About Me

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Beverly Hills, California, United States
Eli Kantor is a labor, employment and immigration law attorney. He has been practicing labor, employment and immigration law for more than 36 years. He has been featured in articles about labor, employment and immigration law in the L.A. Times, Business Week.com and Daily Variety. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Journal. Telephone (310)274-8216; eli@elikantorlaw.com. For more information, visit beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com and and beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com

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Thursday, December 19, 2019

WHAT LINE?

James Stacey Taylor writes about his immigrant success story in Reason— how he arrived in the U.S. with $97 in cash and ultimately earned a Ph.D. — but points out that the proverbial “line” that people say immigrants should wait in doesn’t actually exist. “There is an implication in the line metaphor that the current immigration system operates as it did at the time of Ellis Island,” but in reality, Taylor argues, “[t]here are vanishingly few paths to being legally able to live and work here.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

#FREEMADDIE

A six-year-old girl named Maddie has been confined with her dad in Pennsylvania’s Berks County immigration detention center for almost six months, and it has led to a #FREEMADDIE campaign on social media calling her for release, Jeff Gammage reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Maddie’s lawyers say the duration of her time in detention is “the longest the federal government has held a child in any of its three family lock-ups. They say a sweet, shy girl once defined by a sparkling smile has become deeply depressed.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

HELPING ASYLUM SEEKERS

Health care professionals and medical students from both sides of the southern border are volunteering to help keep asylum seekers safe and healthy while their lives are in limbo, Julie Watson reports for the Associated Press. The situation at the border “has thrust volunteer doctors into new and unusual roles where they often have to improvise while working with limited donated medications and equipment and dealing with non-medical issues. Besides giving patients a pill for pain relief, the doctors might need to direct them to legal help for their cases while offering a listening ear as a kind of therapist to a population suffering deep trauma from violence that forced them to flee their homelands.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Friday, December 06, 2019

USCIS Announces Implementation of H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Fiscal Year 2021 Cap Season

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that it has completed a successful pilot testing phase and is implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee.

The electronic registration process will dramatically streamline processing by reducing paperwork and data exchange, and will provide an overall cost savings to petitioning employers.

Under this new process, employers seeking H-1B workers subject to the cap, or their authorized representatives, will complete a registration process that requires only basic information about their company and each requested worker. USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020. The H-1B random selection process, if needed, will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

Historically, employers filed their full, and often voluminous, H-1B cap-subject petitions with USCIS, after which USCIS would select eligible petitions through a random selection process. This process resulted in unnecessary paperwork and incurred mailing costs for both petitioners and the agency.

“By streamlining the H-1B cap selection process with a new electronic registration system, USCIS is creating cost savings and efficiencies for petitioners and the agency, as only those selected will now be required to submit a full petition,” said USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans. “The agency completed a successful pilot testing phase, which included sessions with industry representatives, and implementation of the registration system will further the goal of modernizing USCIS from a paper-based to an online-filing agency.” 

USCIS will post step-by-step instructions informing registrants how to complete the registration process on its website along with key dates and timelines as the initial registration period nears. USCIS will also conduct public engagements and other outreach activities to ensure registrants and interested parties are familiar with the new registration system. The agency may determine it is necessary to continue accepting registrations, or open an additional registration period, if it does not receive enough registrations and subsequent petitions projected to reach the numerical allocations.

DHS formally created the H-1B registration requirement in the final rule, Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking To File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens, published on Jan. 31, and effective on April 1, 2019. DHS intends to publish a notice in the Federal Register in the coming weeks to formally announce implementation of the H-1B registration system and provide additional details on the process.

On Nov. 8, 2019, DHS published a final rule establishing a $10 H-1B registration fee. The registration fee final rule is effective on Dec. 9, 2019, and will apply to registrations submitted during the initial and future registration periods.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

MORE COULD BE DONE

After being detained on May 19, 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez became the sixth child to die in U.S. custody in the last year. A top-notch team of ProPublica reporters “obtained video that documents the 16-year-old’s last hours, and it shows that Border Patrol agents and health care workers at the Weslaco holding facility missed increasingly obvious signs that his condition was perilous.” John Sanders, the acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection who resigned soon after the incident, “recently faulted unprepared agencies and an unresponsive Congress for a tragedy that he said was both predictable and preventable. The deaths of Carlos and other children under his watch continue to haunt him. ‘I believe the U.S. government could have done more,’ he said.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Monday, December 02, 2019

USCIS Premium Processing Fee Increase Takes Effect Today

The USCIS final rule increasing the premium processing fee for Form I-129 and Form I-140 from $1,410 to $1,440 takes effect today, December 2, 2019. Applications postmarked on or after December 2, 2019, must include the new fee. See USCIS's announcement about the increase.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

FORT WORTH

Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price, a Republican, is urging Gov. Greg Abbott to continue allowing refugees to resettle in Texas, Sarah McConnell reports for The Texan. Price is the latest mayor to speak out following a Trump administration executive order that allows states to decide whether they will accept refugees. In a letter to Gov. Abbott, Price wrote: “I have witnessed the mutually beneficial impact of resettling almost 2,600 refugees in Fort Worth since 2016, I don’t want to risk fixing anything that is not broken.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Asylum Struggles

For the Dallas Observer, Meredith Lawrence profiles Michael, a Kurdish journalist whose story of seeking asylum in the U.S. highlights the numerous hurdles — including “miscommunication, red tape, government errors, and delays” — that can make the asylum-seeking process impossible to navigate. “Regulations require asylum seekers to wait six months after filing for asylum before applying for a work permit,” Lawrence writes. “But Michael has been waiting for his permit for years, tangled up in a system that has left him unable to support himself. … After two years in this country with no work permit and no way to earn a living legally, Michael ran out of money.”  

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Friday, November 29, 2019

USCIS Forms Update Notice

Update to Form I-924, Application For Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program. New Edition Dated 11/21/19.


Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Manhani v. Barr

The frivolous asylum application bar in 8 U.S.C. §1158(d)(6) precludes an applicant from receiving all benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Manhani v. Barr - filed Nov. 25 2019
Cite as 2019 S.O.S. 17-72231

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Fares v. Barr

A noncitizen who seeks a 8 U.S.C. §237(a)(1)(H) waiver is otherwise admissible even though he failed to return to his country of origin for at least two years, as required by 8 U.S.C. §1182(e).

Fares v. Barr - filed Nov. 25, 2019
Cite as 2019 S.O.S. 13-71916

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Friday, November 22, 2019

Church Support

Nearly four months after the largest immigration raid in the last decade, which resulted in 680 arrests, churches in central Mississippi are still supporting the families who were impacted, reports Egan Millard in Episcopal News Service. “Initially, legal assistance was the resource they needed most. But now, with wage-earning parents either detained or unable to work, many of those families simply need food to put on the table. … Other churches have launched their own efforts, like the Morton United Methodist Church, which has collected over $100,000 to pay bills for people affected by the raid, NPR reported, and a Presbyterian church is collecting Christmas presents for the children.”

