Immigration Visa Attorney Blog

The issue of same-sex marriage is an important issue. The immigration law offices of Fong & Chun gets questions all the time at our offices in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and throughout the nation from US citizens who wish to immigrate a same-sex spouse. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, California will release its decision regarding the constitutionality of Marriage Equality and Proposition 8 on Tuesday, 7 February 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (PST).

At Fong & Chun, we are counseling our clients that whether the decision is a positive one or not, couples should not submit I-130 Family Petitions and I-485 Applications for Adjustment of Status based on a same-sex marriage without first consulting with an immigration attorney experienced in working with non-traditional families. --jcf

Congratulations to the citizens of New York for the practical and humane approach taken by their Legislature and Governor in the approval of same-sex marriage last week! As leading advocates for immigrants in the gay and lesbian community, the attorneys at Los Angeles' Fong & Chun have counseled thousands of clients from all over the nation and the world about uniting families which are not traditionally shaped.

Beware! It is still NOT possible for same-sex couples to marry and to have the US citizen spouse petition for legal permanent resident status (the so-called green card) for the foreign spouse. This prohibition applies even when the couple both marries and resides in New York.

A same-sex marriage in New York (or from any other state or country, for that matter) will not be recognized for purposes of Federal immigration benefits. This includes Family Petitions for alien spouses, and also includes spouse-as-dependent on any other residency application. The culprit here is the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) would remedy this, permitting the recognition for immigration purposes of domestic partners who are in a committed same-sex relationship. This bill is regularly introduced in Congress. It is not yet law, however.

So, New Yorkers, raise a glass to your friends, families, and loved ones. And stay patient on the repeal of DOMA or the passage of UAFA. --jcf

The immigration lawyers at Fong & Chun in Los Angeles have many, many Japanese clients. In response to the devastation caused by the earthquake around Sendai, Japan yesterday, the US Citizenship and Immigraiton Services (USCIS) issued an advisory to Japanese nationals and others who cannot return to their home countries due to earthquake and tsunami disruption in the Pacific region. This is of particular importance to those who are here on visitor visas (B-1 or B-2), visa waiver, or other non-immigrant visas such as H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, E-1, E-2, F-1, J-1, M-1, etc.

From time to time, the US government permits citizens from certain countries to remain in the USA -- even after their visas or landing permits have expired -- due to emergency circumstances in the home country. This special designation -- which is called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) -- is made by the US government. At the present time, Japan has not yet been designated a TPS-eligible country by the US government.

However, the USCIS advisory, issued at 5:35pm today advises that people should visit their local USCIS office if they have overstayed their I-94s or will become an overstay because they cannot now return to their homes in the Pacific. In certain cases, the USCIS may allow for an additional 30 days be granted in order to depart without facing unlawful presence or other serious immigration violation. USCIS will likely control such applications with high scrutiny and enforcement. We do not recommend that Japanese citizens go to USCIS to obtain assistance without first consulting an immigration attorney.

Call the immigration attorneys at Fong & Chun, LLP. We are in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. We can help you with this process. If needed, we can provide legal representation if you are facing overstay issues, unlawful presence, or other potential violations such as unauthorized employment because of the devastation in Japan and the Pacific. --ecf

Japan: an 8.9 earthquake has rocked Japan today, marking the most powerful earthquake in Japan's recorded history. This quake is the fifth most powerful in the world since 1900, says the U.S. Geologic Survey. Tokyo reports massive aftershocks. Narita Airport, Sendai Airport remain closed, although Haneda Airport has reopened already. The immigration attorneys at Fong & Chun, LLP who practice in business immigration, family-based immigration, removal defense and appellate work extend sympathy and concern to all our Japanese clients and those with family and friends abroad who are affected by this devastating disaster.

Over the years, the immigration attorneys at Fong & Chun, LLP have worked proudly in the Japanese immigrant community, having represented multinational executives and managers for some of Japan's largest corporations, professors providing invaluable research and teaching in top U.S. universities, professional employees working in companies based in Little Tokyo and in Japanese American non-profit organizations, and of course, countless individuals and families of Japanese descent.

