Filing Applications & Petitions

March 11, 2011

Earthquake in Japan: Tsunami Warnings for Hawaii and West Coast

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 Romben Law, APC 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 Romben Law, APC 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 Romben Law, APC for guidance on how to check the US Department of State for travel warnings and other restrictions. —ecf

March 8, 2011

Congressional Hearings: Making immigration more difficult for Muslims

by Romben Law, APC

Congressional hearings will soon take place to “highlight and investigate” the threat that radical Islam might pose to the USA. These short-sighted hearings, called by republican Congressman Peter King of New York, are supposed to merely investigate the question; however, many people — including the immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles — are concerned that the hearings will be an excuse to demonize Muslims and others of middle eastern origin and create a climate of suspicion and hatred.

Already, immigration lawyers here at Romben Law, APC have noticed that several cases we are handling — involving persons from predominantly Muslim countries — have been side-tracked, investigated, and in other ways delayed by US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). These cases have been unnecessarily subjected to delays, and there has been no explanation forthcoming from USCIS. Simply more and more delay.

There is no doubt that the US must investigate threats to national security; however, to do so in a way that broadly demonizes the faithful of any particular religion, nationality, or ethnicity is wrong. This is what was done to Japanese-Americans during World War II, and it should not be repeated in 2011. –jcf

February 3, 2011

Prohibited Articles at the US Embassy or Consulate-General

by Romben Law, APC

Hand Stop.jpg The immigration lawyers at Romben Law, APC prepare hundreds of visa applications annually. We handle visa applicants from the UK, France, Spain, Switzerland, China, Japan, Canada, México, El Salvador, Argentina, Australia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Afrika, and dozens of other countries.

Under some circumstances, our clients, whether they are here in Los Angeles or elsewhere, must leave the USA to obtain their visas from the US Embassy or Consulate-General outside the USA.

Because of heightened security concerns at US posts abroad, many everyday articles MAY NOT be brought into a US Embassy or Consulate. The obvious ones are: fire arms, ammunition, sharp weapons. But other prohibited items include:

January 24, 2011

Non-lawyers and Notaries — Dangerous Advice!

by Romben Law, APC

In recent years, the immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC in Los Angeles have heard an increasing number of horror stories of people who have sought legal advice or assistance from consultants, non-lawyers, and notaries public. In many of these cases, the advice given or the work done has been seriously flawed — and it is the immigrant who suffers. USCIS is starting to crack down on those who are not qualified to advise immigrants.

An immigration consultant or notary is not the same as an immigration attorney. They are not trained to recognize fact patterns, not trained to read and analyze the law and statutes, and they are not required to stay current on recent developments. For all these reasons, even if someone does not want to work with me — and everyone is entitled to a preference — I urge anyone with an immigration case to seek the counsel of a licensed attorney. Because US immigration law is a Federal matter and not a State matter, an attorney licensed in any of the fifty states or the District of Columbia will suffice, as long as s/he focuses on immigration and nationality law.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is beginning to collect information and investigate persons who are engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. The investigations are starting in selected areas and will go nationwide afterwards. –jcf

November 16, 2010

Reminder: USCIS fees increase on 23 November 2010

by Romben Law, APC

B&W $.jpg Please remember that fees for most filings with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase on 23 November 2010. Applications submitted with incorrect fees will be rejected, and such a rejection could result in the applicant falling out of status in the USA, so it’s important to be sure to file with the correct fee.

The USCIS statement about the increased fees, and the list of the increased fees, can be found here. –jcf

October 21, 2010

Puerto Rico Birth Certificates No Longer Valid for US Immigration

by Romben Law, APC

All birth certificates issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico prior to 1 July 2010 have been made invalid. Persons born in Puerto Rico are US citizens, and the attorneys at Romben Law, APC are seeing more and more Puerto Ricans in Los Angeles and Palm Springs who wish to petition relatives.

The Vital Statistics and Records Office of the Commonwealth is now issuing new, more secure birth documents. On 30 September 2010, US Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped accepting Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before 1 July 2010. A birth certificate is necessary for immigration purposes to establish that the petitioner or applicant is a US citizen.

Natives of Puerto Rico may request a new birth certificate on line or through the mail. –jcf

October 5, 2010

USCIS Fees to Increase on 23 November 2010

by Romben Law, APC

Dollar Funnel.jpg The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced changes in their filing fees, effective 23 November 2010.