For more information, go to: 

THE FIRST

Nebraska has become the first state to agree to share its state driver’s license record data with the U.S. Census Bureau. Starting in December and through 2021, “the state's DMV will share monthly data about license and ID card holders' citizenship status, plus names, addresses, dates of birth, sex, race and eye color,” reports Hansi Lo Wang in NPR.  Nebraska also only provides drivers licenses to people who can prove they are legally residing in the United States. Meanwhile, civil rights organizations “are suing the Trump administration to try to block the bureau from producing citizenship data.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2020

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has reached the congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year 2020.

Nov. 15 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2020. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Nov. 15 that request an employment start date before April 1, 2020.

USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes the following types of petitions:

Current H-2B workers in the U.S. petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 31, 2029.
U.S. businesses use the H-2B program to employ foreign workers for temporary nonagricultural jobs. Currently, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (Oct.1 - March 31) and 33,000 (plus any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year) for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 - Sept. 30).

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Vega-Anguiano v. Bar

A federal appellate court has jurisdiction to review a reinstatement order, and some collateral attack is permitted on an underlying removal order during review of a reinstatement order if the petitioner can show that he suffered a gross miscarriage of justice in the initial deportation proceeding; a gross miscarriage of justice occurs when a deportation or removal order had no legal basis at the time of its issuance or at the time of its execution; the gross miscarriage of justice standard does not include a diligence component that bars a collateral challenge to a prior order when a reinstatement order is timely challenged on the ground that the prior order, on which the new order is based, is invalid. An order of removal in 8 U.S.C. §1252(b)(1) covers both removal and reinstatement orders such that, in cases where the petitioner seeks review of a reinstatement order, §1252(b)(1) requires only that the reinstatement order be challenged within 30 days of becoming final.

Vega-Anguiano v. Barr - filed Nov. 19, 2019
Cite as 2019 S.O.S. 15-72999

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

USCIS Issues Further Guidance on Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification

On Oct. 11, USCIS issued three adopted Administrative Appeals Office decisions to clarify requirements for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. USCIS is now updating the USCIS Policy Manual to reflect those clarifications.

This update reaffirms and clarifies that:

The petitioner must have been a juvenile under relevant state law when the juvenile court order was issued;
USCIS requires evidence of a court’s intervention to provide relief from abuse, neglect, or abandonment beyond a statement that the juvenile is dependent on the court; and
USCIS will no longer require evidence that a state court had the authority to place a petitioner in the custody of an unfit parent in order to make a qualifying determination regarding parental reunification for purposes of SIJ classification.

Public Event Announcement USCIS District 43 Stakeholders Forum Quarterly Engagement Meeting December 10, 2019

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is announcing the District 43 Stakeholders Forum. This meeting will address USCIS topics for the following District 43 offices:

Los Angeles County Field Office (LAC)

Los Angeles Field Office (LOS)

San Fernando Valley Field Office (SFV)

The purpose of this meeting is to promote open and transparent communication between District 43 and external stakeholders, as well as to disseminate public messaging to the broadest extent possible.

USCIS is pleased to extend an invitation for you to join us for our quarterly District 43 Stakeholders Forum.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

9:30 AM to 11:00 AM *

300 North Los Angeles St, Rm. 1001

(* Please allow sufficient time to process through the security screening, as this will be a busy day.)

Agenda Topics/Discussion Issues:

As the agenda will be based on your interests, your questions/topics must be submitted by email to ceflosangeles@uscis.dhs.gov by 5:00 PM on December 3rd, 2019.  Please note, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss USCIS topics related to the Los Angeles District. Topics that are national in scope or involve other DHS or government entities should be directed to USCIS HQ or the specific agency.

To Register:

Please send your RSVP to ceflosangeles@uscis.dhs.gov by 5:00 PM December 3rd, 2019.  Include the following information:

1.     The first and last name of the attendee(s)
2.     Position/title of the attendee(s)
3.     Organization/agency name

Please note that due to limited space, it would be appreciated if each entity could limit the attendees to two representatives, if possible. We kindly suggest early registration as seating will be limited. Once capacity is reached, additional RSVPs will not be accepted. Therefore, you are encouraged to register early.

We look forward to your participation!


Monday, November 18, 2019

THIRD SAFE NEGOTIATIONS

As part of the Trump administration’s new migration accords with Central American countries, it was reported that asylum seekers rejected by the U.S. could be sent to a remote airport in a jungle in Guatemala. However, on Saturday the administration said it had no plans to do this, Sofia Menchu and Ted Hesson report in Reuters. “Incoming [Guatemalan] president [Alejandro] Giammattei criticized the lack of transparency around how the deal is being finalized and told reporters at a press conference on Saturday that his government would evaluate any agreement that was struck by his predecessor.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

50 YEARS LATER

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer has lived in the U.S. for nearly 50 years and has served in five separate U.S. Navy deployments — but he now faces deportation, Kat Tenbarge reports at Insider. While Raul Rodriguez was helping his brother immigrate to the U.S., Raul discovered something he didn’t know: He was born in Mexico. “Rodriguez said had never seen the birth certificate before, but once the OIG began a criminal investigation into whether his brother's immigration application had been falsified on Rodriguez's part, his father admitted that he actually had been born in Mexico.” Now, facing deportation, Rodriguez has lost his job — and “is on the watch for Border Patrol agents — the same people he used to work with.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

25 YEARS LATER

For the 25th anniversary of Proposition 187 — the ballot measure targeting undocumented immigrants in California which sought to deny public services to those without legal status, and is often credited with the GOP’s decline in California — Gustavo Arellano reflects on his recent interview with former California Governor Pete Wilson in the Los Angeles Times. “After our initial exchange, Wilson walked the same well-worn road he’s carved out over the last quarter-century when reporters have asked him about Proposition 187. His campaign against illegal immigration wasn’t racist. Allegations that he was a bigot were ‘evil’ and a ‘lie.’”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

USCIS Releases Report on Arrest Histories of Illegal Aliens who Request DACA

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated data on arrests and apprehensions of illegal aliens who requested Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  

The release of this report reflects the agency’s ongoing focus on transparency. The report provides updated information on known arrests and apprehensions of DACA requestors. The data may include arrests that did not result in convictions or where the charges were dropped or otherwise dismissed. 

Among the findings of the release are the following:  

-Nearly 110,000 DACA requestors out of nearly 889,000 (12%) had arrest records. Offenses in these arrest records include assault, battery, rape, murder and driving under the influence. 
-Of approved DACA requestors with an arrest, 85% (67,861) of them were arrested or apprehended before their most recent DACA approval.
-Of approved DACA requestors with an arrest, more than 31% (24,898) of them had more than one arrest.  
-Of all DACA requestors, 218 had more than 10 arrests. Of those, 54 had a DACA case status of “approved” as of October 2019. 

