Immigration Webinar Basics - Maricella

8/3/2019 Immigration Webinar Basics - Maricella

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AGENDA

Overview of Immigration Terms

Categories of Aliens

Immigrating through Employment, Special

Programs, Family

Bars Immigrants Face

Moving Forward


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Immigration 101

What do you need to know to advocate for

immigration reform?

Current immigration law unfair and

provides insufficient channels to legal status

12 million people are undocumented

Unreasonable hurdles exist in the path to

legal status


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IMMSPEAK

Monica is waiting to immigrate in the 2A

preference, and it may take 5 years before

she gets her LPR card. She might age outunless the CSPA can help. Even then, she

will need to examine whether she can adjust

by filing an I-485, because she entered EWI

and will need 245(i) otherwise she will be

subject to a bar when she consular

processes.


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How much do you know about

Immigration Law?What is an immigrant?

The term immigrant means every alien

except an alien who is within one of the

following classes of nonimmigrant

aliens

INA 101(a)(15)


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Non-Immigrant Categories

AForeign Government Officials

BVisitors

CAliens in Transit

DCrewmen ETreaty Traders and Treaty

Investors

FAcademic Students

GForeign Government Officials

to International Organizations HTemporary Workers

IForeign Media Representatives

JExchange Visitors

KFianc of US Citizen

LIntracompany Transferee

MVocational and Language

Students

NSpecial Immigrant Juveniles

OWorkers with ExtraordinaryAbilities

PAthletes and Entertainers

QInternational Cultural

Exchange Visitors

RReligious Workers

SWitness or Informant

TTrafficking Victims

UVictims of Certain Crimes

VFamily Unity


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So What is an Immigrant Again?

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF FOREIGNNATIONALS ENTERIGN THE U.S.

NON-IMMIGRANTS enter the US with the

intention of remainingtemporarily and returningto their home country.

IMMIGRANTS enter with the intention of

remaining in the USpermanently.


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CITIZENS

By birth

Through parents

By naturalization

Immigrants

Lawful permanent

residents (LPRs)

Refugees/Asylees

Other lawful statuses

Non-Immigrants

E.g. visitors, students,

temporary workers

Undocumented

Overview of Immigration Categories

ALIENS


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Immigration Law Terminology

Citizens, nationals, aliens

Citizens:

Acquired by birth in the U.S. (or territories)

Acquired by birth abroad

Derived by naturalization of parent

Derived by residence with citizen parent

Naturalization


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Aliens

Nonimmigrant

ImmigrantLawful Permanent Resident(LPR)

Family-based visas

Employment-based

Refugee, asylum

Defenses to removalLong residence

Special immigrants


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Undocumented Immigrants

Without legal statusbecause entered

without admission or inspection (EWI)

Entered with legal status but overstayed or

violated conditions of stay


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Why Undocumented Immigrants

and Not Illegal Immigrants? It's inaccurate legally and confuses the debate. Immigration judges and attorneys don't

use the i-word. Journalistswho treat all transgressions as alleged, - a tenet of ethical

and professional journalism, don't use it either. The i-word finds many people guilty

before they are tried and ignores the fact that our laws are unjustly applied. Immigrants

without documents are regularly hired as cheap, exploited labor with a limited ability toprotect their own rights. No one else who benefits from the set up, including the

employers who recruit and hire these migrants, is labeled this way.

The i-word is used to unfairly label and scapegoat people who are out of status due to a

variety of systemic circumstances. For example, many people:

Are brought to the country against their will or by employers who often exploit them for cheap labor.

Fall out of status and overstay their VISAS because of school or employment.

Risk being killed in their country of origin due to political or religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

Are affected by natural disasters and/or other reasons beyond their control.

Are on a backlog waiting years to get processed, even when they are eligible to get papers through a relative.

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CITIZENS

By birth

Through parents

By naturalization

Immigrants

Lawful permanent

residents (LPRs)

Refugees/Asylees

Other lawful statuses

Non-Immigrants

E.g. visitors, students,

temporary workers

Undocumented

Why Does it Matter Where you Fall?

ALIENS


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Agencies Overseeing Immigration

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Department of Justice

Executive Office of Administrative Review (EOIR)

Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)

Department of State (DOS)

Department of Labor (DOL)


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Employment-based Immigration

Immigrants must be sponsored by prospectiveemployer.

Most categories cover only immigrants with high

levels of education or skill.

Immigrants with lower skill levels must gothrough labor certification (i.e. the sponsor must

prove that it could not find a worker alreadylawfully in US to fill the job and therefore it mustsponsor the immigrant).


