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© 2009 Spar & Bernsteins 'Law link' Blog
Source: New York Times
By Julia Preston
One man is dead, shot in the mouth in El Salvador, presumably for speaking ill of a gang. Another man lives in hiding in the Salvadoran countryside, hoping his former gang will not mete out a similar punishment to him.
Both men had once fled to the United States, where they sought asylum, saying they faced mortal threats from street gangs in El Salvador. In recent years the immigration courts have seen a surge of thousands of such gang-related claims from Central Americans. They have rarely been granted.
But the cases of these two Salvadorans, Benito Zaldívar, who was killed, and Nelson Benítez Ramos, have added new credibility to those claims. They have increased the pressure on the courts and the Obama administration to clarify asylum law so foreigners facing life-threatening dangers from gangs would have a chance at refuge in this country.
Immigration judges have rejected asylum for people running from Central American gangs on the grounds that the threats were vague and that the petitioners’ lives did not appear to be truly at risk.
By Melissa Desvarieux and Shannon LaGuerre
New York Immigration Attorneys, The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
Question: How is the deportation process initiated?
Desvarieux & LaGuerre: A voluntary departure order or a final order of removal initiates the deportation process.
*****
Question: Can a deportation or removal order be appealed?
Desvarieux & LaGuerre: Of course. There are several levels to this process. After a denial from an Immigration Judge, it can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. If denied by the Board of Immigration Appeals, it can be appealed to the various Federal Circuit courts and ultimately even to the Supreme Court of the U.S.
*****
Question: Under what circumstance will a foreign spouse’s permanent resident status in the U.S. be conditional?
Desvarieux & LaGuerre: If beneficiary and petitioner have been married less than two years they will be granted conditional residence for two years. Ninety days before the two year anniversary of being granted conditional residency, the beneficiary must file an I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence.
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, Brad Bernstein, President, 225 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 1-212-227-3636, 1-800-law-link, 1-800-529-5465 Email: info@lawsb.com
Source: AILA’s Capitol Beat
Excitement is in the air this week, and it’s not just because AILA’s Annual Conference is upon us. On Thursday President Obama will give a speech in Washington on immigration reform. Though the substance is still murky, it will likely address familiar themes: the importance of passing a comprehensive bill and the lack of bipartisan cooperation that is blocking efforts. In preparation, the White House already met Monday with immigration reform supporters and today will meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The President’s speech is a welcome step, but to re-energize immigration reform supporters – read between the lines as Latino voters – the President will have to deliver more than just words but concrete plans for either legislative or administrative action on immigration. Ever since Senate Democrats released the REPAIR framework in May, there has been little movement in Congress. Furthermore, Congress’s inability to move immigration has led to desperate acts at all levels, including calls to spend more money on border security, including on fences and patrols that are not going address the brokenness of our immigration system. [Earlier this week the Center for American Progress released a report on border security entitled "Brick by Brick" that recounts the federal government's substantial efforts to address border security.] Arizona’s enactment of a new dragnet enforcement law, SB 1070, and the copycat attempts that followed are other examples of efforts born more out of frustration than sensible, smart policymaking.
Rumors are abounding of an imminent announcement that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will sue to stop implementation of SB 1070. Soon after the law was enacted the President criticized it as “irresponsible” and said it “threaten[ed] to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.” In response to SB 1070, AILA immediately voted to boycott the state by pulling out of its fall conference originally planned for Scottsdale. The law effectively sanctions racial and ethnic profiling and is most likely unconstitutional under federal preemption principles. With respect to preemption, this week the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Candelaria case involving a challenge to another Arizona law that would make it mandatory for all employers to use the federal electronic employment verification system. That case will be decided in the upcoming Court term.
It is understandable that people are frustrated with the lack of federal action on immigration, and as a result are grasping at any idea no matter how impractical or unwise. But throwing money at the border and enacting a patchwork of possibly contradictory state and local laws provides no answer at all.
For those seeking thoughtful policy solutions AILA has published, “Solutions That Work: A Policy Manual for Immigration Reform” (www.aila.org/solutions). The online version of the guide will be more interactive when the soon-to-be available online media player is ready for primetime. If you are going to the Annual Conference, be sure to visit the Advocacy and Communications booth in the exhibit hall to learn more about the player and how you can embed it into your website.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Julian Castro | ||||
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The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein put 15 questions to one of its awesome immigration attorneys, Melissa Desvarieux:
Where did you get your indergraduate degree? And which law school did you graduate from?
