Scott’s New Era Immigration

On August 20^th, 2010 U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (“ICE”) issued a memorandum from Assistant Secretary John Morton that will make a non-citizen or alien who is placed in removal proceedings eligible for relief if they have a pending Petition for Alien Relative (“Form I-130 or petition”).

Basically, ICE and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“ USCIS”) will now work more efficiently together so that non-citizens placed in removal will either have his and/or her case expedited or dismissed without prejudice.  This would occur once ICE verifies that the individual is indeed eligible for the relief.

Detained individuals or aliens eligible for I-130 relief would seek to complete the adjudication of all applications and petitions referred by ICE within 30 days for detained aliens.  Once their are no adverse factors there should be prompt move to dismiss proceedings before the Executive Office of Immigration Review ( “EOIR”).

Undetained individuals or aliens would have their cases adjudicated within 45 days.   Where an underlying application or petition exists and ICE determines eligibility for relief from removal, the case should also be promptly dismissed with EOIR.

The memorandum sums up the standard of review as follows:

Only removal cases that meet the following criteria will be considered for dismissal:

• The alien must be the subject of an application or petition filed with USCIS to include a current priority date, if required, for adjust of status;
• The alien appears eligible for relief as a matter of law and in the exercise of discretion;
• The alien must preset a completed Application to register Permanent Residence or Adjust Stats (Form I-485), if required; and
• The alien beneficiary must be statutorily eligible for adjustment of status ( a waiver must be available for any ground of inadmissibility).

For more information you may contact our office at info@scottcclaw.com or call (703)955.7998.

ScottMond Law Firm

www.scottcclaw.com

Your flight has just landed safely, your relaxed and ready to settle down from the hassles of travel, then suddenly you as a non-citizen are met with a surprise from Customs Borders and Patrol (CBP) called “Deferred Inspection”.

Once you are not a Citizen of the United States, and you intend to return to the U.S. after being overseas for even a brief visit, CBP redetermines and revaluates if you are eligible for entry into the United States.  It is important to note that this includes U.S. Permanent Residents, no matter how long they have resided in the United States. There are a number of reasons why entry may be denied.  A deferred inspection is granted to allow non citizens temporary admission into the United States to prove that they are eligible for entry if they produce the required documentation and evidence requested by CBP.  CBP provides a date and meeting time in which the individual would be required to come back to the airport.  An attorney should accompany the individual.  A reputable immigration attorney will be allowed into the deferred inspection meeting, despite the federal regulations not giving the non-citizen an explicit “right to counsel or an attorney”.  It is a mistake to attend this meeting without legal counsel.

A few reasons why a non citizen individual may be not be admitted into the United States is listed below:

• Any criminal history, even if no conviction has taken place.
• Questioning the underlying basis of a visa
• Abandonment of Permanent Resident Status. If individuals have had very extensive or lengthy visits, CBP could question if status has been abandoned.

Recently a client came into our office and she was given a deferred inspection because her H1B visa was being questioned based on the legitimacy of the underlying company.  If the company was found to have immigration issues, the visa would have been revoked.

We have had numerous clients who believed that because they were Permanent Residents of the United States, they could never lose their status.  However, due to major changes in immigration law this is farthest from the truth.  Permanent residents are always under the possibility of having status revoked for a variety of reasons we do not explain in detail in this article.  However, it is highly recommended that if a U.S. permanent resident has any questions or issues regarding any problems that have arisen over the course of his or her residency, they should not hesitate to get legal counsel regarding immigration consequences.

The good news is that deferred inspection allows a non-citizen to address any lingering issues upfront which could pop up later in a citizenship application, or simple renewal of one’s green card.  CBP’s decision to grant entry to the United States and success in a deferred inspection is usually binding for the future, and lays to rest any lingering issues.  The non-citizen can be at rest with their status and freely interact with the Department of Homeland Security at various levels whenever needed, including future travel.

If you have any questions, we invite you to contact me at info@scottcclaw.com or 703.261.6881/202.296.0122 .

Glendia Rice-Mondesir

Attorney-at-law