“As DACA continues to be the subject of both public discourse and ongoing litigation, USCIS remains committed to ensuring transparency and that the American people are informed about those receiving DACA,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “This agency is obligated to continue accepting DACA requests from illegal aliens as a direct result of the previous administration’s decision to circumvent the laws as passed by Congress. We hope this data provides a better sense of the reality of those granted the privilege of a temporary deferral of removal action and work authorization under DACA.”   

Under current DACA guidelines, illegal aliens may be considered for DACA if they have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more “non-significant” misdemeanors not arising out of the same act, omission or scheme of misconduct, and they do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. The number of arrests illegal aliens have do not necessarily disqualify them from receiving DACA as a matter of discretion.   

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Friday, November 15, 2019

Modernizing Recruitment Requirements for the Temporary Employment of H-2B Foreign Workers in the United States

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) (collectively, the Departments), are jointly issuing this final rule to amend the regulations governing DOL's certification of nonagricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2B nonimmigrant status (H-2B workers). Pursuant to Section 214(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), this certification serves as DHS's consultation with DOL regarding whether a qualified United States (U.S.) worker is available to fill the petitioning H-2B employer's job opportunity, and whether a foreign worker's employment in the job opportunity will adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. This final rule modernizes and improves the labor market test that DOL uses to assess whether qualified U.S. workers are available by: Rescinding the requirement that an employer advertise its job opportunity in a print newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment, and expanding and enhancing DOL's electronic job registry to disseminate available job opportunities to the widest audience possible.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

USCIS announced a proposed rule to deny some asylum seekers work authorization

On Wednesday, USCIS announced a proposed rule that would deny work authorization to asylum seekers who entered the U.S. outside of a port of entry. The proposed rule also seeks to automatically end work authorization for asylum seekers whose application is denied and administratively final. Additionally, all asylum seekers who did not file asylum applications within 1 year of their last entry into the U.S. are ineligible for work authorization. The rule also clarifies that if an asylum seeker fails to appear for their appointment, their asylum application or work authorization can be denied. Last, any asylum seeker who was convicted of a felony or certain public safety offenses is ineligible for work authorization. The rule also gives discretion to officers to deny employment authorization for “unresolved arrests or pending charges.” The proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register and is open for comment until January 13, 2020.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Reuters: U.S. Judge Rules Suspicionless Searches of Travelers' Digital Devices Unconstitutional

Reuters reports that yesterday, a federal judge ruled that U.S. border agents need "reasonable suspicion" but not a warrant to search travelers' smartphones and laptops at airports and other U.S. ports of entry. The ruling sets a higher standard than the one CBP and ICE agents must apply to conduct routine searches of electronic devices under current policies. The number of electronic device searches at the border has ballooned during the Trump administration, rising from about 8,500 in FY2015 to more than 30,000 in FY2018.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Call for Examples: Asylum Offices' Failure to Contact Counsel with G‑28s on File for Credible and/or Reasonable Fear Interviews

Various practitioners have reported that asylum offices across the country are failing to contact counsel with G‑28s on file for credible or reasonable fear interviews for detained clients where counsel cannot attend in person. If you have attempted to represent a client in a credible or reasonable fear interview and the asylum office has interviewed your client without attempting to contact you so that you can be present by phone for representation, please submit your case example to AILA.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Cuenca v. Barr

The language of 8 U.S.C. §1231(a)(5) unambiguously and permanently bars reopening a reinstated prior removal order; §1231(a)(5) also provides that an alien forfeits the right to file a motion to reopen by reentering the country illegally.

Cuenca v. Barr - filed Nov. 13, 2019
Cite as 2019 S.O.S. 16-72378

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Monday, November 11, 2019

NEW FEES

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Friday that it will impose significant new fees on immigrants seeking to stay and work in the United States — including asylum seekers, Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports for CBS News. “The proposal would impose a $50 application fee for affirmative asylum applications and a $490 work permit fee for all asylum seekers. Fees for citizenship petitions would also increase from $750 to $1,170, and the amount could be higher for some immigrants.” The U.S. will join just three other countries — Iran, Fiji and Australia — that charge fees to asylum seekers.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, an immigrant from Mexico, is poised to make history as the first Hispanic president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, reports David Crary at the Associated Press. “In terms of doctrine, Gomez is considered a practical-minded conservative, but he is an outspoken advocate of a welcoming immigration policy that would include a path to citizenship for many immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

FORGOTTEN FILIPINO VETERANS

Stef Kight at Axios outlines the administration’s treatment of foreign-born service members and veterans, pointing out that 17.3% of immigrant veterans were born in the Philippines — second only to Mexico at 17.5%. Meanwhile, Tony Taguba, a retired U.S. Army major general and chairman of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, calls on the White House to halt its plans to eliminate the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program in an op-ed for The Hill. “The policy enabled elderly Filipino World War II veterans to have their family members join them in the United States to provide care and support, and it has had a profound impact on the veterans and their families who are now together and able to care for one another and provide support on a daily basis.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Friday, November 08, 2019

USCIS Proposes to Adjust Fees to Meet Operational Needs

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to adjust the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration Examinations Fee Account fee schedule.

Fees collected and deposited into the IEFA fund nearly 96% of USCIS’ budget. Unlike most government agencies, USCIS is fee-funded. Federal law requires USCIS to conduct biennial fee reviews and recommend necessary fee adjustments to ensure recovery of the full cost of administering the nation’s immigration laws, adjudicating applications and petitions, and providing the necessary infrastructure to support those activities.

“USCIS is required to examine incoming and outgoing expenditures, just like a business, and make adjustments based on that analysis. This proposed adjustment in fees would ensure more applicants cover the true cost of their applications and minimizes subsidies from an already over-extended system,” said Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of USCIS. “Furthermore, the adjudication of immigration applications and petitions requires in-depth screening, incurring costs that must be covered by the agency, and this proposal accounts for our operational needs and better aligns our fee schedule with the costs of processing each request.”    

The rule proposes adjusting USCIS IEFA fee schedules by a weighted average increase of 21% to ensure full cost recovery. Current fees would leave the agency underfunded by approximately $1.3 billion per year.

The proposed fee rule accounts for increased costs to adjudicate immigration benefit requests, detect and deter immigration fraud, and thoroughly vet applicants, petitioners, and beneficiaries.

