Archive for the ‘Family Immigration’ Category
USCIS’ NEW POLICY ON WHEN APPLICANTS ARE REFERRED TO IMMIGRATION COURT FOR DEPORTATION PROCEEDINGS
BACKGROUND The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) divides immigration related functions between three separate departments: ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for enforcing immigration laws, CBP (Customs and Border Protection) for controlling the inspection and admission of foreign nationals into our country at our land ports of entry and at airports. Additionally, CBP is responsible for […]
A Dream Act, at What Price?
Last week Trump sent his “term sheet” to congressional republicans containing what he wants in exchange for a “DREAM Act” that would provide an eventual path to citizenship for Dreamers. In contrast to his earlier statements (“I will sign any Dream Act legislation that is put on my desk”), Trump is now attempting to extract […]
Proposed Immigration Bills: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Before our discussion below of recently proposed immigration bills, it is worth reviewing the process of how a bill (a proposed new law) becomes law. The fact of the matter is that, for better or for worse, our country’s founders made it very difficult to change the law (with few exceptions). Bills hit […]
Misconceptions about Undocumented Immigrants
Changing Trends in Immigration Our tumultuous political climate has once again brought immigration to its forefront. The heated issue, however, involves a myriad of misconceptions further complicating a very important, and very personal, discussion. The following data, largely gathered by the Pew Institute, provides relevant information challenging various notions that have colored the immigration […]
An Overview of the US Immigration System
The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) is the body of law currently governing immigration policy. Though very complicated, a starting point is to understand that we grant entry on either a permanent (legal permanent resident) or temporary (nonimmigrant) basis. Currently, there is a worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrant visas, with certain exceptions for […]
How will Trump respond to Obama’s unexpected move ending a 22-year-old exemption policy for Cuban immigrants
So far in his presidency, Trump has been quite clear about his intentions to dig up seeds sown during the Obama administration. But what does that mean for Cubans? Consider that 8 days before leaving office, Obama attempted to normalize relations by unexpectedly ending a 22-year-old policy that exempted Cubans arriving in the U.S. without […]