University of Pennsylvania for my undergrad, Tulane for law.
Where were you born and raised?
Born in New York City (but I didn’t stay there), raised in Port Au Prince, Haiti.
What’s the difference between Haiti and the United States?
Everything. There are so many more opportunities here.
What are the professions of your parents?
My father is a doctor, my mother a nurse. I come from a family of doctors.
When did you know that you wanted to be a lawyer?
Very early on. It seems like since infancy. My mom said I argued a lot.
What other interests did you have as a kid?
Politics and international affairs.
Anything for fun?
I was an Equestrian and competed for six years. I won events, jumping 0.80 centimeters and eventually graduating to one meter. But I had some pretty bad falls, cracked some ribs, hurt my back. I even owned an English Thoroughbread named Sweetest Smile. I miss all that.
Did you have a childhood hero?
Yes, Mireille Durocher Bertin, an international lawyer in Haiti who in 1995 was assassinated when she was 38 years old. She spoke out against the government – in a country where people tend to be afraid to speak – and was killed for it. I was enamored with her courage, with someone standing up to affect change, make history.
When did you return to the U.S. and why?
In 1998, when I was 18, I came here to go to college.
What do you love about the law?
That at the end of the day, it makes sense, it’s something you can hang your hat on. In Haiti, I grew up where you didn’t voice your opinion. Things didn’t make sense.
What don’t you love about the law?
The bureaucracy. I wish things were more streamlined.
What’s your favorite musical group or singer?
Counting Crows and a Haitian singer named Sweet Micky.
Favorite recent TV shows?
Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy.
Books?
I have so little time to read that it can’t be anything smart. I need something simple and quick. Which means only Romance novels.
Do you have a personal creed?
Do you what you have to do, regardless of the consequences or what may come.
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, 225 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 1-212-227-3636, 1-800-law-link, 1-800-529-5465 Email: info@lawsb.com
Source: MYFOXNY.COM
Chief executives of several major corporations, including Fox 5 parent company News Corp., are joining Mayor Michael Bloomberg to form a coalition advocating for immigration reform.
Thursday morning, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and Mayor Bloomberg appeared on Fox and Friends to explain the initiative.
![jackpaar[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/jackpaar1-225x300.jpg "jackpaar[1]")
“Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery.”
- Jack Paar
![immigration[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/immigration13-500x313.jpg "immigration[1]")
By the Staff of New York Immigration Attorneys (combined with official sources such as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
The immigration process can be a daunting one, if not impossibly complex.
It’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed by the hundreds of laws and bylaws, so easy to get lost in the blurring maze of countless numbers and letters joined oddly together by hypens.
It’s for this reason that we at The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, which has been handling immigration cases – and successfully, we might add – for more than half a century, have decided to put together a list of the 20 Things You MUST Know about Immigration.
We truly hope this helps keep you from making the mistakes that can, unfortunately, in a heartbeat, completely destroy your immigration case.
So do yourself a huge favor and learn these 20 things.
Absorb them.
Remember them.
Your life in the United States, your American dreams, depend on it.
1) You MUST know the difference between a visa and an I-94. The major differences between the two are as follows:
a. The I-94 is stamped with a date that indicates how long the foreign national can stay in the United States for that particular trip. Your stay in the US is not determined by the expiration date of your visa.
b. The I-94 card gives you permission to remain in the US, while a visa is a permit to seek entry to the US.
c. The I-94 generally has a validity period shorter than your visa.
d. The I-94 card is completed by an Immigration Inspector when a foreign national is inspected upon his arrival in the US, whereas a visa is issued by the US State Department and is obtained at an American consulate outside the United States.
2. You MUST know the difference between a green card and citizenship.
a. Permanent Residence (a “green card”) grants the right to live in, leave and reenter, and work in the U.S. It does not grant, for instance, the right to vote in U.S. elections. Permanent Residence may be deemed abandoned if the U.S. government believes that the permanent resident has not maintained sufficient ties to the U.S. to demonstrate intent to keep it. It can also be revoked if, for instance, the permanent resident commits certain crimes.
b. Citizenship includes all those rights, plus the right to vote and certain other rights and it cannot be deemed abandoned even if the citizen resides abroad for long periods of time without strong ties to the U.S. It can be taken away, but normally only if the naturalized citizen can be proven to have misrepresented something during the naturalization process (or does something which could also cause removal of citizenship to a U.S.-born citizen, such as fighting with a foreign army against the U.S.).