USCIS last updated its fee structure in FY 2017, by a weighted average increase of 21%.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

STEPS TOWARDS HEALTH

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the government “must provide mental health services to thousands of migrant parents and children who experienced psychological harm as a result of the Trump administration’s practice of separating families,” Miriam Jordan reports for The New York Times. The decision is a rare instance of the administration being held legally accountable for its policies – “in this case, border security measures that locked thousands of migrant parents in detention while their children were placed in government shelters or foster homes.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

REMAIN REMAINS PROBLEMATIC

There are roughly 55,000 migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. who are waiting in Mexico as a result of the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy – and they continue to face violence, Elliot Spagat writes for the Associated Press. One Salvadoran woman seeking asylum was beaten by two men “after she spent four months in captivity in Mexico, kidnapped into prostitution during her journey toward the U.S.” While the Trump administration insists the program is safe, critics argue that “the administration’s policy denies asylum seekers like the Salvadoran woman fair and humane treatment, forcing them to wait in a country plagued by drug-fueled violence — illustrated this week by the slaughter near the U.S. border of six children and three women.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

DACA AND HEALTHCARE

With the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on DACA next week, Dr. David J. Skorton writes in an op-ed for The Washington Post that as “a physician, I’m deeply concerned about the impact this decision will have on the health of the nation.” DACA recipients, Skorton argues, play a key role in America’s healthcare system – and excluding these people from the workforce makes it harder for other Americans to access quality health care. “Today there are approximately 27,000 doctors, nurses, dentists, physician assistants and other health-care workers whose DACA status allows them to work and contribute to patient care. The program also is enabling nearly 200 current medical students and medical residents to pursue careers in medicine.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Thursday, November 07, 2019

Last Chance to Comment on USCIS Proposed Rule Removing the 30-Day Processing Provision for Asylum EADs

Tomorrow, November 8, is the last day to submit comments on USCIS's proposed rule removing the 30-day processing provision for initial employment authorization applications for those with pending asylum applications. Read more about the mounting opposition to the rule in this Immigration Impact blog post, and use the template and sample arguments offered by members of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law to submit your comment today.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

USCIS Implements $10 Fee for H-1B Visa Registration

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule that will require a $10 non-refundable fee for each H-1B registration submitted by petitioning employers, once it implements the electronic registration system. The registration fee is part of an agency-wide effort to modernize and more efficiently process applications to live or work in the United States.

The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.

Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended.

“This effort will help implement a more efficient and effective H-1B cap selection process,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “The electronic registration system is part of an agency-wide initiative to modernize our immigration system while deterring fraud, improving vetting procedures and strengthening program integrity.”

The final rule, Registration Fee Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens, is effective Dec. 9, 2019, and the fee will be required when registrations are submitted. USCIS is fee-funded, and this non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the agency.

USCIS is slated to implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap selection process, pending completed testing of the system. The agency will announce the implementation timeframe and initial registration period in the Federal Register once a formal decision has been made, and USCIS will offer ample notice to the public in advance of implementing the registration requirement.

USCIS published a notice of proposed rulemaking highlighting a registration fee on Sept. 4, 2019, which included a 30-day public comment period. USCIS received only 22 comments during that time, and has considered all submissions and offered public responses ahead of announcing the final rule, which is effective on Dec. 9.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Policy Update Notice on EB-5 Modernization Final Rule

USCIS is revising its policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to align with the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization Final Rule, published on July 24, 2019, and effective Nov. 21, 2019.

We are updating the USCIS Policy Manual to conform with the final rule’s provisions, which include:

Priority date retention for certain EB-5 immigrants;
An increase in minimum investment amounts;
Reforms to targeted employment area designations; and
Clarification of USCIS procedures for the removal of conditions on permanent residence.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Family Says Suspect in Acid Attack Is Veteran, Suffered PTSD

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee police arrested a man suspected of throwing battery acid on a Hispanic man who says his attacker asked him, "Why did you come here and invade my country?"

Police said Monday they arrested a 61-year-old white man suspected in Friday night's attack and were investigating the case as a hate crime. They refused to release his name pending charges, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel identified him as Clifton A. Blackwell, a military veteran whose mother said had struggled with post-traumatic stress.

Mahud Villalaz suffered second-degree burns to his face. He said the attack happened after a man confronted him about how he had parked his car and accused him of being in the U.S. illegally. Villalaz, 42, is a U.S. citizen who immigrated from Peru.

The attack comes amid a spike in hate crimes directed at immigrants that researchers and experts on extremism say is tied to mainstream political rhetoric.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett expressed shock at the attack and blamed President Donald Trump for inciting hatred against minorities. The president has repeatedly referred to migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border as an "invasion."

"To single out someone because they're from a Hispanic origin is simply wrong. And we know what's happening," Barrett, a Democrat, said. "Everybody knows what's happening. It's because the president is talking about it on a daily basis that people feel they have license to go after Hispanic people. And it's wrong."

White House spokesman Judd Deere said the Trump administration has "repeatedly condemned racism, bigotry and violence."

"The only person responsible for this heinous act is the person who committed it, and it's disgusting the mayor of Milwaukee would rather point the finger at the president of the United States for political reasons instead (of) responsibly confronting the violence in his own community," Deere said in a statement.

Jacqueline P. Blackwell, of California, told the Journal Sentinel that her son had moved to Milwaukee seeking to get help. She said she had not been in touch with him recently and had not heard of his arrest.

"I was comfortable that he was getting good care with the VA," she told the paper.

Blackwell's brother, 63-year-old Arthur Blackwell of Evergreen, Colorado, told The Associated Press on Monday that Blackwell "was not a confrontational person." He says his brother served nearly four years in the U.S. Marines.

State court records show Blackwell was convicted in a 2006 Rusk County case of false imprisonment and pointing a gun at a person. Details aren't available online, but the Journal Sentinel reported the case involved Blackwell confronting men who had come onto his farm property tracking a deer.

Surveillance video shows the confrontation but does not include audio.

Villalaz told reporters on Saturday that he was headed into a Mexican restaurant for dinner when a man approached him and told him, "You cannot park here. You are doing something illegal." He said the man also accused him of being in the U.S. illegally and of invading the country.

He said he ignored the man and moved his truck to another block. But when he returned to the restaurant, the man was waiting for him with an open bottle, Villalaz said.

The man again accused him of being in the U.S. illegally, Villalaz said. He then told the man that he was a citizen and that "everybody came from somewhere else here," Villalaz said.

That's when he says the man tossed acid at him. Villalaz turned his head, and the liquid hit the left side of his face.

Villalaz's sister told The Associated Press on Monday that her brother believes the man was prepared and wanted to attack someone.

"He's in shock. He says he can't conceive how someone would be intent on harming someone like that," Villalaz said in Spanish.

She said her brother is recovering. She said the doctor who treated him said it helped that he immediately washed his face several times inside a restaurant. His family created a GoFundMe page to cover his medical expenses.

A report last year by the Anti-Defamation League said extreme anti-immigrant views have become part of the political mainstream in recent years through sharp rhetoric by anti-immigration groups and politicians, including Trump.

