Hot Topics in CIR and Family Immigration

1
Hot Topics in Immigration Reform and Family
Immigration Law

• Immigration Attorneys
• Carl Shusterman
• Anu Joshi

2
Proposed Immigration Reform Bill (S.774)

• Passed by the Senate on June 29
• What will happen in the House?
• No single bill as yet
• Forcing a Vote?
• Discharge Petition?

3
Legalization

• Entered U.S. before 12/31/2011
• Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI)
• Pay a penalty, back taxes
• Receive work authorization
• May travel abroad
• LPR after 10 years
• Citizen after 3 more years
• Generous provisions for DREAMers, agricultural
  workers

4
Family-Based System

• Move FB-2A into immediate relative category
• Allow for derivatives of immediate relatives
• Eliminate the FB-4 category
• Married children of U.S. citizens eligible until
  31
• Return of the V visa

5
Employment-Based System

• Exempt from quotas
• EB-1 immigrants
• Doctoral degree holders,
• Physicians who have completed the foreign
  residency requirement
• Derivatives
• EB-6 category for certain start-up investors

6
Temporary Workers

• W-1 visa for lesser-skilled workers
• W-2 visa for contract-based workers
• W-3 visa for "at-will" E-B workers
• W-2/W-3 visas to replace H-2A program

7
Asylum

• Eliminate the one-year filing deadline
• Authorize asylum officers to grant asylum during
  credible fear interviews

8
Mandatory E-Verify

• All employers to be on the system after 5 years
• Biometric Work Authorization Card
• Biometric Green Card

9
H-1B Visas

• Increase general cap to 110,000. 180,000 max
• Raise advanced degree cap to 25,000
• Limited to STEM grads
• Recruitment requirement for all H-1B LCAs
• EADs for spouses
• 60-day grace period after H-1B job termination

10
Fraud

• Crime to knowingly defraud an immigrant or
  falsely claim to be an attorney or accredited
  representative
• ID required for individuals helping immigrants
  with their forms
• Attorney General to prosecute fraudulent
  "immigration service providers" at federal level

11
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

• What is DACA?
• Not a Law, Does Not Lead to Green Card or U.S.
  Citizenship
• Not the DREAM Act
• DHS Prosecutorial Discretion

12
Who is Eligible to Apply?

• Under Age 31 on June 15, 2012
• Came to U.S. before 16th Birthday
• Resided Continuously in the U.S. since June 15,
  2007
• Physically Present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012
  and Day Application is Made
• EWI or Overstay before June 15, 2012
• In School, Completed High School or GED, or
  Military Veteran
• No Conviction or Felony, Significant Misdemeanor,
  or 3 Misdemeanors

13
Immigration Forms

• Forms
• I-821D, Consideration of DACA
• I-765, Employment Authorization
• I-765 Worksheet
• Fee 465
• DACA and Work Permit
• Travel Permits Only in Limited Circumstances
• Background Checks

14
Absences from U.S. Permitted

• Brief, Casual, and Innocent
• Not Due to Deportation, Exclusion, or Removal
  Proceedings
• Not for an Unlawful Purpose

15
Criminal Convictions

• Felony only if Punishable by Term of Imprisonment
  Exceeding One Year
• Significant Misdemeanors Include Crimes of
  Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse or Exploitation,
  Burglary, Unlawful Possession or Use of a
  Firearm, Drug Distribution or Trafficking, DUI or
  where Sentence was for 90 days

16
Criminal Convictions

• 3 Misdemeanors
• Traffic Violations including Driving without a
  License are not Misdemeanors
• Expunged or Juvenile Convictions are not
  Necessarily Disqualifiers
• Public Safety Threat May Include Gang
  Membership or Criminal Activities

17
Acceptable Evidence

• Official Records Financial, Medical, School,
  Employment, and Military Records, etc
• 2 or More Affidavits May be Acceptable to Close
  Gaps in Documenting Continuous Residence and
  Physical Presence Requirements
• Affidavits not Acceptable to Prove Other
  Requirements
• Circumstantial Evidence

18
Removal Proceedings and Detention Bars

• Persons in Removal Proceedings May be Eligible
• Persons with Pending Applications for Relief from
  Removal Okay
• Persons in Detention Need to Apply for DACA with
  ICE, not USCIS

19
What if an Application is Denied?

• No Appeal
• No Motion to Reopen or Reconsider
• Review of Certain Denials Based on RFEs Permitted
• Reapply?

20
Questions?