Articles Posted in Family-based visas

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Nation of Imm.jpgFor over 10 years, immigrants and their families have come to Romben Law, APC and asked me about any possible changes to the immigration law that will help them. I hear, from clients in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and many other places that they need some change in the immigration law to allow them to stay in this country and pursue their dreams, work productively, be free from persecution, and most importantly, to be united with their families.

For the first time since 1990, a major change in the immigration law may be coming.

You probably already know that the US Congress has been deadlocked for over 4 years, with the members (mostly) of one political party refusing to cooperate with the White House. As a result, a Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) bill has never been seriously discussed. With the results of the recent re-election of President Barack Obama, and (many) members of the Republican party realizing that it is in their best interest to help immigrants, CIR may be on its way. What will it do?

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Alt Route Waver.jpgOver many years, Romben Law, APC has counseled many immigrants who have come to the USA without passport or visa, or who have come legally but overstayed. In many of these case, it has not been possible to process the paperwork for an immigrant visa (the green card) without first having the immigrant depart the USA to go back to the US Embassy in the home country for an interview. In some cases, this means that the immigrant must file an I-601 Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility at the US Embassy and wait months for a decision. And if the I-601 is denied, the immigrant cannot be reunited with family in the USA for 3 or 10 years!

For this reason, many green-card eligible applicants are afraid to leave the USA for their interview; they are afraid that if their I-601 waiver is denied, they will not be able to return to their families for 10 years. The risk of NOT being granted the waiver is too great, so they have avoided legalizing altogether.

Until now.

In early January 2013, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a new procedure. This new procedure — called the I-601A Provisional Waiver — still requires the immigrant-applicant to apply for the waiver, to seek a pardon for coming to the USA without papers, or for overstaying. However, this request for a waiver can now be filed before departure from the USA and before going to the interview at the American Embassy. In this way, the immigrant-applicant will know provisionally whether they will be able to return quickly after their Embassy interview or not — before leaving the USA.
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Changes Ahead2.jpgAfter practicing law together for almost one decade, Eileen Chun-Fruto and I have evolved into different forms of law practice. I will continue to practice immigration and nationality law, handle consultations, and do my blog here at my offices in Los Angeles and in Palm Springs. The firm name is now, “Romben Law, APC.” You can reach me, as before, at Tel: +1.323.769.8187 — this is the same phone number you have used in the past. My new e-mail address is: j@jfonglaw.com . My webpage is now: https://www.immigration-lawyer-la.com .

My practice will continue to focus on families, waivers, small business investors, intra-company transferees, and investor visas. Also, as I have been for all 30 years of my law work, I remain very devoted to counseling, advocating for, and working with non-traditional families.

Eileen Chun-Fruto now practices immigration law with a law firm in downtown Los Angeles. She can be reached at echun@fongandchun.com.

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Did my ears deceive me this morning, or did the presumptive Republican presidential nominee say that he would “lift the cap” on spouses and children of Legal Permanent Residents? If so, this is a big deal for many, many immigrants waiting to come to or be legalized in the USA.

The immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC, both in our Los Angeles and Palm Springs offices often counsel Legal Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) about bringing spouse and children to the USA. Green Card holders have the privilege of petitioning these family members, but because of the way the US quotas are set up, and depending on the country of birth, these family members end up waiting between 3 years (in the best case) and a staggering 20 years (for persons born in countries with highest demand to come to the USA). The spouse and unmarried children of Green Card holders are in “Family-Based Priority 2” under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, and this category limits the number of green cards to be given out in any one year under this priority. This quota creates HUGE backlogs and wait lists.

In a speech today before the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), republican Mitt Romney said that he would “left the cap” on these Priority 2 immigrants. The effect of this would be to cut short all the waiting and allow these ever-patient relatives to process their green cards right away.

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USDOS issued a reminder that visa fees changed last Friday, April 13. For those of you who have paid an immigrant visa fee before April 13, the fee is likely to have decreased. But you won’t get a refund for it!

IF you have paid a visa fee prior to April 13 and the visa fee has now increased, you won’t have to pay the difference as long as the visa interview takes place BEFORE June 12, 2012.

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Retrogression has hit the EB-2 preference categories for India and China. USDOS released the May 2012 visa bulletin showing EB-2 priority dates of August 15, 2007 for both countries. The EB-3 priority dates have moved forward about one month, with the exception of India which forward about a week to September 8, 2002. Families with dependents who will age out at age 21 should call the attorneys at Romben Law, APC to talk about options now. —ecf Visa Bultn May 2012 EMT.png

The family-based visa bulletin shows slow movement as well:
Visa Bultn May 2012 FAM.png

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Starting April 13, 2012, visa processing fees will increase. The fees for most nonimmigrant visa applications and Border Crossing Cards will increase but we will see a decrease in all immigrant visa processing fees.

  • Petition-based visas: H, L, O, P, Q, R will increase from $150 to $190
  • Visitor, student, exchange visitor and journalist visas: B, F-1, J-1, M-1, I visas will increase from $140 to $160
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Thumbnail image for rainbow_flag.gifThe immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC — with clients from the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs, to Southern California and Los Angeles, and throughout the world — have been closely watching the implementation of the prosecutorial discretion policy as it affects gay men, lesbians, and persons in nontraditional family relationships.

As readers of this blog may recall, in the latter half of 2011, the Obama administration instructed its enforcers of the immigration laws (also known as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security) to consider exercising its discretion to dismiss “low priority” deportation and removal cases. The “Morton Memo” indicated that the following criteria may be viewed as positive factors:

Circumstances of arrival – especially if the person came to the US as a child Pursuit of education – if they have graduated from high school in the United States and/or are pursuing higher education U.S. Military service Ties to the U.S., including family relationships Pregnant or nursing women Age, especially for minors and the elderly If the person is a primary caretaker of another person with a severe illness or disability Persons who are likely to be granted temporary or permanent status because they are an asylum seeker, victim of domestic violence, human trafficking, or other crime

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Time to apply? Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians in the US! The USCIS has just announced that Syria will now be a designated country for temporary protected status. Due to the political instability in Syria, Syrians who are now in the United States will soon be able to apply for TPS which will allow them to be granted employment authorization and for extensions of the TPS designation is extended for Syria. The initial TPS designation will be for 18 months. USCIS has instructed applicants NOT to submit applications yet but applications may be prepared now in anticipation of more guidance next week. Remember that TPS is not automatic and applicants will have to show their eligibility, and background checks will still be conducted of all applicants. Those who will be found ineligible are those who have multiple convictions or other factors but certain noncriminal and non-security grounds can be waived. If you are interested in applying for TPS, call Romben Law, APC for a consultation. —ecf

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For you eager watchers of the USDOS Visa Bulletin, you know that the visa bulletin gets published about 2 weeks prior to the start of the new month. This month, we are seeing steady movement in the employment-based third preference. We are still working our way through the bulge of 2006. It has been excruciatingly slow, but those of you with 2006 priority dates are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and now is the time to call Romben Law, APC to ensure that your documentation is updated and ready for adjustment or consular processing, at long last. If you have changed employers and are unsure of your status, or ported, perhaps travelled and entered on advanced parole or have been terminated from your job, we’ll need to talk! —ecf

The family-based chart:

april 2012 visa bull.pngThe employment-based chart:

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