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TPS has been extended for Salvadorans

USCIS has recently announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been extended for nationals of El Salvador. The extended period is from March 10, 2012 until Sept. 09, 2013, which is an 18 month extension of time.

Current nationals of El Salvador that have TPS have only a 60 day window within which to extend their status. The deadline is through March 12, 2012. USCIS is NOW accepting applications, so please file as soon as possible if this applies to you. TPS applicants will also receive employment authorization as well that will be valid until September 09, 2013.

To re-register, applicants must file form I-821 and I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Both forms must be filed together. People who are extending their status do not need to repay the filing fees for the I-821 form, but they must submit the biometrics fee or fee waiver form if they are over 14 years of age. They also must pay the employment authorization filing fee or a fee waiver form if they are eligible for that fee waiver. The fee waiver form is Form I-912.

All of these forms can be downloaded at www.uscis.gov.

U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China has a short Wait Time for a Visa

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China has recently announced that it has now issued its one millionth visa this month in December of 2011.

The best news, though, is that the average time to wait for a visa is ONLY one week! Ambassador Gary Locke announced that he is working hard to increase travel between China and the U.S. This is good news for us because Chinese visitors gave the U.S. economy about $ 5 billion in the year of 2010. This is important to know because it provides a good policy for why we should increase immigration to the U.S. and not decrease immigration to the U.S.

U.S. Citizenship can be Revoked as Per New Decision by the Seventh Circuit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has just issued a decision which allowed Jose Suarez’s U.S. citizenship to be revoked. Jose Suarez committed two controlled substance offenses just before he applied for citizenship. The former INS, now USCIS, did not find these offenses when he did his fingerprints because he had not yet been charged. His application for citizenship was approved and he was sworn in as a U.S. citizen.

A couple of months after he was sworn in, he was indicted for the offenses that had taken place before he applied for citizenship. After he served his sentence, his criminal offenses came to the attention of the immigration officials, and under 8 U.S.C. section 1451(a), the United States sought to take away his citizenship.

The U.S. brought charges to take away his citizenship about three years after he was released from jail. The complaint against Suarez alleged that he illegally procured his citizenship because he did not reveal these crimes at the time of his interview. It is important to note here that he was not formally indicted for these until after he was already sworn in! In other words, no criminal charges were pending against him at the time he applied for citizenship. The INS’ reasoning was that he committed the crime before naturalization, and he evaded criminal punishment for those criminal acts until he was sworn in as a U.S. citizen.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had similar reasoning and many additional arguments that they relied on to revoke his citizenship. The bottom line is that he committed the acts before he appeared at the interview with the INS, and therefore he should revealed this information and even if he did reveal this information, he would not have been found to be a person of good moral character.

Mr. Jose Suarez was found guilty of being part of a conspiracy to distribute almost 200 pounds of marijuana. Yes, crimes like these will keep you from becoming a U.S. Citizen, and might even get you removed (deported) from the U.S.

Processing Time Reports issued by USCIS

The Vermont Service Center, Texas Service Center and National Benefits have issued their processing time reports as of October 19, 2011. Below is a brief summary of some of the most common types of immigration applications for family based categories:

1. K-1 / K-2 / Fiance Visa – Processing time can range from cases filed with a date in March of 2011 to as short a time as 5 months, depending on where the case was filed.

2. K-3 / K-4 / Spousal Visa – Processing time can range from cases filed with a date in March of 2011 to as short a time as 5 months, depending on where the case was filed.

3. I-130’s being filed by U.S. Citizen petitioners for their family members – Usually about 5 months if filed with Texas Service Center.

These processing reports can be obtained from www.uscis.gov directly for each service center.

Is Fleeing to Elude a Police Officer while Driving a CIMT?

In a recent decision issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), it seems that it is more likely than not that the offense of fleeing to elude a police officer is a crime involving moral turpitude, also called CIMT. In the Decision of Matter of Ruiz-Lopez, BIA 2011, the BIA gave an extensive explanation of which driving offenses constitute a crime involving moral turpitude. The BIA explains that fleeing to elude a police officer is a crime involving moral turpitude because the Respondent knows that the police officer has asked him to stop, and in reckless disregard of the Officer’s command, the Respondent still drove in a reckless manner that could endanger his life, others and even the Officer’s life, due to the Respondent’s willful behavior to flee from the Officer.

As a result of the conviction of fleeing to elude a police officer, the Respondent was found ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had committed a crime that is listed under 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is a crime involving moral turpitude. The Respondent had entered the U.S. without inspection over 10 years before removal proceedings were started again him. Although he would usually be eligible for cancellation of removal due to his presence in the U.S. for over 10 years, because of his conviction noted above, the BIA held that he was not eligible for this immigration relief.

H-1B Count as of October 7, 2011

The most recent H-1B count shows that there are still large numbers of H-1B’s available to the general public. Of the 65,000 H-1B visas allowed, USCIS has now received 41,000 H-1B visas. Of the 20,000 advanced degree visas available per fiscal year, USCIS has received about 19,100 H-1B visas.

An Additional Benefit of Being a U.S. Citizen

Not too many people are aware, but under probate law in connection with wills and estates, the executor of the will assigned by the deceased person must be a U.S. citizen in many states in the U.S.

A new Memo dated October 3, 2011 issued by the Probate Court in Alabama, states that now proof of citizenship is required as well as a copy of the driver’s license. This requirement is same as the requirement in many other states.

Just a small reminder of one of the many benefits of becoming a U.S. citizen.

ICE Arrests 2,900 Criminal Immigrants Over a 7 Day Period

CNN has reported that over a span of 7 days, ICE has arrested 2,900 immigrants who had criminal convictions. ICE arrested 2,900 people from all over the 50 states. The Obama Administration has consistently upheld its policy against criminal aliens, and this is one example of their policy being placed in action. Of those 2,900 people, more than 1,200 people had multiple convictions. Also, 1,600 of those people had felony convictions ranging from manslaughter to sexual crimes against minors. A few were even gang members or convicted sex offenders.

ICE has estimated that there remain at large over 1 million convicted immigrants in the U.S. Most of the people arrested, about 2,600 of them, were men.

I know from the calls I am receiving in my office that enforcement of criminal aliens is definitely on the rise, because at least 50 percent of the calls I have been receiving lately are calls from family members seeking assistance in getting their loved one out of immigration custody. Many of the detained aliens have had some previous criminal conviction(s) in their past.

Good BIA case for Iraqi Christians Applying for Asylum

The Board of Immigration Appeals recently issued a favorable case regarding Iraqi Christians. Although the Immigration Judge did not allow the applicant to reopen her deportation order to apply for asylum from Iraq, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed the Judge’s decision and allowed the applicant’s deportation order to be reopened.

This is a helpful case, because the motion to reopen was NOT timely filed within 90 or 180 days. In fact, the applicant waited 3 years before filing this Motion to Reopen. The Judge who denied the Motion to Reopen is with the Immigration Court in Detroit, MI. Based on this decision, now the applicant will have the opportunity to apply for asylum and withholding of removal.

The Board of Immigration Appeals reopened the applicant’s case because they stated that based on the country conditions information provided by the applicant, the country conditions for Christians in Iraqi have worsened in the years of 2008 and 2009. The BIA held that the country conditions have worsened to such an extent since the applicant’s prior deportation hearing that the deportation proceedings should be reopened to allow the applicant to apply for asylum and withholding of removal. The matter was remanded, i.e. sent back, to the Immigration Judge for his consideration of the worsening situation in Iraq for Christians and for entry of a new decision.

This decision is unpublished and a copy of the decision was emailed to our office for our own information from the applicant’s attorney.