Data collected by the FBI showed a 17% increase in hate crimes across the U.S. in 2017, the third annual increase in a row. Anti-Hispanic incidents increased 24%, from 344 in 2016 to 427 in 2017, according to the FBI data. Of crimes motivated by hatred over race, ethnicity or ancestry, nearly half involved African Americans, while about 11% were classified as anti-Hispanic bias.

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino, released a study in July that found a 9% increase in hate crimes reported to police in major U.S. cities in 2018. Levin found a modest decrease in bias crimes against Hispanic or Latino people — from 103 in 2017 to 100 in 2018 — in 10 major cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. However, Levin has said the totals likely would have increased last year if not for an unexplained drop in anti-Hispanic bias crimes reported for Phoenix, from 25 in 2017 to 10 in 2018.

Associated Press writers Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis and Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland, contributed to this report.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Inside the Trump Administration's Fight to End Nationwide Injunctions

BY TESSA BERENSON 

Over the weekend, a federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule requiring immigrants to prove they can pay for medical care in order to get visas. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham shot back with a statement: “It is wrong and unfair for a single district court judge to thwart the policies that the President determined would best protect the United States healthcare system,” she said.

But this fight is about more than just one judge and one policy. It is just the latest example of an increasingly high-stakes battleground in the war between the Trump administration and the courts: nationwide injunctions.

Members of the Trump administration have made it a mission at the highest levels of the White House and the Justice Department to put an end to nationwide injunctions. People in top positions in the government are using their platforms to publicly call for an end to the practice, and inside the Justice Department, there is a concerted effort to leverage litigation about Trump policies ranging from the transgender military ban to the asylum rule to get the issue before the Supreme Court.

“This is a priority across the board,” a senior Justice Department official tells TIME.

The potential ramifications of this argument go beyond any individual Trump administration policy. It’s another attempt to renegotiate of the balance of power between Trump’s White House and the other branches of government that check the executive, with a president at the top who has both harshly criticized the judiciary as he has stocked it with conservative judges. The results of the Trump administration’s efforts to end nationwide injunctions will tilt the scales of power either to the courts, for whom nationwide injunctions can be a last line of defense against a controversial White House, or to the executive, whose policies are being stymied across the country.

Nationwide injunctions allow judges to issue relief to parties beyond the plaintiffs in a case. Think, for example, of environmental laws— it wouldn’t make much sense for a judge to decide in favor of a single plaintiff who the judge finds is harmed by a law that fails to prevent lead in drinking water. With a nationwide injunction, the judge could grant relief to everyone harmed by this law, not just the individuals named in the case. This power is “essential to keep the government in line,” argues Amanda Frost, professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. “There will be times when the government acts at the 11th hour to affect millions of people, most of whom cannot get to court. And if the government knew the only relief would be to the handful of plaintiffs that actually managed to get to court, then the government would be much freer to violate all of our rights.”

But the Trump administration counters that judges are leaning on nationwide injunctions more than ever before to “inject themselves directly into the political process,” says the senior Justice Department official, with an eye towards policy outcomes more than legal ones.

Some data support the administration’s complaints. There have been 42 nationwide injunctions issued under Trump so far, according to the Justice Department. Compare that to 20 issued in the entirety of President Barack Obama’s eight years in office, according to Attorney General William Barr, or an average of just 1.5 per year against residents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, according to Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams. Members of the Trump Administration say they feel hamstrung by the increasingly muscular use of this power by federal judges.

“Nationwide injunctions undermine our entire immigration system and other systems,” Trump said in remarks before the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Chicago on Oct. 28. “It’s not the job of judges to impose their own political views.”

But advocates of nationwide injunctions under Trump argue that the increased numbers may not be because judges are getting trigger happy; that confuses cause and effect, they say, and the increasing use is instead because Trump is putting forth more extreme policies than previous presidents. “It may not be because courts are now going out of bounds and doing these things that are wild and crazy,” says Frost. “It may partly be in response to unilateral executive orders changing enormous aspects of U.S. policy.” Frost notes that President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy belongs in this category too, which was temporarily blocked by a judge in Texas in 2015. “You could say, well, the court didn’t need to do that, that court was out of control,” Frost says. “Or maybe you could take a step back and say our executive branch is now— particularly in the realm of immigration— issuing sweeping executive orders changing the status and situation for millions of people in a way that lends itself to the remedy of nationwide injunctions.”

Judges have issued nationwide injunctions against numerous Trump policies, including the travel ban, the asylum rule and the transgender military ban. One judge in California, Jon Tigar, issued two nationwide injunctions on asylum rules himself, leading the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board to declare in a September headline, “President Tigar Strikes Again.” District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in D.C. explicitly pushed back against the Trump administration’s efforts on nationwide injunctions in a September decision blocking a Trump administration policy to fast-track deportations. “It reeks of bad faith, demonstrates contempt for the authority that the Constitution’s Framers have vested in the judicial branch, and, ultimately, deprives successful plaintiffs of the full measure of the remedy to which they are entitled,” Jackson wrote.

Which gets to another fraught dynamic in the use of nationwide injunctions: venue shopping. The Trump administration has run into trouble in courts in California and Washington, D.C., two liberal outposts that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Obama’s policies, by contrast, were often blocked by courts in Texas, a Republican state. No judge would ever admit to being political in his or her decision, but there’s a strategy for lawyers in where they decide to bring cases. The senior Justice Department official describes the difficulty for the administration this way: when they enact a policy, those challenging the policy can take it to 500 judges, looking for sympathetic venues, and they only need to convince one to get it stopped in its tracks. The administration, however, needs to win all 500 for the policy to go into effect.

There have been a few small wins for the administration on this issue so far. The 9th Circuit has limited nationwide injunctions in some decisions, including in a case about a sanctuary city and another in one about exemptions from employer-covered birth control under the Affordable Care Act.

But there hasn’t been a decisive ruling on nationwide injunctions as a practice, and neither Trump nor Barr has the power to simply declare an end to them. There are three primary options for the administration to curtail this power of the third branch of government. One would be to pass legislation through Congress. Congressman Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, and Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, introduced a bill in September to end nationwide injunctions and “restore the appropriate role of district court judges by prohibiting them from issuing nationwide injunctions broader than the parties to the case or the geographic boundaries of the federal district in which the judge presides,” according to a press release about the bill. But any effort to curb judges’ power under Trump would be unlikely to pass, especially as Congress remains mired in an impeachment fight.

Another avenue is for the Justice Department to raise the issue in court cases in hopes it will get elevated to the Supreme Court to make a final decision about nationwide injunctions, a strategy Vice President Mike Pence touted this spring. “In the days ahead, our administration will seek opportunities to put this very question before the Supreme Court to ensure that decisions affecting every American are made either by those elected to represent the American people or by the highest court in the land,” Pence said in a speech to the Federalist Society in May. At least one justice has already signaled openness to reining in the power: conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion in 2018 that nationwide injunctions “are legally and historically dubious.”

