The benefits of a National Conference

The benefits of a national conference.

July 1, 2013

I just returned from San Francisco and the 2013 AILA ( American Immigration Lawyers Association) National Conference. It took me 19 hours to get there and 13 hours to get back. It cost an awful lot of money for quite a short period of time. But the meeting had benefits for me and the other lawyers that far outweigh the price we paid to attend.

It can feel lonely out here as an immigration lawyer. People in my office are always talking about getting ripped off or abused by someone pretending to be a lawyer, or someone actually being a lawyer. It gets me sometimes to thinking that me and a few of my Tampa friends may be the only honest people out here.

This theory was destroyed as usual at the national conference. I got to meet people who give their lives in devotion to their clients, without even requesting the benefit of payment. Wow. I got to meet people who live like I do, for poking the bully in the eye. I love natural born bully fighters! Seriously I heard there were some real crazy lawyers at the conference, but I did not see anything.

I was re-motivated and reinvigorated for the practice of law by meeting so many inspiring and inspired colleagues. I look forward to continuing to try to find relief for every client I meet.

Neil

"immigration lawyer"

My goodness. I was doing an Internet search for immigration lawyers in Tampa and came up with all kinds of curious names.

(I had a really funny section here, where I mentioned stories that I know about the people in Tampa that advertise as immigration lawyers. But then I remembered that these are lawyers and they are litigious so my stories shall have to wait. Sorry.)

When I was new I was incredibly happy that to be an immigration lawyer all I had to do was say "I am an immigration lawyer." But I find that the term immigration lawyer is thrown around an incredible amount in 2013. There is a core of extremely experienced immigration lawyers in Tampa who have great predictability in the outcomes of their cases. These lawyers would all be members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and would have more than 10 years experience with 100% immigration law.

If potential clients would do the research and check the available resources they will probably end up with one of this group of great immigration lawyers. But for every great immigration lawyer I know there are two or three lawyers who say they are as good.

The advertising and the noise that is out there is significant. But it is still possible to figure out who the good guys are. Do your research. Find out who the best attorney for you is and hire that person.

Clearly I imagine that person would be me.  : )

A simple proposal

A simple proposal

I keep hearing our elected officials speaking about the coming Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Generally, they are all speaking about a "pathway to citizenship" that will involve numerous obligations for the applicants, such as a requirement to prove you are paying taxes, a requirement to show that you know English, and they want to charge a fine as well . Elected officials also talk about putting all the applicants at the "end of the line" for permanent residency.

Do they not understand what they are proposing? This supposed pathway to citizenship would create an enormous government bureaucracy. These steps and pathways will require applications, adjudicators, lawyers, appeals courts. None of these probably exist right now. They are talking about creating an entire new framework. "End of the line" may mean 25 years for certain nationalities.

This is idiocy. There is a law on the books right now that can be used to solve the immigration reform problem. It is Registry, and it basically says that if you have been present in the US since 1972 and are a person of good moral character, you are entitled to lawful permanent residence in the US. Registry became an option in the law in 1986.

All Congress has to do is update the date of Registry. Congress can easily make it so that anyone who entered the US before a certain date, say 2008, may apply for permanent residence using the new registry date. Congress may also feel free to define "good moral character" in a way for registry that would require knowledge of English (using the already established naturalization test) and five years of tax history. In this way, immigrants who have already played by the rules by paying taxes may get residency immediately. Those with no tax history will be able to establish one with a work card while they work towards permanent residence. And Congress can satisfy their desire for a fine by charging whatever they wish for permanent residence under this method.

There would be no new forms required. There would be no new tests required. There would be no new bureaucracy required. The existing apparatus that handles applications for adjustment of status and naturalization can handle the applications that would be generated under this relief.

I urge elected officials to consider my simple proposal.

What on earth is a provisional waiver?: How the Provisional Waiver changes the Immigration game.

What on earth is a provisional waiver?: How the Provisional Waiver changes the Immigration game.

Neil F. Lewis, Esq.

neilflewis@live.com

In an effort to keep families together and to streamline and regulate the approval of waivers of inadmissibility, the Department of Homeland Security issued new regulations allowing the filing of a provisional waiver for certain inadmissible persons, starting March 4, 2013.