With early reports of the death toll, the true damage the earthquake has caused remains unknown at this moment. We do know that this earthquake may cause tsunamis powerful enough to engulf or wash over small islands in the Pacific causing more damage and posing continued danger to those in the Pacific. For clients wishing to return to Japan in the weeks to come, please call the attorneys at Fong & Chun, LLP for guidance on how to check the US Department of State for travel warnings and other restrictions. ---ecf

Wednesday's announcement by the White House that the Obama Administration has said it will not defend section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in court is something of a welcome surprise. This should mean that -- at least in states where same-sex marriage is legal -- same-sex couples can claim federal benefits on an equal footing with opposite-sex married couples. Such benefits would likely include marriage petitions for foreign spouses. The attorneys at Fong & Chun have sought and created legal immigration solutions for same-sex couples for years, here in West Hollywood and Los Angeles, throughout the United States, and even overseas. I have been an attorney for almost thirty years and have been an advocate for gay and lesbian immigrants for most of that time. I have counseled over a thousand same-sex couples in my time, and this is the best news so far in the fight to permit US citizens to petition their same-sex partners.

However, it is not clear how this will spin out. I wish I could tell couples to go out, get married where it's legal to do so, and file the Family Petitions -- but I don't think it's prudent just yet. Why not?

First, the Department of Homeland Security is no joke. They are serious about removing people from the USA wherever undocumented people can be found. If you are trying to protect your loved one, you don't volunteer him or her to be a guinea pig! By filing a petition, you are revealing the exact address of your spouse. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is famous for the "knock in the middle of the night."

Second, it is not clear what US Citizenship and Immigration Services will do when they receive such cases. I suspect they will hold ALL such cases in abeyance until they get further direction from USCIS' head office. This could be a long time.

Third, it is unclear what will happen to couples who are married in, say, Massachusetts, but who now live in Texas or Nevada. What about couples who were married while marriage was legal in California, although new marriages are not being celebrated in California at this time?

Because of the uncertainties about this development, our suggestion is that people sit tight for a month or so, to see what other agencies of the US government will do in light of today's news. --jcf

Beginning January 4, 2010, applicants for visas or greencards will no longer be considered inadmissible for being HIV positive. Early last month, the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) removed HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) from the definition of a "communicable disease of public health significance."

This marks a major success by immigration advocates like Fong & Chun, LLP and HIV/AIDS health advocates. J Craig Fong was cited in a recent Los Angeles Times article as one of the few immigration attorneys in the nation who work with HIV positive immigrants and who has been extremely successful in HIV waiver applications with the USCIS to overcome this ban.

Fong & Chun, LLP applauds the Centers for Disease Control, the HHS, and USCIS in recognizing that the ban against nonimmigrant visa and permanent residency applications by HIV positive individuals was wrong. --ecf

At a ceremony at the White House today, President Barack Obama announced the publication on Monday, 2 November 2009 of the final rule repealing the HIV immigration restriction. The immigration lawyers here at Fong & Chun have worked here in Los Angeles and nationwide as part of the movement to have this onerous restriction on people with HIV/AIDS repealed. More details to follow, after we have seen and reviewed the "final rule." --jcf

On 14 October 2009, Congressman Luis Gutíerrez of Illinois released a set of principles which he hopes will be incorporated into any Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) package. As advocates for immigrants, the attorneys at the Los Angeles-based immigration law firm of Fong & Chun, we watch closely any progress on CIR.

Central to his approach are:

1. a rational and humane approach to resolving or legalizing the status of the undocumented population,

2. a mechanism to protect US and legal immigrant workers,

3. allocation of sufficient visas to stop immigrants from trying to "cut in line" or "jump the queue" and get to America earlier but illegally,

4. enhancements to protect the US homeland,

5. establish a wise border enforcement policy that reflects America's needs and values,

6. keeping together and unifying American families,

7. promotion of immigrant integration,

8. inclusion of the DREAM Act and AgJobs bill, and

9. protection of fundamental rights.

Representative Gutíerrez' statement of principles is an excellent first step as the debate over CIR begins. --jcf

Because the debates about Health Care Reform are taking so much of the Congress' energy, the Obama Administration believes that Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) will not be considered by the Congress until the beginning of 2010. The immigration law firm of Fong & Chun has many clients in Los Angeles, CA and throughout the nation who would benefit from the passage of CIR. In a recent article, President Obama restated his commitment to humane immigration law reform.

Two of the most anticipated provisions of CIR would be the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

The DREAM Act would allow the normalization of the immigration status of certain undocument students who were brought prior to age 16 to the United States by their parents or guardians. These students have lived and been educated in the USA, and it would be fundamentally unfair to deny them immigration status, when they did not come to the USA through their own decision, and when the USA is often the only country these students have ever really known.