There’s a catch-22 in this court-based approach for the administration. In any case in which an administration policy has been halted by a nationwide injunction, if the court were to rule in favor of the underlying policy, they wouldn’t get to answer the question of the injunction. In other words, to get a win on nationwide injunctions, the administration would need to lose the case on the merits.

Still, the Justice Department is pressing forward trying to find the right cases to present the issue, though for now there isn’t currently a case pending before the Supreme Court with a clean shot at curbing nationwide injunctions.

The final leverage the administration has on this issue is publicity. Barr has only published one op-ed since he was confirmed to be attorney general, and it was a call in the Wall Street Journal to curb nationwide injunctions, which he calls “a practice that embitters the political life of the nation, flouts constitutional principles, and stultifies sound judicial administration, all at the cost of public confidence in our institutions.” Solicitor General Noel Francisco, the government’s lawyer in charge of arguing cases before the Supreme Court, joked at a speech in 2018 that “the lower courts have issued decisions on a number of significant issues that could come before the [Supreme] Court, including… my favorite topic, the propriety of nationwide injunctions.”

And the president continues to weigh in himself, telling reporters on September 9 that one judge issuing a nationwide injunction is “very unfair. “I don’t think it should be allowed,” Trump said.

Now the rest of his administration is figuring out how to make that a reality.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

USCIS to Permanently Close Frankfurt Field Office

USCIS announced that it will permanently close its field office in Frankfurt, Germany, on January 31, 2020. Track USCIS international field office closures, and see AILA's practice alert for information on how these closures will impact applications, petitions, and forms typically processed by USCIS field offices overseas.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Friday, November 01, 2019

“Deleting Records”

Immigration court data released by the Justice Department contains “‘gross irregularities’ and the agency appears to have ‘silently but systematically’ deleted nearly a million records,” according to the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University. Claire Hansen in U.S. News & World Report writes that TRAC – which is well-respected among policymakers and researchers – “determined that it appeared the agency was both unintentionally and intentionally deleting records from the data releases.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Cause For Concern

The mental health crisis is more acute among U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, who have a rate of suicide almost 28% higher than at any other law enforcement agency – 115 CBP employees have died by suicide since 2007, Justin Rohrlich reports for Quartz. And yet, despite this serious and real problem, “sources with knowledge of CBP’s efforts to address mental health told Quartz that the agency isn’t doing enough and, in fact, has fostered a culture where seeking help is not only discouraged but punished.” There’s a sensible solution: Christian Penichet-Paul, the Forum’s policy and advocacy manager, “called on the Trump administration—which is spending somewhere between $25 million and $1 billion for each mile of border wall—to redirect some of that money toward proper counseling and other psychological support services for border officers.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

“We're Not Well”

In August, more than 600 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across seven Mississippi cities conducted “the largest single-state immigration-enforcement operation” in American history. One of those cities was Morton, Mississippi, which Charles Bethea profiles in a powerful New Yorker piece. On one hand, the First United Methodist Church in Morton has “helped disburse more than a hundred thousand dollars for more than two hundred local families” to pay utility bills. On the other hand, Cristina, a small business owner from Nicaragua who has lived in Mississippi for 18 years, told Bethea: “Look at how they come to kill Hispanics. I’m afraid to go to Walmart. I’m afraid to go to the mall. To the movies. We’re not well. Not well. This has affected us so much. We can’t work. Every day, every day, I pray to God that my husband comes home. Because immigration is everywhere.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

DHS Extends TPS Documentation for Six Countries

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a Federal Register notice extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through Jan. 4, 2021. 

The notice automatically extends the validity of Employment Authorization Documents; Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (collectively, TPS-related documentation). 

DHS is extending the TPS documentation in compliance with the preliminary injunctions of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Ramos, et al. v. Nielsen, et. al. and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Saget, et. al., v. Trump, et. al., and with the order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to stay proceedings in Bhattarai v. Nielsen.

Should the government prevail in its challenge to the Ramos preliminary injunction, the secretary’s determination to terminate TPS for Nicaragua and Sudan will take effect no earlier than 120 days from the issuance of any appellate mandate to the district court. The secretary’s determination to terminate TPS for El Salvador will take effect no earlier than 365 days from the issuance of any appellate mandate to the Ramos district court to allow for an orderly transition for affected TPS beneficiaries. 

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Thursday, October 31, 2019

DACA recipient faces deportation because of new ICE policy

TUCSON – A local DACA recipient is concerned as she could face deportation because of the latest policy changes from the Trump administration.

The latest change could mean immigration courts could get a heavy increase of cases just like hers.

Zoila Pelayo is a mother of four. She moved to Tucson from Mexico when she was six years old.

Pelayo attended Flowing Wells High School and is now a special education teacher there.

“In the morning, I get one kid and then the second hour, I get two,” said Pelayo.

Despite the challenges that come with being a full-time teacher and mother, Pelayo said she had to overcome her disability. She is legally blind and has trouble reading and writing.

“I feel like I’ve been here long enough to be an American citizen,” said Pelayo. “I came here so I don’t. I don’t know I’m scared to go back to Mexico because like I said I don’t know nobody.”

In 2012, Pelayo faced deportation because of a traffic violation. The case was dismissed and she became a DACA recipient.

Now with the latest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies, she is facing deportation again.

ICE notified Pelayo that they plan to re-calendar her case.

“Any case that got administratively closed under Barack Obama and his presidency are now being, what they cal, l re-calendared,” said Mo Goldman, an immigration attorney. “Or their filing requests to the court to re-calendar them and that’s because we’ve had a drastic shift in policy.”

Pelayo’s biggest fear is leaving her family.

“If they stop me, I think I’m going to be scared,” Pelayo said. “I just want to stay here and everything like that because it’s scary.”

Pelayo is not alone. Goldman said he is starting to see more cases like Pelayo’s.

“We still have a Supreme Court case about the constitutionality about the program the DACA program and that’s still pending,” said Goldman. “We have people who actually have this legitimately authorized documents that say they’re allowed to be here in the United States and allow them to work in the U.S. Now, another prong of the Department of Homeland Security is telling these individuals no your not supposed to be here we want to deport you.”

News 4 Tucson reached out to ICE about Pelayo’s case and the current policies, but have not yet received a statement back.

Pelayo is still waiting for a court date to be set in her immigration case.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Top Trump Official Regrets Immigrant Medical Relief Decision

BOSTON — A top federal immigration official is taking responsibility for his agency's now rescinded decision to stop considering requests from immigrants seeking to defer deportation for medical treatment and other hardships.

Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli said in congressional testimony Wednesday that he was solely responsible for the widely criticized Aug. 7 policy change.

He said "it was a mistake" how the initial decision was rolled out, but defended its rationale, citing his agency's heavy caseload.