An inadmissible alien is an immigrant who is not eligible to adjust his status (i.e., get his lawful permanent residence) in the US. This could be for many reasons, including criminal, illegal entry, fraud, and drug problems. In every case until March 4, 2013, in order to have a waiver of unlawful presence considered, an illegal entrant would have to be in his native country waiting for an answer. The answers and the timelines for an answer would vary from Embassy to Embassy. Most immigrants who received their green card in this manner stayed out of the US for 1 to 2 years before they were able to return. And the torture they endured is that they did not always know whether or not they would return.

That harsh period of separation will still apply to those applying for a waiver for criminal or fraud reasons, and for those who have been deported before. But for those who need a waiver of inadmissibility solely because of unlawful presence in the US, the new waiver process is available.

Basically this provisional waiver is for illegal entrants from Central and South America who have been in the US without permission for longer than one year (immigrants present in the US after being legally admitted who get married to a US citizen get their green cards in the US without too much trouble). To qualify to file for the waiver in the US, the applicant must be present in the US, and the only ground of inadmissibility he is subject to must be based on unlawful presence. The applicant must have an approved immediate relative petition from a husband or wife, his case must be pending at the National Visa Center after the immigrant visa processing fee was paid, and the applicant must prove extreme hardship to a US citizen spouse or parent.

Some people who may not apply for this waiver are parents of US citizens. Because of the vagaries of immigration law, parents of US citizens are not eligible for the waiver of unlawful presence.

Children under 18 are not eligible for the waiver, neither do they need it as one cannot accrue unlawful presence until one is 18. So if I have a US citizen with an illegal son, that son may apply for his green card at the Embassy in his native country, and as long as he is under 18, he is issued his green card and he comes back immediately to resume residence.

People who are currently in removal proceedings can apply for the waiver eventually. But they cannot apply for the waiver until they have their court cases terminated or administratively enclosed. Anyone who has been removed before is not eligible for the waiver.

People who currently have interviews abroad at US embassies who have not yet left the US may file for the waiver only if they file a brand-new I-130 petition and proceed from that.

You will be happy to know that CIS considers separating any husband and wife to be hardship. For extreme hardship an alien must typically show that according to the following criteria the hardship in their case would be extreme:

n  The presence of lawful permanent resident/US citizen family ties in the US;

n  the alien applicants family ties outside the US;

n  country conditions in the country of relocation and the qualifying relative’s (should be the spouse who applied for the waiver) ties to that country;

n  the financial impact of departure;

n  significant health conditions, particularly when tied to unavailability of suitable medical care in the country of relocation.

Immigration will seriously look at any evidence you have of hardship in the case. They look at age, length of residence in the US, health, technical skills, and employability. The language of the law does not allow hardship to US citizen/lawful permanent resident children to be counted, but you should certainly mention it. The hardship to the children is relevant as in how it would affect the hardship to the US citizen petitioner.

A smart applicant as well includes a letter from the alien whose legal violation requires the waiver. My clients explain who they are and why they had to come to the US when they came here. You will find immigrants are not here by accident and most of them had a great fire burning in them to come to the US. Generally the purpose of the trip is altruistic as well, and is done for the benefit of family or friends, and not for oneself. If this is true, it should certainly be mentioned.

The waiver will be filed on the yet to come form I-601A (why we need the new form, when we already have a form for the waiver, I have no idea -- these people really like creating forms). It will be available at www.uscis.gov It will be filed and adjudicated in the US, and processing times are optimistically projected at six months, which is a vast improvement on waivers in the past.

Because of these changes, US citizens who are married to illegal entrants and are living with them in the US will no longer be separated while having the waiver considered. They may file the I-130, get it approved, the case will be transferred to the National Visa Center, they will make a choice of agent and pay the immigrant visa fee, and then file the I-601A waiver. Once the provisional waiver is approved, we would resume immigrant visa processing is usual, scheduling interview at the Embassy abroad and sending my client to get his green card.

As there are things to take care of before the waiver is applied for, a smart immigration attorney will be encouraging his eligible clients to start the I-130 process immediately, so that they can be among the first to file for the new waiver. Anyone who has a case currently pending at the NVC should absolutely make sure that they file for the waiver within the first week of March 2013. We have no idea how many applications will be filed, or how long they will take to process, but I know getting an early is a good idea.

