immigration law 101-immigration law 101-process, documentation and licensing october 2, 2019 april...

IMMIGRATION LAW 101-

PROCESS, DOCUMENTATION

AND LICENSING

October 2, 2019

April Palma Roberts, Staff Attorney

U.S. COMMITTEE FOR

REFUGEES AND

IMMIGRANTS

THE USCRI DES MOINES’ LEGAL SERVICES

PROGRAM OFFERS HIGH-QUALITY,

AFFORDABLE LEGAL SERVICES,

INCLUDING CONSULTATIONS, DIRECT

REPRESENTATION, AND INFORMATION TO

REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS IN CENTRAL

IOWA.

refugees.orgrefugees.org

WHAT WILL WE COVER IN THIS IMMIGRATION 101?

•Quick governmental overview

•How does someone get status?

•Roadblocks for immigrants

•Different types of documents

•Advocates and their role

•Strategies for overcoming cultural barriers


GOVERNMENT AGENCIES INVOLVED IN IMMIGRATION LAW

4

DHS

ICE

(Enforcement)

USCIS

(Adjudication)

DOJ EOIR (Judicial)

DOS

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and

Migration (PRM)

US Embassies & Consulates

NVC


GOVERNMENTAL OVERVIEW:WHO MAKES IMMIGRATION LAW?

Congress Created the Immigration & Nationality Act

▪Civil, not criminal law

▪Ever-changing and complex

▪Congress sets visa quotas▪Based on the type of immigrant: country of origin, relationship to

petitioner

▪ Last time quota raised was 1990

▪Executive Actions: DACA, Enforcement, travel ban


TYPES OF IMMIGRATION

STATUS

◼ U.S. Citizens (USCs)

◼ U.S. Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs)

◼ Green Card holders

◼ Temporary Residents

◼ Sometimes will have a work permit, but not always

◼ Non-immigrants

◼ Visitors, some types of employment visas

◼ Undocumented Immigrants

◼ Those who came to the U.S. illegally

◼ Those who came legally but overstayed their visas


HOW TO GET STATUS IN THE U.S.

Employment Based Immigration

Humanitarian Programs

Family Based Immigration

Lottery


❑ The employer is the petitioner. The employer requests a specific worker and, for permanent resident visas, must establish that there is no U.S. worker available for the job. Categories are very limited and usually require high levels of education and skills.

❑ Some employment visas are immediate (for professionals who are outstanding in their field, for instance); but others can take up to 11 years to get.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED BASICS:

❑ People with unlawful presence in the U.S. in general will not qualify for employment-based immigration.

❑ Most employment-based immigration programs REQUIRE the employer to pay all government and attorney fees – which means non-profits rarely need to provide employment-based immigration services.

❑ Student visas require the applicant to show cash resources to pay tuition, fees, and living expenses “up-front.”


HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMS

Refugees & Asylees

Must be fleeing their country of origin because they have been

persecuted in that country or because they have a well-

founded fear of future persecution on account of their race,

religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group

or political opinion.

◼ Refugees were given refugee status overseas, and then

resettled in the U.S.

◼ Asylees come to the U.S. first in some other status, and

then apply for asylum here.


REFUGEE ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS

◼ INA Section 209(a)(1): “Any alien who has been admitted to

the United States under section 207… shall, at the end of

such year period, return … to the custody of the Department

of Homeland Security for inspection and examination for

admission to the United states as an immigrant…”

◼ 8 CFR 209.1 explains the process:

◼ Medical exam

◼ Apply for adjustment of status

◼ Interview (if CIS decides on case-by-case basis to have one)

◼ Must show they are not “inadmissible” or request waiver of

inadmissibility

11 refugees.org11 refugees.org

OTHER HUMANITARIAN VISAS

SIJS

Abuse, neglect,

abandoned by

parents

VAWA

U

Visa

Victims of

serious crimes

in the US

T

Visa

DACA

Deferred Action

For Childhood

ArrivalsTPS



◼ Violence Against Women Act benefits for immigrants

◼ Assists battered spouses of USCs or LPRs

◼ U-visas for victims of violent crimes

◼ Allows for a visa that eventually leads to LPR status for

victims of violent crimes who assist law enforcement in the

investigation and prosecution of that crime.

◼ T-visas for victims of trafficking

◼ Temporary Protected Status

◼ Country-specific and time-specific – for example, some

Hondurans have TPS, but only those who entered the U.S.

BEFORE December 30, 1998.

◼ Never leads to residency or citizenship



◼ Special Immigrant Juveniles Status (SIJS)

◼ For certain children who have suffered abuse, neglect, or

abandoned by parents

◼ Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

◼ For young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children,

have been in the U.S. since early 2007, and has graduated from

high school, or is currently in school. This is a TEMPORARY

program and never leads to permanent residency or citizenship.

