 HOURS."

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memo on November 7, 2011 providing guidelines to officers describing when a Notice to Appear (NTA) is to be issued. An NTA is the document that starts removal (deportation) proceedings against a non-citizen. It is sometimes referred to as the charging document and recieving one of these is usually bad news because it means the United States is trying to deport you. If you get an NTA which generally looks like the document below, it is best to quickly consult with a qualified immigration attorney.

The November 7, 2011 Memo below generally seems to indicate tha anytime USCIS can deny an application, they will place that person in deportation court.

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of Cruz De Ortiz issued a decision overturning the long held belief by many that your greencard (LPR) status cannot be taken away once five (5) years passes. The BIA held that INA 246(a) rescission of LPR status is available beyond 5 years for those who obtained Immigrant Visa from Consulate.

That is good news for those who adjusted status inside the United States (usually through form I-485), but those who entered on an Immigrant Visa from their embassies are not protected by the five year statue of limiations rule. Case below.

Cruz De Ortiz

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

The Board of Immigraiton Appeals in Matter of FIGUEROA detemined that "When an application for Temporary Protected Status that has been denied by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is renewed in removal proceedings, the Immigration Judge may consider any material and relevant evidence, regardless of whether the evidence was previously considered in proceedings before the USCIS."

Figueroa TPS

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

An Immigraiton Judge should consider new evidence submitted in support of a renewed I-751 with a waiver of the joint filing requirement regardless of whether the evidence was previously considered by DHS. Matter of Herrera Del Orden, 25 I&N Dec. 589 (BIA 2011).

Herrera Del Orden

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

On Monday, September 26, 2011, the Washington Post published a story about Paula Godoy, a client of the Law Offices of Ricky Malik, P.C. Ms. Godoy was in her final hours before deportation and at the 11th hour, through hard work, we won a stay of removal. For the full story, wonderfully written by Post report Eli Saslow, see below.

Amid new guidelines, Va woman’s deportation case comes down to the last minute - The Washington Post
For one Guatemalan woman, a race against the deportation clock - The Washington Post

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Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

ICE relesase a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on August 30, 2011 on its new process to prioritize immigration cases for removal. See below:

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

The Immigration world has been abuzz in recent weeks following releases from the White House and DHS. There has been a lot of "stuff" put out there and we want to help you get to the truth, using facts. To do so we need to understand the lead up.

On June 17, 2011, two memos were released by ICE chief, John Morton, (both embeded below), now known as the "Morton Memos":

• Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

prosecutorial-discretion-memo -

• Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

On August 18, 2001, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano annonced the process of implementing the Prosecutorial Discretion (PD) memos in a letter to 22 Senators. Secretary Napolitano announced the creation of a special task force to review on a case by case basis the 300,000 plus people who are currently in removal (deportation) proceedings in order to determine if those who are prioritzed to be deported are indeed going to be removed. It is clear from the later paragraphs of the letter (below) that this is not an amnesty nor a compreshensive legalization program (So please beware of scams from notaries and lawyers alike).

That same day, the White House blogged stating the administration will not be "focusing our resources on deporting people who are low priorities for deportation. This includes individuals such as young people who were brought to this country as small children, and who know no other home. It also includes individuals such as military veterans and the spouses of active-duty military personnel...applying common sense guidelines to make these decisions, like a person’s ties andcontributions to the community, their family relationships and military service record."

We welcome ICE prioritizing removals rather than the deport 'em all policy we have seen in recent years. Only time will tell if this is political hot air or a meaningful change in policy enforcement.

Ricky Malik, Esq.

www.rmlegal.com

Germantown man who impersonated a federal immigration agent pleads guilty to fraud scheme

ICE Press Release: "GREENBELT, Md. - Robert Fred Mejia, 29, of Germantown, Md., pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport money obtained by fraud across state lines, impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, transporting money obtained by fraud in connection with a scheme to purportedly provide immigration services and being a felon in possession of ammunition after an investigation led by ICE.

According to the plea agreement, from December 2007 to June 2009, Mejia and a conspirator charged over 50 individuals for immigration services which they did not provide. On numerous occasions, Mejia and his co-conspirator caused such individuals in Washington D.C., and Virginia to bring $5,000 or more to their office in Gaithersburg, Md., to pay for the purported immigration services. Mejia and the co-conspirator completed immigration documents and had fingerprints taken for the individuals. However, no paperwork was ever filed on behalf of those clients."

For full release, click here.

Ricky Malik, Esq.

ICE press release: "SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Three attorneys for a northern California law firm and their contract interpreter were sentenced to lengthy prison terms Friday following their conviction on charges stemming from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that revealed they orchestrated a scheme to file hundreds of false asylum claims.

Jagprit Singh Sekhon, 39, of Westminster, Calif., formerly of Sacramento, was sentenced to 108 months in prison. His brother and former partner in the Sekhon & Sekhon law firm, Jagdip Singh Sekhon, 42, of Salida, Calif., was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Their former law firm associate, Manjit Kaur Rai, 33, of Discovery Bay, Calif., was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The sentencing hearing for interpreter Iosif Caza, 43, of Sacramento has not yet concluded. Interpreter Luciana Harmath, 29, of Glendale, Ariz., formerly of Sacramento, was sentenced to four months in prison last month."

There are too many attorneys, immigration consultants, notarios and fraudsters active in the U.S. Immigration system, stronger enforcement of those who perpetuate fraud will increase the integrity of the system.

For more, click here.

Ricky Malik, Esq.