Neil F. Lewis has been an immigration lawyer in Tampa Florida since 1996. He is a former Marine and a graduate of law school at the College of William and Mary. He is a proud father of two sons, Jackson, seven, and William, six. Neil loves being an immigration lawyer and enjoys reuniting families and solving problems.

Family separated for too long

I am currently assisting a client pro bono in a case where he is seeking reunited with his wife and children. My client is a US citizen. He is a military veteran. And he works on very military like missions for private corporations that do work for the US military. Because of the vagaries of his station, he lived with his foreign wife and US citizen children in a foreign country for approximately 10 years. Then he received three weeks notice that his job no longer existed. The host country ordered him to leave and he prepared to go back to the US.

My client immediately made plans to move back to the US. He took his wife and children to the US Embassy to get a vacation visa for his wife so that she could come to the US with the rest of the family. This request was denied because the consular officer believed that she was coming to the US to stay, and therefore a vacation visa was inappropriate. This is a defensible decision only if you do not take into effect him the impact the decision will have upon the family of my client.

It is sometimes the case that a consular officer will issue a vacation visa to the wife of a US citizen. They do this sometimes because the wait for an immigrant visa can be ridiculous. I met my client and learned of his troubles on August 2. His wife and four children remain in another country. He has gone nearly bankrupt from the expenses of maintaining two households, one in the US, and one in another country. As you can imagine, he is suffering, his children are suffering, and his wife is suffering.


We have filed for everything reasonable to gain her entry. We performed a Congressional Inquiry on the actions of the Consular Officer. Of course what he did was legal, just not "right." We next we filed a request for a parole document to allow her to enter the US for emergency circumstances. There has not yet been a decision on this request. We also filed form I-130 to gain her entry to the US as a lawful permanent resident. This form should gain her entry into the US within a year to year and a half.

We have had support from Congressman, and CIS seems to be doing everything they can do, but this is just one of those frustrating things that often happen in immigration. It is a pity that happened to someone who spent his whole life working for the benefit of the US. I think it probably should not happen. But I can only do so much.

Does anyone think it is right that an alien on a nonimmigrant visa can get his wife here in two weeks, but a US citizen must wait a year or more for his wife? Nonimmigrants have the ability to bring their wives here quickly and easily. Why does this not exist for US citizens? Ridiculous.

Regarding personal injuries!

Everywhere you look, you see billboards owned by personal injury lawyers. Whether it is Morgan & Morgan, Fran Haasch or some other lawyer, these people clearly make good money helping the injured. But who should you trust? The guy on the billboard, the lady in the ad? Ask Gary?

You should trust me. If you were a friend involve an accident you should come to me and I will help you find the right lawyer.

Today I write to tell you why you should refer your personal injury cases through me to a personal injury attorney. I am an immigration attorney. That is all I do. But I do a great service for my clients who suffer through accidents or injuries. I refer them to friends of mine who handles personal injury cases. This is of utility to my client because he has a lawyer he should be able to trust. I am also involved in the case entirely, although mostly as a spectator. I get paid from the other lawyers portion of any recovery in the case. It is handy to my clients to have me involved in case there is any issue regarding the representation in the case.

So if you know somebody who has an accident or who was injured and it is not their fault, a great place for them to start in figuring out what to do is to meet with me. We can discuss the available options and if there is a case there I will know the lawyer who will handle it best.

same is true for criminal and family law cases!

Neil

The Heavens are aligning

Nov. 2012 -- The Speaker of the House has made it clear that Republicans are on board for immigration reform and a path to citizenship for my worthy immigrant friends. This election asserted the primacy of the young and tolerant against the old and scared. Great stuff and I am excited about the future!

DACA and the future of these kids.

Editor's note: DACA is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. People under 31 years old as of the date of passage of the Act, brought to the US as children, who graduated high school here, with a clean criminal record may apply for a two year guarantee that they will not be deported. They will be allowed work cards during this period. A common question I get is "What about after that 2 years? What then?"


What then?