3. You MUST know the difference between immigrant and non-immigrant intent.
a. Immigrant intent means the person intends on staying in the U.S. permanently.
b. Nonimmigrant intent assumes person intends on returning to his or her home country or country of last residence. Therefore, it is imperative that this person maintains a residence abroad that they have no intention of abandoning. In plain English, you will often be asked to provide an overseas address as evidence of your ties to your home country. Also, every effort should be made to retain an address overseas as well as other ties (bank accounts, etc.) to that country.
4. You MUST know that The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is distinctly separate from the National Visa Center. The protocol is this: After the immigrant petition filed in the U.S. has been approved by USCIS, the petition is forwarded to the NVC for processing. The NVC plays an important role in the next steps of the U.S. immigration process, providing instructions to petitioners and sponsors, and receives from sponsors, the required Affidavit of Support forms, fees, other required documents, and much more.
5. You MUST know that the National Customer Service hotline does not always give correct information. Always double and, if you can, even triple check the information. ![telephone[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/telephone1-300x300.jpg "telephone[1]")
6. You MUST know that staying out of the United States with a green card for more than six months may make you inadmissible, because it mean that you are no longer living permanently in the U.S.
7. You MUST know that you can’t use a visitors visa to live or work in the United States. A visitors visa means exactly that – you are visiting and only visiting. You can’t come for six months, then leave for a few weeks, and expect to be allowed back right after that for another six months.
8. You MUST know that if you’re late for an appointment at USCIS, your interview can be cancelled.
9. You MUST know that if you are in the United States without status for over one year, do not travel on advance parole (although USCIS will issue you an advance parole document).
![deportation[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/deportation1-300x300.jpg "deportation[1]")
10. You MUST know that failure to show up for Removal/Deportation on the date issued by what’s known as a Bag and Baggage Letter(a letter sent to you giving you a date to show up for Deportation) may result in an immigration warrant being issued for your arrest.
11. You MUST know that the processing times as posted on the USCIS website are not 100% correct. Find a way to double or, if possible, even triple check the times.
12. You must know that if you have an interview at USCIS and additional documents are requested, you should NOT mail the requested documents, but rather hand-deliver them and have an extra copy stamped for your records.
13. You MUST know that failure to show up at an Adjustment of Status Interview can result in your case being denied and placement in removal proceedings before the Immigration Judge.
14. You MUST know that a valid “10-year” visa does NOT allow you to remain in the U.S. for that long. Your authorized stay in the U.S. is noted on Form I-94.
15. You MUST know that all non-U.S. citizens, except for holders of A or G visas, need to report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving (by completing a USCIS Form AR-11), since federal mail is not forwarded to new addresses.
16. You MUST know the difference between pleading guilty versus a dismissed charge -paying a fine in criminal court does not mean that the case was dismissed. A guilty plea for certain crimes can impact your immigration case, can make you deportable.
17. You MUST know that failure to show up at Removal Proceedings may result in your being ordered removed and deported in your absence.
18. You MUST know that patience is needed with immigration. There are many people who are apply for visas each day, and sometimes you will get frustrated. When you take the time to read about the requirements and follow them precisely, you can avoid any unnecessary waiting.![patience[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/patience1.jpg "patience[1]")
19. You MUST know that you should ever never lie about information pertaining to your case, either to your attorney or an immigration official. You WILL get caught and you WILL suffer the consequences.
20. You MUST know to not go it alone with your case. You need a good immigration attorney representing you to make sure things go smoothly, correctly, legally right.
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, 225 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 1-212-227-3636, 1-800-law-link, 1-800-529-5465 Email: info@lawsb.com
By Melissa Desvarieux and Shannon LaGuerre
New York Immigration Attorneys, The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
Question: What are some factors that are considered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in granting an individual immigration status?
Desvarieux & LaGuerre: Moral character is an important factor, history of arrests/ absence or presence of a criminal record/history, hardship to other family members who are United States Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents.
*****
Question: What is the purpose of the Diversity (DV) Lottery Program?