Cuccinelli also stressed he didn't foresee further changes to the policy.

The former Virginia Attorney General is on Trump's shortlist to succeed outgoing Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan.

McAleenan had reversed Cuccinelli's decision last month after Boston civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit and the House Oversight Committee held a contentious hearing .

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

US sued over health insurance rule for immigrant families

A lawsuit Wednesday accused the Trump administration of preventing Americans from bringing their foreign spouses and parents to live with them in the United States by requiring those immigrants to prove they can afford health care before they get visas.

Seven U.S. citizens and a nonprofit organization filed the federal lawsuit in Portland, Oregon, over the rule that’s set to take effect Sunday. It applies to people seeking immigrant visas from abroad, not those already in the country, and doesn’t affect asylum seekers, refugees or children.

“Congress makes laws, the president executes them. This is an egregious attempt to supercede and overturn congressional will, not only in the immigration realm but in the health care realm,” said Jesse Bless, director of federal litigation at the American Immigration Lawyers Association who helped file the case.

Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The rule is the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit immigrant access to public programs while trying to move the country away from a family-based immigration system and into a merit-based system.

Earlier this year, the administration made sweeping changes to regulations that would deny green cards to immigrants who use some forms of public assistance, but the courts have blocked that measure.

Under the government’s visa rule, the required insurance can be bought individually or provided by an employer and it can be short-term coverage or catastrophic.

Medicaid doesn’t count, and an immigrant can’t get a visa if using the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies when buying insurance. The federal government pays for those subsidies.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status and to block the rule from taking effect.

The rule is a problem for Iris Angelina Castro, an American citizen from Springfield, Illinois. The former teacher has applied for her husband, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, to obtain an immigrant visa to join her in the United States.

He’s been preparing paperwork for a consular interview, but now they doubt he will qualify because she quit her job after her son got sick and now has state health insurance, according to the complaint.

She is pregnant with her second child and wants her husband to be there for the birth of their daughter.

Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are trying to bring their spouses to live with them from Mexico and Germany. One woman is trying to bring her parents from Nicaragua and hasn’t been able to find them reasonable health insurance.

“It’s an impossibility,” said Bless, the attorney. “There’s been no standards provided to show: ‘How much money do I need to show that I can pay for my own care?’”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

USCIS Makes Another Form Available for Online Filing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that petitioners can now complete and file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, online. Online filing allows aliens to submit forms electronically, check the status of their case, and receive notices from USCIS.

“Form I-130 is one of the most widely filed USCIS forms,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “As we continue our transition to paperless operations, petitioners can now experience the convenience of filing electronically. USCIS is increasing the number of forms available for online filing to make our agency more effective and efficient.”

With today’s addition, individuals can now file eight USCIS forms online:

Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card
Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539 is the first online application filing that uses USCIS’ eProcessing strategy. Check your eligibility for online filing of this form at uscis.gov/i539online.)
Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA)
Form N-400, Application for Naturalization
Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document
Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship
Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322
To file these forms online, individuals must first create a USCIS online account at myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov. This free account allows them to:

Submit and track the status of their forms;
Pay their fees;
Track the status of their case;
Communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox; and
Respond to requests for evidence.
USCIS still accepts the latest paper version of all forms by mail.

USCIS is using innovation and technology to meet the needs of applicants, petitioners, employees, and stakeholders. Regardless of the paper or electronic format of an application or petition, USCIS is committed to ensuring a secure and efficient process for all.

“I Need to Work”

While the Southern California Getty Fire continues to rage, Brittny Mejia at the Los Angeles Times spoke to immigrants who seemed to be heading to work as normal — even in neighborhoods facing mandatory evacuation orders. Mejia met and assisted several housekeepers and gardeners who were either unaware of the blaze due to the language barrier or who had not yet been told by their bosses to leave. A few were simply determined to finish the day’s work: “If they say I have to evacuate, I will,” said Chon Ortiz, a gardener. “But I need to work.”

USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced beginning on Nov. 29, it is adjusting the fee to request premium processing for certain employment-based petitions.

The premium processing fee will increase to $1,440 from the current fee of $1,410 for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, reflects the full amount of inflation from the implementation of the premium processing fee in June 2001 through August 2019 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U). USCIS last increased the fee in 2018.

Premium processing is an optional service currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of these forms if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees. It cannot be waived.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

AILA Relaunches Consumer Website to Combat Notario Fraud

AILA has long worked to educate immigrants on the dangers of trusting a notary or immigration consultant and the benefits of engaging an immigration attorney to help them achieve their American dream. To this end, we are excited to officially relaunch the Stop Notario Fraud website, redesigned to be more informative and user friendly. Share it with your community today!

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Facilities Part II

Migrants detained by ICE in a Georgia detention facility have filed a lawsuit against the agency for violating their human rights, reports Nick Wooten in the Ledger-Enquirer. The lawsuit, written by the detained men, was filed with the help of Project South, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Detention Watch Network, and Georgia Detention Watch. “We are desperate,” The complaint reads. “Many of us came in search of freedom, fleeing persecution and torture by dictators in countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. And we find all these abuses that cause us to suffer even more.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Facilities Part I

Homestead, once the nation’s largest for-profit detention center for unaccompanied migrant children, will be closing on Nov. 30, Lisette Voytko reports in Forbes. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will not renew the Florida-based Homestead’s federal contract once recommended for closure by Amnesty International. In addition, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has requested an internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation into the conditions at Otero County Processing Center in southern New Mexico, reports theAssociated Press.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Monday, October 28, 2019

Exclusive: Texas immigration center guard accused of assaulting boy, five

A private prison guard physically assaulted a five-year-old boy at an immigration detention center in Texas, according to a complaint filed with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Advocates for the boy and his mother expect the family to be deported on Friday and asked the US government to halt the deportation to investigate the alleged assault. The advocates also said the family, who are anonymous for safety reasons, face imminent harm or death in their home country of Honduras.

The alleged assault occurred in late September, when the boy was playing with a guard employed by the private prison company CoreCivic who had played with the boy before.

The five-year-old tried to give the guard a high-five, but accidentally hit him instead, angering the guard, according to a complaint seen by the Guardian. The guard then allegedly grabbed the boy’s wrist “very hard” and would not let go.

“The boy’s mother told the guard to let go and tried to pull her son’s hand away, but the guard kept holding on,” according to the complaint. “He finally released the boy and threatened to punish him if he hit him again.”

The complaint said the boy’s hand was swollen and bruised and he was treated with pain medication and ice at the South Texas family residential center in Dilley, in a remote part of the state about 100 miles from the US-Mexico border.

The Dilley detention center has been controversial since it opened in 2014. Dilley can hold 2,400 people, the most of any family detention center in the country, and in March 2019 held at least 15 babies under one year old.