I have submitted approximately 20 DACA applications thus far. I see these applications  -- which are applications for deferred action for childhood arrivals -- as a no lose situation for my immigrant clients. They are receiving a binding promise from the US government that they will not be deported for two years. During the two years, they will be authorized to work and to drive (so long as they do not live in some medieval state. Hint: ARIZONA). I know that some applicants and some lawyers have fear and trepidation when approaching this process. I encourage you to have faith in the United States of America.

I met in my office a very nervous young man last week who refused to apply for his work card. He stated that he wanted to wait until the election was over, so that he can see what the future of the country would be. I tell myself, and I told my friend, that regardless of who is elected, America has made a promise to him and his young friends. That promise is: "You are safe here. In the future you will receive residence and citizenship, but the work card is the best we can do for you right now." I have faith that my country will do the right thing no matter who is President.

Immigration into America has always been guided by a good guys - in, bad guys - out policy. This is a basic truth about immigration into America since the pilgrims came ashore. Those who have done no wrong, and who are in America through no fault of their own have always been taken care of. This is true whether they are refugees from a war, economic refugees, or children brought here by their parents. My country will complain. My country may very well pitch a fit. But my country will come through for these children. It always has. It always will.

Great victory -- probably

I recently had a great victory in immigration court. But it was not so much a victory for me as it was for my country. My client came to me about a year ago. He was an illegal alien who had been present in the US for 15 years. His wife, for much of that time, was a US citizen. She never took any steps to gain his permanent residence. The couple had two children, boys, eight and 12. When I met my client his children were being held illegally out-of-state by his US citizen wife who assured him that his lack of status meant that she kept the kids and that the bully wins.

Not while I have anything to say about it.

I encouraged my client to contact a family attorney to get the return of his kids. He did have them pursuant to a lawful court order, and his wife's seizure of his children was against the law. The fact that he had no legal status here did not make any difference, I am happy to say. The children were returned to him within a reasonable time.

My client initially had custody of his kids because a judge in another state had found their mother to be dangerous and hazardous to them. For the same reason I believed the US government would look favorably upon application for cancellation of removal from my client. This application requires my client to prove he has been here more than 10 years, and that his deportation would work an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship upon his US citizen children or spouse.

Once we collected evidence in the case, it appeared clear that my client saved his children from a very dangerous mother. We went to court, explained the circumstances, and I am very confident that when the judge makes his decision we will win (bizarre court rules mean he cannot rule until October). It is not often that I am so proud of the people I represent. But something about this client was special to me.

One of the great things about being an immigration attorney is seeing how important it is to some parents that their children have a chance at success.

An education in immigration

I became an immigration lawyer because I did not really want to be a lawyer. I found that in 1996 I could be an incompetent nice guy who sat next to my clients while they got green cards. There was not much lawyering involved. I encouraged my clients to tell the truth, and I used to point out weak points of my cases so that the officer could do a thorough investigation and be satisfied that the relationship was real.

Immigration made sense back then. The immigration service showed me by their actions that they believed good people should get green cards and that bad people should be shown the door. For nearly any crime an alien could request a waiver of deportation, citing humanitarian or other equitable grounds. Although the crime of marriage fraud existed, no cases were pursued in Tampa. A marriage that did not meet the bona fide requirements of the Tampa office was simply denied. People who believed in their bona fide marriages continued to immigration court, others went back home.

Immigration was not about "national security." Immigration was not about reminding people from other countries that they are not us. Immigration was not about preventing nice people from immigrating. Immigration was about helping good people enter the US while trying to prevent bad people from entering the US. What is a good or bad person was up for debate in any given case.

The immigration officers at the time had broad discretion to decide cases as they saw fit. I learned that in nearly every case there appeared to be some technical violation of the immigration law somewhere (there are a lot of laws), but that a wise immigration officer would decide whether or not to create an issue on a given application depending on whether or not they thought the applicant was a good or a bad person. They would look to tax records, criminal records, and will make a determination about the person based on the record in front of them. The law was used to make it more difficult for bad people to apply for residency. There were times when good people would get kind of a pass. By "pass" I mean that the immigration officer would determine a waiver was not required, although maybe one should have been required, or the immigration officer would not ask questions about an area where there was clearly trouble, but where the trouble served no purpose, as in the case of previous unauthorized employment, the nature of previous marriages, and other issues outside the purview of an application for adjustment of status.

