Beach-Oswald Immigration Law Associates
Beach-Oswald Immigration Law
News Updates
In This Issue . . .

1. BOILA
2.BOILA Grants
3.President Trump's Midterm Promise
4. USCIS Policy Updates
5.Ending Birthright Citizenship
6. Extending TPS
7. USCIS Using Tablets During Naturalization Interviews
8.USCIS Expanding Information Service Modernization
9. Funding Immigration Deportation
10. USCIS Updates
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Washington, DC
2011 to 2018
 


Issue: #9
                October 2018
bringing immigration news updates since 2006

 

Beach-Oswald Immigration Law Associates, PC
 is a Washington, D.C. boutique firm devoted exclusively to immigration law. We have the highest possible rating for lawyers for legal acumen and ethical standards, and we have been practicing law since 1981. We are well versed in all aspects of immigration law, particularly, employment based immigration, citizenship, naturalization, asylum, deportation and removal, and temporary visas. 

Our top-notch lawyers represent professional workers, business owners, families, and asylum-seekers from all over the world. We provide the absolute best professional service possible to our clients and aid them in every step of their immigration processes. We prioritize ensuring our clients are not only assisted with their immigration cases but are thoroughly educated about the processes, laws, and requirements. All of our attorneys and legal staff at Beach-Oswald have a genuine desire to help those in need. We ensure the highest quality of professionalism and legal expertise.
                             
BOILA Grant Highlights


Mr. E is a native of Cameroon. He was granted derivative asylum status on January 17, 2008. He received his derivative asylee status through his mother who was granted asylum on April 6, 2006. Mr. E's mother was granted asylum based on his political activities in Cameroon with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). Mr. E hired BOILA to file his NUNC PRO TUNC asylum application. Ms. Danielle Beach-Oswald successfully represented Mr. E and his asylum was approved. Now Mr. E is able to adjust his status, apply for his EAD, travel document and eventually would obtain his lawful permanent resident card.

Ms. D, a native and citizen of Vietnam, came to BOILA for assistance in filing to remove the conditions on her green card. She had been granted two-year Lawful Permanent Resident status based on BOILA successfully demonstrating her bona fide marriage to her U.S. citizen husband.   90 days prior to her conditional green card expiring, Ms. D came to BOILA. We filed the necessary documents to USCIS in hopes of a quick adjudication, but with the constant changes in Immigration these days, the requirements for filing have increased and the necessary documents needed to show bona fide marriages are highly scrutinized.  As a result, Ms. D was issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) by USCIS.  Determined to prove her bona fide marriage, BOILA submitted substantial documentation on her marriage, included home deeds, bank statements, credit card accounts, travel history, etc.  Two weeks after submitting our response to the RFE, Ms. D received her I-751 approval notice and her ten year green card. She is now in the process of preparing to file for citizenship. 

Mr. D, a native and citizen of Jordan, entered the United States on a B2 visa with authorization to stay until February 2018. Mr. D's wife was in the U.S. for medical care and was expected to stay for several months. In order for Mr. D to not overstay his B2 visa and accrue unlawful presence in the U.S., BOILA filed Form I-539, Application to Extend B2 Nonimmigrant Status requesting a six month extension on his visa so that he could accompany his wife during her medical treatments. Mr. D's extension request was granted and he can no stay with his wife in the U.S.
Mr. SF is a native from Honduras who entered the United States in 2001. The challenge for our team once Mr. Santos hired BOILA was determining if Mr. Santos met the requirements for Cancellation of Removal. Mr. SF's three U.S. citizen children would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship should they be forced to return to Honduras,a country they had never been to. The Immigration Judge granted Mr. SF's Cancellation of Removal based on the hardship of is US children's medical conditions and the extreme and unusual hardship they would suffer without their father here in the U.S. Now Mr. SF can get his lawful permanent resident card when the visa numbers are available.
 
Mr. C, a minor child from El Salvador escaping from the abuse caused by his mother and his grandfather's girlfriend arrived in the United States in 2016. Mr. C , accompanied by his aunt, came to BOILA seeking relief for her young abused nephew. We successfully worked with both through the custody process where the DC superior court granted custody  of Mr. C to his aunt and made him eligible now to apply for his Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

President Trump's Midterm Promise:
No Asylum and Tent Cities


During President Trump's midterm election announcement on Thursday, November 1st, promises of tighter border control, additional detentions facilities for mother's and children and the termination of aslyum were made.  
Even though the law states that any person, so long as they are inside the United States, may apply for asylum, President Trump seeks to discontinue asylum all together. 
During his speech, the President made numerous false claims about the number of immigrants apprehended at the border not attending their trial hearings.  The President claimed almost 90 percent of immigrants don't attend their hearings when in fact the number is closer to 28 percent.  He also said the government is no longer releasing immigrants while they await trial. Meanwhile, migrants are being caught and released at the border regularly, as has happened for decades.
In many of his previous speeches the President has made promises about implementing new actions and executive new executive orders to further the crackdown on immigration. As of Thursday,  the President has offered no official orders on ending asylum or the separation of children from parents at the border.  