Desvarieux & LaGuerre: The purpose is supposedly to encourage diversity. It’s meant to encourage talented high school/high school equivalent students and those who have at least two years professional experience or trade experience to come to the U.S. and obtain a green card. It’s also a way to grant visas to citizens of countries with low admission into the U.S.
*****
Question: What is the basis for being deported? What are the consequences of deportation?
Desvarieux & LaGuerre: You’re deemed undesirable in the U.S. The consequence is that you cannot stay in the U.S. and cannot legally work or get benefits, If you’re actually physically deported, the consequence is that you cannot legally return for 10 years absent a waiver.
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, 225 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 1-212-227-3636, 1-800-law-link, 1-800-529-5465 Email: info@lawsb.com
Source: Immigration Policy Center
Reforming America’s Immigration Laws: A Woman’s Struggle
Washington, D.C.-There are roughly 19 million immigrant women and girls currently in the U.S. Immigrant women, particularly the undocumented, are often more vulnerable than their male counterparts, lack the same economic opportunities, and experience exploitation while crossing the border, while working and even in their own homes.
In short, immigrant women have become the silent victims of a broken immigration system.
In IPC’s latest Special Report, Reforming America’s Immigration Laws: A Woman’s Struggle, immigration attorney Kavitha Sreeharsha lays out the economic and social disparities, legal barriers and the many dangers
hard-working immigrant women living in the U.S. are forced to endure.
The report also explores how women are distinctly harmed by heightened enforcement of immigration laws. Abusers, traffickers, and
exploitative employers keep immigrant women from seeking local law-enforcement protection by convincing them that police officers are working in partnership with DHS and will deport victims instead of protecting them.
Essentially, these enforcement measures increase the likelihood of abuse and assault against immigrant women by cutting them off from help and giving their perpetrators a powerful tool to silence their victims and escape prosecution.
Ultimately, the author concludes, only through a comprehensive immigration reform package – one that includes a path to legalization and values the contributions immigrant women make as mothers,
wives and workers – can we reconcile these disparities.
![Duduscoke415[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Duduscoke4151-300x300.jpg "Duduscoke415[1]")
By Stella Templo
New York Immigration Attorney, The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
At this point in time, nobody knows exactly how many deaths are attributable to Christopher “Dudus” Coke. All everyone knows is that it’s a lot.
From August of 2009, when the U.S. State Department formally requested Dudus’s extradition to the United States to face charges for trafficking drugs and firearms, to just last week , when he was apprehended, Dudus was hiding out in Jamaica, where he commanded a large, powerful and violent gang.
Because Dudus enjoyed some protection from his government which initially resisted his extradition, only in the last few months had Dudus truly been in hiding.
The Jamaican government, upon pain from the U.S. State Department, eventually withdrew its protests to the extradition request.
Among other tactics, the State Department, which operates the U.S. Embassies, cancelled the visas of some of Jamaica’s most well-known and highest paid entertainers.
Even the more run-of-the-mill categories like the H-1B and the H-2B workers reported difficulties with the U.S. Embassy.
Though not officially stated, it was widely acknowledged that the cancellations and denials were retributive acts by the State Department. Dudus, a thousand miles away, dealing in crimes and bad acts of which I have no knowledge, was impacting my work.
I began to watch the news reports from Jamaica to monitor the efforts at capturing the “ultimate bad man”. I watched the death toll rise and wondered what the end would look like for Dudus.
I could not have predicted that he would be apprehended in the company of one of Jamaica’s most recognizable Pastors in drag as a church lady. Without his trademark facial hair, with a lady’s wig, a middle-aged woman’s glasses, and a frock dress, Dudus was taken into custody.
The irony abounds.
Bad man with a pastor.
Bad man in drag.
Jamaica most homophobic nation in the world.
In Jamaica, homosexuality remains against the law. Violence against homosexuals and suspected homosexuals is rampant. Some of the lyrics of Jamaica’s most popular dancehall heroes advocate the violent deaths of homosexuals.
Homophobia in Jamaica is so prevalent that being gay is the basis of a political asylum claim for Jamaicans.
In his own way, Dudus was the king of this violent culture and he was apprehended as a church lady.
Definitely ironic.
Arizona lawmaker to Latino journos: “Illegal” Canadians can stay because they have money.
