On November 27, 2012, retiring U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) introduced the "Achieve Act," a bill that would grant a limited form of legal status to some undocumented youth.Unlike the Dream Act, which would grant a pathway to...
Immigration Legal Specialists Based In Brooklyn And Oakland Serving Clients Across The United States
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Is comprehensive immigration reform coming? Early suggestions for would-be applicants.
President Obama's re-election has renewed hopes of possible comprehensive immigration reform to permit undocumented foreign nationals to obtain legal immigration status. Especially considering the impact of people of color on this election, immigration reform is...
Alameda County Makes Promising Efforts to Protect Immigrants from Deportation
As many San Francisco Bay Area residents know, Alameda County, and particularly the city of Oakland, has one of the highest crime rates in California. With over 30% of the county's population belonging to the immigrant community, it is no surprise that immigrants make...
Can’t Trust It?- Ninth Circuit reversal highlights danger of reliance on existing precedent.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has created a complicated, evolving set of legal interpretations which are vital to understanding immigration law. As shown in a recent case, however, these interpretations are not only subject to change, but...
LGBT Rights Surge in October: DHS Counts Same-Sex Marriages as “Family Relationships” and Second Circuit Strikes Down DOMA
The month of October has brought with it two important victories for the LGBT community, boding well for same-sex relationships nationwide in both the civil rights and immigration contexts.Prosecutorial DiscretionFirst, on October 5, 2012, U.S. Immigration and Customs...
Re-registration for Haitian TPS Begins
The Department of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians in the United States for an additional 18 months, from January 22, 2013 through July 22, 2014. Haitians who currently have TPS must re-register during the 60-day period,...
Court ruling speeds up many immigrant visa wait-times, but possibly delays others.
On September 26, 2012, the Ninth Circuit issued a decision which will speed up petitions for people who were included in a visa petition filed for one of their parents, but who later "aged out" of that petition when they turned twenty-one. Under this case, if their...
The “categorical approach”, “modified categorical approach”, and how the Ninth Circuit’s Young v. Holder modifies the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.
On September 17, 2012, the Ninth Circuit issued Young v. Holder, an important case which impacts the immigration consequences of many criminal convictions. The decision covers several issues, including two especially important rulings, which anyone dealing with...
USCIS Now Accepting Requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
On June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States under the age of 16 and meet other necessary guidelines may be eligible to receive deferred action.U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began...