The immigration lawyers at Romben Law, APC are dismayed that the cost of immigration benefits is rising the way the costs of making Hollywood movies is going up here in Los Angeles. Many clients can scarcely afford to pay the fees already being levied. One consolation is that USCIS has decreased some fees, even as it has increased others. In addition, USCIS has expanded the situations for which a fee waiver can be requested.

Some examples:

September 9, 2010

Relatives of Permanent Residents Visa Numbers Moving Quickly

by Romben Law, APC

Major news for relatives of legal permanent residents who have been patiently waiting for their petitions to become current. The Department of State reported in the September 2010 visa bulletin that applicants who are spouses or children of greencard holders (filed as late as January 1, 2010) can now be processed for greencards. This is true for applicants from all countries except Mexico and the Dominican Republic, whose priority dates aren’t far behind either: January 1, 2009.

What is a a “priority date,” you ask? A “priority date” is a legal term of art that can be exceedingly hard to explain (especially in a blog), but I’ll try. Let’s start with basics. There is a quota on how many immigrants can come legally to the country per year. Imagine the quota like it is a long line of people lining up for a greencard. The people at the front of the line are those whose relative petitions were filed earliest, ie those with the earliest “priority date.” A priority date is established on the date that your petition is received by the USCIS. Of course, the earlier your priority date, the sooner you can later ask for greencard status. Generally, priority dates always move forward, but these dates can also go backwards, and if applications aren’t received by USCIS before this “retrogression” happens, applicants are back to the waiting game.

In the past month, the (F2A) priority date in the the family-based second preference category (ie for spouses and children of greencard holders) advanced from March 2009 to January 2010! This has made an incredible difference to those who have been waiting to be reunited with their spouses and children, rather than expecting a year or more of wait, this category of new immigrants can now start processing their greencard applications. If you would like assistance in making sure that your application can be made as quickly as possible, contact the attorneys at Romben Law, APC before those dates start floating backwards again. –ecf

August 25, 2010

Elin Nordegren: Her Side of the Story

by Romben Law, APC

Elin Nordegren broke her silence today and gave her side of the story today telling the world how shocked and embarrassed she was by Tiger’s infidelity. She also defended the marriage, saying that the marriage was real, not orchestrated for the cameras and sponsors.

In our practice at Romben Law, APC, we have seen many marriages, like Elin and Tiger’s which were entered into for love, completely genuine marriages and yet within years (sometimes a lot sooner), the marriage goes awry. For those immigrants whose conditional greencards were based on marriages to US citizens, these men and women find themselves in a situation like Elin, telling their stories to the USCIS, actually defending themselves from deportation, that even though their marriage didn’t survive the test of time, it was not a marriage of convenience for immigration purposes.

If a marriage fails anytime before someone naturalizes, a person who immigrated through marriage will later be summoned by the USCIS for an intense and very uncomfortable interview in order to maintain their permanent residency – even at the time of applying for citizenship. Such interviews can even occur years after the marriage and divorce, so recounting the facts of a relationship and providing the documentation to verify the facts of the courtship, the wedding or civil ceremony, then detailing the timeline of marriage, separation and divorce is more than just burdensome, it’s sometimes impossible. attorneys at Romben Law, APC have defended clients in such interviews, which can take several hours! Not to mention the legal briefing and the administrative review that can take months to years in the most complicated cases.

May 14, 2010

“Green” Card Becomes Green Once More

by Romben Law, APC

I-551 card.png The day when you could become a US Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) simply by walking off of your boat has long passed. Since that time, paperwork or cards documenting an immigrant’s status have taken various forms, the most well known being the “green card.” The “green card” was a plastic laminated card issued by the US Immigration and Nationality Service (INS) so that immigrants could demonstrate that they were legally in the USA. Here in Los Angeles at Romben Law, APC, virtually everyone — even the attorneys — will at least some of the time call the Legal Permanent Resident card “the green card” It’s simply a habit.

The card ceased to be green over 25 years ago.

This week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, the successor to the INS) announced that it has redesigned the LPR card. It will now have a multitude of security and safety features. The redesigned card has media which will store photo and biometrics of the cardholder; holographic images and laser-engraved fingerprints are supposed to make the card “nearly impossible to reproduce.” The LPR card will now also, like US Passports, have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip, allowing the card to be read from a distance.