By Terry Greene Sterling
On June 25, in Phoenix, I was honored to participate in a panel sponsored by the Arizona Latino Media Association. The other panelists included Nancy-Jo Merritt, a longtime Phoenix immigration attorney; Antonio Bustamante, an activist and attorney who grew up on the border, and John Kavanaugh, the legislator who sponsored the House version of SB 1070, Arizona’s controversial immigration law. The panel was moderated by New Times journalist Monica Alonzo.
Honestly, you could talk about SB 1070 for ten hours and still have things to talk about.
It’s a law that requires all police officers in Arizona to enforce immigration law, and if they don’t, their employers, taxpayer-funded cities, towns, counties and the state itself, are open to citizen lawsuits.
The law requires all Arizona cops who stop, detain, or arrest people they “reasonably suspect” of being in the country illegally to ask for papers and, if no papers exist, to check immigration status. The catch is, the cops can stop, detain or arrest for anything from murder to the violation of an obscure town ordinance.
Lawyers say the “harboring” and “transporting” aspect of the law can criminalize US citizens who, in the act of living with, lunching with, driving with, praying with or (doing just about anything else with) a person they know to be undocumented, happen to violate a traffic law or a city ordinance. That could include taking your undocumented mother to the grocery store, or driving your nana to the cardiologist’s office. Tony Bustamonte noted, forcefully, that a good many American citizens of Latino descent have friends or relatives who don’t have papers.
By Mariana Vázquez-García
Managing Attorney/New York Immigration Attorney
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
Question: When should H1B, cap-subject cases be filed and how does the timing work?
Mariana Vázquez-García: April 1 is the first day to file for the upcoming fiscal year. The last couple of years the quota has not been reached, so it has not been as urgent to file by April 1, 2010 to get one of the 65,000 visas available.
*****
Question: I have an L-1. If my company applies for my green card, do I need a Labor Certification?
Mariana Vázquez-García: You can skip a PERM application (labor certifications are no longer used) and have the company file for you as a multinational executive or manager.
*****
Question: When can I file an I-485 application for adjustment of status to permanent residence?
Mariana Vázquez-García: Depends if the case has a quota to the number of green-cards issued per year or not; if the person is here legally; if the person has an order of deportation; if the person is filing through a family member, an employer, after asylum is granted, as a person of extraordinary ability.
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, 225 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 1-212-227-3636, 1-800-law-link, 1-800-529-5465 Email: info@lawsb.com
Welcoming America is a national, grassroots-driven collaborative working to promote mutual respect and cooperation between foreign-born and U.S.-born Americans.
![OBAMA_1521518c[1]](http://sblawlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/OBAMA_1521518c1-300x288.jpg "OBAMA_1521518c[1]")
Enough with the obligatory talk about how important comprehensive immigration reform is for America.
Enough with the smooth-talking rhetoric meant to appease certain constituent corners.
Enough with the “Yes, we can” promises of a better day for undocumented immigrants.
With voters in the eastern Nebraska town of Fremont approving an ordinance this week that bans the renting of apartments or houses to illegal immigrants, as well as hiring them for any job, and whispers that five states -South Carolina, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Michigan – are now looking to propose an Arizona-SB 1070 style legislation, it’s time for Obama to actually DO SOMETHING.
Stop the anti-immigrant tide before it gets out of control.
To hell with playing it safe because of the November elections.
Push with all your political muscle the way you did for health care. Put pressure on Congress. Mobilize the rightheaded and compassionate and kindhearted.
The time is NOW, Mr. President. The times call for it.
Stand up already!
By Mariana Vázquez-García
Managing Attorney/New York Immigration Attorney
The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein
Question: My old passport has expired, but the visa stamp is still valid. What should I do?
Mariana Vázquez-García: Obtain a new passport & travel with both passports.
*****
Question: How long can I remain outside the U.S. without jeopardizing my permanent residency status?
Mariana Vázquez-García: No more than six months per 12-month period, not calendar year. So, if you leave October & return in April of the following year, that counts as six months.
*****
Question: I have a master’s degree. Does that mean that I can get the green card through EB2?
Mariana Vázquez-García: It means you meet one of the requirements to be sponsored under the EB2 category, not that you will automatically get a green-card. For example, you must also be sponsored for a position that requires a master’s degree to be employed.