“Since the assault, the boy is afraid of male officials at the jail, goes to the bathroom in his pants, bites his nails until they bleed, and does not want to play, sleep, eat, or bathe,” the complaint said.

Ice spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said in an email that the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility does not comment on pending investigations.

“However, the agency is committed to ensuring all individuals in our custody are treated in a safe, secure and humane manner. Accusations of alleged unlawful conduct are investigated thoroughly and appropriate action is taken, if necessary, to ensure the safety and security of those in ICE custody,” Pruneda said.

Katy Murdza, advocacy manager for the Dilley Pro Bono Project, which sends volunteers into the Dilley detention center to help families, met with the mother on Wednesday.

Murdza said the mother is fearful of her imminent deportation and is upset about what happened to her son because she had little power to protect him.

“She was unable to prevent someone from hurting her child and while she has tried to report it, she hasn’t received any information on what the results are, so she still does not have control of whether the detention center let that staff member back in,” Murdza said.

“When people are detained and it’s hidden from the public, these sorts of things happen and there are probably many other cases that we have never learned about that could be similar to this,” Murdza added.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said in March 2017 that no migrant child in the custody of their parent should ever be detained because the conditions could harm or retraumatize them.

The US government can release asylum-seeking families in the US while they wait for their cases to be heard in court, but Donald Trump’s administration favors expanding detention and has tried to extend how long children can be held in detention centers.

Katie Shepherd, national advocacy counsel with the American Immigration Council’s Immigration Justice Campaign, filed the complaint on Thursday with the DHS watchdog, the office of the inspector general, and with its office for civil rights and civil liberties.

“The government has a long history demonstrating it’s not capable of holding people in their custody responsibly and certainly not children who require special protections and safeguards,” Shepherd said. “They require a different environment, not one where guards are going to be physically abusing them.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Wall Update

The Trump administration has acquired only 16% of the private land it needs to build the president’s signature border wall — “casting doubt on his campaign promise to complete nearly 500 miles of new fencing by the end of next year,” Nick Miroff and Arelis R. Hernández report for The Washington Post. In Texas, 162 of the 166 miles of planned border barrier lie on private property, and landowners are reluctant to give up property for the project. David Acevedo, a rancher and businessman, granted government officials access to his property but does not want a wall built on it:  “I want border security. Put up more cameras, sensors, send more agents and give them drones … But we don’t need a wall.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

DACA

Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will head to the Supreme Court next month to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Tucker Higgins reports at CNBC. The move is seen as controversial by some immigration advocates who argue that Napolitano, who was instrumental in creating the DACA program under President Obama, did not do enough to avoid deporting “innocent immigrants” (more than half of the 419,000 people deported in fiscal year 2012 were not criminals). Per Napolitano: “I think we had the right priorities and were enforcing the right priorities, and I think the approach of this administration, that anybody is fair game, is not good policy and it’s not consistent with our values.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

Friday, October 25, 2019

“HITTING THE GAS”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a report last week celebrating the results of Trump’s immigration agenda during fiscal year 2019, per Daniel Shoer Roth in the Miami Herald. Specifically, there were five changes USCIS touted in its “historic year:” (1) reducing asylum claims, (2) denying residence to immigrants considered a “public charge,” (3) increasing the minimum financial requirement for investor-based residency, (4) analyzing social media use of citizenship and visa applications, and (5) increasing the investigation and screening of immigrants. Meanwhile, the president plans to “hit the gas” on his immigration agenda in 2020, Paul Bedard reports in the Washington Examiner: “Topping his list will be the construction of one mile a day of new border wall, aggressive challenges to judicial hurdles, and a new merit-based green card for foreign workers.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

REFUGEES IN EUROPE

Europe’s cramped, “hellish” refugee camps are “an expression of the continent’s self-inflicted helplessness,” Yiannis Baboulias writes in an opinion piece for Foreign Policy, arguing that the EU’s populist politicians and internal disputes have left the continent weaker: Europe relies on Turkey to act as a buffer for Syrian refugees, straining diplomatic relations and giving Turkey “the upper hand in any conversation about migration” as the region continues to receive millions of people fleeing war. If the continent is going to solve this crisis, populist immigration hardliners “cannot be allowed to obstruct Europe’s ability to resolve coming geostrategic challenges. A continent as wealthy and peaceful as Europe cannot possibly continue to claim it can’t accommodate the few thousands stuck in Greece and whoever else arrives to its shores from active war zones.”

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

USCIS Updates Fee Waiver Requirements

Revised Criteria Provides Clarity for Demonstrating Eligibility

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has revised Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, by removing the means-tested benefit criteria that was previously used as a factor in determining whether an applicant was exempt from paying for filing fees or biometric services. Individuals may still request a fee waiver if their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or they demonstrate financial hardship.

A means-tested benefit is a public benefit—offered by federal, state, or local agencies—for which eligibility and amount considerations are based on a person’s income and resources. USCIS formerly considered Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Supplemental Security Income during eligibility evaluations.

USCIS has determined that receiving a means-based benefit is not an appropriate criteria in reviewing fee-waiver requests because income levels used to decide local assistance eligibility vary greatly from state to state.

“USCIS relies on fees to cover the costs of adjudicating applications and petitions, implementing operational efforts, and ensuring the nation’s lawful immigration system is properly administered,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “USCIS waives hundreds of millions of dollars in fees annually. The revised fee waiver process will improve the integrity of the program and the quality and consistency of fee waiver approvals going forward. Providing clear direction to agency adjudicators for more uniform determinations will help us to uphold our mission of efficiently and fairly adjudicating immigration requests.”

USCIS has estimated that the annual dollar amount of fee waivers increased from around $344.3 million in fiscal year 2016 to $367.9 million in FY 2017. In FY 2018, the estimated annual dollar amount of fee waivers USCIS granted was $293.5 million. Fee revenues account for more than 95% of the USCIS budget.

Under the revised criteria, individuals may still request a fee waiver if:

Their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; or
They demonstrate financial hardship.
However, USCIS will require applicants to complete Form I-912 and submit supporting documentation, including federal income tax transcripts. USCIS will not accept a letter stating the applicant is unable to afford filing fees or biometric services without a completed Form I-912.

As of Dec. 2, those seeking a fee waiver must submit the 10/24/19 version of this form to request a waiver of a required fee for immigration benefits. After Dec. 2, USCIS will reject any Form I-912 with an edition date of 03/13/18 or earlier, a fee waiver request submitted with a letter, or documentation of receipt of means-tested benefit to show eligibility for a fee waiver. USCIS will adjudicate any fee waiver request postmarked before Dec. 2 under the previous policy, AFM 10.9, Waiver of Fees.

The new form does not change the applications and petitions that are eligible for a fee waiver. For the list of eligible applications and petitions, see the Form I-912 Instructions. In addition, USCIS has updated policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to accompany this form revision. The updated policy guidance is effective on Dec. 2.

For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com