Now it appears that the immigration officers have no ability to decide if the people in front of them are good or bad, as they have been told to assume that everyone is bad. The law is used to delay and harass aliens applying for lawful permanent residence, regardless of whether or not they are good or bad people. The local office in Tampa acts as if there is a magical application for every circumstance, and any technical default in any case will result in them denying jurisdiction or denying a case.

I know that the immigration officers are frustrated, because I can see it in their eyes. These are generally good people who want nice people to move to the US. But the level of proof now required for a simple marriage or other immigration case is beyond any reasonable level.

I was reviewing an interview I attended regarding removal of conditions in 2006. I was with an officer who has a great reputation for knowing who is or is not telling the truth. My white Canadian client was applying for removal of conditions based on her short term marriage to a black US citizen man. My records show that we presented about 10 pieces of paper, and that the officer asked six questions of my client, determined she was telling the truth, and ended the interview, granting lawful permanent residence without conditions.

Such a simple interview is unthinkable now. For removal of conditions married couples are sometimes denied, as their currently real and existing marriages are deemed not real enough. I can tell you that the law in 2012 is no different than the law in 2006 or even 1998. The attitude of CIS is different. What is also different is the many and numerous obstacles that have been put in the way of ordinary and regular people getting the benefits they deserve from the federal government.

I have seen too many clients open themselves up to ridiculously detailed testimony regarding relationships and events from long ago for no purpose. I have seen the pain on my client's faces as they told the truth to a painful degree, only to be called a liar. I win in the end, but the toll on my clients. and their faith in the United States, compelled me to act more aggressively.

No one is served by the current immigration policies at Tampa CIS. Not the government, not aliens, not US citizens, nobody.

I did not want to be a lawyer, but the US government has forced me to be one. This is my country too. My clients have officially "lawyered up" for the duration. Instead of being free with evidence and testimony, we will give only what is required by law, not by Tampa CIS. When CIS does not agree with me, then I will simply go see the Judge in Immigration Court.

The case against speaking

Regarding Petitions to Remove Conditions in Tampa.

I am having my clients assert their 5th amendment right in more cases before Tampa CIS. It is clear to me that in many cases, CIS in Tampa is more concerned about proving fraud they believe to be there than in finding out whether or not a couple was really married.

Since I became a lawyer in 1996 I have advised my clients to cooperate with INS and then CIS requests for information and documents. But previously the requests were always reasonable, and they went to the heart of the issue of the case -- should the person before CIS get this benefit or not?

After 9/11, things started to change, and the CIS attitude towards the aliens changed -- for the worse. The individual officers did what they could, but it appeared that high up in the command structure, someone was making CIS get tough. Fraud became a huge deal (when it was not before -- it was just treated like fraud) and finding marriage fraud became a way of distinguishing oneself at CIS if one were ambitious.

The requests for evidence became more and more obnoxious and personal, and CIS began to believe that an absence of evidence proved fraud. Worst of all, the legal presumption an alien is entitled to after being in a marriage for two years after their green card is issued -- the presumption that the marriage was real -- has been ignored at the CIS level.

Marriage fraud charges were thrown around without much cause -- I had more than a few cases go to court where they were thrown out for lacking evidence. 751s are routinely denied in Tampa, and are then approved easily at court, where the rule of law still prevails.

CIS appears to think that a lack of evidence equals fraud, and it appears that now they use their interviews as chances to support their cases, not a chance to hear my clients. My clients deserve to be heard, and will not speak again until and unless they are heard.

Proper focus of my business and life

I am happy to announce that I am incredibly interested in seeing how many people I can help in my too short life--and I am not meeting enough people. You will soon hear new and weird ideas about how I will figure out how to help more people --because I love my job. I like helping people live here without fear. I enjoy sticking my finger in the bully's eye once in awhile, for a good cause.

I will probably stop representing people involved in criminal acts or who show poor moral character. I do not want to be surrounded by these people in my office. No offense! And decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, but this lawyer has been surrounded by bad people long enough.

Give me your poor, tired and huddled masses, yearning to breathe free!

Feels like the first time!

You would think after doing this lawyer thing for awhile once could just coast, right? Name recognition and reputation are all you need, right? Wrong. I must admit that I have not been doing all I can to be the great lawyer I know I am. Today I renew my dedication to my career and my clients. Watch out CIS!