USCIS Policy Update on Marital Union and Naturalization


U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy guidance on the married and living in marital union requirements for naturalization under section 319(a) of the Act.
Lawful Permanent Residents applying for naturalization under the three year provision, are eligible to file for naturalization if they have continuously resided in the U.S. for a period of three years and are married to a U.S. citizen.  In general, all naturalization applicants filing under the basis of marriage to a U.S. citizen must continue to be married from the time of filing the naturalization application until the Oath of Allegiance.
The new policy update clarifies that the applicant spouse and their U.S. citizen spouse must have been living in marital union for at least three years immediately preceding the date of filing for naturalization. It also reaffirms that the termination of the marriage at ANY time before the applicant takes the Oath of Allegiance for naturalization makes the applicant ineligible under INA 319(a).  A termination of the marriage also applies to legal separation or death of the U.S. citizen spouse.
  Citation: Volume 12: Citizenship and Naturalization, Part G, Spouses of U.S.Citizens, Chapter 2, Marriage and Marital Union for Naturalization [12 USCIS PM G.2].

Ending Birthright Citizenship


President Trump intends to end birthright citizenship and plans to issue an executive order in the coming weeks.
 
Birthright citizenship comes from the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "Any person born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, is a citizen of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Although the president falsely claimed that no other country provides birthright citizenship, it is the law in over 30 countries, including Mexico and Canada.
President Trump also believes that children born of undocumented immigrants are not citizens because their parents were not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States, as required by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The only people not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States are diplomats and ambassadors, who are entitled to diplomatic immunity and are not required to follow most American laws.
The only way for the president to end birthright citizenship would be to amend the Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote of the House and the Senate, and then for three-fourths states to approve the Amendment.
 
Eliminating birthright citizenship would create a new permanent underclass in the United States and could even leave some children stateless.

It would also impose hardship on all Americans, who could no longer point to a birth certificate as proof of citizenship. If place of birth no longer guaranteed citizenship, then all Americans-not just those whose parents were undocumented-would be forced to prove their parents' nationality to the government in order to be recognized as a U.S. citizen. Many Americans would likely be denied citizenship based on government mistakes.
 
Although President Trump cannot change the Constitution with an executive order, his threat to eliminate birthright citizenship at a highly political moment is not only divisive but fundamentally out of line with America ideals.


Extending TPS Under Court Order


After weeks of negotiation with the ACLU,  the government has established a plan which provides those whose TPS was getting ready to expire a little more breathing room.
 Under this plan USCIS will begin negotiating new terms for TPS extensions for Sudan, Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The extensions are to remain in effect so long at the Court's orders remain in effect. 
In the short term, USCIS will automatically extend all work permits currently issued to TPS recipients from Sudan and Nicaragua for a six-month period ending on April 2, 2019. Both Sudan and Nicaragua's TPS designations were set to end before that date; Sudan on November 2, 2018, and Nicaragua on January 5, 2019. TPS for El Salvador and Haiti are not set to expire until late 2019, no extension action will be taken on those countries just yet.   
The government's plan also provides some measure of protection for TPS holders if the lower court's order is reversed on appeal. In that situation, TPS holders from countries where the TPS designation has already expired will be given an "orderly transition period" of four months. However, if the court's order is reversed before TPS expires for a specific country, then the agency will use the original expiration date.

Over the next year, as Congress debates the fate of individuals with TPS, it should keep in mind that hundreds of thousands of TPS holders deserve protection and the right to remain here in the country that they've made their home.


USCIS Using Tablets for English Test in Naturalization


On October 1st, USCIS started using digital tablets to administer the English reading and writing test during naturalization application interviews.  
USCIS will be continue to use the paper process but only on case-by-case basis. Immigration Officers are to carefully instruct applicants on how to use the tablets and stylus. 
For the reading test, a sentence will appear on the tablet ad the Officer will ask the applicant to read it
For the writing test, several lines will appear on the tablet, replicating the appearance of a piece of blank paper. The Officer will read a sentence aloud and ask the applicant to write it on the tablet. 
Applicants will continue to take the civics test verbally, without the tablet.