(No new applicants, only renewals)

◼ Cancellation of Removal

◼ Has lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years, who then gets

apprehended by Immigration and placed in deportation

proceedings, and who can show that their U.S. citizen or LPR

spouse, children, or parents would suffer “exceptional and

extremely unusual” hardship if the immigrant were to be

deported.


FAMILY BASICS: WHO CAN APPLY FOR WHOM?

U.S. citizens can apply for parents, spouses, and minor children. They are considered immediate relatives and do not have to wait for a visa.

U.S. citizens can also apply for siblings and adult sons and daughters, but they must wait for a visa to become available.

Lawful permanent residents can apply for spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult sons and daughters, but they must wait for a visa to become available.

Refugees and asylees can apply for spouses and minor children within first two years of arrival, arriving family members will be derivative refugees.


FAMILY BASICS – ROADBLOCKS

• Visa wait times can be in excess of 20 years

• Marriage is not an automatic ticket

• USC children cannot apply for their parents until 21

• Cannot self-apply (except special/humanitarian visas)

• In order to go through the family-based immigration process, an immigrant must have a qualifying family member who is willing to apply for her

• Must meet certain income requirement to prove you can “support” the beneficiary


SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “WAIT FOR A VISA”?

◼ In order to immigrate to the U.S. or adjust status to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, an immigrant visa must be available.

◼ A limited number of immigrant visas are allotted to the various “preference categories” each year.◼ Last time quota raised was 1990

◼ Each month, the U.S. State Department publishes the Visa Bulletin, which shows the processing dates for the various preference categories.

Visa bulletin: www.travel.state.gov


FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRATION –

THE WAITING LINE

Immediate Relatives (spouses, minor

unmarried children, and parents of U.S.

Citizens) (IR)

Immediate (no

waiting line)

Spouses and minor children of Legal Permanent

Residents (F2A)

Current

Adult unmarried children of Legal Permanent

Residents (F2B)

5-21 years

Adult children of U.S. Citizens (F1 or F3) 7-23 years

Siblings of U.S. citizens (F4) 13-22 years


Undocumented

Non-Immigrant Visas

Temporary Residence

Special ProgramsTPS

DACAWithholding

Legal Permanent Residency

Asylum/ Refugees

Diversity Lottery

Special CategoriesVAWAU VISAT VISA

SIJSCancellation

Family Based Immigration

U.S. Citizenship

Employment Based Immigration


HOW DOES AN IMMIGRANT BECOME

A U.S. CITIZEN?

Naturalization: (N-400)

◼ Must be a Legal Permanent Resident, and generally must have been so

for at least 5 years (3 if acquired residency through marriage)

◼ Must be at least 18 years of age

◼ Must have lived continuously in the U.S. for the past 5 years

◼ Must be a person of good moral character

◼ Must be able to speak, read, and write English, and be able to answer

basic questions about the history and government of the United States.

◼ NOTE: There are many other detailed requirements, and several

exceptions or waivers to the above requirements – therefore it is

important that someone considering naturalization consult with an

attorney.

Derived/ Acquired Citizenship:

Some children who were born outside of the U.S. but have U.S. citizen

parents may derive or acquire U.S. citizenship without going through the

naturalization process. (N-600)


ROADBLOCKS

20

LONG

COMPLICATED

FORMS

CONFUSING

EVIDENTIARY

REQUIREMENTS

USCIS FEES ATTORNEY FEES

LONG WAIT TIMES

AT THE SERVICE

CENTER

MISINFORMATION LANGUAGE

BARRIERS

UNCLEAR STATUS

UPDATES


DOCUMENTATION: THE

IMPORTANCE OF A STATE ID

◼ May be first government issued photo ID

◼ Ability to prove identity:

◼ Access to banks, schools, doctors, etc.

◼ Ability to work, maintain work

◼ Transportation

◼ Buying a car, boarding a plane

◼ Housing

◼ Renting or Purchasing a home


IMMIGRATION

DOCUMENTATION

◼Social Security Cards

◼Work Permits

◼I-94s

◼Green cards


SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS


WORK PERMITS


I-94


GREEN CARDS


THE ROLE OF ADVOCATES

AND REPRESENTATIVES

◼ Increase understanding of the process for clients

◼Transportation

◼ Interpretation

◼ Ensure clients bring proper documentation

◼Advocacy

◼Comfort and guidance through an intimating

process

◼Required to get state ID through the refugee

resettlement process


STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING

CULTURAL BARRIERS

◼Find common ground

◼Empathy

◼Patience

◼Don’t make assumptions

◼Be accommodating

◼An immigrant’s perception of government

in general can be sensitive

QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU

April Palma Roberts

Staff Attorney

[email protected]

immigration law 101-immigration law 101-process, documentation and licensing october 2, 2019 april...

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