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BREAKING IMMIGRATION NEWS
10/26/2020 Issue
Statue of Liberty on Island in New York with flag of the United States of America
GOOD NEWS – OPEN EMPLOYMENT QUOTAS
______All the restrictions and difficulties imposed by the Trump Administration over the past four years, had his desired effect: the number of legal immigrants has been reduced dramatically, maybe by 50%.
           As a result, the “waiting lists” (or “quotas”) for employment-based (the “EB” categories) for all countries (except China and India), have been shortened, until there is no waiting list for any employment category (except for China and India).
           This means that if you are “in status” (you entered legally and your visa has not expired), or if you are outside of the U.S., and you have a good prospective employer to sponsor you, you (and your family) can get Green Cards within a relatively short time.
           We cannot predict or promise how long this happy condition will remain available, but as long as it is – why not grab the opportunity?
2020 CENSUS
_____In the present 2020 census, there was no question whether the person responding to the census is legally in the U.S. It is assumed, therefore, that some undocumented aliens participated in the census. For example, In California alone, there are supposedly two million undocumented aliens and it is unknown how many participated in the census. The outcome is a cardinal issue since federal funds are distributed to States and seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to States, based on the numbers of persons counted in each State.  This time, in 2020, the numbers counted include undocumented aliens. A Federal court denied President Trump’s request to “uncount” the illegal aliens in each State.
_____This very controversial issue will be before the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of November 2020 and the decision of the court will be very relevant for the next ten years as to the number of representatives each State will have and how much money each State will get, from the Federal government.
2020 ELECTIONS AND THE FUTURE OF IMMIGRATION
_____The future of immigration in the U.S. is very much dependent on who will win the elections and which party will have a majority in the House of the Representatives and the Senate.
_____Since 2016, President Trump sought to reduce immigration in every possible way and slow the process. Vice President Joe Biden has promised to undo the restrictions and facilitate immigration.
_____To begin with, there are major differences as to the future of the Wall being built between Mexico and the U.S. There are different attitudes regarding asylum.
President Trump claims that most applicants for asylum are not in need of political asylum and rather are just looking for jobs and better living conditions and, therefore, it is not an issue of asylum. President Trump is not seeking legalization for the millions of illegal aliens who have lived in the U.S. for many years, in comparison to the Democrats who claim they are willing to grant such aliens legal status. Reminder: Democrats had complete majority in Congress from 2008 to 2010 but did not do anything about
resolving the legalization issue. In addition, there are different approaches how to resolve the issue of agricultural workers that work in the fields in the U.S. and their status is illegal.
_____In summary, President Trump would rather continue to curtail immigration and Vice President Biden, if you believe it, will increase immigration and resolve the overdue problems.
NEW MENACE: EXPEDITED REMOVAL
_____What is EXPEDITED REMOVAL?
           In plain English: speedy deportation.
           This happens when U.S. ICE detains a non-citizen and orders their removal/deportation without a hearing in Immigration Court without an Order of Removal by an Immigration Judge and without a right of appeal. All is done SPEEDILY.
           It used to be that EXPEDITED REMOVAL was used only against people who (1) entered the U.S. without a visa, and (2) were caught by Immigration within a short distance from the border with Mexico or Canada and (3) were caught within 2 weeks of their entry into the U.S. But now, as of October 16, 2020, U.S. ICE will expand the “net” of EXPEDITED REMOVAL to illegal entrants (without a visa) who are caught anywhere in the U.S. up to two (2) years of their illegal entry. To avoid EXPEDITED REMOVAL, those who get caught, anywhere in the U.S. within two years of their entry, must prove that they entered legally.
           How can non-citizens who do not have Green Cards protect themselves from EXPEDITED REMOVAL? By carrying with them some papers.
           First, if they had a legal entry, with a passport and a visa, they should make a copy of the passport pages showing the visa and the entry stamp with date of entry, and also a copy of the I-94 (if they were given an I-94 upon entry) and carry the copies (not the originals) with them.
           Second, persons who have been in the U.S. for more than two years, should carry with them some papers proving their legal presence in the U.S. For example: a Driver’s License showing the date of issue, or proof of employment for more than two years, such as W-2 Form, or any other paper that shows presence in the U.S. for two years or more.
PREMIUM PROCESSING
_____Form I-907 is used to request USCIS to speed up the processing of certain applications and petitions, mainly some employment cases or petitions, such as H-1B for temporary working visa or I-140 for employment-based Green Cards. This Form I-907 always required an extra fee, in addition to the regular petition fee. It is called a Request for Premium Processing.
           The extra fee for PREMIUM PROCESSING used to be $1,440. Now USCIS has raised this fee to $2,500 (in addition to the regular petition fee).
3250 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1918
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 383-3222
psg@immigrationguru.com