There is no bad news for current clients. Everything will continue to be great. But future clients will be evaluated carefully to make sure that they are right for my firm. I find that I work best with people who are invested in their future. Trying to help someone who refuses all help is frustrating.

It will be just as easy to hire a lawyer from my office for great immigration work. It will just not be so easy to hire me to handle your case. I will focus on a small number of extremely important cases, while overseeing the other cases in the office but leaving routine work for another attorney.

I have been doing this a long time. I know a great deal. But by pulling back and taking fewer clients as personal projects I will be better able to help all of the clients of my firm.

Neil

September 2011

The world is beautiful, the air smells better, food tastes better, and I now wear pants that are six inches less around the waist than pants I wore just three years ago. I have been through some changes!

In 2007 I weighed 250 pounds on my 5'10" frame -- at last check I weighed 205. I am stronger, smarter, and more ready to help my clients than every before!

And this is good, because while the law may be getting nicer, CIS sure is not. Other lawyers used to be jealous that I worked in Tampa, where the relationship between lawyers and government was not at all contentious. This was good because with lawyers involved many more cases can be handled more quickly than without. I used to just try to make the ISO's job easy when I saw them. Those days appear to be over. It appears that CIS Tampa is no longer interested at all in what lawyers want or how we can help move cases along.

Even the most mild mannered lawyers I know are getting mad about the treatment our clients are getting in Tampa. It is not too much to ask that the people who work for the local CIS office do their best to do their jobs as quickly as possible. Lawyers help, we do not hurt. If CIS chooses not to work with us, they will find AILA lawyers to be a persnickety, nitpicky bunch. I am not sure that any dispute will end well, and I hope CIS comes around.

Neil Lewis

Excitement at ICE

Excitement at Immigration and Customs Enforcement

My client was pending removal to Egypt. He had been ordered removed following NSEERS registration in 2002 and his request for political asylum based on his status as a Christian who feared returning to Egypt was denied. The appeal was denied and my client filed two Motions to Reopen, but neither was successful.

He received what I call a “please come so we can arrest you” letter. He was represented by a well-respected area immigration attorney. This attorney was the kind of attorney I respect and trust. My advice would have been to never appear. Make them come get you if they want you.

This attorney told my client that he HAD to appear, and that his lawyer would fire him if he refused to go with him. In a similar case recently, another client got a letter like that. We did not appear and later received a letter to go to Immigration Court. There are times when reporting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a good idea – that was not one of those times.

Since my client appeared at that interview, he now has an ankle bracelet and is being forced to leave the US for Egypt on March 15, 2011. My client called me for a second opinion. He wanted to know what he could do. He understood that he could return to Egypt and come back based on his bona fide marriage to a US citizen, so long as the needed waiver of inadmissibility was granted.

My client was looking at Egypt with great fear. He knew that Mubarak was gone and that religious tensions could explode at any time. He watched the church bombing and the religious violence with great trepidation, and he had no interest in returning to Egypt, because he feared he might die there.

I told my client to tell his lawyer to file a Motion to Reopen. His lawyer refused, for reasons I do not understand. My client fired him and came to me. When I filed the Emergency Motion to Reopen and Stay, I could tell him that now he at least had a CHANCE of not leaving the US.

My client’s US citizen wife has a list of terrible maladies that should assist the BIA in making the right and correct decision. As I understand it, I need to show that there is a good chance that my motion will be successful to gain the stay.

I imagine that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would let my client remain in the US no matter what the BIA does, but the deportation officers do seem quite relieved that my client has a lawyer looking out for him now.

UPDATE : My client’s Request for Emergency Stay was granted and he has a chance of remaining in the US for life.

The unknown immigration war

The main thing that irritates me now about immigration law is the SHAME that my clients are starting to feel for being illegal. The cannot get IDs, they cannot work, if they talk to a policeman they might get arrested. It is no wonder I meet so many abused women in my practice, as they are all terrified that their US citizen husbands or boyfriends have the power to make them return home whenever they say.

Things have changed so much. When I moved to Florida, I have to admit, it bothered me to wait in line behind illegal immigrants to get my first Florida driver's license. We may have been too permissive then.

