Home  Blog

Blog

The Absolute Necessity Of Filing In The Correct Court

, Posted in Immigration Law

Volumes have been written about the distinctions between the federal and state court systems. Each system has its own jurisdictional requirements. Federal courts generally have more restrictions on the types of cases which they possess the authority to hear. A recent case from a United States District Court in New Jersey reiterates these limitations. The case involved a Honduran national who, all the way back in 1991, pled guilty to a drug offense in the Superior…

Read MorePosted on

USCIS Only To Accept Updated Version Of Form N-400 After May 4, 2014

, Posted in Immigration Law

The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) have updated the Form N-400 which applicants must submit for naturalization in an effort to enhance the quality of the experience for those using the form. It should be noted the eligibility requirements for naturalization have not been altered and most of the information on the form is the same. But the revised form does possess several new features. First, the instructions and formatting have been improved.  The…

Read MorePosted on

Senegalese Woman And Husband Lose Appeal In Removal Case

, Posted in Immigration Law

A Senegalese woman and her husband who gained admission into the United States in 2000 and 2001 respectively, but have overstayed their visas, sought to prevent their removal from the country. The wife, Billo Fall, claimed that, because she feared that she and her daughters would be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) if they returned to their home country, she should qualify for Convention Against Torture (CAT).  Ms. Fall claimed before the Immigration Judge hearing…

Read MorePosted on

Battle Over Enlist Amendment To Defense Appropriation Ensues

, Posted in Immigration Law

A Republican Congressman from California, Jeff Denham, has resumed his commitment to forge a path to legal status for undocumented aliens who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. The co-author of the ENLIST Act, Rep. Denham has once again sought to attach an amendment creating the Act to the annual defense appropriation act known as the NDAA, or National Defense Authorization Act. He faces opposition from his own party whose members claim that the bill authorizing…

Read MorePosted on

Problems With Immigration Services Computer Systems Partially Fixed

, Posted in Immigration Law

The U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR) announced on May 19 that they had repaired “bugs in their computer systems which hindered or prevented immigration authorities from performing many of their duties.  They managed to get their computer systems running again after suffering a “catastrophic hardware failure that had plagued their case management system for deportation cases. In a prepared statement, however, they did note that the Executive Office for Immigration Review continues…

Read MorePosted on

Florida Legislature Passes In-state Tuition For Children Of Undocumented Aliens

, Posted in Immigration Law

The Florida Legislature just passed legislation allowing children of immigrants who came here as youths to pay in-state tuition rates to attend the state’s public colleges and universities. The passage of the bill which the governor intends to sign marks a shift for the state’s legislative bodies which, just three years ago, focused its attention towards enforcement issues when addressing immigration matters. Since that time, however, some parts of immigration laws passed by other states, such…

Read MorePosted on

Prosecutor Moves To Dismiss Illegal Re-entry Case Against Ohio Man

, Posted in Immigration Law

An Erie, Pennsylvania federal prosecutor requested dismissal of a criminal case against an Ohio resident named Alfredo Ramos Gallego. Mr. Gallego was charged with illegal re-entry in to the United States back in February. Subsequently, a group of immigration activists demonstrated in Erie against the prosecution demanding the charges be dropped. When making his announcement that his office would ask the court to dismiss the charges, the US Attorney David J. Hickton indicated that the case…

Read MorePosted on

Filling The Need For Nurses From Overseas

, Posted in Immigration Law

Just as a shortage of IT professionals in the United States precipitates the need for employers to seek skilled workers from other countries to fill job positions in the science and technology sector via the H1-B visa process, hospitals and doctors must do the same for nurses. Despite recent increases in the number of students seeking nursing degrees in American colleges and universities, the demand outstrips the current supply of trained nurses here. Accordingly, the USCIS…

Read MorePosted on

Lack Of Retroactivity Prevents Defendant From Getting Conviction Vacated

, Posted in Immigration Law

The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, once again addressed the issue of whether warnings given by an attorney to his client, a criminal defendant who could be potentially subject to deportation, were sufficient.  In this instance, an Ecuadorian citizen was arrested for four counts of drug offenses. His attorney negotiated a plea with the prosecutor under which he would plead to one of those counts and receive a three-year sentence. He would become eligible…

Read MorePosted on

Mexican National Denied Asylum By Successive Tribunals

, Posted in Immigration Law

A Mexican citizen who came to the United States on a short seventy-two hour visa in 2000 has been repeatedly denied asylum in this country for both procedural defects in his application and because his case does not establish the substantive grounds for asylum. He failed to take any action to seek asylum in the United States until 2009 when the government commenced removal proceedings against him.  At that juncture, he admitted that he was subject…

Read MorePosted on