USCIS Expanding Information Service Modernization Program


USCIS will expand its Information Services Modernization Program to key field offices, beginning with the Detroit Field Office and the five offices in the Los Angeles District on Nov. 13. Field offices in the Newark, Great Lakes, and San Francisco districts will implement the program during the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2019.
The Information Services Modernization programs ends the self-scheduling InfoPass appointments applicants are used to getting through the USCIS website. Instead applicants are now encouraged to seek updates on their cases directly through the USCIS Contact Center. 
USCIS has been diligently working to update and improve the online tools so that applicants can better obtain their case status and other immigration information without have to go to a field office.  Reducing the number of applicants coming to the field officers should help to alleviate some of the delays and assist in officers adjudicating cases more quickly. 
Based on surveys and other data, USCIS determined that most people who made in-person information service appointments through InfoPass could have received the same information by calling the USCIS Contact Center or checking the USCIS website. Importantly, when it is determined an applicant does need in-person assistance under the Information Services Modernization Program, personnel at the USCIS Contact Center will help schedule an appointment without the individual having to search for available timeslots.


Funding Immigration Deportation 


The Trump Administration has put a lot of money into the deportation system and specifically into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  ICE has its own private airline operation known as ICE Air which it uses to deport thousands of immigrants back to their native homes. 

Currently, ICE is $017 million over its budget.  Deportation cost have gone up 30 percent in the last fiscal year as the Trump Administration continues to crack down on immigration in the U.S. 

Ten times a week, ICE Air off loads hundreds of deported immigrants at the Guatemala City airport.   Deportees are handcuffed or restrained as they fly into their countries of origins.  There are no in flight entertainment systems on the plane and they are fed minimal meals such as plain white bread with a slice of American cheese and a cup of water. Deportees are offered the bare minimum on the flights. The focus is not on comfort but on the efficiency of deporting as many individuals as possible. 

ICE Air flew over 97,000 deportees home last year. Most went to Guatemala, followed, in order, by Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia.
 
When there are not enough deportees to fill a charter flight, ICE buys tickets on commercial flights. This summer, however, several major carriers refused to fly children who'd been separated from their parents by the government.
ICE did not have a breakdown for the cost of a typical charter flight, but these international trips are expensive. An inspector general's report three years ago calculated the cost of charter flights at about 85 hundred dollars, per hour, regardless the number of passengers.
 
ICE Air relies on a network of contractors. The biggest was CSI Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico - whose contract with Homeland Security swelled from $88 to $96 million this year. In July, CSI says the ICE Air contract was awarded to a different company.

The budget for Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is upwards of $47 billion. ICE's budget for custody operations is a record $3 billion dollars this year - up from $1.77 billion in 2010.

The Trump Administration is still seeking to add funds for the wall build along the U.S. border and Mexico which is likely to require hundreds of millions of additional funds. 



 USCIS Updates

Form I-751 Continued Delays

USCIS has completed receipting and data entry for all filings of Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence , received between May 1 and Sept. 9, 2018. Petitioners should receive receipt notices by Oct. 22, 2018.

On June 13, 2018, USCIS announced that the California Service Center (CSC) was experiencing a delay in initial data entry for Form I-751. After changing the filing location for Form I-751 from the USCIS Service Centers to the USCIS Lockbox facilities in September, USCIS completed receipting and data entry of these petitions on Oct. 1.

If you submitted a Form I-751 to the CSC between May 1 and Sept. 9, 2018, and you have not received a receipt notice, do not file a duplicate Form I-751 unless you have received a rejection notice or have been instructed to do so by the CSC.


Proposed I-912 Fee Waiver Form Revision
USCIS is proposing to revise our Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, to remove the receipt of means-tested benefits from the eligibility criteria.

Individuals should use Form I-912 to request a fee waiver for eligible immigration benefit applications and petitions. When requesting a fee waiver, an alien must clearly demonstrate that he or she is unable to pay the fees. We will not accept a letter from the applicant stating they are unable to pay the filing fees or biometric services fees without a completed Form I-912 and supporting documentation, to include federal income tax transcripts or a Verification of Non-filing. With the proposed change, an alien may request a fee waiver if the documented annual household income is at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), or if the person can demonstrate financial hardship.

USCIS is permitted by regulation to waive certain fees, provided the party requesting the benefit is unable to pay the prescribed fee. The proposed form revision does not change the list of applications and petitions that are eligible for a fee waiver. For the complete list of applications and petitions that are eligible for a fee waiver, please refer to 8 CFR 103.7(c)(3).

USCIS Publishes Revised Form G-28 and Extends Grace Period for Prior Versions
USCIS has published a revised version of 
Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, with an edition date of 09/17/18. This revised version removes the geographic requirement for sending an original notice to a U.S. address for attorneys and representatives that had been added to the 05/05/16 and 05/23/18 versions of the form.
We are also extending the grace period for prior versions of Form G-28. You may continue to use the 05/05/16 and 03/04/15 versions of the form until Nov. 19, 2018. Starting Nov. 19, 2018, we will only accept a Form G-28 with edition date 09/17/18 or 05/23/18. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.



Please let us know if we can help you in any way for all your immigration needs.
 

Sincerely,

Danielle Beach-Oswald
Beach-Oswald Immigration Lawyers