But now it seems we have gone overboard in the other direction. My practice, which used to consist of business immigration, family immigration and some deportation has become 50% deportation because so many people are being arrested, threatened and tormented for the "crime" of being born in the wrong country.

You would not believe how many nice aliens I know who are being (for lack of a better word) screwed with by the government because of indifference or sloth on the part of government employees. or because the letter of the law, interpreted harshly, suggests that maybe, maybe, they might be deported.

You would not believe the enormous jail we have in Florida (and there are more in other states) where we keep only NONCRIMINAL aliens who are facing deportation. Why do we lock up so many noncriminals who are a threat to no one? I do not know. Why do noncriminals face the toughest Immigration Judge in Florida? I do not know.

All of this is unfair, ridiculous, and unAmerican. It must change.

Who knew?

I actually met somebody today in my office who claimed that they came to see me because they read my blog and looked at my website. I actually had no idea that people read my blog or look at my website. I had always hoped, but had never dared dream that people would actually pay attention to what I was saying.

But now that I know that my bully pulpit reaches at least one person, I shall endeavor to post more material more often.

I'll talk today about one of my frustrations with immigration law. It is incredibly unfortunate that the decisions aliens receive regarding their applications for permanent residence or whether or not they will be deported depend greatly upon the officer or judge hearing their case, and the way they present their case. There are immigration judges who will almost never approve applications for cancellation of removal, and their immigration judges who are quite happy to grant those applications. Similarly, at USCIS, who your officer is for your interview can make a great difference in how your interview goes, and whether any innocent mistakes will be viewed as innocent mistakes, or as evidence of fraud.

One of the great benefits I give to my clients is that I know who the decision-makers are where we will go. I know the way different decision-makers think, and what evidence resonates most clearly with what immigration judge or immigration officer. That experience is invaluable to my clients.

I also believe the my clients benefit by sitting next to me when they make their applications. I think I have a good reputation as someone who tells the truth and tries not to take money unless the person who's giving it to me knows why he is giving it to me. When I present cases at CIS or the immigration court, the judges and the officers know that my clients will not be lying to them, because my clients don't lie. If they would like to lie, they need to find another attorney. I will help anybody to make the best of the truth. I will help nobody create "truth" to fit any given situation.

The sadness of the season

It is the greatest time of year, and I should be thinking about my wonderful family, and my fortunate life here in Tampa. Yet I sit in my office frustrated to the maximum because I have a non-criminal alien client (from Canada) who remains in jail almost 60 days after I filed a motion to reopen his immigration case. My client was deported because he did not report for court more than five years after his application for permanent residence was denied. In most cases, this long delay between denial and entry into proceedings has been found to violate the alien's rights. I expected this case will be reopened.

The delay is partly the fault of a recent move by the Orlando immigration court. My clients immigration file was sent to Orlando, but to the wrong address. From there the file returned to central storage, and it has not been seen since. The chief administrator of the court is aware of the problem and is working to get that file so that I get my client out of jail.

But I cannot help thinking, how many other people, with no criminal record, are sitting in immigration detention facilities right now, at a time when they should be with their family and friends. Conspiracy theorists may believe that these non-criminals are in jail because the US government has jailers to pay, and without people (even non-criminals) in jail, there is no need for the jailers.

Merry Christmas.

Frustrating stalemate

It is frustrating to know that CIR is the best for everybody,and to know that business leaders know this is true, and to know that most elected officials know this, and that there is nothing being done about it.

http://www.renewoureconomy.org/pr_2010_12_10

When does the bad news end?

The atmosphere in Congress is violently anti-immigrant because of fear of the tea partiers. The Dream Act is soon to die, and so will immigration reform. I am not pleased.

From Politico.com:

“The next two years will be a very, very bleak period for immigration reform and for immigrants,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, which has been urging passage of the DREAM Act.

In January, Sharry added, Reps. Lamar Smith of Texas and Steve King of Iowa, the Republicans driving immigration policy in the House, “literally want to expel 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country, to make life so miserable they can’t get work, get an apartment, go to school or survive here, so they pick up and go home.”

When the Senate roll-call vote comes up Wednesday, there may be few, if any, GOP supporters, and even some politically vulnerable Democrats may vote against the bill, fearing a 2012 backlash.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46052.html#ixzz17XYWz8zo