New York Lawyer's Legal Updates
Challenges Involved With Immigrant Marriage Petitions
14 January 2013Author: US Citizenship Lawyer Alena Shautsova Marriage petitions are often a faster route to citizenship, especially when compared with other paths immigrants can take. Unlike immigration options where quotas restrict aliens from obtaining visas and green cards, the United States has no limit on marriage petitions. Unfortunately, abuse of this le ...
High Profile Sexual Harassment Case against Waffle House Chairman
11 January 2013Author: Law Office of Alena Shautsova Sometimes women are reluctant to bring a sexual harassment case against an employer for fear of the repercussions. Losing their jobs is generally a major consideration, especially in today’s tight job market. Such was the case of a woman who worked as the housekeeper and personal assistant of the Chairman of ...
What Is the Secure Communities Program?
09 January 2013Author: New York Immigration Attorney Secure Communities is an ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) program that uses the already established connection between ICE and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) to identify illegal immigrants involved in criminal activity. The Secure Communities program allows ICE to function without impo ...
What To Do If Your Family Member Has ICE Hold?
08 January 2013Author: New York Deportation Attorney Many times a person ends up in the Immigration Court because of State or Federal charges submitted against him/her or because of the State or Federal conviction. It happens because nowadays every jail and court has an ICE representative in it, and this person quickly scans and analyzes the records of every de ...
ICE Discontinues 287(g) in 2013
06 January 2013Author: Law Office of Alena Shautsova The 287(g) program derives its name from 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The 287(g) program is a part of the ICE ACCESS (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security) program, which is an overall program that provides local law enforcement officers assistance through I ...
President Obama Plans to Tackle Immigration Reform
04 January 2013Author: Law Office of Alena Shautsova According to various news outlets about immigration reform, including the Portland Press, once the fiscal cliff is behind us, President Obama promises to focus on extensive immigration reform. Border security and a path to citizenship are several major goals he intends to address through legislation. The new b ...
Asylum Seekers: The Standard Of Proof For Persecution
30 December 2012Author: US Asylum Lawyer Alena Shautsova Asylum seekers claim in the US has a burden of proof to demonstrate that she/he was subjected to persecution and/or she/he possess a reasonable fear of future persecution. What amounts to a persecution? It must be noted that in some cases, a lay person would determine that defiantly an applicant deserves as ...
USCIS Changes Guidelines On Detainers: Only Serious Misdemeanors And Felonies Will Trigger Detention
30 December 2012Author: US Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova USCIS reconsider its policy on detainer issuance and on December 21, 2012 issued a new Memo confirming that only serious misdemeanors and felony charges and/or convictions will trigger issuance of immigration detainers. It is a well-known fact that when a person who is not a US citizen is charged with ...
Basis For Asylum: Membership In A Particular Social Group
22 December 2012Author: US Asylum Lawyer Alena Shautsova United States asylum seekers may qualify for asylum on five grounds: race, nationality, religion, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group. Refugees or asylum seekers are aliens who are unable or unwilling to return to their native country “because of persecution or a well founded fear ...
Impact Of Criminal Conviction Of Domestic Violence On Adjustment Of Status
18 December 2012Author: US Green Card Lawyer Alena Shautsova A non- US citizen who has a criminal conviction in the United States may still be eligible to adjust status to one of a permanent resident. Every criminal conviction must be analyzed separately and together with the any other criminal convictions that an alien has. When applying for an adjustment of st ...