US Customs & Border Protection (CBP), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for securing our borders. Theoretically, this means checking each and every individual who arrives by air, sea, or land. It's a daunting task. As a US immigration attorney, I understand the importance of keeping these guys and gals happy [...]
One of the most generous aspects of the US immigration system is that US citizens who are over the age of 21 can help a foreign national mother or father obtain a green card, which gives the right to live and work in the US and is a path to US citizenship. Green card for [...]
Advocates on both sides of the US immigration debate have been pretty busy the past few weeks as, not one but, two separate pushes for immigration reform have been made in Congress. The cynical among us will point out that although neither measure had a snowball's chance of passing in the current economic and political [...]
US immigration has some pretty harsh rules when it comes to drug and alcohol use. Those who are seeking entry to the US, whether as a visitor or permanent immigrant, must meet strict guidelines for prior criminal drug history and prior drug or alcohol addiction. Even something as seemingly minor as taking one hit of [...]
As we all know, Arizona recently passed a bill that would make it harder to be an undocumented person in that state. The debate as to the morality and, more importantly, constitutionality of the bill has been raging. However, no matter what you may think about the SB 1070, you have to admit that protection [...]
I've been getting calls and emails recently from people who were lucky enough to win the US Department of State (DOS) green card lottery. However, once you win the DV 2011 visa lottery what comes next? What is DV 2011 Visa Lottery? The DV visa lottery, which is officially known as the diversity visa lottery, [...]
Eric Balderas, age 19, was recently arrested by ICE (US Immigration & Customs Enforcement) for being in the US illegally. While the arrest of another undocumented immigrant may not be unusually newsworthy, the fact that Balderas is currently a sophomore at Harvard University makes it so. Balderas, a Mexican citizen, was facing deportation before US [...]
President Obama is currently considering another round of fee hikes for green card adjustment of status cases and some non-immigrant visas. Fees were last increased on the summer of 2007; new fees are due to go into effect later this year. Green Card Adjustment of Status Fees Certain foreign nationals who are present in the [...]
The US Citizenship and Immigration services (USCIS) recently announced that the US permanent resident green card will be redesigned to incorporate new security features. The green card redesign is necessary to deter immigration fraud. Green Card to become state of the art The new green card will use state of the art technology to prevent [...]
Senator John McCain and Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona have introduced a new immigration reform bill, the Border Security Enforcement Act of 2010. This latest attempt at immigration reform, focused on the Arizona border, includes the following provisions: Immigration Reform for Physical Border Protection in Tuscon, AZ & Yuma, AZ Allows the Governor of Arizona, [...]