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Refugees/Asylees

Individuals who have a well-founded fear of persecution in theirnative country due to

Race

Religion

Nationality

Political opinion Membership in specific social group

Refugees: Identified outside the US (usually in UN-sponsored

camps) and resettled in US through the State

Department and international relief organizations

Asylees: Enter US by some other means and make claim for

political asylum while in US

(Less than 25% of asylum claims are successful)


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Special Forms of Relief

VAWA: Certain immigrants who are/have been in abusive

relationships can self-petition under theViolence Against Women Act (VAWA).

U Visa: Immigrant victims of certain crimes that cooperate

with law enforcement in the investigation or

prosecution of their crimes.

T Visa: For victims of human trafficking.


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Country-Specific Relief

Cuban Adjustment Act

Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American

Relief Act (NACARA) (benefiting certain Cubans,

Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, andEastern Europeans)

Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act

(HRIFA)

Temporary Protected StatusEl Salvador, Haiti,

Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South

Sudan


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Immigrating Family Members

Two-step process:

Sponsoring relative files petition to sponsor

immigrant (e.g. Form I-130)

Immigrant applies for LPR status

Who can Immigrate?

U.S. citizen may immigrate: spouse, parents,children (any age), and siblings

LPR may immigrate spouse and unmarried

children (any age)


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Who DOESNT qualify

Grandparents Grandchildren

Aunts/Uncles

Nieces/Nephews

Cousins

Boyfriends/Girlfriends

Domestic Partners

Friends Pets


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Priority Date

Quota System => 500,000/Year

Priority Date => Filing Date

Priority Date Stays With Petition And May Be

Retained Sometimes With 2ndPetition

Filing => Form Signed, Fee Paid

Visa Chart => Issued Every Month By the

State Department; Used to Determine Visa

Availability


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23

Visa Bulletin Principles

Three Factors:

Priority date, which must be before date on

Visa Bulletin to be currentCountry of chargeability

Preference category

Visa Bulletin does not progress steadily Visa Bulletin may even retrogress


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Sample Visa Bulletin (October 2011)

All ChargeabilityAreas ExceptThose Listed

CHINA-mainland

bornINDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES

1st 15JUN04 15JUN04 15JUN04 22MAR93 08JAN97

2A 08JAN09 08JAN09 08JAN09 15OCT08 08JAN09

2B 15JUL03 15JUL03 15JUL03 22NOV92 01MAY01

3rd 08SEP01 08SEP01 08SEP01 01DEC92 08JUN92

4th 15MAY00 15MAY00 15MAY00 08APR96 01AUG88


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Obstacles to Family Reunification

Under current law (since April 30, 2001) a personmust enter U.S. legally in order to be able to applyfor permanent residence here

A temporary provision called 245(i) expired onApril 30, 2001, which had previously allowedpeople to pay a penalty fee if undocumented, and

then they could adjust in the U.S.


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Inadmissibility/Deportability

Immigrants can be deniedadmission/residency forany of several reasons:

Communicable disease

Drug abuse

Criminal history

Terrorism/ national security/involvement in persecution

Public charge Immigration violations

Unlawful voting/ falseclaims to US citizenship

Any noncitizen can bedeported (removed);ground include:

Immigration status violations

Unlawful presence in US

Terrorism/ national security/involvement in persecution

Public charge (within first 5

years of admission) Marriage fraud

Alien smuggling

Unlawful voting/ falseclaims to US citizenship


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Criminal Grounds of Deportability

Crimes involving moral turpitude (not defined) Drug offenses

Firearms offenses

Domestic violence Aggravated felonies

Immigration law defines conviction in its own wayand analyzes crimes on a different basis than what is

provided for in state statutes.


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Unlawful Presence Bars

Anyone who is present in the US without legal status for 180days, leaves, and attempts to reenter lawfully is barred from

returning for3 years

Anyone who is present in the US without legal status forone

year, leaves, and attempts to reenter lawfully is barred from

returning for 10 years

Anyoneordered deportedwho attempts to reenter lawfully is

barred from admission for 10 years; 20 years after second and

later deportation; life if deported for aggravated felony

Anyone who leaves the US after being in the US without legalstatus fora total of one year, or has beenordered deported

andattempts to reenter unlawfullyis barred from admission for

life


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What Do We Do From Here?

Educate Immigrants About Their Rights

Restore Fairness and Justice

Reform the System

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

DREAM Act

Family Unity

Ag JobsRecapture Unused Visas

Be ready to respond!

Documents

Immigration Webinar Basics - Maricella