UAFA would correct a long-standing inequity under immigration law and would permit US Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents to petition for and bring their permanent partners to the USA on the same footing and subject to the same conditions as traditional married couples.

Although CIR will not be debated in Congress until the beginning of 2010, we are still urging Americans to be ready to write both of their Senators and their Congressional Representative in support of CIR. Further, we are also asking Americans also to write their state governors and full city councils, encouraging them to contact Washington to urge passage of CIR.

For more information about CIR, also see the Fong and Chun blogs of
29 June 2009
26 June 2009
--jcf

The nonimmigrant visa (B-1 / B-2) rules for HIV-positive people who want to visit the USA have been issued by the US Department of State (DOS).  Los Angeles-based immigration law firm Fong & Chun counsels and represents many HIV-positive persons, and unfortunately, the new nonimmigrant HIV Waiver Authorization puts HIV-positive people in a difficult position.

US immigration law denies entry to the USA to aliens who are HIV-positive.  For nonimmigrants who wish to come to the USA as business or touristic visitors, the procedure has been to apply for a waiver under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sec. 212(d)(3)(A)(i).  This waiver procedure is expensive, time-consuming, and exposes the applicant to possible arbitrary, capricious, or AIDS-phobic decisions of some adjudicating officers.

DOS has put into effect a procedure where the visa officer now has the authority to grant otherwise-visa-qualified HIV-positive applicants a B-1 / B-2 visitor visa, provided the alien signs a declaration (DS-5512) that:

(1) admits that s/he is HIV-positive; 

(2) s/he does not currently exhibit symptoms indicative of an "active, contagious" opportunistic infection; 

(3) s/he knows and has been counseled on the nature, severity, and communicability of the medical condition; 

(4) s/he is a minimal risk to public health to, and is unlikely to transmit HIV to any other person in, the United States; 

(5) s/he has an adequate supply of HIV meds for the anticipated stay and has sufficient assets, such as insurance that is accepted in the United States, to cover any medical care in the United States; 

(6) s/he will not create any cost to the United States, or a State or local government or agency, without prior written consent of the agency; 

(7) s/he is coming to visit the USA for touristic or business-visitor purposes only;

(8) that no single admission to the US will exceed thirty (30) days; 

(9) s/he is not subject to any other grounds of admissibility to the USA; 

(10) s/he admits and acknowledges that s/he cannot be admitted under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP); 

(11) s/he acknowledges that any failure to meet with ALL the conditions relating to the visa and to admission to the USA will make him/her ineligible for future authorization under this new provision; and 

(12) if s/he is admitted to the USA using this waiver procedure, s/he waives any chance to apply for an extension of stay, a change of status, or adjustment of status.  (An exception is made for applications for asylum.)

Although this procedure is more streamlined than the prior waiver, it puts the applicant in the position of signing a declaration -- admitting or acknowledging a great many facts -- which will stay on record with the US government.  The declaration includes statements which could subject the applicant to difficulties, even persecution, in his/her own country. 

Anyone thinking of signing the DS-5512 declaration to get a B-1 or B-2 visitor visa should consult experienced and HIV-sensitive counsel to discuss the ramifications.  --jcf

As the pioneering Los Angeles immigration law firm that has always welcomed inquiries and consultation from members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities, Fong & Chun has been tracking the progress of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) in the US Congress.

The New York Times is reporting that the White House will begin pushing Comprehensive Immigration Reform soon.  The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA )must be included in the reform package.  

UAFA will permit US citizens to petition for and immigrate their same-sex partners, on an equal basis as traditional spouses.  

A comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system will be controversial.  There are possible provisions that will please some and displease others.  Reasonable minds can disagree about these provisions.  What is clear to me, however, is that CIR must include provisions for UAFA.

The one hope is that enough people contact their Senators and Representatives to encourage them to vote in favor of CIR, and especially for UAFA. Even if you believe your Senator or Representative is already "on board," write anyway.  There will be lots of radical right-wing pressure to jettison any benefit for same-sex couples, and your legislator will need the political cover to stand firm..

Also, you should write to your state legislators, too.  Why state legislators, when immigration is a Federal issue?  Because you should ask your state senator, state legislator, and governor to themselves contact Washington DC, to pressure the Congress to do the fair and equitable thing and support UAFA.

Most observers and other immigration attorneys here in Los Angeles believe that the issue will hit full force sometime in late summer, or early autumn.  The time to let your legislators know your sentiments is now.  Encourage your friends and family, all over the nation -- not just in Los Angeles -- to write to their senators and representatives! --jcf