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Steps to Replace Lost Passport with U.S. Visa
Losing a passport with a valid U.S. visa, particularly in a foreign country, is always a huge setback especially for those who are on a short vacation and must return to the U.S. to resume their employment or to attend school. Irrespective of the care one takes to guard important documents, every year many passports…
Read MoreEmployment-Based Green Card Applicants to be Interviewed
Starting October 1, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) will require in-person interviews for adjustment of status (AOS) applications (I-485) based on employment (e.g., Form I-140) and refugee/asylee relative petitions. Under the direction of the January executive order “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”, USCIS director James W. McCament hopes…
Read MoreSupreme Court Rules Citizenship Cannot be Rescinded Due to False Statements
Can a naturalized citizen have her citizenship revoked for making an immaterial false statement in her naturalization application? On June 22, 2017 the Supreme Court in Maslenjak v. United States decided that to rescind one’s citizenship due to false statement made during the immigration process, the statement has to be material. In other words, “the…
Read MoreObtaining Waiver for Nonimmigrants
Nonimmigrants who are found ineligible for admission (inadmissible) for entry into the U.S. are permanently barred from entering or remaining in the U.S. Generally, an inadmissible individual can seek entrance on a temporary basis with an Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) §212(d)(3) nonimmigrant visa waiver. This waiver is available to foreign nationals who have been…
Read MoreWarrantless Searches by CBP at the Border and Port of Entry
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents have the broad legal authority to conduct searches at the border and Port of Entry (POE). Unlike police officers who need search warrants, CBP can conduct searches “without individualized suspicion” as stated in CBP’s policy. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and visitors alike are subjected to CBP searches,…
Read MoreInterfiling New Immigrant Petition into Pending I-485 Case
Interfiling – also referred to as “conversion” or “transfer” – is a process where a foreign national seeking to adjust status can change the underlying immigration petition (most often an I-140 employer sponsored petition or an I-130 family based petition) forming the original grounds for the I-485 adjustment of status application. Rephrased, interfiling permits the…
Read MoreBIA Appeal Reverses Material Misrepresentation on I-485
From time to time, like in our previous writing, Abandonment of LPR (Green Card) Status (Part II), we discuss unpublished/non-precedential decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) made public thru various means. While non-precedential decisions are only binding on the parties to the case – they are nevertheless very instructive because the BIA is…
Read MoreU.S. Supreme Court Decision Broadens Rights Afforded to Same-Sex Couples
In our past news item, DOMA Ruling and Immigration Benefits for Same-Sex Partners, we discussed the implications of a June 2013 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision invalidating an operative provision of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) affecting same-sex marriages. More specifically, in U.S. v. Windsor, the SCOTUS struck down Section…
Read MoreU.S. Supreme Court Solidifies the Doctrine of Consular Nonreviewability
On June 15, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in Kerry v. Din which reinforces the viability of the judicially created doctrine known as “consular nonreviewability.” At its broadest, the doctrine of consular nonreviewability is typically understood to mean a consular officer’s decision to deny a visa is not subject…
Read MoreAbandonment of Green Card Status (Part II)
In Part I, we touched upon principles and concerns surrounding the issue of abandonment of green card as it generally relates to travel abroad and maintaining Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) or “Green Card” status. Here, in Part II, we will briefly examine an unpublished Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision in Saleh Mohammed Otaifah, A055…
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